Here are some money-saving tips come from credit expert Katre Kaarenperk-Vanatoa

These money-saving tips come from credit expert Katre Kaarenperk-Vanatoa, who wants to help the UK’s young people start life in a way that sets them up for the future. With more advice out there than ever, and banks charging extortionate overdraft fees, it can be hard to know how to manage your money.

SAVE

While all of us know how important it is to save money, many of us struggle to put away the necessary funds to keep us safe in the event of an unexpected emergency or unwanted surprise. Taking a small amount of your monthly pay into a savings account won’t look like much at first, but after a while it will build up into a decent safety net. This has to apply at all times, when on holiday 40% of us don’t budget, and don’t know how much they can spend before going overboard. Katre explains:

‘Saving, but not spending your money can be boring, and when it impacts your lifestyle you’ll be less likely to keep it up. Still it’s wise to save, purely so your life in the future will be easier. Mainly you should save because you can’t predict the future. Saving money can help you become financially secure and provide a safety net in case of an emergency.’

AVOID CREDIT

Credit card can be slow to build up, to the point where you don’t even necessarily notice it. But it does add up, and suddenly your monthly repayments can become more than you can handle. It’s important to stop this before it spirals away from you. Having a strict budget will help you here, meaning you won’t overspend, and can allocate money where it is needed, instead of panicking.

LIMIT TREATS

Everyone works hard, and everyone deserves to reward themselves from time to time. But excessive spending on needless things can really add up, leaving us with little spare cash for savings or surprises. Once you have a large enough amount saved you can afford to splash out for things you otherwise couldn’t justify, which reinforces just how important saving is.

INVEST

And once you’ve got those savings, you can get to work on investing it. Taking small amounts of your savings and investing them through portfolios, apps, and other opportunities will mean you have additional income over time without doing any work. If something you’ve invested in takes off, suddenly you’re looking at significant income, or a fantastic opportunity to sell everything and retire. The Financial Independence and Early Retirement (or FIRE) movement prioritises saving and investment as a fast track to a life of leisure, and for many of them, it’s a way of life.

FIX PROBLEMS QUICKLY

This kind of early success is rare however, and unfortunately it’s much more likely that nasty surprises will pop up before you get your big break. If something does go wrong, it’s important to fix it fast, instead of letting the problem get worse. When it comes to money, this is easier said than done, and with 62% of us embarrassed to ask for money from family and friends, it can be tough to find the necessary funds in an emergency. When this happens it can be tempting to dip into your overdraft, but new research has found that this can cost you more than a loan.