Brought to you by Revolut

Money-saving ain't easy.

Each month, when our paycheck comes in, we think: "This is it. This is the month we're going to start saving." Our intentions are always good but then, well, same old story. We see a pair of shoes we really need, a book we've been meaning to read for months, or we run out of makeup and have to replace it all. Then, poof, before we're even really aware of how much we're spending, it's all gone. So we decided to really try this time. And and our first step? We signed ourselves up for a Revolut account and got ourselves a free Revolut card. We'd heard about Revolut and knew that it was handy for paying people back or splitting a bill if you go out to eat with your mates. What we didn't know is that it's actually great for helping you save money. And without even really realising you're doing it. You can give yourself a budget. With Revolut, you can add money to your account whenever you want and then pay for things directly with your Revolut card or your phone. That means that you can budget yourself by only adding a certain amount of money each month and not allowing yourself to spend beyond that. Sometimes it's hard to separate spending money from your necessary monthly expenses when they're all coming out of the same account. You might spend more money than usual in the shop but your mind puts the drop in your bank account down to the fact that you'd just paid rent the day before. It also might seem that you have lots of money left for spending but when your car insurance is due, you're suddenly a lot shorter than you thought. By putting all of your daily spending money in Revolut, you know exactly how much you're spending and how much you have left. You can spend money worldwide with no fees. If you're a traveller like we are, exchange rates will be no stranger to you. However, we still always forget to budget for them when we travel and find ourselves gasping at the exchange rates or the ATM charges every time we encounter them. With a Revolut card, you can spend all over the world (in 150 different countries, to be exact) while avoiding all those annoying fees. You can also exchange currencies and open multi-currency accounts right there on your phone - 30 of them at once. It's so easy that we wish we'd been doing it all along - imagine how much we could have saved by now. Well, better late than never. Revolut is now launching in the US too, so any future trips over to the Big Apple or LA will be even smoother. Save money using the Vaults spare change savings feature, one of our favourite features of Revolut. Every time you make a purchase using Revolut, they will automatically round up your transaction to the nearest whole number and send the difference to your Vault. There the money will stay, the total increasing each time you spend, until one day you remember about it, go to check, and you've got a nice little sum there just waiting for you. Perfect if you're trying to save up for something but always forget to add to your savings. If you upgrade to a Revolut Premium account, you can get travel insurance included as well as phone insurance for just a fraction of the normal cost. They may sound like extra expenses but if you ever get stuck without either of them, your wallet will wish you hadn't taken the risk. Plus, with Revolut Premium or Revolut Metal, you can get a snazzy rose-gold, grey or black card with your account. The Revolut app has honestly changed our entire way of spending and our mindset towards money. We've managed to save loads without even putting much effort into it. If you haven't already, we suggest you sign up ASAP. And if you already have - make sure you're taking full advantage of all the app's benefits. For you younger savers - Revolut Junior is coming to Ireland soon. They've already launched in the UK and can be used by anyone from the ages of 7-17 years. So keep a lookout! Now you don't even need to be 18 to start looking after your money properly. Get those good spending habits started early and life will be a lot sweeter. Brought to you by Revolut