Find out more about our Savings Calculator

With the cost of living on the up, it can be hard to make your pay packet stretch to the end of the month, let alone squirrel money away into savings. But if you frequently find yourself eking out the last few pennies without having put anything aside for a rainy day, or if there's something specific you need to save for, then it could be time to give your finances the once-over.

We believe that completely understanding your spending is key to successful saving. That's why our Savings Calculator looks at exactly where your money goes – to help you more easily identify where you could potentially cut back.

But 'cutting back' needn’t be drastic. We all need a night out with friends or that caffeine hit before work; if you try to cut out all the 'fun stuff' completely, how long will it last? Smaller lifestyle tweaks here and there are much more likely to be more sustainable. For instance, designating one day a week to bringing your lunch in from home, or ordering less of the 'extras' next time you get a takeaway in.

Using the tool is easy – simply input your income and outgoings in the categories listed. To make sure this calculator is completely tailored to you, just delete any categories you don't need, and add any that you do! For instance, if you pay a cleaner on a weekly basis, or receive an income outside of your main job, simply add these on!

Then head to the 'extras' section where our question cards encourage you to think about those other costs that often creep up. Again, just skip through any that don't apply to you, and add on however many you need.

Once complete, you can download your savings plan so you can update it and track your progress over the weeks and months, maybe even the years! Try it now at sainsburysbank.co.uk/budget.

This Money Matters post aims to be informative and engaging. Though it may include tips and information, it does not constitute advice and should not be used as a basis for any financial decisions. Sainsbury's Bank accepts no responsibility for the opinions and views of external contributors and the content of external websites included within this post. Some links may take you to another Sainsbury's Bank page. All information in this post was correct at date of publication.