Get to the tip of the month WITHOUT operating out of cash… and begin residing once more: Four cash consultants reveal the unimaginable unknown tips to free your self of debt, begin saving and make hassle-free further money…

How much money do you spend on yourself? By the time most of us have paid the mortgage, bills, food shops and subscriptions each month, there’s little left for frivolous spending.

Any spare cash is often dutifully funnelled into a savings account. But it can be as important to save for sunny days as well as rainy days to enjoy your hard-earned cash – and life – to the fullest. Experts suggest that treating yourself occasionally may even help you to budget over the long term.

Eight in 10 people are considering spending less in 2026 to manage their budget and reach their financial goals.

But Brian Byrnes, head of personal finance at app Moneybox, says: ‘Budgets often fail because they ignore something important – we all need to enjoy our money sometimes.’

Money Mail, with the help of four experts, reveals how to get to the end of the month without running out of money and build a guilt-free savings pot so you can splurge safely too.

Think of spending like a balanced diet

If you restrict yourself with a punishing diet, you are more likely to fall off the wagon and binge at the end of the month.

The same principle applies when it comes to spending money – scrimp and save all the time and you might find that you blow all your savings at the end of month as you try to reward yourself.

‘Money is emotional, it’s a bit like food in that regard,’ explains James Anderson of personal finance website Be Clever With Your Cash.

‘That is why finding a way to be sustainable when it comes to saving and spending is really important.’

Your guilt-free spending needn’t be big or extravagant. Small treats that bring you joy can make you feel like you are starting to live again if you have been underwater with your household bills.

Lynn Beattie, a finance blogger who runs Instagram page @mrsmummypennyuk, says: ‘My mental health suffers if I don’t get my nails done. Spending £35 a month on getting my nails done each month gives me a new lease of life. But it could even be £1 on a bunch of daffodils in the shops that gives you a lift when money is tight.’

Easy ways to save

Using a tactic called reverse budgeting can give you oversight on areas of your budget where you are haemorrhaging money unnecessarily.

Reverse budgeting means reviewing what you actually spent last month rather than guessing what you’ll spend next month. This includes subscriptions, takeaways, small daily spends and forgotten direct debits.

Byrnes says: ‘It’s worth looking backwards before making any dramatic changes to your saving and spending split. Reviewing subscriptions and regular payments often uncovers wasted spending.’

James Andrews suggests trying a round-up savings account and a regular saver account to easily build up a pot at the end of the month.

A round-up account is a feature which many banks now offer, including NatWest, Lloyds, Nationwide, Starling, Monzo and Chase. When you turn it on in your mobile banking, it will round up anything you spend on your debit card to the nearest pound and send the spare change to a savings account held with your bank.

A regular savings account allows you to save small amounts every month and earn a high interest rate for a fixed period, usually 12 months.

For example, First Direct’s regular saver pays 7 per cent interest to those who save between £25 and £300 a month. The interest is calculated daily and paid after 12 months.

Mr Andrews suggests you could designate this money for spending on nice-to-haves at the end of the 12 months, like a holiday or a nice meal, instead of putting the extra income towards your pension or in an emergency savings pot.

If you put the minimum £25 a month into First Direct’s regular saver account for 12 months, you would have £311.38.

But the maximum £300 a month, if you can spare it, would be £3,736.50 – although you may want to keep some of that in savings.

Lynn Beattie suggests trying out apps Plum and Chip which, if you give them permission, link to your current account to analyse your income, bills and spending. They will then drop small amounts it calculates you can afford based on your habits little and often into a savings account.

Saving in this manner means you don’t have to take the money from your current account or even see it coming out so you avoid the guilt of feeling you are spending on frivolous things.

If you have debt

Paying off debts while keeping up with your household bills can make it hard to keep your head above water, let alone having anything left over at the end of the month.

But there are ways you can tackle it.

Mr Andrews says: ‘Acknowledge the debt and be realistic about your situation. You don’t have to get out of it all at once nor do you have to punish yourself.’

One of the best ways to get some breathing space whilst attacking your debt is to use zero per cent balance transfer cards.

These allow you to shift your existing credit balance to a new card and pay off debt quicker without accumulating interest – as providers typically have an initial interest-free period for a number of months.

Balance transfer cards can be a crucial tool to buy you more time, but it’s vital that you are disciplined and pay off as much as you can afford each month without being tempted to spend more on the card.

The longest 0pc deals are currently 35 months. You should aim to pay off your balance before the 0pc promotional window ends to get the full advantage of a balance transfer card.

Providers tend to charge a fee to switch cards and customers are rolled on to a high interest rate after the 0pc period.

If used correctly, you can make substantial savings with these cards and turbocharge your plan to pay off debt.

For example, if you are £3,000 in debt on a card charging the standard 24.9pc APR, you would be incurring £62.25 in interest each month – and that’s before you’ve cleared any of the debt.

If you moved this £3,000 debt to HSBC’s Balance Transfer Card, the one-off transfer fee would cost you £95.70 (3.19pc), leaving you with a total of £3,095.70 to pay off over 35 months – that’s £88.45 per month.

The good news is that you no longer have that £62.25 in added interest to pay on top of the initial debt each month.

If you think you can pay it off quicker than this, there are shorter 0pc balance transfer terms available with no transfer fee.

For example, Barclaycard offers 14 months at 0pc and no fee – to clear a £3,000 balance over this period you would need to pay £214.28 a month.

If you still have nothing left

If you have cut back on all areas of your budget and still feel like you’ve nothing left, there are some simple ways you can boost your bank balance to feel better off at the end of the month.

For example, renting a room to a lodger could net you an extra £700 a month. The average London room can be let for £985 a month while the average outside of the capital is £670. The Government allows you to earn up to £7,500 a year tax-free via its Rent a Room Scheme.

If you have a spare room or shed you are not using, you could rent out storage for £1,386 a year depending on the area you live in, according to storage company Stashbee. A garage could fetch between £1,200 and £3,600 a year in standard locations, or up to £11,000 a year in high-demand areas. Spaces with security features, such as CCTV or gated, access could fetch more.

Letting out your driveway to those desperately seeking parking for football matches and concerts could make you up to £1,800 a year in spare cash.

The amount of money you can make depends on your location. Parking spots near concert venues, football stadiums, airports and train stations are the most coveted.

Stashbee, which also offers parking space hire, says users can earn between £720 and £1,800 a year, increasing to £1,800 and £3,000 for spots near stations or city centres.

What techniques have you used to get out of debt? Let us know at [email protected]