Forget diets, here’s clever ways to pile on pounds! 

January is as good a time as any to shed bad habits and pick up some healthier ones. Start as you mean to go on, they say.

If you want to become a better saver this year, we’ve outlined some innovative ways to help the pennies and pounds stack up.

Stick to them and you could save between £668 and £1,456 by the end of the year…

Savings habits: We’ve outlined some innovative ways to help you become a better saver this year

365-day challenge

Stash away some money every day. Start small, saving £1 on a Monday, £2 on a Tuesday, £3 on a Wednesday and so on. 

Sunday’s saving is £7 and then you start again with £1 on Monday.

If you had started on January 1, you could have saved £1,456 by the end of the year — but begin today and you could still rack up £1,391.

Alternatively, you could put aside 1p on day one and increase the amount by 1p every day afterwards right the way up to £3.65 on the final day of the year. Stick to this for 12 months to save £667.95.

Save spare change

Every time you pay for something in cash, keep hold of every £1 coin or £5 note you get back.

Some banks offer features that round up payments to the nearest pound and stashes away the difference in a separate savings account. 

So if you spent £2.30 on your debit card on a coffee, 70p would automatically be saved.

Every time you pay for something in cash, keep hold of every £1 coin or £5 note you get back

Every time you pay for something in cash, keep hold of every £1 coin or £5 note you get back

Lloyds customers can set up its Save The Change feature on its app, or call 0345 300 0000. 

If you are with TSB, you can register for its Save The Pennies service online, on the app or in branch. But be warned that you can get better savings rates elsewhere.

Online providers Tandem Bank and Monzo also provide this service.

Smartphone app Moneybox will round up your spending and let you save or invest the difference. 

Its 95-day notice savings account offers a rate of 0.6 per cent. Or its 45-day notice account pays 0.45 per cent. 

Your money is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which gives you automatic protection up to £85,000 if your bank goes out of business.

For investments, you’ll pay an annual 0.45 per cent platform fee as well as a fund management fee, which ranges between 0.12 per cent and 0.3 per cent a year.

Moneybox is free if you just want to save, but costs £1 a month, after the first three months, for investments.

Weather wealth

Every Wednesday, save as much as the temperature in your town. So if you lived in Margate, where it is currently raining and 9c, you’d put aside £9.

If you want to increase your saving, then switch the units to Fahrenheit. This means that even when it is 3c you’ll stash £37.40.

This challenge has been attributed to blogger Trendy Money, who used to live in Arizona, in the U.S., which she says could reach more than 115f in summer months.

No-spend month

Can you go without treating yourself for four weeks? This only refers to non-essential spending, which could include takeaways, clothes, alcohol and decorative homeware. Your mortgage or rent, bills, food shop and insurance payments don’t count.

This challenge could prove tough, especially given the start we’ve had to the year, but setting yourself an end date could make it more bearable.

Budget bingo

Write the numbers 1 to 52 on individual cards and put them in a box. Each week, you pick the amount in pounds that you think you can afford to save and cross it off. By the end of the year you’ll have £1,378.

Money bingo: Write the numbers 1 to 52 on individual cards and put them in a box. Each week you pick the amount in pounds that you can afford to save and cross it off

Money bingo: Write the numbers 1 to 52 on individual cards and put them in a box. Each week you pick the amount in pounds that you can afford to save and cross it off

Another version puts the weekly savings amount in order from £1 to £52. But towards the end of the year, as Christmas approaches, many may find it more difficult to put larger sums aside.

1 per cent challenge

If you find yourself spending as soon as you get paid, work out 1 per cent of your monthly wage and set up a standing order each month to transfer the sum into a savings account.

If you earn £30,000 a year, this would amount to around £20 a month, after tax and National Insurance.

If you can afford more, increase the percentage. Based on the same salary, a 5 per cent contribution would be £100 a month, giving you £1,200 by the end of the year.

Auto-save

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are you too busy, or likely to forget to squirrel away money? You might want to try an auto-saving app.

These connect to your bank, calculate how much you can afford to save and move the money for you.

The cash is put in a virtual savings account, or some apps can invest it for you. The idea is that you save without realising.

Auto-saving app Chip allows users to choose a level — from one to five — depending on how fast they want to save.

You can adjust and review this before the money is taken, or skip a save. You can also choose to put more aside on the day you are paid your salary.

Your first £100 of auto-saves are free, after that you are charged £1.50 every 28 days.

You can use rival Plum for free and earn 0.35 per cent on your savings. If you upgrade to one of its subscription services, which cost from £1 a month, you can earn 0.55 per cent and get access to its investment platform. However, fund fees average at 0.51 per cent.

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