When you have a savings goal in mind, it can be daunting to get started, especially if your objective is ambitious. But it’s actually easier than you think!
This guide will provide you with helpful tips for cutting back on your expenses and saving £10k in 12 months. This might sound unachievable, but we promise you it’s not!
Follow our advice and your hard work will pay off in no time. Let’s get into how to save 10k in a year!
Best Saving & Investing App
Plum
Smart app that saves and invests for you automatically
- Automatic saving with AI
- Savings pockets with interest
- ISA, SIPP and Cash ISA in one app
- Cash ISA drops from 4.71% to 2.54% AER after 12 months
- Close or transfer the Cash ISA in year one and lose the bonus
- Funds need a paid plan: about 2% a year on a £3,000 pot
- Primary Pocket and Plum Interest aren’t FSCS deposit protected
- £1
- minimum
- Free
- fee
- Basic, no funds; Plus £3.99/mo, Boost £7.99/mo, Max £14.99/mo. ISA management fee 0.45% (Plus) to 0.15% (Max)
- No dealing fees on ISA/GIA funds
- trading fee
- Individual stocks 2 free trades then £0.50 (Basic) to £0 (Max), plus FX 0.15% to 0.60%
Affiliate link.
Reasons Why You Should Save £10k
We all have our reasons for wanting to save money, but when you plan on saving £10k within a year, it helps to keep your goal in mind and remember why you’re saving in the first place.
Your motives for saving can be absolutely anything, even if you just want an emergency fund for when life gets tough. The most common reasons for wanting to save £10k are:
- To pay for a wedding.
- To put towards a new home.
- To go on holiday.
- To renovate your home.
- To pay off debt.
- To prepare for a new family member.
You should remind yourself of your motivations regularly to keep your saving plan on track. It’ll make the whole process much easier and keep you inspired!
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Where To Start Saving
To save £10k in one year, you need to be putting aside around £834 per month, or about £27.40 per day.
With that in mind if that’s a bit much for you then you could set your sites on saving 5k in a year instead.
This idea of saving this amount of money will be less overwhelming once you analyse your monthly spending and find the best places to make savings.
You should start your saving journey by writing down all of your income and your outgoings. Try to be as meticulous as possible – finding out the specific can help you save quicker. Remember to include:
- Food you purchase during the day.
- Your daily coffee.
- Your weekly food shop.
- Your bills, like gas and electric.
- Your mortgage or rent payments.
- Car expenses, like petrol, MOT, and servicing.
- Clothing expenses.
- Entertainment expenses.
- Other personal expenses, like beauty treatments.
Once you have everything itemised in front of you, you can see if it’s realistic to put £834 into your monthly savings.
If you don’t think you can spare this money, then you can start identifying where you could cut back and save.
Budgeting is honestly one of the most important things to do to get a hold of your finances. We’ve built the ultimate budgeting spreadsheet for you so you don’t have to spend hours making one!
If you want a real-life example of doing this from scratch, here’s how I saved £10,000 starting from zero.
Read nextHow To Save 5k In A Year – (Get The Basics Locked Down)Best Ways To Save Money
Re-evaluate Your Bills
If you find that you need to make cutbacks, then try re-evaluating your bills and what you can do to save money on them.
Make some calls to your providers and see what you can negotiate with them, and don’t be afraid to be firm! If there’s a service on your phone bill you’re not using, then see if your service provider can cut you a deal.
Maybe you’re carrying too much insurance coverage on an old car and could haggle a better contract with your insurance company.
More often than not, the biggest expense for those who don’t own their home is rent. If you’re one of these people, consider getting yourself a housemate or finding a cheaper place to live.
There are even people searching for ways to live rent free these days and there are quite a few of them to be fair!
Automate Your Savings
Automating your savings is a great way to keep you on track to saving £10k.
You can set up a direct debit from your bank account to your savings account every time you get your wages, so you can save a portion of your money every month automatically.
Some debit cards even put aside a small amount every time you make a purchase, so you’ll be able to save as you spend.
Check out some of our top savings apps.
Best Saving & Investing App
Plum
Smart app that saves and invests for you automatically
- Automatic saving with AI
- Savings pockets with interest
- ISA, SIPP and Cash ISA in one app
- Cash ISA drops from 4.71% to 2.54% AER after 12 months
- Close or transfer the Cash ISA in year one and lose the bonus
- Funds need a paid plan: about 2% a year on a £3,000 pot
- Primary Pocket and Plum Interest aren’t FSCS deposit protected
- £1
- minimum
- Free
- fee
- Basic, no funds; Plus £3.99/mo, Boost £7.99/mo, Max £14.99/mo. ISA management fee 0.45% (Plus) to 0.15% (Max)
- No dealing fees on ISA/GIA funds
- trading fee
- Individual stocks 2 free trades then £0.50 (Basic) to £0 (Max), plus FX 0.15% to 0.60%
Affiliate link.
Not sure where to start?
Pick your goal (debt free, start investing, side income, saving for something big) and get a free money plan you can level up on. Takes about two minutes.
Get your free money planFind Ways To Boost Your Income
If your salary is less than ideal for saving £10k, then there are ways you can supplement your income so you have more to put aside for saving.
There are plenty of money-making techniques that are flexible and can be done from the comfort of your own home. Some of the best ways to earn extra money are:
- Selling your old clothes on eBay.
- Buying and selling on Amazon.
- Renting your parking space.
- Starting an Etsy business.
- Freelance writing.
- Monetise a blog or build websites
- Participating in online surveys.
For more popular side hustles and passive income tips click the bold links.
Cut Back On Entertainment Expenses
It might be tough for the social butterflies among us, however, cutting back on days and nights out will greatly decrease your outgoing spending.
You might be spending hundreds of pounds a month on these expenses and not even realise it!
Consider cheaper options when planning activities with your friends. You might find that night in with some board games and a bottle of wine is more fun than an expensive bar!
Best Saving & Investing App
Plum
Smart app that saves and invests for you automatically
- Automatic saving with AI
- Savings pockets with interest
- ISA, SIPP and Cash ISA in one app
- Cash ISA drops from 4.71% to 2.54% AER after 12 months
- Close or transfer the Cash ISA in year one and lose the bonus
- Funds need a paid plan: about 2% a year on a £3,000 pot
- Primary Pocket and Plum Interest aren’t FSCS deposit protected
- £1
- minimum
- Free
- fee
- Basic, no funds; Plus £3.99/mo, Boost £7.99/mo, Max £14.99/mo. ISA management fee 0.45% (Plus) to 0.15% (Max)
- No dealing fees on ISA/GIA funds
- trading fee
- Individual stocks 2 free trades then £0.50 (Basic) to £0 (Max), plus FX 0.15% to 0.60%
Affiliate link.
In Conclusion
That’s everything you need to know about saving £10k in just 12 months!
While it sounds like a lot, saving £10k is not unrealistic! Follow our money-saving tips and you’ll reach your goal in no time at all.
If you’ve got anything to add for the readers leave a comment in the section below.
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Disclaimer: Content on this page is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research before making a financially related decision.
