£1,000.
Sounds like quite a lot when you've got £37 in your bank account.
Especially when you've got things you want to do.
Car insurance.
A holiday.
A new phone.
Festival tickets.
Or maybe you just want to stop checking your bank account before buying lunch.
Fair enough.
But here's the thing.
A big number looks a lot less scary when you break it down.
START WITH THE GOAL.
Let's say you want to save £1,000.
And let's use an example hourly rate of £13.
£1,000 ÷ £13 = ABOUT 77 HOURS OF WORK.
That's the gross earnings you'd need to reach £1,000 before tax, National Insurance and any other deductions.
It's not necessarily £1,000 you'll have available to save.
But it gives you somewhere to start.
BREAK IT DOWN.
Let's say you manage to pick up 16 hours of work a week.
At £13 an hour, that's:
£208 GROSS PER WEEK.
Over five weeks, that would be £1,040 gross.
Not bad.
Obviously, the amount you actually save depends on deductions and what you spend along the way.
And with temporary work, shifts aren't guaranteed.
But you get the idea.
A goal becomes a lot more manageable when you've got a plan.
GIVE YOUR MONEY A JOB.
Here's something worth trying.
When you get paid, move some money straight into savings.
Before you start spending it.
Even if it's only £20 or £30.
Because if you leave everything sitting in your main account, there's a decent chance it'll disappear.
Food.
Petrol.
Random online purchases.
Another takeaway you definitely didn't need.
We've all done it.
DON'T SPEND MONEY YOU HAVEN'T EARNED YET.
This one's important.
Just because you've had a busy week doesn't mean next week will be the same.
Temporary work can change.
So don't commit yourself to spending money based on shifts you haven't actually been offered.
Budget around what you've already earned.
Anything extra is a bonus.
REMEMBER WHY YOU'RE DOING IT.
Saving money isn't always exciting.
Sometimes it's saying no to something now so you can afford something better later.
But when you finally buy that car, book that holiday or hit your savings target?
It feels pretty good knowing you've earned it yourself.
THE BOTTOM LINE.
You don't need to become a finance expert.
Pick a goal.
Work out roughly what it'll take.
Save what you can.
Keep going.
YOUR GOAL. YOUR GRAFT. YOUR MONEY.