My Money Saving Resolutions For 2016featured

With Christmas out the way, I’ve already started thinking about 2016. In all honesty, I love the whole concept of the New Year far more than I love Christmas!

For me, New Year brings this feeling of excitement and anticipation where I try to imagine what the year ahead will hold.

As a teenager I often found myself pondering “Will I finally get myself a boyfriend this year?” Ha!

When I got a bit older I used to think about the friends I’d make and bands I’d see live.

Now though, at the grand old age of 25, I’m thinking about the money I’ll save and the house I’ll buy! How very grown up 😉

2015’s highlights

2015 has been a fantastic year for my personal finances and in September I reached my target of saving £10,000 in a space of a year.

In September I also left my job as a copywriter and started a new one as an SEO executive, which came with a slightly better salary. I also started working on a freelance basis to make extra cash and towards the end of the year I started earning money from my blog itself.

My 2016 Money Resolutions

Reassess my savings accounts

Savings interest is definitely my weakness. I’m putting away such a significant amount of money each month but I’m failing to make the most of the interest rates that are out there. I need to make this a priority in 2016 and move my money into an account that pays more than my current cash ISA does.

Embrace the Help to Buy ISA

I’ll hold my hands up and admit I was wrong about the Help to Buy ISA. When it was initially announced earlier this year, I was sceptical about its ability to help prospective first time buyers purchase a home of their own. However, thanks to the likes of Martin Lewis and his money saving TV show, I’ve become better informed of the ISA’s benefits.

If you’re not sure what the Help to Buy ISA is, let me explain…

• You open a Help to Buy ISA with a participating lender
• You place up to £1,200 in your ISA in the first month of opening it
• You place up to £200 a month in your ISA every month after that
• For every £200 you place in the ISA, the government will top up your savings by 25%
• You will receive the government top-up when you’re ready to purchase a house

Even though I’ve already saved a decent deposit, I intend to open a Help to Buy ISA of my own as soon as I can in 2016. By doing so, I’ll be able to boost my savings even further, even if I only use the Help to Buy ISA for a few months before I buy my own place.

Tighten spending

In the last few months I’ve found myself falling into the habit of spending money unnecessarily again. Flicking through my bank statements from November and December I can’t believe how frequently Tesco and Sainsbury’s occur! I’ve been treating myself to microwaveable paellas from Tesco at lunch time and I’ve shared far too many bottles of whiskey with Jake during our Netflix marathons.

Strangely, I’m not usually a big drinker. I tend to go for months and months without a drop of booze passing my lips. For some reason though, I seem to have picked up this bad habit in recent months and it’s not healthy on my waistline or bank balance.

Considering I spend most of the week at my parents’ house, I certainly shouldn’t be spending so much money on food and drink.

It’s time for me to start taking packed lunches to work each day again and planning our food shop carefully when I go to Jake’s for a few days. I also need to quit the booze…as soon as I’ve finished the two bottles of Jim Beam and numerous Proseccos I’ve received for Christmas, that is.

Boost my income

2015 has been a great year for increasing my income but I’d like to boost it further in 2016. I’ve been taking on a lot of unpaid work over the last 12 months and, aside from exceptional circumstances, I need to stop doing this. Whether I’m writing for other websites as a favour or accepting contributions from companies on my own blog, I need to ensure I’m getting paid for the work I do.

Buy my house!

I really really hope that by the end of 2016, I’ll have my own home. I’ve been feeling a bit down about it recently because even though my savings are continuing to grow, I feel as though actually purchasing a house isn’t getting any closer. Prices are increasing and it’s finally beginning to sink in that I need a hell of a lot more than £10,000 before I’m in a position to buy.

The deposit isn’t the only cost I need to think about when buying a home. I also need to take solicitor fees and valuation costs into account, for example. I also need to furnish the place! The money required seems to be never ending. Hopefully though, if I’m to stick to my resolutions above, I should boost my savings enough to get my own place.

Have you set yourself any money saving resolutions for 2016? If so, I’d love to hear them! Either leave a comment below or send me a tweet to @CantSwingACat.