“I can’t save money. There’s nothing left at the end of the month.”

Sound familiar?

Most people think they need loads of spare cash before they can start saving.

They wait for a pay rise. They wait for a bonus. They wait for the perfect moment.

But the perfect moment never comes.

Here’s what actually works: finding money you didn’t know you had, and making it impossible to spend.

Let me show you how.

Find Money You Didn't Know You Had

You probably have money leaking out of your account right now.

Small amounts from tapping your card and forgotten subscriptions where you signed up to a free trial and forgot to cancel. Things you don’t even notice.

Let’s find them.

Step 1: Audit Your Transactions

Get the last three months of bank statements for your current accounts and credit cards. Every account you spend money from.

Now categorise every single transaction. Even that random £2.50 you can’t remember.

You can use a spreadsheet or print out your statements and use a good old fashioned pen and paper.

If you’re more into technology, then using a budgeting app might be the way forward.

Just get everything into categories.

Think groceries, transport, eating out, clothes and bills.

Step 2: Look For Forgotten Subscriptions

This is where most people find their first chunk of money.

That gym membership you signed up for in January? Still coming out.

That streaming service you got for one specific show? Still there, six months after you finished watching.

That app you started paying for because it was only £2.99 per month? Probably still charging you.

Add them all up. You might find £50-100 per month in subscriptions you completely forgot about or stopped using.

Cancel them right now. That’s your first saving sorted.

Step 3: Small Daily Purchases

£3 coffee every morning? That’s £60 per month. £720 per year.

£5 meal deal every lunch? That’s another £100 per month. £1,200 per year.

£2 parking every day? That’s £40 per month. £480 per year.

Small amounts feel harmless. But if you’re paying them consistently they add up to massive numbers over a year.

You don’t have to cut them out completely.

But knowing what they cost helps you decide if they’re worth it and whether you need to cut back.

Step 4: Check For Duplicate Payments

Are you paying for two cloud storage subscriptions?

Two music streaming services?

Two breakdown cover policies?

Happens more often than you’d think.

Especially if you’ve switched providers but forgot to cancel the old one.

Step 5: Find Your Biggest Spending Surprises

Everyone has spending surprises when they actually look at their statements.

“I thought I spent £200 on food. Turns out it’s £400 including takeaways.”

“I didn’t realise I bought clothes every single month.”

“How did I spend £80 on coffee shops?”

These surprises show you where money is disappearing and where you can start saving it instead.

Pay Yourself Before Anyone Else

This is the single most powerful saving strategy there is.

Most people save what’s left at the end of the month.

But the problem is there’s never anything left.

Flip it around.

Save first – spend what’s left.

But you’re probably thinking: “I can’t just stop paying my bills”.

You’re right, and it’s not about that.

It’s about working out how much you can spend and doing it first before you have an excuse not to.

Here’s how…

1) Budget Like A Boss

The first step is you have to know how much you can save.

The only way you can do this is to do a budget.

There are plenty of budgeting apps out there that make this easy.

Once you’ve allocated all your pounds to where they need to go, including some for yourself, you can start taking action.

2) Set Up An Automatic Transfer

On payday, before you pay for anything else, you need to move the allocated money into your savings automatically.

The best way to do this is setup an automatic transfer.

You don’t see it. You don’t make a decision about it. It just happens.

Without you needing a calendar reminder or extra job on the to-do list.

Start with just £20 per month if that’s all you can manage. Even £10 if £20 feels too much.

The amount doesn’t matter yet. It’s the habit that matters.

3) Treat It Like A Bill

You wouldn’t skip your rent payment because you fancied a new pair of trainers.

You pay it because you have to.

Treat your savings transfer the same way.

It’s no longer optional. It’s not “if there’s money left over.”

It’s a bill you owe to yourself and it gets paid first.

4) Use A Separate Savings Account

Don’t keep savings in your current account.

You’ll spend it.

Open a separate savings account.

Preferably one that’s a tiny bit awkward to access. Not impossible, just not instant.

That small friction stops you from dipping into it for non-emergencies.

5) Increase Gradually

Start with £20 per month.

Get used to living without it.

After a few months, increase to £30. Then £40. Then £50.

Small increases don’t hurt. But they compound over time.

Within a year, you might be saving £100 per month without even noticing it’s gone.

Make Your Existing Spending Work Harder

You’re spending money anyway.

You might as well get some of it back.

1) Use Cashback Apps

There are several different ways to earn cashback on everything you buy.

For your everyday spending – groceries, clothes, household essentials and entertainment – you can get instant cashback by buying gift cards through an app like Gains to spend at 200+ of your favourite retailers.

For your online shopping and insurance renewals you’ll want to try affiliate cashback sites like TopCashback or Quidco. They give you money back on purchases you’re making anyway.

Shopping at Tesco? Get 3% back on gift cards.

Buying clothes online? Get 5-10% back by clicking through a cashback site first.

Booking a holiday? Get £20-50 back on your booking.

These aren’t huge amounts. But £200-300 per year for clicking a few buttons? That goes straight into savings.

2) Browser Extensions Find Deals

Install Honey or Pouch. They automatically find discount codes and cashback when you shop online.

You don’t have to remember anything. The extension does it whilst you shop.

3) Rewards Credit Cards

If you pay off your credit card in full every month a cashback credit card could boost your savings.

0.5-1% back on everything you spend.

Spend £1,000 per month? That’s £60-120 per year back.

Only do this if you pay it off in full.

Interest charges will wipe out any cashback benefit otherwise.

4) Join Loyalty Programs

Tesco Clubcard gives you 1.5% back. Boots Advantage Card gives you 4% back. Nectar gives you 0.5% back.

If you shop there anyway, use the cards. Free money for scanning a card at checkout.

5) Time Bigger Purchases

Loyalty schemes run bonus events constantly. Triple points weekends. Extra points on specific categories.

If you’re buying something big, wait for a bonus event. Get 3x the points instead of the normal rate.

6) Stack Multiple Rewards

Buy a gift card through a cashback site. Use it in store with your loyalty card. Pay with a rewards credit card.

That’s three lots of rewards on one purchase. Sounds complicated, but once you get used to it, it’s automatic.

All that cashback? Straight into savings. You were spending the money anyway.

Save Without Thinking About It

The best savings strategies are the ones you don’t have to think about.

Automation beats willpower every single time.

Round-Up Apps

Apps like Monzo, Starling Bank, and specialist round-up apps save your spare change automatically.

Buy a £2.70 coffee? It rounds up to £3.00. That 30p goes straight into savings.

Seems tiny. But it adds up to £50-100 per year without any effort or thought.

How It Works

Every time you spend money, the app rounds up to the nearest pound. The difference goes into a savings pot.

You don’t notice 30p here, 40p there. But by the end of the month, you’ve saved £20-30 without thinking about it.

Increase The Round-Up

Some apps let you round up to the nearest £5 or £10 instead of £1.

Buy something for £7? It rounds to £10. That’s £3 into savings.

This accelerates saving significantly. But only do it if you can actually afford it.

Set Rules

Some apps let you set saving rules. “Every time I buy coffee, save £1.” “Every time I get paid, save £50.”

The app watches your transactions and saves automatically based on your rules.

Takes willpower completely out of the equation.

Managing Expectations

Let’s deal with the excuses people make for not saving.

"I Literally Have No Spare Money"

Start with round-ups only. That’s 30-50p at a time. You won’t notice it.

Then audit your spending properly. Find those forgotten subscriptions. Find the money leaking out.

Most people find £50-100 per month they didn’t know they were wasting.

"£25 A Month Won't Make A Difference"

£25 per month for 5 years equals £1,500. Plus interest if you put it in a decent savings account.

£1,500 is an emergency fund. Or a holiday. Or a house deposit contribution.

Still think it won’t make a difference?

"I Tried Saving Before And Failed"

Because you relied on willpower. Willpower always fails eventually.

Automation removes willpower from the equation. The money moves before you can spend it.

You can’t fail at something that happens automatically.

"What If I Need That Money?"

Build a small buffer first. Save £500. That covers most small emergencies.

Once you’ve got that buffer, you can save more confidently knowing you’re covered.

And if you do need it? That’s what emergency savings are for. Use them. Then rebuild them.

"I'll Start Saving When I Earn More"

The habit matters more than the amount.

People who wait until they earn more never actually start saving. Because there’s always something else to spend money on.

Start now with £10 per month. Get the habit established. Then increase it when you earn more.

Starting is what matters. Not the amount.

The Power Of Small Amounts

£25 per month doesn’t sound like much. People dismiss it.

But here’s what it actually looks like:

Year 1: £300 Year 2: £600 Year 3: £900 Year 4: £1,200 Year 5: £1,500

And that’s with zero interest. Put it in a savings account earning 5% and you get more.

Now imagine you increase it gradually. £25 becomes £35. Then £50. Then £75.

After 5 years, you could have £3,000-4,000 saved. Just from starting with £25 per month.

Still think small amounts don’t matter?

Where To Keep Your Savings

Different goals need different accounts.

Emergency Fund

Keep this in an easy access savings account. You need to get to it quickly if something goes wrong.

Look for accounts paying 4-5% interest. They exist. Use comparison sites to find them.

Short-Term Goals (1-3 Years)

Fixed-rate savings accounts usually pay better interest. But you can’t access the money until the term ends.

Only use these for money you definitely won’t need. Like saving for a holiday next year.

Long-Term Goals (5+ Years)

Consider investing instead of saving. Stocks and shares ISAs, index funds, that sort of thing.

Higher risk than savings accounts. But better returns over the long term.

Only do this with money you won’t need for at least 5 years. Gives you time to ride out any market drops.

Quick Wins You Can Do This Week

Don’t try to implement everything at once. Start small.

Download your bank statements for the last 3 months. Spend an hour categorising transactions. Find your biggest leaks.

Cancel one subscription you’re not using. That’s probably £10-20 per month back immediately.

Set up an automatic transfer for £25 on your next payday. Even if it feels tiny. Get the habit started.

Download a round-up app. Set it up. Forget about it. Let it save for you automatically.

One thing this week. Then another next week. Then another the week after.

Small changes compound into big results.

The Truth About Saving

Saving money doesn’t require a high income. It requires paying attention to where money goes and redirecting some of it.

Most people waste £100-200 per month on things they don’t value. Subscriptions they forgot about. Impulse purchases they regret. Convenience spending that adds up.

Find that wasted money. Redirect it into savings. Automate it so you don’t have to think about it.

That’s how you build savings even when you think you have no spare money.

Because you do have spare money. You’re just spending it on things you don’t care about.

Start Today

Not tomorrow. Not next Monday. Not when you feel ready.

Today.

Pick one thing from this list. Just one. Do it right now.

Cancel that unused subscription. Set up that automatic transfer. Download that round-up app.

One action today beats ten plans for tomorrow.

Your future self will thank you for starting. Even if you only start with £10 per month.

Starting is what matters. Everything else builds from there.