Low Stress Ways to Save Money
Everyone online seems to have a PhD in financial advice.
“Track every penny!” “Cut your daily latte!” “Start a side hustle, then another, then another…”
If you’ve ever felt like managing money is basically a second job, welcome. You’re my people.
I’ve been through burnout - the proper kind, where even choosing dinner feels like climbing Everest. And one of the sneakiest reasons I got there was money stress. Not just the bills themselves, but the relentless pressure to do more, earn more, hustle more.
Here’s what I’ve learned: most money advice doesn’t work because it’s exhausting. It’s built for people who apparently have infinite energy and colour-coded spreadsheets for fun. The rest of us? We need something different.
That’s why I want to share low stress ways to save money - practical, evidence-backed and realistic for people who are tired (aka: most of us).
Why Traditional Money Advice Doesn’t Work
You’ve probably seen it before. The “perfect” budgeting plan:
A 12-tab spreadsheet with colour coding worthy of NASA.
Tracking every single transaction down to the penny.
Cutting all “unnecessary” spending.
And, of course, starting three side hustles “for passive income.”
It looks smart. It feels productive. But here’s the truth: most people can’t sustain it. Research on behaviour change shows that willpower is like a muscle - it gets tired. And when you’re already working, commuting, raising kids, or just living, you don’t have much willpower left over for extreme budgeting.
So what happens? You go all in for two weeks, burn out and then end up impulse-ordering Domino’s because “what’s the point anyway?”
Sound familiar? Yeah. Me too.
Money management should make your life easier, not harder. Which is where low stress saving comes in.
1. Cancel What You Don’t Use
The quickest win of all: cancel anything you’re not using.
I know, I know. It sounds obvious. But when was the last time you actually checked your subscriptions?
I did this recently and found:
A Pilates app I hadn’t opened in six months.
A streaming service I only kept “just in case” a new series came out.
Deliveroo, which don’t even deliver where I currently live.
Goodbye, all of you.
The average UK household wastes £500+ a year on unused subscriptions. That’s a decent holiday, or at least several weeks of not worrying about the gas bill. And the best part? Once you cancel, the saving happens automatically. Zero willpower required.
2. Automate Your Savings
Here’s the problem with saving: it requires constant decisions. And by 6pm, most of us have already made about 35,000 decisions that day (actual stat, by the way).
That’s why automation is a game changer. Set up a standing order to move money into savings the day after payday. Even £20 a month builds up over time.
Behavioural economists call this “paying yourself first.” I call it “out of sight, out of oops-I-spent-it.”
The magic is that you remove the choice. No “should I save or should I shop?” The money’s already gone to safety. It’s like a future-you care package.
3. Do a Joy-Per-Pound Audit
Forget the latte-shaming. Your morning coffee probably isn’t the problem. The problem is the stuff you buy that doesn’t even make you happy.
Here’s how to fix it:
Look at your last month of spending.
Highlight what genuinely brought joy (coffee with a friend, Friday night takeaway, concert tickets you’ll remember forever).
Cross out what didn’t (random Amazon purchases, clothes you never wore, subscriptions you forgot existed).
Keep the first group. Cut the second.
This way, saving doesn’t feel like punishment. It feels like… decluttering. Marie Kondo, but for your bank account.
4. Shop Your Cupboards Before the Supermarket
I once discovered 20 Kitkat Chunky’s in my cupboard. Seven. A phase I clearly overcommitted to.
Turns out, the average household wastes £700 of food every year. That’s literally money in the bin.
So here’s a low stress hack: once a week, “shop your cupboards.” Look at what you already have and plan a few meals around it. It saves money, reduces waste and gives you the smug satisfaction of finally using that tin of kidney beans you panic-bought in 2020.
5. Buy Time, Not Clutter
This one might sound counterintuitive: sometimes the best way to save money is to spend it.
But here’s the catch - spend it on time, not things.
A 2017 study in PNAS found that people who spent money to save time (think: cleaning, ironing, childcare, food delivery) reported higher happiness than those who spent on material goods.
Why? Because buying time lowers stress, prevents burnout and often reduces “coping spending” later. For example, £30 on a cleaner might stop you from stress-buying £100 worth of random “treats” just to cope with life.
So if you’re going to spend, choose the thing that makes your life easier, not cluttered.
6. Embrace “Good Enough” Budgeting
Repeat after me: you do not need to track every single penny.
Perfectionism ruins money management. We think if we can’t do it perfectly, it’s not worth doing at all. But “good enough” budgeting is always better than none.
That might look like:
Checking your banking app once a week.
Using a round-up savings app.
Tracking just your top three expenses instead of everything.
Progress > perfection. Always.
7. Understand the Psychology of Money Stress
Here’s the thing: money stress isn’t just numbers. It’s biology.
When you’re stressed, your brain literally moves resources away from the prefrontal cortex (the logical part) and into survival mode. Which means you’re more likely to impulse-buy, avoid checking your account, or ignore bills until they become bigger problems.
That’s why complicated, stressful money systems backfire. They push you further into avoidance. Low stress systems - automation, joy-per-pound audits, cupboard shopping - actually work because they bypass stress and build momentum quietly in the background.
8. Build a System That Works for You
There’s no one-size-fits-all. The best savings strategy is the one you’ll stick to when you’re tired, busy and maybe a bit fed up.
If you love spreadsheets, great - build one. If you hate them, don’t. If you’re forgetful, automate. If you’re impulsive, add friction (like moving money to a separate account so it’s harder to touch).
The point isn’t to be perfect. It’s to make your system fit you, not the other way around.
Here’s the truth: saving money doesn’t have to feel like another job. If your system makes you feel guilty, exhausted, or bored out of your mind, it’s not the right system.
The best way to save money is the low stress way: small, simple habits you can keep doing, even when you’re tired. Cancel the junk you don’t use. Automate what you can. Keep the spending that makes you happy, cut the rest.
