When you think about saving money, what goals come to mind? Perhaps you’re putting money into a Lifetime ISA in the hope of buying your first flat, or maybe you’re saving for a dream holiday to help you rest and take a break from your demanding schedule.

Whatever you’re saving for, it’s important to build up good habits to ensure that you can make the most of your money. Yet, new research by Starling Bank has found that almost a quarter of us have less than £500 in savings, which can lead to issues if we’re faced with unexpected expenses.

While the amount people can save is linked to what they earn and a rising cost of living crisis (half of private renters in the UK struggle to keep up with bill payments and around 7 million households in the UK report going without essentials), another issue could be the psychological barriers and negative associations we have with seeing saving money as a chore, especially when it’s for an emergency fund. Starling found that the average amount people saved for essentials, such as bills and repairs to their homes, was just £183 a month, yet people saving for a holiday say they are able to put an average of £316 a month aside and those saving for a wedding were able to put away an average of £371.

Clinical psychologist Dr Jenna Vyas-Lee puts this down to a phenomenon she calls “saving for a sunny day”. She believes that when people have specific, positive things they want to save for, they put money aside considerably faster, compared to when they have to put money aside for an unexpected event they can’t imagine happening.

To save well and invest in your financial future you need balance, and ideally, that will involve saving towards your personal goals and the practical ones. Dr Vyas-Lee spoke to Stylist to share her three top tips for creating healthy saving habits this year.

“The motivations behind saving behaviours, whether for aspirational goals like holidays or more pragmatic ones like an emergency fund, are deeply tied to emotional regulation, cognitive biases, self-regulation and external influences,” explains Dr Vyas-Lee. “Understanding these, therefore, is key to bettering our savings mentality and habits.”

“Emotional regulation plays a key role in saving behaviours, with positive goals often required to counter impulsive spending habits,” Dr Vyas-Lee adds. “Psychology emphasises teaching individuals strategies for tolerating short-term discomfort in favour of long-term gain techniques. This self-regulation can include actively working toward a goal (eg setting up a savings plan) as it reinforces a sense of agency and control. This will then reduce anxiety and promote mental wellbeing, both of which are key to a better saving mentality.”

Preparation is key here. Know what you’re saving for and plan how you’re going to get there. “The overriding advice to save is to create a clear, emotionally rewarding purpose,” says Dr Vyas-Lee. “By aligning financial habits with personal values, individuals are empowered to take meaningful action that enriches their lives, whether for an inspiring holiday or simply a better sense of balance and control.”

Building a new habit, whether it’s putting more money aside each month or starting a new exercise plan, can be tough – so don’t punish yourself if you slip up. But, sometimes voicing our goals to others can help, as we can hold ourselves accountable and lean on the people around us for help. “Discussing aspirational plans, such as a holiday, with others will create a clear, accountable goal and build momentum,” says Dr Vyas-Lee.

Not comfortable discussing your goals? Dr Vyas-Lee recommends trying “choice architecture”, ie automating savings into a separate account as this “removes barriers to impulsive action”. Whichever way you decide to hold yourself accountable, implementing these systems is “a helpful way to kick off saving and will help to establish long-standing habits,” according to Dr Vyas-Lee.

Images: Getty