We recently had the opportunity to work with a student, Cameron Tomlin, who wanted to get some work experience in a credit union. We asked him how he saves money. Here are his tips (in his own words).
As a junior saver myself, I think it is important to start saving from a young age, even though a house, car and insurance might seem far down the road, it is closer than you think and with the prices of things skyrocketing at the moment now is the best time to start.
I am a seventeen-year-old boy in full-time education so it is hard for me to maintain a job while juggling school and other commitments but that does not mean I cannot save money because there are other ways you can save, and these are just a few ways I save money and anyone from any age can do this too.
I participate in the save a penny challenge which in my option is a very successful strategy to start saving, I am in the prosses of doing this challenge and it is very beneficial. I am also lucky enough to get money from my grandparents, saving that up instead of buying something straight away leaves me room to get a purchase that is worth more and the reward feeling a lot better because I errant it. A quick and easy way I like to save money is by being smart with my lunch money, just because I have money doesn’t mean I have to spend it all. If I get £10 a day for lunch, I buy what I need to fill myself up then I save the rest of the money I didn’t spend and carry it over to the next day so I have more money for lunch. I do the same for the next day and so on and by the end of the week I would have accumulated enough money either for the next week of lunch so I can eat something bigger and more expensive or spend over the weekend.
Yes, it may be easier if you have a job like a few of my friends who have set up junior savings accounts so when they get paid, they put a small sum of their wage into their savings account so when they are ready, they will have enough to survive during university and will have a lot more money at the end of it all.
I also have a friend who saves all her birthday and Christmas money each year because she wants to have enough money for when she finishes uni and can follow her dream of moving abroad which will all adds up nicely for when it is time.
All these ways are smart ways to save money, start now you won’t regret it.
by Cameron Tomlin, student and junior saver at M for Money Credit Union