✅ Saving buckets

Saving buckets have gained popularity in the UK in recent years.

Why? They’re a pretty easy way to save for your money goals, without feeling overwhelmed! Most of us know we need to be paying off our debts, but saving money is something more and more of us are realising we need to do.

✅ Money buckets

Think of all the different parts of your savings plans, eg/ mortgage overpayments, holidays, bills, tax if you’re self employed……each of these things has it’s own ‘bucket’ and each month you put a set amount into each bucket.

Loads of banks offer their equivalent of a ‘bucket’, we use Starling bank and you can set up Spaces, these are simply a digital version of a bucket.

You can have as many Spaces as you like, and send differing amounts of money into them each month, or week.

You can name them so you know which is which, and because when you break your money goals into smaller ones instead of one huge one, the savings add up faster, keeping you motivated to keep saving.

✅ Money bucket system

The money bucket system of saving is one followed by many people. That said, there is no hard and fast rule for what your buckets need to be.

The most common buckets set up by savers tend to be:

• Emergency fund – It’s always a good idea to have an emergency fund. Life throws curve balls and you never know when you’ll need it. It’s recommended that we all have 3/6 months saving behind us
• Holiday fund – Yep, saving for a holiday is a good idea. No one wants to be still paying back for the holiday they’ve already had
• Car fund – Looking to fund a new car? A bucket set up for this will get you there faster
• Tax fund – If you’re self employed, keeping your tax separate in a bucket every time you get paid will ensure you’ve enough to pay the tax man!

✅ Bucket budgeting

Sounds simple & a little obvious, but seriously, get a figure of everything you’ve got coming in, rather than a ball part figure.

You’ve got to do this with real figures not made up ones, and unless you’ve only got one single source of income, do the maths.

Budgeting is the fist step to really getting a handle on your finances, and can change the whole way you look at your money.

Read our full post on how to budget for your family.

✅ Savings account with buckets

If you’re starting bucket saving, you’ll want to have your buckets set up!

While I use and love Starling Bank, they’re not the only ones who offer a way to separate your main account from your savings. Look for a bank that allows you to set up more than one ‘bucket’, and these are not necessarily totally different accounts, just a separate place to store your savings.

Think of them like a sub account.

Some popular saving accounts with buckets are:

• Starling
• Monzo

Both of these banks are online banks, and both have great apps you can download for free. The great thing about these is that you can visually ‘see’ your savings adding up.

It’s incredible how motivating it can be seeing your money grow :)

The bucket savings method is really quite straight forward with the hardest part being the budgeting and working out realistic money goals before you start.

However, once you’ve done this, saving in buckets might prove to be the way you finally achieve your targets.
Let us know how you get on!

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