You may have opened this article thinking that I was going to tell you a great money making scheme that would have you rich at the end of each month. Unfortunately, I’m not going to do that. What I am going to do is to give you a great tip on how to make your money last a bit longer.

If you have a current account, it is likely that you have your wages paid into it each month. Then you use your card to access this money whenever you go shopping or go out on the town in the evenings. With all of that money sitting in your account, you can buy anything you want even if it is a complete impulse purchase. 

My housemates were typically running out of money at the end of the month, so much so that one of them couldn’t afford to get the bus to work without borrowing money from someone. I suggested to them that they get an instant access savings account (such as the ‘eSaver’ offered by Abbey, currently offering 6.40% AER) and use it alongside their current account. 

The first thing to do with your wages is set aside enough money to pay for your bills and food for the month ahead. Try to think of everything you are likely to need to buy to survive for the month, this includes expenses easily overlooked such as bus fares and phone credit. The remaining money is to have fun with.

However, if you keep all of this money in your current account it is, firstly, earning minimal interest and, secondly, very easy to spend without realising. 

If you put this excess cash into an instant access savings account that you can access online, every time you are going to go into town or on a night out you can transfer an amount of money you think you are likely to need (plus maybe enough money for emergencies such as a taxi or for phone credit). This way you don’t go home having spent all of your wages in the first week and sit at a table with a generic look of horror on your face and your head in your hands.

My housemates now have enough money left at the month to transfer into a Mini Cash ISA to save for the long term, for that much needed holiday, emergencies, a deposit on a house or whatever really takes your fancy.

Of course,  those of you who find it hard to juggle money between accounts might be better off having a current account with a high interest rate (such as the one offered by Alliance and Leicester which currently offers 6.50% AER) so that any money you do have in your account earns as much interest as possible.