I’ve saved £800 in the last six months using the ‘last digit hack’ – it’s so easy it feels like a game

A WOMAN’S clever money hack has helped her squirrel away more than £800 already for Christmas.

Vix Munro, who works as a financial coach, lives in Somerset with her partner.

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The 59-year-old is always coming up with different ways to save, and has spent the last six-and-a-half months trying out the ‘last digit hack.’

She told The Sun: “Lots of people have heard of the ‘1p a day’ or ‘£10 a week’ challenge. But I like the ‘last digit’ method as it’s a little bit different – and makes saving more fun.”

At the same time, it’s still a straightforward way to build a savings habit.

“By tucking money away via this hack, I’ve been able to build up a decent pot of around £800,” said Vix.

“This is money I can put towards Christmas costs and being able to enjoy ourselves next month.”

Also known as the ‘last number standing,’ the idea is simple. This method involves checking your bank balance at the end of each day, and adding the last digit to your savings account.

For example, if your balance is £1,234, you then add either 4p, or 40p – or £4 – to your savings fund.

“For starters, just checking your bank balance on a daily basis is a great habit to get into,” said Vix. “Once I’ve checked mine, I move the relevant amount of money – in pounds – into a different pot.

As I bank with Starling, this is really easy, as I have specific pots already set up.”

Account holders with Starling get access to a feature known as ‘saving spaces.’

This is akin to having virtual change jars where your money is kept separate from your balance.

“As well as having a dedicated ‘space’ for holidays, I also have another ‘space’ which I’ve labelled my ‘Christmas fun pot,’” said Vix.

“This is a jar of money I can’t spend on anything but Christmas. This is a great feature of holding a Starling account. It’s also great that the bank pays 3.25% on balances up to £5,000.”

When saving via the ‘last digit’ method, there will be some days when you don’t need to save anything because your balance ends in zero.

“But there will also be days when you need to tuck away £9,” said Vix.

“The average daily amount is just under £4. This means you typically end up saving around £30 a week – or £120 a month.”

Like so many people across the UK, Vix has been feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

“I’ve certainly noticed higher food and electricity bills, and the fact these are taking bigger chunks out of the household budget,” she said.

“I also knew that Christmas was going to be even more costly this year because of rising prices, so I wanted to plan for that. I’m grateful to have a bit of extra cash to put towards the cost of the festivities.”

Vix will be hosting a few friends on December 25.

“We’ll celebrate the day together,” she said. “But I’ll also get everyone to bring something with them to help spread the cost.”

Vix has been saving using the ‘last digit method’ since May this year.

“Over the weeks and months, the money starts to build up,” she said.

“I love the fact I’ve ended up with more than £800 in savings ahead of December.”

The savvy entrepreneur started her own business, Retire Rich, a few years ago. More recently, she became the co-founder of money-saving website and app, MadAboutMoney.

Vix has a few top tips to get people into the habit of putting money aside.

“There are lots of different methods out there, so you need to find whichever works best for you,” she said.

“Squirrelling money away via the ‘last digit hack’ is very doable, but it also feels a bit like a game. If you can make saving fun, then so much the better.”

The key, adds Vix, is putting money aside regularly.

“Saving a little and often makes big expenses a lot more affordable,” she said.

“One really important thing though, is ensuring you keep your savings separate from your day-to-day spending. If not, there’s a risk you’ll dip into your savings.

“A good way to remove that temptation is by giving ‘every pound a purpose.’

This means giving your ‘pots’ or ‘jars’ a specific name so you know exactly what you’re saving for.”

Other simple saving hacks

1p challenge – this involves you saving 1p on one day, 2p on day two, and so forth until day 365 when you save £3.65.

By the end of the year, you could have made more than £650.  This method is easy to follow.

But take care not to miss a day, as if you get out of the habit, this can soon decrease your overall savings balance.

The 365-day challenge – the idea is that every Sunday, you put aside £1, followed by £2 on Monday and £3 on Wednesday, ending each week with £7 on Saturday.

You then start from £1 on Sunday as the new week begins. This gives you a weekly total of £28,  which tots up to £1,456 by the end of a year.

The envelope challenge – this one requires a bit of work and commitment, but if you stick at it, it will be worth it.

There are different versions of this challenge, but one involves buying 50 envelopes and numbering each from one to 50.

Each week, you pick two random envelopes and put the corresponding amount of cash inside.

Say, for example, you pick out ‘seven’ and ‘fifteen,’ that week you need to save £22. If you stay consistent, after 25 weeks, you’ll end up with £1,275.

With any of these challenges, if you don’t like carrying cash, transfer the amount into a bank account instead.

Check out the saving schemes offered by some of the banks

A handful of banks now offer accounts which come with dedicated features that work in a similar way.

With Starling Bank, there’s a facility which automatically ‘swipes’ a set sum of money into savings – known as ‘saving spaces’ for you. In addition, there’s a ‘round-ups’ feature where you can round up whatever you spend to the nearest pound, and send your spare change to your ‘saving’ space, too.

Apps such as Chase and Monzo also have the option to ‘round up’ your spare change when you spend. This can be an easy way to save without even realising it.

Elsewhere, apps from Chip and Plum use clever technology to work out how much you can afford to save. They then automatically transfer that money from your current account into a separate savings pot.