I’m saving £6.5k with ‘effortless’ savings challenges & rainy day rules – I didn’t even notice money leaving my account
A SAVVY saver has revealed how he is on track to save a whopping £6,500 this year.
Paul Twyman, 44, lives in Suffolk with his partner and children.
The dad-of-three began using budgeting app Plum around five years ago as a way of putting some extra money aside.
Plum is an app that works out how much you can afford to save and then sets it aside for you.
There's no fee or penalty for withdrawing your money and savings stashed with Plum are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000.
You can earn up to 2.7% AER in Plum's easy access interest account - but you could find better interest rates elsewhere.
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He wanted something that was simple to use and not too much bother.
Now, Paul has successfully completed several savings challenges and regularly uses specific "rules" to put cash away.
These are all completed automatically using the Plum app, so he doesn't even have to lift a finger.
He told The Sun: "I like it because it’s so small you don't notice the money going out but you do notice it building up in your savings."
Paul, who works in tech for the NHS, has opted into a total of eight various features on the banking app.
To do this he has to pay for a subscription, which is currently £9.99 a month.
He's signed up for the premium plan, but there are various plans which all come with different monthly costs - as well as the free option.
What Plum plans are available?
THERE are four different options when you sign up for Plum, each unlocks various benefits and has a different price.
Plum Basic (free) allows you to save automatically using the AI algorithm, with unlimited withdrawals and deposits.
You can use some smart saving rules such as Round Ups and Pay Days, and money can earn interest of 3.51% AER.
You can also invest in "Plum Interest" (a money market fund offering a variable rate of 5.12% VAR) or invest with 1,200 US stocks.
Plum Pro (£2.99 a month) allows you to do all the above, plus invest in 17 diversified mutual funds via a Stocks & Shares ISA or GIA.
You can also access the 52-Week Challenge and Rainy Days rule and earn interest at 3.72% AER.
Plum Ultra (£4.99 a month) allows you to do all the above, plus a Plum debit card which can be loaded with cash for spending, more saving rules like the 1p challenge and Naughty Rule and a smart Spend Tracker to keep up with your spending habits.
Plum Premium (£9.99 a month) allows you to do all the above, plus gets the best interest rate (4.21% AER), discounts on investment in 'Plum Interest', access to 26 funds and 3,000 US stocks plus further smart investment features.
Despite the cost, Paul says it's worth it due to the money he has made back.
He is set to complete two saving challenges over the year which alone amount to over £2,000 in savings - he is currently mid-way through.
Along with the other "rules" he uses on the app he is on track to save a total of £6,513.95 in a year. In January alone he saved £526.10.
Paul said: "It really is effortless, it's very much instant gratification because you can check back in and realise you've actually put away loads without even trying.
"The savings rules are fun to have and certainly mount up together to mean a decent amount saved every week with little impact on my current account."
Belowe we reveal each of the saving rules Paul uses and how much he's saved from each.
Of course, it's worth bearing in mind that you could complete some of these yourself, such as the 1p challenge or saving cash each day it rains, but Plum's app does it all for you.
Other apps are also available which do similar things such as Emma, and some banks also have some of the same features - we reveal more below.
Automated savings
Paul's go-to feature on the banking app is the Automatic savings function.
These are algorithm-driven savings which set aside money based on what you can afford.
Each of the six Plum "moods" act as a multiplier, which is calculated to set more or less aside compared to the standard amount.
Paul has his set to "Beast Mode" which is the maximum amount of savings possible.
It means the app applies a calculation of 1.75 to the baseline, which equates to 75% more money stashed away, every time Plum calculates an automated deposit for him.
His is set to once a week but you can change it depending on your situation.
Weekly depositor - £960
The Weekly Depositor feature lets you arrange a balance transfer for a set amount each week.
It's customisable, so you can specify exactly how much you want to contribute.
There are suggested defaults for deposits of £1, £2, £5, £10 or £20.
Alternatively, you can specify another amount of your choosing, if you prefer.
Paul has his set to automatically transfer £20 over each week, so in January he saved £80.
Over the course of the year, this will amount to £960.
You can pause it at any time though and put as little or as much as you want based on your income.
McDonald's rule - £78
Another handy feature Paul has set up on the app is the "Naugthy Rule".
Essentially this means every time you use your bank account to pay for something "naughty" Plum will automatically take a set amount of cash from your account and add it to your savings.
Paul has his set up so that each time he gets a Maccies, it will set aside £1.
You could do it for anything though, such as each time you bought a pint at your local pub or went clothes shopping.
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Round-ups
The round-up rule allows Plum to round up money Paul has spent and put that extra cash away into savings.
For example, if he bought something that cost £19.30, then Plum will round up to £20 and put 70p in savings.
It might not sound like much but if you're doing this with every transaction then it adds up.
Pay Days - £1,200
Every payday, Paul's Plum account will move over cash to his savings account.
This means that before he's had a chance to spend it or to change his mind, he's already put money in his bank.
The rule is completely customisable, so it doesn’t matter if you get paid weekly or monthly.
Plus you can choose how much you put away as well.
Paul has opted to put aside £100 every time he gets paid which means that over a year he'll save £1,200 just using this rule.
Rainy Days - £2,230
Rainy Days is perhaps one of the most practical rules for those living in England.
It's also one of Paul's favourites as it will add a chunk of change to his savings for every day it rains where he lives.
The app links to a weather API (Application Programming Interface) and sets aside money automatically every day when it rains.
It's worth bearing in mind though that the service relies on weather forecasts and not the actual weather, so it might not be 100% accurate though.
Plus, it calculates according to the rainy days from the previous week, not the current one.
For Paul, he puts away £10 every time it rains, which in January amounts to £220.
Of course, he can't predict the weather so can estimate how much this will amount to over the year, he did work out that from February 2023 to January 2024 he pocketed a whopping £2,230.
You can choose and edit the amount you want to save for every day that the weather forecast predicts rain.
And you can turn it off when you want - so if there's a month of bad weather and you can't afford to keep depositing cash so often, you can pause it.
52 Week Challenge
The 52-week challenge works by getting participants to put aside £1 for the first week, £2 for the second, £3 for the third and so forth, until the end of the year.
Paul is part way through his current challenge, with £106 saved by January, and is on track to pocket a huge £1,378 once completed.
The challenge is a common one among the savvy savers community but it does usually require a bit of leg work.
If you don't use an app, as Paul does, then you have to put the amount into your savings yourself every week.
Plum allows you to do this automatically, and also does the maths for you too.
Again, if you feel that you can't afford to put the cash away each week then you can pause it at any time.
And, you can check out a the calendar in the app that shows you how much money you'll save each week in detail if you want to plan ahead.
1p Challenge
The 1p challenge is another one that Paul has embarked on over the past few months.
It works in a similar way to the 52-week challenge.
You start by saving 1p, then increase the amount you save by 1p each day.
So as day one is 1p, day two means you stash away 2p, and the next day it's 3p and so on.
By day number 365, you'd be adding £3.65 to the account.
If you started on January 1, 2024, and kept it up, you'd have saved a grand total of £667.95 by December 31, 2024.
In Paul's case, he's saved £16.10 so far and is part way through.
By the end of the year he'll have £667.95 tucked away just from this challenge alone.
What other money saving apps are there?
There are lots of other money apps that can help you to budget and save.
Most apps are free, but some may give you the option to upgrade your subscription.
Apps are a great way to start saving - but it's important to make sure you don't get sucked into paying for an app that isn't helpful to you.
It’s definitely worth trying the free app first, and checking whether you can do what you need to without a cost, before being sucked into a monthly subscription.
Below, are several money saving apps that work in a similar way to Plum.
Snoop
You can connect Snoop to your bank account and credit cards.
It gives you a personal robot to help you budget better and you'll be notified about where you can make potential savings, such as by switching a utility provider.
You can also set up alerts so you don't overspend.
Snoop can be downloaded for free onto your smartphone via the Apple or Google Play store.
Monzo
The online bank's app gives a clear summary of your spending in different categories and rounds up outgoings to the nearest pound to set aside savings.
You can set up spending targets in categories, and a bill tracker flags if your direct debits are higher or lower than usual.
It can be downloaded it from your phone's app store for free.
Emma
Emma is another free app that can be downloaded from either the Apple or Google Play store.
You can see all your accounts in one place and track spending in dozens of different categories.
You can set your own budgets, work out how you can save and receive regular bill and spending updates.
It's a good way to get a snapshot of your overall finances and how to manage these best.
Money Dashboard
Money Dashboard is a free app for your phone that gives you spending categories to make budgeting simpler.
They can be seen on your personal dashboard and include things like essential bills and food.
You can set budgets and see what's left each month.
The app will also let you know if you're spending more than you can afford.
Banking apps
It’s well worth checking the budgeting options in your banking app.
Bank apps can alert you to your spending, and they might round it up each day, which helps you keep a closer eye on your spending as you go along.
Some of them will divide your spending into categories, so you can see far more clearly where your money is going, and where you need to cut back.
The free Natwest app, for example, has a spending and budget tracker that categories your spending and lets you set a budget to help you keep track of your outgoings.
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If you bank with Barclays, you can download the free app to get spending alters to help to you stay on top of your balance.
You can also add spending limits and add a cap on how much you can spend using contactless.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.