Pancake Day is the fun part. Lent is where routines show themselves.
Lent lasts around 40 days, which is roughly six weeks. That’s long enough for a habit to feel less automatic. It’s also long enough for small spending to add up in a way you can actually see.
And in the UK right now, lots of people are watching the small stuff. The weekly shop still feels pricey. Bills still take a big bite. So if you can take one everyday spend and pause it for Lent, the money you keep can feel genuinely useful.
This doesn’t need a big plan. Pick one habit. Do the rough maths. Move what you save into a savings account each week. By Easter, you’ve got a pot that came from a change you could live with.
Why Lent Works for a Money Reset
Most saving advice starts with a long list. Track this. Cut that. Review everything.
That’s not how most people spend in real life. We spend when we’re rushing, hungry, tired, or trying to get through the day with as few extra decisions as possible.
Lent helps because it gives you a simple structure. There’s a start date and an end date. You’re not trying to change everything. You’re trying one small shift for six weeks.
One thing makes the biggest difference. Don’t leave the savings sitting in your current account. If it stays there, it tends to get spent elsewhere. Move it out weekly to see the progress.
Habit 1: The Weekday Takeaway Coffee
Takeaway coffee is a classic “autopilot” spend. It feels small. It feels normal. It doesn’t feel like a decision.
Let’s use a rough example.
£3.50 × 5 days a week × 6 weeks = about £105
That’s around £105 saved over Lent by making coffee at home on weekdays.
If your coffee costs more, the savings are bigger. If it costs less, it’s smaller. Either way, six weeks turns “only a few quid” into a three-figure total.
To keep this realistic, set a rule you’ll actually follow. Weekdays from home, then one café coffee on the weekend. Or one chosen coffee a week.
To make it feel real, transfer weekly. If weekday coffees normally cost you about £17.50 a week, move that amount into savings at the end of each week.
Habit 2: Bought Lunches
Lunch is where money can disappear quickly, especially if you’re in the office or out and about a lot.
You meant to bring something. You ran out of leftovers. The morning went sideways. Buying lunch feels easiest.
If a bought lunch is about £6, then five workdays a week is £30. Over six weeks, that’s £180.
Most people aren’t buying lunch every day, so think in swaps. If you usually buy lunch most workdays and you bring a packed lunch four days a week during Lent, saving £150+ over six weeks is realistic.
The trick is keeping it simple. You don’t need fancy meal prep.
Leftovers from dinner are the easiest win. Soup made once can cover two lunches. A basic sandwich plus something filling on the side works. The goal is to avoid the daily spend, not create extra work.
If you like going out for lunch, keep one day for it. That often makes the rest of the week easier to stick to.
Habit 3: A Subscription You Barely Use
Subscriptions are easy to ignore because they come out automatically.
One streaming service or app you barely use can cost £10 to £15 per month. If you’ve got a few, the total stacks up without much notice.
Lent is a good time for a quick check. Look at your bank transactions for regular payments. Then check your phone settings for app subscriptions too.
Pick one you haven’t used in the last month and pause it for Lent. If you miss it, you can resubscribe after Easter.
Over six weeks, a £12 monthly subscription saves roughly £18. Not huge, but easy money to keep. And if you don’t miss it, that saving continues.
Habit 4: Impulse Spending
Impulse spending is usually the sneakiest one because each purchase feels small.
The “just £12” item. The extra thing in your basket. The late-night order felt like a treat.
A strict ban can be hard to live with. A pause is easier.
Try this rule during Lent: wait 48 hours before buying anything non-essential.
Leave it in your basket, save the link, write it down, then come back two days later and decide again. You’ll still buy some things. You’ll just buy fewer of the ones that don’t really matter.
If you cut impulse spending by £20 a week, that’s about £120 over six weeks.
What You Could Save by Easter
You only need one change for this to work. Two changes can build a proper buffer.
A coffee change plus lunches can get you past £200 over Lent on its own. Add impulse spending or a paused subscription, and it can move closer to £300 or £400, depending on your routine.
You don’t need the biggest total. You need the change you’ll stick with.
How to Stop the Savings Disappearing
If you spend less in one area, it’s easy for the money to drift into other spending. The simple fix is to move it.
Pick one day each week and transfer what you saved into a separate account. Friday works for some people. Payday works for others. The best option is the one you’ll remember.
Putting what you save into a Clockwise Credit Union savings account keeps it separate from day-to-day spending and makes it easy to track. When you can see the pot growing, it’s easier to keep going through the middle of Lent.
After Lent, Keep What Fits
By Easter, you’ll know what worked.
You might keep the change because it suits your week. You might go back to your old routine, but with a better sense of the cost.
Either way, you’ll have a savings pot built from everyday choices.
Pick one habit, do the rough maths, and save the difference each week.
