How to Save Money in January: 10 Small Changes for Bigger Savings All Year Long

The new year is the perfect time to reassess your spending habits and pinpoint small ways you can cut back.

With just a few small changes to your lifestyle in January, you can make significant savings that will add up over the course of the year. 

From cutting down on unnecessary costs to shopping smarter, we’ve created a guide on how to start saving money in January, with cost-cutting habits you can carry on throughout the year.

1. Review Your Subscriptions

The first area of spending you should consider is subscriptions. Many people forget about recurring subscriptions, leading to unnecessary expenses. We recommend reviewing your bank statements and direct debits and cancelling subscriptions you don’t use or could do without. 

This may seem like a small thing, but cancelling a rarely used streaming service like Disney+ (£7.99/month) and a gym membership (£40/month) could save you £575 annually. 

You can even use tools like the free Emma Budget App to manage recurring payments and subscriptions with ease. For more tips on how to handle your subscriptions, check out our full guide.

 2. Start Meal Planning

January is a great time to tighten your grocery budget by planning meals and cutting down on food waste. According to WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), reducing food waste by meal planning can save the average household £720 annually.

Each week, make sure you create a shopping list and stick to it. We suggest buying food that can be used in multiple meals. Batch cooking is also especially effective for saving time and money, and it is also great for those of you trying to stay consistent with a healthy diet.

To save even further, when heading to your local supermarket, why not swap out some branded items for supermarket own-labelled products? These are often 30%-50% cheaper, leaving more money for other essentials.

If you fancy trying out meal prepping, our full guide on meal prepping to save money is worth a read.

3. Commit to No-Spend Weekends

No-spend weekends challenge you to avoid non-essential purchases for two days each week. Instead of spending on a weekend outing or night out, why not plan free activities like hiking, visiting a local museum, or having a movie night at home? This is also a great way to avoid drinking if you’re attempting dry January.

Another similar challenge is no-spend January, which is popular on TikTok. This involves not spending on anything other than essentials like groceries and bills, forcing you to cut down on unnecessary costs.

4. Shop Smarter for Utilities

Winter energy bills can take a big chunk out of your budget, but there are ways to cut costs. Lowering your thermostat by just 1°C can reduce energy bills by up to £100 annually, according to Energy Saving Trust. Bleeding your radiators can also ensure better efficiency. 

We also suggest contacting your energy provider to check if you’re on the cheapest tariff. Switching providers could save up to £300 annually so it’s well worth checking. For more tips, take a look at our 15 Tips To Help Keep Your Heating Bills Low guide.

 5. Use Voucher Code Sites

If you still want to check out the January sales, make sure you guarantee the most savings with a voucher code. You’ll find the latest tested and working codes and offers on our website for some of the biggest retailers of fashion, homeware and travel!

Top tip: January sales are a great time to purchase discounted Christmas decorations and gifts for the following year.

6. Declutter and Sell Unused Items

Post-Christmas is the ideal time to declutter and turn your unused items into cash. You can sell clothes, gadgets, or home goods on platforms like Vinted, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace from the comfort of your own home. Selling just 10 items for an average of £10 each could bring in £100 to kickstart your savings. Selling online for extras cash is super easy to set up and great additional source of income! Get started for free and find loads of helpful tips in our handy guide.

7. Start a Savings Challenge

If you’re serious about savings, why not try a savings challenge? The 52-Week Savings Challenge is one of the most popular. This involves you saving £1 in week one, £2 in week two, and so on. Completing the challenge by December will save you a massive £1,378! If that feels too ambitious, you can always try the £1-a-Day Challenge instead to save a total of £365 by the end of the year.

These challenges have been around for a while and the truth is – they never get old! Find a challenge to suit your in our full guide.

8. Save on Travel Costs

Another easy way to save money is to cut down on travel expenses. Instead of driving everywhere, walk and cycle wherever you can. Start with small journeys to the local shop or supermarket and eventually build up to longer walks and even hikes. This is not only a great way to save money but it is an easy way to burn some of those Christmas calories.

You could also carpool with colleagues to and from work to save yourself some money or you could consider swapping to public transport. A bonus to this is that it’s also good for the environment.

Switching from driving to public transport for a 5-mile daily commute could save around £1,000 annually, depending on fuel and parking costs. Meanwhile, if you rely on trains, we suggest investing in a railcard which can save you up to 33% on fares.

9. Make Energy-Efficient Upgrades

Small changes at home can also result in long-term savings. Install LED bulbs, and draft-proof windows and use smart plugs to control your energy usage. According to Energy Saving Trust, replacing all incandescent bulbs with LEDs can save the average household £35 annually.

Turning off appliances at the plug instead of leaving them on standby can also save you £55 annually so we recommend doing this simple thing at night or before you leave for work in the mornings to save yourself some money in the long run.

10. Review Your Insurance Policies

January is also a good time to shop around for better deals on car, home, and life insurance. Switching car insurance providers could save the average driver £280 annually, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). If you want to find the best price on your insurance, use comparison websites like Compare the Market or GoCompare to find cheaper policies.

For 25 ways to save on your Car Insruance, check out the top tips on our blog page.

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Savings Breakdown

With these tips in mind, we’ve put together a savings breakdown that details how making some of these small changes in January could help you save big over the year:

• Cancelling an unused gym membership: £40/month = £480 annually
• Switching your energy tariff: £250 annually
• Decluttering and selling old toys and clothes: £150

Total Savings: £880 by February, with habits in place for even more savings throughout the year.