A LEGENDARY store is set to close after over 50 years with “upset” shoppers mourning its loss.

J Maher’s Garden and DIY hardware store on Lever Edge Lane in Bolton, first opened its doors in 1973.

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The shop is now run by owners Barrie and Janette Maher, after inheriting it from Barrie’s parents, Rita and Jack Maher.

The pair work in the store with their son, Jon, and five other members of staff.

For decades, the hardware shop was a cornerstone for the local community.

But it has seen a sharp decline in sales since the pandemic which means the doors will now shut for good.

The popular store will pull down the shutters for the final time at the end of October.

It currently supplies allotment societies all over Greater Manchester, South Lancashire and Merseyside as well as bowling clubs, landscapers, schools, trade gardeners and nurseries.

The business has been struggling partly due to the rise in online shopping.

Barrie told The Bolton News: “After Covid, the way of shopping changed, people are going to big brands.

“We even set up our own website, but we struggled to compete as the bigger brands will always be at the top of the search.

“It’s like a depression over the whole country, people haven’t been to the store in the same way since before the pandemic.”

He added: “We’ve been here fifty-one years, people know us, and we have a great relationship with all our loyal customers, we know them by name and by sight.

“It’s upset a lot of people – since we announced the closure, the news has spread really quickly.”

The proposed ban on bagged peat composts by the end of this year has also been a “major blow” says owner, Barrie, as the businesses’ “niche product” was a large range of peat-based composts.

Janette told the outlet that the store sold last week via auction but they were not sure who bought the area or what it’ll be used for.

She added: “The staff weren’t stupid, they could sense that things were wrapping up. We’ve been scaling down for the past six months trying to shift our stock.

“The shop was a pillar in the community – my mum used to go dancing and the old blokes would always ask about the shop because they owned allotments, it was very much loved by people.”

Devastated patrons of the shop were quick to take to social media after news of the closure.

One wrote on Facebook: “Another great shop to close,It always remind me of a small Gregory & Porritts if Maher didn’t have it then nobody did,Always had lovely bedding plants & Xmas trees.

“So sad to see them go.”

Another added: “Absolutely gutted!…..been a major supplier for my gardening business for many years…..all the best Baz Jeanette and Jonathan.”

Meanwhile, a third said: “Brilliant shop, the owners are full of knowledge. Shame it is closing.”

“Yet another great shop to close. It’s the best hardware store for miles. Friendly staff always helpful. What a great loss I travelled from the other side of Bolton to visit here,” said another saddened customer.

But Janette said that there were still positives to look at despite the closure.

She continued: “We’re planning to use our retirement to travel the world and make new memories.

“We’d like to thank our loyal customers who’ve given us business over the past years.

“We’ve had some great customers and members of staff who’ve stayed loyal to us. They have worked to make the store what it was.”

SHOPPERS have threatened to boycott a major supermarket after a popular freebie has been scrapped for a second time, testing the loyalty of customers.

The members benefit was originally phased out back in February 2022 but saw a resurgence for a small number as a “goodwill gesture”.

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Owned by the John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose has announced that it will no longer offer free newspapers when loyalty card customers spend £10 or more.

Those with their name to a myWaitrose card were informed via email that they would no longer receive the discount newspaper vouchers from October 29.

First offered to shoppers in 2013, Waitrose clients needed to spend £5 or more during the week to reap the reward, with this doubling to £10 at weekends.

Then, in 2016 the Monday to Friday offer was raised to £10 with the perk later being scrapped just two years ago.

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At the time, the supermarket giant claimed that only 5pc of customers were taking advantage of the offer but since then a small number of loyalty card customers could still buy a discounted daily newspaper after 3pm.

This is not the first time the high-street brand has dropped benefits for its frequent spenders.

The offer which saw customers entitled to a free hot drink with every purchase was scrapped until the store decided to bring it back after facing backlash.

Reinstating the beverage allowance in 2022, shoppers could only claim theirs when bringing their own reusable cup.

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The loyalty scheme was originally launched in 2011 and has been incredibly popular ever since with the latest figures in 2022 suggesting around 9 million members.

Those opting to sign-up for the MyWaitrose card could receive money-off vouchers and discounts on dry cleaning products.

Waitrose Christmas Showcase 2024

However, since a change in its terms and conditions earlier this year, customers may no longer receive discount vouchers every week.

With the short notice period before the freebie is cut from the clasp of customers, many have already taken to social media to express their strong thoughts.

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One person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I think your decision to remove the newspaper vouchers for loyal customers who regularly shop with you is a major mistake.”

Another said: “Received an email giving 6 days notice that I’ll no longer receive free newspaper vouchers as part of your loyalty scheme.

“Given that the other benefits are of zero interest I shall take my custom and cash elsewhere.”

Someone else put: “Disappointing you are removing the free newspaper from your benefits.

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“My parents only go into Waitrose on the weekends for the free paper but always ended up buying other things walking through the store.

“Guess they’ll be no need for them to go there now.”

A fourth commented: “Gutted @waitrose is ending my newspaper vouchers.”

Someone else wrote: “What a shame – it was a great benefit – I cannot afford to buy them.”

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Another claimed the changes were a “middle-class disaster”.

One user posted a picture of the email they had received informing them that they would no longer be offered the daily newspaper vouchers.

The screenshot shows the list of other benefits that MyWaitrose customers can continue to enjoy, including:

• Personalised offers
• Free HotDrinks from our self-service machines with any purchase in store*
• Exclusive competitions
• Fish Fridays: save 20% on selected fish from the counter
• Sizzling Saturdays: save 20% on selected meat from the counter

A spokesperson for Waitrose previously told The Telegraph: “Our newspaper offer was retired in February 2022, as it was only being used by 5pc of customers. A small number retained the offer as a temporary goodwill gesture, but we’re phasing these out to invest in rewards that benefit all members.

“These customers will get additional rewards over the coming weeks to thank them for their loyalty, as well as our wider benefits, like free hot drinks and personalised offers, which remain hugely popular.”

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The Sun has approached Waitrose for comment.

Supermarket loyalty schemes – which has one?

MOST UK supermarkets have loyalty schemes so customers can build up points and save money while they shop.

Here we round up what saving programmes you’ll find at the big brands.

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• Iceland: Unlike other stores, you don’t collect points with the Iceland Bonus Card. Instead, you load it up with money and Iceland will give you £1 for every £20 you save.
• Lidl Plus: Lidl customers don’t collect points when they shop, and are instead rewarded with personalised vouchers that gives them money off at the till.
• Morrisons: The My Morrisons: Make Good Things Happen replaces the More Card and rewards customers with personalised money off vouchers via the app.
• Sainsbury’s: While Sainsbury’s doesn’t have a personal scheme, it does own the Nectar card which can also be used in Argos, eBay and other shops. You need 200 Nectar points to save up £1 to spend on your card. You need to spend at least £1 to get one Nectar point.
• Tesco: Tesco Clubcard has over 17million members in the UK alone. You use it each time you shop and build up points that can be turned into vouchers – 150 points gets you a £1.50 voucher. Here you need to spend £1 in Tesco to get one point.
• Waitrose: myWaitrose also doesn’t allow you to collect points but instead you’ll get access to free hot drinks, and discounts off certain brands in store.

Apparently, one third of people are suffering from imposter syndrome at any given time, and 70% will experience it at some point.

My former career as a scientist wasn’t all bad, but one example stands out as a low point. I don’t know if it was the origin of my imposter syndrome. But it certainly didn’t help.

Halfway through my PhD, I was giving my first talk at an international conference. After I’d finished, the floor was opened up to questions.

The best advice I’ve received is to remember that no one is perfect

The first hand raised was that of an older researcher and it turned out he didn’t really have a question; he just wanted to tell me and the rest of the audience that he thought my work was pointless. Although I’m not opposed to criticism, I do think it needs to be constructive.

It was easy, as a scientist, to feel like you were never doing enough — surrounded by professors and fast-rising superstars, all experts in their field. I remember worrying I wasn’t good enough and I would be exposed as a fraud.

I’m grateful my experience since changing to the advice profession has been one of night and day.

Whenever I have interacted with people in the wider industry, whether in a random email, at a conference or picking their brain over a coffee, I have been met with overwhelmingly helpful, friendly responses.

I’ve got better at recognising when negative thoughts start gnawing away at me

Contrast the above presenting experience with my first at a financial planning conference. Everyone was very welcoming, no one was rude and I even had several people approach me afterwards just to let me know they had liked the talk.

At work, I am hugely fortunate to have a supportive boss and leadership team, and a friendly group of colleagues.

Nevertheless, despite all these positive experiences I have had since changing career, imposter syndrome never completely goes away. I may have a great day, or even a great week, at work, but that doesn’t stop doubts creeping in the following week.

While I haven’t found the secret to eliminating imposter syndrome, I have taken steps to reduce it.

I’ve realised I need to stop comparing myself to others. There will always be someone better than you, but everyone is on their own journey and has their own trials.

One third of people are suffering from imposter syndrome at any given time

I’ve also got better at recognising when negative thoughts start gnawing away at me, and remembering that other people also experience this.

Finally, I think the best advice I’ve received to overcome it is to remember that no one is perfect — neither myself, nor the grouchy guy who didn’t like my work all those years ago!

Ryan Sharpe is a paraplanner at Almond Financial

This article featured in the October 2024 edition of Money Marketing. 

If you would like to subscribe to the monthly magazine, please click here.

THOUSANDS of dead pensioners have been sent winter fuel payment letters, leaving grieving families “horrified”.

The winter fuel payment was previously available to everyone aged 66 and above, the current State Pension age.

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But in July the Government announced the payment would become means-tested meaning only those on certain benefits are eligible.

This includes those on income support, tax credits, Universal Credit, and largely Pension Credit.

This means that around 10million pensioners will no longer get the cash, which can be worth up to £300.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is now writing to 13.5million pensioners to alert them to the changes and also to let them know if they might be eligible for pension credit.

However, it’s understood that some letters are being sent to pensioners who have died – despite grieving families having told the DWP about their deaths already.

This is what happened to one woman, who then took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to voice her frustration.

Frances Coppola, a writer and economist, reported that she had received a letter about changes to the winter fuel payment from the DWP intended for her partner.

But she had already informed the government that he had died on September 19.

Ms Coppola said the letter was advising her partner that he could apply for pension credit to be backdated by up to three months – making him eligible for the cash payment.

Writing on X she said: “My partner’s state pension has already been stopped. I did not understand why they were writing to him about WFP, since clearly they knew he was dead.”

Ms Coppola then complained to the DWP about the letter and was told that letters were being sent out to all “who had ever made a claim” for the WFP – alive or not.

“So thousands of bereaved spouses, partners and relatives are receiving these letters,” she Tweeted.

This was to ensure as many people as possible find out about the changes to WFP, Ms Coppola was told.

She added: “DWP is ignoring official notifications of death and literally spamming the relatives of deceased WFP claimants. I am horrified.”

According to the DWP a representative of the deceased can call or email the department to report the death of a customer.

Once that’s happened, the department will then work with them, following what’s called a death arrears process.

This involves contacting the representative to gather information or confirm details to make sure the department holds the correct information to make a death arrears payment.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We are looking into what happened in this case and apologise for any distress caused.

“More broadly we are committed to ensuring pensioners are aware of the changes to the winter fuel payment and the wider support that is available to them.

“We are issuing letters to around 13.5 million pensioners and our drive to boost take up of Pension Credit has seen a 152% increase in claims, with other pensioners are also benefiting from the Warm Homes Discount and our extension of the Household Support Fund to help with their energy bills.”

The Sun’s Winter Fuel S.O.S Campaign

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THE Sun’s Winter Fuel SOS Campaign is here to support households during these challenging times.

Due to government cutbacks, ten million pensioners are set to lose the £300 Winter Fuel Payment.

Since opening our phone lines to thousands of pensioners in October, we remain dedicated to providing tips and advice on how to stretch your finances further.

That’s why we have partnered with the poverty charity Turn2Us to launch a free benefits checker, helping you ensure that you are claiming all the benefits to which you are entitled.

Don’t miss our latest Sun Money coverage, which includes essential information on key deadlines, applying for support, and everything you need to know about Pension Credit.

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If you have a story to share or wish to get in touch with our team, please email us at money-sm@news.co.uk.

Tom Selby, director of public policy at investment firm AJ Bell told The Sun that this “blanket approach” risks causing even more grief.

He said: “While the DWP’s desperation to boost take-up of the WFP among those who are eligible is understandable, taking a blanket approach risks creating extra admin stress for people at what will inevitably already be a really difficult time.

“If the government has the correct information about people, including whether or not they are still alive and likely to be entitled to the payment, then it should be using that information to make sure things like this don’t happen.”

“The response from the individual at DWP in this case, not to mention the convoluted process the individual had to go through, is particularly unforgivable and falls well below the standards most people would expect.”

Tom added that this isn’t the first time the DWP’s admin systems have been found wanting and “they need to get their house in order as a matter of urgency”.

What is the winter fuel payment and who is eligible?

The winter fuel payment is issued to state pensioners on certain benefits to help cover the cost of hiked-up energy bills over the colder months.

This is because households tend to use more energy for heating as temperatures drop.

The payment, which is made in November or December, is automatic meaning you don’t need to apply.

Those on Universal Credit with a joint claim where one member was over the state pension age previously had to apply to get the payment.

To automatically qualify this year, you need to be of state pension age and in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income Support
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit

You must have an active claim for these benefits during the “qualifying week” which is from September 16 to 22 this year.

You only need to apply this year if:

• you moved to an eligible country before January 1, 2021
• you were born before September 23, 1958
• you have a genuine and sufficient link to the UK – this can include having lived or worked in the UK and having family in the UK

Households can claim by phone from October 28 via the number 0800 731 0160.

They have until March 31, 2025 to do this.

Or to claim by post, you’ll need to fill in the winter fuel payment claim form and post it to the Winter Fuel Payment Centre.

This is available at www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/how-to-claim.

What energy bill help is available?

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There’s a number of different ways to get help paying your energy bills if you’re struggling to get by.

If you fall into debt, you can always approach your supplier to see if they can put you on a repayment plan before putting you on a prepayment meter.

This involves paying off what you owe in instalments over a set period.

If your supplier offers you a repayment plan you don’t think you can afford, speak to them again to see if you can negotiate a better deal.

Several energy firms have grant schemes available to customers struggling to cover their bills.

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But eligibility criteria vary depending on the supplier and the amount you can get depends on your financial circumstances.

For example, British Gas or Scottish Gas customers struggling to pay their energy bills can get grants worth up to £2,000.

British Gas also offers help via its British Gas Energy Trust and Individuals Family Fund.

You don’t need to be a British Gas customer to apply for the second fund.

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EDF, E.ON, Octopus Energy and Scottish Power all offer grants to struggling customers too.

Thousands of vulnerable households are missing out on extra help and protections by not signing up to the Priority Services Register (PSR).

The service helps support vulnerable households, such as those who are elderly or ill, and some of the perks include being given advance warning of blackouts, free gas safety checks and extra support if you’re struggling.

Get in touch with your energy firm to see if you can apply.

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More energy help for pensioners

In response to the government’s slash to the winter fuel payments, Octopus Energy has launched a scheme offering discretionary credit of between £50 and £200 to pensioners.

British Gas has also set aside over £140 million this winter for its Individual and Families Support Fund.

And Scottish Power‘s Hardship Fund has handed out more than £60 million to its struggling customers.

To find out what you can get, check the offers from your own supplier first by going to their website or asking someone on the phone.

Most schemes are exclusive to customers, but the British Gas Individual and Families fund is available to everyone if your own supplier can’t help.

Help can also be accessed from your local council via the Household Support Fund, which has renewed a fresh pot of £421million for vulnerable households.

To find out if you are eligible, go to your council’s website and read over the conditions of the scheme.

If you’re just looking for simple ways to reduce your bill this winter, each of these supplier schemes, as well as the Household Support Fund also offer free electric blankets as part of their deal.

For example, Octopus has said they will distribute 20,000 electric blankets from Dreamland to its most vulnerable customers, keeping them warm for “as little as 3p an hour”.

The “heat yourself not your home” approach is trending fast, with retailers such as B&M introducing ranges of affordable self-heating appliances.

However, it is important to note that the elderly should not avoid turning the heating on if they are cold – for energy help contact your provider or local council, or read our article here.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Thursday 24 October 2024. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.

Value of ‘lost’ pension pots hits £31bn

The total value of ‘lost’ pension pots is now estimated to be £31.1bn, new data published by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) reveals.

This has risen by £4.5bn, from £26.6bn in 2022.

Almost 3.3 million pension pots are now considered lost, containing an average sum of £9,470.

Diary of an aspiring adviser

In this ‘Diary of an aspiring adviser’ column, Almond Financial paraplanner Ryan Sharpe recalls feeling imposter syndrome in their former career as a scientist when someone at an international conference said they though their work was pointless.

“I’m grateful my experience since changing to the advice profession has been one of night and day,” said Sharpe.

“Whenever I have interacted with people in the wider industry, whether in a random email, at a conference or picking their brain over a coffee, I have been met with overwhelmingly helpful, friendly responses.”

Wealthtime platform upgrade

Wealthtime has partnered with tech firm Wipro and software provider GBST on its platform technology upgrade.

The partnership will see the Wealthtime and Wealthtime Classic platforms brought together under one brand on a significantly enhanced platform.

Wipro and GBST will employ a joint co-delivery model to provide end-to-end platform services.

Quote Of The Day

Given the severity of the pandemic, we were always likely to see an improvement in life expectancy from the darkest days of 2020

– Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group, comments on figures published by ONS reveal a bounce back in life expectancy in 2021-23.

In Other News

The Income Protection Task Force (IPTF) has announced its plans for 2025.

Next year will see the organisation restructure including the introduction of a Board to provide professional oversight.

Andrew Wibberley will step down as co-chair after four years, with Jo Miller becoming managing director and board chair, and Vicky Churcher becoming executive director and vice chair.

Commenting on his departure, Wibberley said: “In the last four years the shift from people working on IP because they felt they ought to, to people suffering FOMO if they’re not involved, has been great to see. Most importantly, this is translating into more people protecting their incomes, which is a fantastic thing.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the results of the next exciting things coming out of the IPTF and those sales continuing to grow.”

The plans outlined will also see the continuation of some of the organisation’s key work, including 7Advisers, IPAW, workstream meetings and the return of the Let’s Talk IP podcast.

Additionally, the group outlined plans for several projects for the year ahead focused on the organisation’s key objectives: education, collaboration and insight.

The news follows a busy year for IPTF so far, which has seen the continuation of the 7Advisers project, a celebration of the 7Families ten-year anniversary, the launching of the Let’s Talk IP podcast and profile of an income protection customer and the hosting of another Income Protection Action Week.

Reeves to announce major change to fiscal rules releasing £50bn for spending (The Guardian)

Nvidia CEO targets more India growth through fresh partnerships (Bloomberg)

Barclays third-quarter profit beats forecasts with 18% rise (Reuters)

Did You See?

M&G has launched its first sustainable corporate bond strategy in collaboration with responsAbility, the Swiss-based asset manager.

The M&G (Lux) responsAbility Sustainable Solutions Bond Fund has been designed following active engagement with institutional and wholesale investors seeking sustainable active fixed-income strategies.

The fund, which is classified as Article 9 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, will leverage M&G’s deep credit expertise and responsAbility’s long-standing track record on impact and sustainable investing.

It will be co-managed by Mario Eisenegger and Ben Lord, who are long-standing members of M&G’s €161bn global fixed-income investment division.

A SAVVY saver has revealed how he stashed away almost £1,000 for Christmas with three clever savings tricks that anyone can do.

Sammie Ellard-King, 35, can now enjoy spending the cash on presents, food, decorations, plus all the trimmings without having to worry about breaking the bank or going in to debt.

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Along with his partner, Charlotte Johnston, 35, Sammie has been building a festive fund which involves him capitalising on a clever feature that comes with online bank, Monzo.

This is a facility which automatically “swipes” a set sum of money into designated virtual jars.

Sammie, who is self-employed and runs financial website Up the Gains to help others learn about money, told The Sun: “I first set up ‘savings pots’ with Monzo around four years ago and now have around nine in total.

“Some are joint with my partner, such as the one where we are slotting money away for the festive period.”

The couple, who live in Fleet, Hampshire have saved a regular amount here every month since January.

Sammie said: “Generally speaking, I set this at around £50 a month, but sometimes squirrel away more.

“It only takes a matter of seconds to set up a pot, and you can then earn a decent rate of interest on your hard-earned cash.

“It’s great having a dedicated pot building in time for Christmas.”

While rates can fluctuate, Sammie is currently earning 4.22% on this pot.

That means on savings of £1,000 he makes around £3.50 a month, or £42 a year.

He said: “I like this ‘ring-fenced’ approach because it means I never accidentally dip into my savings.”

ROUND IT UP

The money aficionado also takes advantage of another of the digital bank’s features known as “round-ups” to help boost his festive fund.

Sammie said: “Say, for example, you buy a £2.75 coffee using Monzo, the bank rounds up your spend to the nearest pound and adds 25p to the pot where you’ve turned on ‘round-ups.’

“I’m a big fan of automated saving – for me, it’s a complete no-brainer.”

It’s free to set up current account with the digital bank, which doesn’t have any high street branches.

Monzo bank offers pots as part of its current account, and customers can round up money automatically as well as scheduling regular deposits.

These types of features have now become common among many online and high street banks.

Plum, Chip, Chase and Starling are among the apps and digital banks offering auto-save features

Sammie said he has used several of these in the past to take advantage of the best rates on offer at the time.

Before moving your money to a new savings account, it’s vital to choose the right account for your needs – and to check the rates on offer.

You can do this with a site such as moneyfactscompare.co.uk.

Using Monzo isn’t the only hack Sammie uses to build his Christmas savings either.

SUPER-CHARGE SAVINGS

Sammie also has another clever trick to “super-charge” the amount he has to slot away.

“I run all of my spending through cashback sites,” he said.

Once you’ve found a deal on an item you want to buy, you just click through the link, and the kickback is paid into your account.

He said: “This hack really comes into its own in the run-up to the festive season when I’m spending more.”

The first part of Sammie’s trick involves him buying virtual gift cards.

“I usually do this through Everup or Cheddar,” he said.

“With sites such as these, I can earn cashback on purchases I make with gift cards.”

With Cheddar, users can get cashback while shopping at partnered shops automatically by linking their bank account to the app.

Users can also earn “instant cashback” by purchasing gift card credit to spend at certain stores, usually between 2% and 4% including at supermarkets like Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s.

With Cheddar, you can sign up for free (no credit checks or fees), and can claim a £5 bonus.

Similarly, with EverUp, you can earn cashback on gift card purchases. Both are free to sign up to and there’s noe fee.

Sammie then “turbo-charges” his earnings even more with another nifty move.

“Having bought gift cards, I ‘stack’ the money I earn from them by using the cards to make purchases via more well-known cashback sites such as Topcashback and Quidco,” he said.

“There’s a kind of ‘loophole’ which means you can do this, and essentially get a ‘double hit’ on the amount of cashback you get.”

With the likes of Topcashback and Quidco you can earn money on anything from everyday shopping to clothes, gadgets, phone deals and car insurance, just by making purchases with retailers via their websites.

Sammie said: “On occasions, thanks to a combination of cashback on gift cards from Everup and Cheddar – and then cashback from Topcashback or Quidco – I can get as much as 16% cashback in total.”

Remember when using cashback sites, you’re only saving money if you intended to buy the item in the first place.

Meanwhile many gift cards have expiry dates and if a shop goes under they could become worthless, so if you use the trick make sure you spend them as soon as you can.

MAXIMISE YOUR POT

One of Sammie’s top tips to make your money work even harder is to move earnings into an account paying interest.

“Lots of people make the mistake of leaving their cashback with the website where they earned it,” he said.

“But once I’m able to ‘cash out,’ I transfer my earnings into my Monzo pots, where the money can potentially earn more than 4%, paid monthly.”

While you might think all of this is time-consuming, Sammie insists this isn’t the case.

“It really isn’t that complicated or long-winded,” he said.

“The key is to download the relevant gift cards onto your phone before you go shopping.”

That way, he adds, even if you buy a £100 gift card, but only spend £65, you’ll still have £35 ‘rolled over’ for the next time you shop.

“The gift card ‘lives’ in the app,” he said. “It’s just a case of getting into good habits.”

“Another simple ‘win’ is to buy presents on ‘special events’ like Black Friday when there are some great deals to be had.”

The annual shopping event takes place on November 29 this year.

With just under 10 weeks to go until Christmas Day, Sammie and Charlotte, who works as a producer, have close to £1,000 in their Monzo Christmas savings pot.

This is down to a combination of regular monthly saving, round ups and topping this up with cashback.

Sammie said. “Having this money squirrelled away means we can really enjoy the festive period.

“We can buy lots of presents, treat ourselves to nice food, and go out with friends, without having to worry about money.”

Another of Sammie’s top tips is to start saving early.

“Once this year’s festivities are out of the way, it’s worth setting up a Monzo account with a dedicated pot ready for next year,” he said.

“Then you can make regular savings each month – and also look into setting up ‘round-ups’ – helping to make Christmas 2025 a lot easier on the wallet.

“It’s all about thinking ahead.”

In addition to Christmas, the couple have pots for an emergency fund, a sinking fund, a holiday fund – and a fund to furnish their new home.

In total they save around £300 a month in to nine different pots, adjusting the allocations depending on the priority at the time.

“Once the festive period is over, Charlotte and I will channel more into the ‘new home’ fund, said Sammie as they prepare to move from their their two-bed house in Hampshire to their “forever home” in Ramsgate, Kent.

“We are saving hard so we’ll be able to afford things like fridges and sofas when we move in – hopefully in early 2025,” said the financial whizz.

“This will mean we won’t have to buy stuff on credit, reducing the risk of us getting into debt.”

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories