Having savings can be a godsend when we need it most in adult life. Whether it’s an unexpected bill, a washing machine on the blink, or covering yourself for Christmas, a rainy-day fund can dig you out of tricky situations and take you one step further to achieving your goals.
Alina’s financial journey with us at South Manchester Credit Union displays the value of saving. Kickstarting a good savings habit allowed Alina to begin paying forward and focus on creating a good future for herself and her family.
Joining to borrow
The year is 2012, Alina is 26 years old and she is the mother to her newborn son – exciting times! It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though. As many of us know, money gets tighter when children arrive on the scene.
Being on maternity leave meant money was low and, to put it frankly, Alina was a bit skint (we’ve all been there Alina!). She had been looking to put a deposit down on a holiday but hadn’t found a high-street lender that suited her needs.
Off the back of a recommendation from a friend, Alina joined South Manchester Credit Union and began repaying her loan through her child benefit – Alina stated low interest rates and quick decision times encouraged her to join.
Building Savings Brick by Brick
Alina was now borrowing safely and affordably from her local credit union. Part of our offering here at South Manchester Credit Union is that we encourage all of our members to save – yes, everyone.
The way this works is such that, if you borrow with us, a part of your loan repayment will be deposited into your savings. You’re essentially building your savings without even trying – what’s not to love? As Alina borrowed once or twice a year, she would also be saving regularly just by repaying her loan – simple, right?
On top of building her savings in her credit union account, Alina also saved with Park Christmas Savings , previously her main way of saving. Alina also liked to inject some fun into saving, often setting herself savings challenges and goals to aim for.
Alina’s saving habit grew to a point where she no longer found herself needing to borrow at key points in the year, such as Christmas, as she had money put aside. Alina now hasn’t borrowed with us since 2020 – way to go Alina!
Getting Savvy with saving
Finding different ways of saving for Alina meant she could stay active in saving money and build up her different savings pots, sometimes without even realising how much she was building up for herself and her family. Some of her saving channels over recent years have included:
- Continuing to save with Park Christmas Savings, although reducing her contributions as they only pay out in vouchers and discounts
- Setting herself a goal last year of saving £40 a week – she ended the year on nearly £2,000
- Her partner’s bank rewarding them with £5 a week for having multiple direct debits set up. They promised to let this build up, and saved over £300 by doing absolutely nothing
- Once finishing her loan repayments with us, continuing to pay into us here so what would’ve been loan repayments now went straight to her savings
- Saving into her Christmas Club with us because she knows her savings are locked away from temptation until November
Having streams of saving means Alina is securing her financial future a little bit at a time and has peace of mind that her money is stacking up for the future.
Alina’s saving with us is deducted from her child benefit, where all of her monthly child benefit is paid straight into a secure savings account with us. Her child benefit used to pay her loan balances down, but now it is helping Alina to strengthen her financial confidence. We asked her why she chose to continue paying her child benefit to us once her final loan was fully repaid:
“1. My money is safe with the credit union. 2. If that money is paid into my bank, I’ll just spend it!”
I’m sure a lot of us can relate to that!
Reaping the Rewards of Saving
Alina is still a member with us at South Manchester Credit Union. Now a 39-year-old mother to her kids and a full-time carer for her son, saving has only become more important for her and her family’s well-being. She has also become more money-savvy, making sure to shop around and buy in the sale where possible.
Her child benefit continues to be paid directly into her credit union savings account. In fact, Alina recently withdrew £3,000 from her savings here to take her family a big, well-deserved holiday – talk about the rewards of saving! I think it’s fair to say that Alina never saw herself building this level of savings.
Alina’s top saving advice I hear you say?
“Anything is better than nothing. You add a pound a week up for 52 weeks – that’s £52. Then if you want to go out for a meal or something, well, you’ve got 50 quid there just by saving a pound that’s not affected your life”.
Kickstart Your Savings Habit with us
Taking that first step towards building your savings can be a tricky hurdle. Once you’ve started, you won’t want to stop, as you’ll start to see the rewards that saving can offer.
Whether it’s £5, £10, or £50, a regular savings habit can unlock your goals and massively benefit your life – regular savers are more than twice as likely to be satisfied with their financial situation.
If you’re looking to take that first step, why not take it with us? Start saving with South Manchester Credit Union today and empower your financial future.
