Make £2026 in 2026

Thorny123

Please could I join too?

Both myself and my husband were made redundant from the same company last year (him Feb & me April) but it was for the best as he was diagnosed with Secondary Breast Cancer in March and I have been struggling with my back for the last 13 years (7 back operations including 3 Spinal fusions). He is 57 and I am 53 so only hubby is able to access his Personal Pension, so I need to make some changes to our spending and savings. We also need to make sure that we have the funds to travel as our daughter moved to Boston, US in 2019, married 2020 and is expecting her first baby July 2nd ....exciting but worrying too!

I am looking at all ways that I could make & save some more money this year (I am quite good but know I can be better) so would appreciate any ideas or would love to hear what works for you.

Thanks

Dizzycap

@ Thorny123 - A very warm welcome to you and it's always so nice to see a new poster  Both you and your husband have certainly been through and are going through some very trying times 

I'll repeat the opening post from I_Love_comps  which is full of fabulous ideas & others I'm sure will also amke fruther contributions

I_Love_comps said:

This challenge is for noting down all money you have made in 2026. 
Ways you can make your £2026 are: Anything made at the end of 2025 needs to go in 2025 pot.



SURVEYS
WINS
EBAY
FB SELLING GROUPS
OVERTIME
SHARE DIVIDEND INTEREST
INTEREST FROM BANK ACCOUNTS
QUIDCO CASHBACK
FREEBIES (VALUE OF)
TOPCASHBACK
MATCHED BETTING
VOUCHERS FROM POINTS EG SHOP LOYALTY CARDS
MONEY MADE FROM ETSY(PROFIT MADE AFTER SELLING FEES)
VINTED (Profit made)


1. I_Love_comps

I know you've got rather a lot on your plate, but have you thought about having a good decluttering / clear out and selling your unwanted items on eBay / Vinted / FB Selling Groups & Etsy for any handmade goods? Whilst it may sound daunting, once you get into the flow it can become somewhat addictive  This year I totally decluttered the whiole house and made £9,780 from my unwanted personal decluttered items. I still have around 150 items left to sell which I'll be adding to this years £2,026 YTD total, if and when sold. Packaging for any sold items is mainly free with boxes of various sizes avaiable from SMs & Mr. Sainsbury's is particularly good because you'll also find bubble wrap at the bottom of the fruit & veggies boxes. Many a time I have rolled out a trolly load of flattened boxes and bubblewrap out of Mr.S's having made no purchase at all. The only thing I've had to buy are rolls of brown packing tape, cheap enough if you buy in bulk 

Cashback sites like TopCashBack & Quidco are also great as you can virtually get cashback on most online purchases of gods & services, and even for opening / switching bank & various savings accounts. The Cashback soon adds up 

There's also a No Spend Day MSE Challenge which I've personally found to be of great benefit as you certainly re-think the way you spend and how much you spend on non-essentials. Plus, it gives you time to shop around more, especially if you have designated spending days when you food shop, essentail shp etc leaving the rest of the week free from spending, if you are able to. Link Here: NSD 2026. Other MSE money saving challenges that might interest you can be found in my sig at the bottom of this post and all with direct links. There are others which can be found by searching the forum.

bigbeff

I would like to join please And I will get interest from regular saver on the 2nd so that will be a start! 

snugglenush

Hello everyone! I'd love to join please.

I'm determined to at least half my debt this year but have the added challenge of me and my husband separating so my outgoings will be going up! 
Hoping this will be welcome motivation. 

Thorny123

Thanks @Dizzycap. 

You've given me some good thoughts to get started. I will go and have a good look around the house for items to declutter. I did start selling a few bits of clothing on Vinted last year but came to a sudden stop. I have a rail of clothes designated to this (before I start searching my jam packed wardrobes) so will definitely start this back up.
I will also adopt the NSD challenge and see how we get on with that.

Cheers T123 

CazzieLT

I_Love_comps said:

Iceland bonus card only gives us savings not making anything. So that won't count @CazzieLT.

Don't they give you a bonus £1 for every £20 you save? I also got a big bonus at Christmas (£15 for saving £100) 😀 

Can you count Premium Bond Prizes? 

CazzieLT

Dizzycap said:

@ CazzieLT - Do you use TopCashback (TCB)? - Cashback for online purchases for almost everything including opening a new bank account & bank switches  There's also Quidco similar to TCB with a sign up bonus at times. I hope you use either or both of these 

Oh wow, I'm getting right on that, thank you so much!

CazzieLT

bigbeff said:

I would like to join please And I will get interest from regular saver on the 2nd so that will be a start! 

I am due interest on two e-savings accounts on New Year's Day - not expecting a ground-breaking amount but it'll be helpful in getting me started

Christa27

Can I join please? No 17 or 27 if available 
I’m full time self employed selling online so I won’t include anything I’ve specifically bought to sell so I will need to be slightly resourceful 

I_Love_comps

Christa27 . I have not allocated numbers yet. So I will give you one of those.