UK Savings Week 2026

Save your way today. Thank yourself tomorrow.

Whether you’re building a rainy-day fund, planning a special trip, or preparing for life’s surprises, saving your way today will give future you something to be grateful for.

UK Savings Week is all about getting people to think about their savings. Driven by the Building Societies Association, Savings Week is for all types of savers – from those who are already savers, those just starting, or those who are unable to save right now but would like to in the future.

In 2026, Savings Week will be taking place from the 21^st September to the 27^th. In this edition of Mutual, we’ll be giving you a taster of what you can expect from us during UK Savings Week this year.

Steps to positive savings attitudes

Whether it’s taking the first small steps or looking to build towards a savings goal, we’re all about getting you thinking about savings and encouraging better saving habits.

Raising awareness

Our aim is to raise awareness of the benefits of saving and help everyone save if they can – no matter who you are, your circumstances, or how big your ambitions are.

Financial resilience

There are around 14 million people in the UK who have less than £100 of savings to fall back on in an emergency. We want to help you have the security of knowing you can deal with the unexpected.

And if you already have a pot of savings, we want to support you in building it up so you can realise your dreams sooner.

Starting to think about your savings

Are you feeling overwhelmed about your savings? Not sure where to start? The first step to finding success in your savings is understanding where your finances stand currently. Here are a few ways to take control…

• Look at your money – Take a full inventory of your finances and understand what money you have coming in, and how much you’re spending. Try to get an estimate of how much you need to live in a week or month. Knowing this will give you an idea of where you’re able to save.
• Need vs want – Look at your spending habits and categorise them into ‘needs’ and ‘wants’. Think about what items are must-have essentials for living, and what are little luxuries that you could realistically go without. Once you cut out the habitual spending of unnecessary items, you’ll be surprised by how much you’re already saving.
• Stay Calm – We understand that thinking about money can be stressful, but try not to feel anxious – this is you taking control of your finances, so you’re in the driver’s seat. If you’re really worried about money, visit the support section of the UK Savings Week website.

Set your money goals

Having targets to aim for means you’re more likely to achieve what you want to do.

• Be realistic – If your targets are specific, you’ll be more likely to achieve them. Setting a goal like ‘save £2,000 for my holiday at the end of the year’ is more actionable to achieve than a vague ‘save more this year.’
• Stay focused – Put a visual reminder somewhere of what you’re working towards. Whether it’s your dream holiday as your screensaver, or a new car on your fridge, a small reminder to keep you motivated can make all the difference. Track your progress, and feel proud about reaching milestones.
• Be consistent – Savings don’t have to be large deposits that happen all at once. If you can make your savings a regular occurrence, it’ll become a habit that will be easier to maintain.
• Stay balanced – If you start saving with an all-or-nothing attitude, you’ll struggle to maintain the momentum. Everyone deserves a treat now and again, so don’t deny yourself all the time. You need to find your own balance that allows you to make progress in saving without having to sacrifice all your luxury spending.

Get in control

Identify what temptations you might come across, and plan on how you’ll deal with them.

• Temptations – If you know there’s a place where you can be tempted to spend too much money, like a particular shop or restaurant, try to avoid going there too much if possible.
• If… then – Commit to having an ‘If…then’ conversation with yourself to think through spending decisions.  For example, ‘If I see a top I really want on a shopping app, then I’ll picture three similar items of clothing I already own and weigh up if I really need it.’
• Structure your spending – Look at ways to help you budget; there are lots of apps out there to help, and using pre-paid cards or savings pots to split up your money could help you structure your spending.
• Cut some slack – We know things happen or temptation gets the better of us from time to time.  Don’t beat yourself up if this happens – just remind yourself of your goal and get back to saving next time.
• Small rewards – While working towards the bigger picture, it’s important to acknowledge the small victories and milestones as well. This could just be a moment to reflect on your achievement, or a sweet treat to say ‘Well done!’.

Here are some more top tips for getting started in saving:

• It’s always advised to pay off any debts that you have before you start to save.
• If your income fluctuates, make sure to take this into account when planning your savings- they should account for scenarios where your income is lower than expected for a month, as well as for emergencies.
• Figure out if you prefer setting aside money and then spending, or spending what’s necessary and then putting away your savings. Either way works – just figure out what’s best for you.
• Keep your savings goals flexible with your life circumstances. If a situation arises and you need to change what you’re saving for, don’t stress – this is what savings are for.
• Have a look at selling items that you no longer want, either through online platforms or in person at car boot sales. A little bit of extra money can go a long way in your savings.
• When buying something, make sure to shop around and keep your eye out for deals, whether that be on clothes, food or even subscriptions. Make sure to take advantage of vouchers and coupons as well.
• Having the right savings account is one of the best ways to make the most out of your savings. Once your accounts are tailored to your needs, that’s when your savings start to grow.

Below we’ve laid out some of the main savings accounts you can get, and what they’re best suited for:

• Easy access accounts

Also known as instant access accounts, these allow you to take your money out at any time. You usually only need a small amount of money to open one (some start with just £1), and you have access to your savings whenever you need it, so they’re a great place to keep your emergency funds. Typically you receive low interest rates with easy access accounts.

• Notice accounts

You usually need to give the account provider advance notice before you can take your money out. This can range from around 30 to 120 days. Notice accounts tend to have higher interest rates than easy access accounts. However, withdrawing money before the notice period could lose you interest and you might also need to deposit a higher amount to open a notice savings account.

• Regular savings

You usually have to commit to depositing into a regular savings account every month for an agreed period of time. The upside is you could receive higher interest rates. To receive the higher interest rate, you must deposit regularly or face losing it. You might also be limited to the number of times you can withdraw money from these accounts.

• Fixed rate accounts

These accounts are also called fixed rate bonds, and you need to deposit a single lump sum for a set period of time, which could be anything from one year to five years, or even longer. Usually a guaranteed fixed interest rate is applied so you know exactly how much interest you’ll earn over the term. You’ll be unable to make withdrawals until the fixed term is up. However, if you do decide to withdraw, you will lose some of the interest and may have other penalties to pay.

• Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)

These work exactly the same as other savings accounts, except that ISAs allow you to save without tax being deducted. There are different types of ISAs, including easy access ISAs, fixed rate ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs. Your savings are tax-free, and you can make regular payments or one-off lump sum deposits which don’t affect the interest rate you’re paid. There’s a limit to the amount you can save in each tax year, which is currently £20,000 per person.

• Lifetime ISA

The Lifetime ISA could really help you save for your first home, as you get a Government bonus of 25% of the amount saved when you use it for house purchase. You can also save for later in life, as you can withdraw your money together with the 25% bonus once you are aged 60. However, if you withdraw your money from a LISA for any other reason you don’t get the Government bonus, and you will have to pay a penalty. There is a £4,000 a year limit to how much you can save in a Lifetime ISA, and you must be aged under 40 to open an account.

Where can you get support?

MoneyHelper: Free and impartial money and pension guidance here.

National Debt Line: Giving you free independent debt advice here.

Step Change: Expert debt advice and fee-free debt management here.

Citizens Advice: Assisting people with legal, debt, consumer, housing and more here.

Take Five: Impartial advice that helps prevent email, phone-based and online fraud here.

Helping people to save is core to building societies and credit unions, that is why the Building Societies Association (BSA) is proud to be the driving force behind UK Savings Week. But UK Savings Week is broader still, as developing the financial resilience and confidence of people across the UK benefits everybody. The Building Societies Association, the trade body of UK building societies and seven large credit unions, launched UK Savings Week in 2022.

Content courtesy of the BSA and uksavingsweek.co.uk

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Take a look at the full Issue 8 of Mutual here.