100 Days Until the Next Tax Year: What Should You Do?
If you want to start 2025 with more savings, you wouldn't be alone. A recent survey explains 48% of people asked want to save more money in the New Year.
As we get closer to 2025, with just over 100 days left until the new tax year, why not take this opportunity to maximise your ISA allowance and get saving?
Here is a helpful checklist to make the most of the last few months of the tax year.
1) Maximise your 2024-2025 ISA Allowance
Remember you have until 5 April 2025 to use up your £20,000 annual ISA allowance. Unfortunately, you cannot roll over your contributions. This means you will lose any unused allowance. So why not get going in the first few months of the year and get saving?
2) Consider a Flexible ‘Stocks and Shares’ ISA
Why not use some of your £20,000 annual ISA allowance on a Flexible ‘Stocks and Shares’ ISA. Whilst a Cash ISA can offer competitive interest rates, a Flexible 'Stocks and Shares’ ISA* could provide better** long-term growth by investing in the stock market.
Get the best of both worlds and split your allowance between the two, find out more about your contribution limits and how you could divide your tax-free savings allowance. You can find out more about the types of ISA Unity Mutual offers here.
**Your capital is at risk, and returns cannot be guaranteed.
3) Open a Lifetime ISA
If you’re aged 18-39 and looking to buy your first home, don’t miss out on maxing out your £4,000 annual allowance for a Lifetime ISA*. The huge benefit for this type of ISA is that you’ll receive a 25% government bonus (up to £1,000 per year). You can still apply for a Lifetime ISA if you already have a home, but looking to save for later in life.
With a 100 days left to go, how much can you save before the end of the tax year? Read on…
4) Don’t Forget the Kids with a Junior ISA
As the end of the tax year approaches, it's worth considering opening or contributing to a Junior ISA for your child. Junior ISAs offer a tax-efficient way to save for your child's future, with no tax on interest, or capital gains. Each tax year, you can contribute up to the annual limit (currently £9,000), which resets when the new tax year begins. Making the most of this allowance and start building a fund for your child’s education, first home, or other milestones.
It’s not just about finding the right savings products for you, but it’s about finding new savings habits in 2025.
5) Reconsider Spending Habits and Choose Saving Instead
In our article on unhealthy spending habits, we laid out some advice for those who need a helping hand when it comes to putting more money aside and maximising savings opportunities. One of them was this: avoid wasting money on seemingly cheap items.
The easiest way to cut back on overspending in this capacity is to keep a diary of what you’re forking out – and when.
6) Try the ‘52-week Savings Challenge’
Fancy getting stuck into a money-saving challenge? Why not start before the new tax year?
Take on this challenge and begin by saving a pound in the first week of the year. On the second week, you save £2, and £3 on the third week – and so on. By the end of the calendar year, you’ll have well over £1,000, providing you start the challenge on 1 January.
Find out more in this article we put together on money-saving challenges; a lot of the ideas will work well for you in 2025 and beyond, too.
7) Give the ‘Spare Change Challenge’ a Go
Like the idea of a money-saving challenge like the 52-week savings one? If so, you’re bound to love the ‘Spare Change Challenge’, also featured in the article, linked above.
The clue really is in the name, too. If you prefer cash, every time you have some loose coins in your pocket (or left over from a recent purchase), chuck them in a big tin or money box.
At the end of the year, give yourself the laborious but exciting task of totting up what you’ve got in your pot – you may well be surprised how much you’ve put aside.
If that sounds like a bit too much effort – and you rarely use cash – take the legwork out of saving money during the new tax year by downloading one of a few apps that’ll help you save any spare change more easily.
Many money-saving apps are designed to encourage you to save any spare change by rounding up your day-to-day transactions to the nearest pound (and putting the extra cash into a separate pot within your bank account). Make sure you use a reputable app, though; do your research online; the Which? site has some suggestions.
8) Work Out Where You Could Be Wasting Money
Could you be spending much more money than you realise? If so, you won’t be the only one. Many of us look at our bank balance pre-payday and ask ourselves: ‘where has my money gone?’
In our article titled ‘Five Times You Could’ve Wasted Money this Month’, we share some sure-fire ways you could put more money to one side. Start in the New Year, watch your cash mount up and regularly top up that ISA to maximise your allowance.
Looking to Start Saving
Keen to open a new account in a bid to start saving in 2025/26? Check out our range of financial products* and do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions for our team.
*Terms and conditions apply.
