A HARD-UP mum has been able to beat the cost of living squeeze this Christmas – and she says it's all thanks to her "hero" Martin Lewis.
Karen Stocker, 45, from Plumstead, London, has been following a savings plan with her spare change throughout the year – known as the 1p Savings Challenge.
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Money-saving challenges are budgeting activities where someone can set a financial goal in a creative way, rather than having to add a certain amount to a savings bank account each month.
They usually involve stashing away a bit of money each day, week or month until you've got enough to put towards a holiday, special occasion or birthday present.
The 1p money saving initiative, made popular by the money saving expert Martin Lewis, starts with saving 1p on January 1, then 2p on January 2, then 3p on January 3 and so on, with the last day of the year totalling £3.65.
If you started on January 1, 2021, then by December 31, 2021 you'll have saved a grand total of £667.95.
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Popping her spare change into a tin in her kitchen, Karen ended the challenge a few weeks early, saving a grand total of £582.70 – and now plans to have a comfortable Christmas with her husband Peter, 45, and their daughter, Taylor, 6.
"Thanks to Martin, I have peace of mind this Christmas," Karen told NeedToKnow.online.
"With everything going up, it's nice to know I can afford presents or to pay towards a bill.
"I saw him speaking about it on ITV earlier this year and was determined to do it.
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"I would try and do it daily as best I can but if I missed a day I would just make it up.
"I made sure to buy one of those tins you can't get into until you use a can opener. That way I had no temptation to break into it.
"It was fun opening it up last month and counting it all up.
"If I hadn't saved something, I would have had to give [something up].
"It would be either cutting down [on costs] or presents, or not having all the food at Christmas.
"I'm definitely going to be doing this again next year.
"In the current climate, it's a great help.
"We're actually hosting this year so will be having all the family up for Christmas dinner. All being well, they'll be about 12 of us.
"So it will cover the cost of the Christmas food shop, drink and some presents. It will just ease the burden so much and thanks to Martin I won't be worrying where to find the money from.
"In my eyes he's made it for us.
"I'm really looking forward to affording some treats - a nice big cheeseboard for my husband along with some vodka and wine! Oh, and a nice big turkey.
"Over the past few years, everyone has found it tricky to celebrate with family, so I'm really hoping this Christmas will be a bit more magical."
Overjoyed, Karen posted the hack on Facebook – with the post already clocking up over 2,200 likes.
"So I did the Martin Lewis 1p challenge this year and have just opened my pot," she wrote.
"I opened it early as wanted it for Christmas & had paid in ahead some weeks (I missed the last few weeks) but I worked out in advance what each weekly total is and some weeks put a bit more in.
"If you save for the 365 days you will save £667.95. In my pot with a few weeks missing I have saved £582.70.
"I am going to start another pot from tomorrow & then pay for the full 365 days next year thanks Martin Lewis you don’t miss it doing it in small amounts & you can always save it in different orders just tick off on the chart. Recommend doing x." [sic]
Facebook users have come out in droves to praise for the super saver.
One person said: "What a good ideas ! I’m going to start one. Thank u for sharing x." [sic]
Another social media user added: "Well done I am rubbish with money, I actually never knew about this challenge, I'm going to find a jar right now and pop in a penny or 2." [sic]
"Thank you for sharing as I'd missed this and will definitely give it a go," added a third person.
A fourth Facebook user joked: "That sounds like a diet that doesn't stay the distance."
Someone else commented: "I've done this before… sometimes I would pay it backwards… so towards Christmas I'd be paying less… x." [sic]
What other saving challenges are there?
It's not just the 1p savings challenge that could save you hundreds a year.
You could try the 52 week challenge which works like the 1p savings challenge but you put aside £1 in the first week of January, then £2 in the second week, then £3 in the third week, and so on instead.
If you make it to the end of the year you'll end up with £1,378.
Plus, there's the 100 envelope challenge which could earn you £5,000 in just 100 days.
You need 100 envelopes marked 1 to 100 which you place into a box.
You then pick out one a day for 100 days and add in the amount related to the number.
For example, if you pull out a number 57 envelope, you need to put £57 in. If you pull out a 98, £98 and so on.
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By the end of the 100 days you'll end up with £5,000.
Or, you could try cash stuffing - allotting money to envelopes for different things such as holidays, eating out and clothes shopping.
