New Year Saving Goals: Holiday, New Car & House Deposit

We may already be half way through the month already but I have been looking back over my new year resolutions or goals if you like and the one theme which struck out was money. This year is the year I hope to save for a new car, a family holiday and start saving for a deposit for a house. I've already crossed one thing of the list and booked a holiday to the Dominican Republic at the end of this year which I am so excited for! My next goal is to buy a new car and then by the end of the year I want to have saved a fair amount to put towards a deposit which I will continue to save for next year.

Saving has always been one of my downfalls. I started working from the age of 13 in a local country hotel and was very lucky to have parents who would drive me back and forth to every shift.  I worked there until I was about 18 and looking back now I wish I had been sensible with my money and started saving from a young age. Instead I wasted it on food, new phones, clothes and days down at the arcade! These days I still haven't learnt how to manage my money properly but that's about to change!

Here are a few ways I will be saving money this year:

1. 52 Week money saving challenge - I have started this challenge to start saving for a deposit for a house. By the end of the year I will have £1300+ saved which isn't much but it's a start and then it can go straight into my savings to earn interest on. I am also doing my own separate 52 week money challenge where I'm using my blank spreadsheet and planning on saving £50 a week, so far I've been putting in over £100 a week as I've been selling a few baby bits which have been in the attic so it's been a great start to the year, I just hope I can keep it up. This money will then go towards a car or be used for Christmas.

2. 365 Penny challenge - I recently shared my 365 money saving printable on the blog which is another challenge I'm getting involved with. The idea is to have saved £677.95 by the end of the year by increasing the amount saved by a penny a day. For example on day 1 you would save 1p, day 2 = 2p, day 100 = £1 and day 365 you will save £3.65. This is a great way of saving money without really noticing as you just use your loose change! You don't even have to do it daily, you could add up the daily amounts and put in that amount or even do it monthly if it's easier as not a lot of people carry change on them every day.

3. Another challenge I've set myself is at the end of every day (or every day that I remember) I will check my online banking and if there's any "loose change" left over for example anything under £5 I will transfer this over to my online savings account. I've been doing this since the 1st of this month and already have over £30. Some days it's been less than a pound and other days it may be £2.93 or £3.67.

I'm hoping to commit to at least two of these challenges although it would be nice to stick to them all. I can't wait to see how much I have saved at the end of the year. I think the main reason why I have never really been able to save money unless I really want to buy something is because I waste it on utter rubbish! Some weeks I can spend up to £100 on takeaways and eating out and I buy a lot of stuff online. Here are some of the ways I am curbing my spending this year and ways I'll be saving money.

- Meal plan to cut the food shop down
- Limit to one takeaway a week or month (undecided yet)
- Stop buying things I don't really need
- Have a clear out every month and sell anything I no longer use or need instead of just hiding it in the attic
- Cut down on Dr Pepper
- Comparing utility bills and car insurance before renewing
- Using Quidco for every online purchase to get some cash back! I've already had £20 back this year!

Is saving money one of your New Year Resolutions? Check out the TSB New Year Money Resolutions here for some more ideas on how to save money this year!

You might also like: