How to turn your spare change into £670 in a year

STRUGGLING to get into a savings habit? Then we’ve got a simple trick that will boost your bank balance by almost £670 in just 12 months.

Better yet, it’ll will hardly feel like you’re putting any money aside.

The penny challenge will help you save almost £670 over a yearCredit: Alamy

Forget sticking a tenner in your piggy bank because the penny saving challenge will help you save £668 in one year, starting off with 1p a day.

The challenge isn’t actually new – it was first thought up by money-saving experts at Magic Freebies a few years ago.

But it’s important to remind ourselves that saving doesn’t have to be hard, especially during the financial blues after the Christmas break.

The typical UK household spends almost £740 extra in December, 29% more than the average of £2,500 in a month, according to the Bank of England.

Other ways to save cash

SAVING money can seem like a slog, but it doesn’t have to be with our simple tips below:

Cut down on your spending: An obvious way to save money is by cutting down on how much you spend each month. Go through your transaction history and set yourself a budget. Are there any bills that you don’t need or use that you can cancel?
Haggle down your bills: You should also try and see if you can get a better deal on any regular bills you’re paying. Do your research, see if there are better deals available for new customers. Then call up customer services and explain you want to leave because you’ve found a better deal but is there anything they can do for you?
Open a savings account: The first steps to actually saving is then opening an account that will give you the most benefits – you can find the best options here.
Download apps: There are loads of apps you can download to your smartphone, which can help you budget properly and save a fortune over the next 12 months. You can find a round-up of the best apps to help you save money here.
Plan your meals in advance: By making a list before you go grocery shopping and then sticking to it, you’ll avoid picking up products you don’t really need.
Pay off debts: The interests on your debts is always higher than the interest earned on your savings, so you should consider paying off any debts with your savings to be better off.

In other words, it’s no wonder our wallets are feeling a little flat.

With Blue Monday officially tomorrow, January 18, we explain how to turn your spare change into a cash pot to help ease next year’s January.

How does the penny challenge work?

This challenge focuses on putting away your coppers and loose change so you’ll need a jar or box to keep the funds safe.

Start off by putting in 1p on the first day and increasing it by another penny every day. Like this:

Day 1: Put in £0.01

Day 2: Put in £0.02

Day 3: Put in £0.03

When you reach 100 days, keep doing the same thing but you’ll need to add a £1 coin each day too.

Day 100: Put in £1.00

Day 101: Put in £1.01

Day 102: Put in £1.02

That means that by day 200 you’ll be adding £2 coins as well as your pennies, and by day 300 you’ll be sticking at least £3 in the jar every day.

Now, it might not sound like much, but if you manage to keep it up every day for the next 365 days, you will have tucked away £667.95 in a year.

If you don’t have any spare change, you could of course also do the challenge digitally and transfer the pennies to a separate account each day.

If you pop the cash into a savings account which pays interest, your spare change will go even further.

We’ve rounded up a list of the best paying savings accounts on the market.

If you want to use an app instead, check out these top ones we’ve spotted that are free to use and are available on iPhone and Android devices.

We recently tried six savings challenges that saved us hundreds of pounds – here’s how you could too.

If you’re looking for more saving inspiration, one mum saved £25,000 by committing to a “no buy year” in 2019, only spending money on essential purchases.

Mum who saved £25,000 with a no-buy year reveals the things you SHOULD purchase to save money next year

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk