How to Save Money this Year Using These 5 Bujo Finance Tricks

Most of us have a savings goal that started with real enthusiasm and then faded somewhere around the third week. The money goes into an account you barely look at, the number on the screen doesn’t mean much, and the new notebook or the Friday takeaway wins every time because it’s right there in front of you and feels satisfying.

Your bullet journal can put that goal on the page instead, where you’ll see it every day. Colouring in a block, ticking off a week or filling a calendar with green no-spend days turns saving into something you can watch happening, and that is often the difference between a goal you finish and one you forget.

If you want to save money using your bujo this year, this post gives you five bujo finance tricks to choose from, each with a quick set-up guide and a reason it keeps you going. It’s for anyone who’s tried to save before and lost momentum, or who wants to start but isn’t sure where to begin; the FAQ at the end will help you decide which layout to try first.

1. The Visual Goal Tracker

If you love an aesthetic spread and thrive on seeing progress in real time, this layout is perfect for you.

How to Set It Up:

1. Draw a central shape: Sketch a jar, a piggy bank, a mountain, or even a house if you’re saving for a deposit.
2. Divide it into segments: Break the outline into equal shapes or sections. For instance, if you want to save £500, draw 50 boxes or segments representing £10 each (or as many boxes as you need to represent the amounts you’ll save each time).
3. Add a key: Leave space at the bottom for a colour key if you want to use different shades for different months or milestones.

Why This Layout Keeps You Motivated:

The visual goal tracker layout is one of my favourite bujo finance tricks because it taps directly into micro-rewards, almost gamifying the act of saving. Every single time you transfer money into your savings account, you get the instant gratification of shading a section of your tracker. And colouring in that final piece to complete the picture gives you a genuine surge of accomplishment.

Top Tip: Depending on your goal, keep the value of each segment fairly small. That way, if you have a good month and save a little extra, you get to colour two or more blocks. And if you have a tighter month, hopefully you’ll still be able to colour in at least one block. The extra emotional boost will encourage you to look for more ways to save so you can colour in even more blocks down the line.

2. The “No-Spend” Monthly Calendar

Sometimes saving money is about curbing non-essential spending habits. A “No-Spend” calendar focuses on mindfulness and breaking the cycle of impulse buying or overconsumption.

How to Set It Up:

1. Draw a mini monthly grid.
2. Define your rules: Create a small key at the bottom defining what a “No-Spend” day actually means for you. Maybe it’s not spending on clothes or coffee. Maybe it’s not spending on stationery (I’m looking at myself here) or subscriptions.
3. Track your days: Mark non-spending days with a green highlight, a cute stamp, or a sticker. Use a neutral tone for days when you made non-essential purchases (note that I’m avoiding red here, because you want to celebrate what you did achieve rather than beat yourself up over what you didn’t achieve).

Why This Approach Keeps You Motivated:

With this layout, your sole focus is “don’t break the chain.” Watching a long streak of green fill your monthly spread makes you think twice before grabbing that unnecessary takeaway coffee or mid-week online delivery.

But… Top Tip: Be realistic. Aiming for 31 days of zero spending is not only almost impossible, but it can also feel a little soul-sucking. And I don’t think that’s the real point here. This is one of the bujo finance tricks for creating a more mindful approach to what you spend and when you spend it.

3. The 52-Week Incremental Challenge

If bigger savings goals feel overwhelming, an incremental challenge can ease you in with small, manageable steps.

How to Set It Up (the simple version):

1. Create a four-column table: Label the columns Week #, Target Amount, Total Saved, and Status (with a checkbox).
2. Fill in the values: Write down weeks 1 through 52. In a classic 52-week challenge, you save the amount matching the week number (£1 in Week 1, £2 in Week 2, up to £52 in Week 52—totalling £1,378 by the end of the year!).
3. Add your checkboxes: Add a box to tick off each week as you complete it.

Why This Layout Keeps You Motivated:

Starting with just £1 removes the fear of starting for many of us, because it’s an easy amount to put aside. By the time the weekly amounts get larger in the second half of the year, saving money has already become a deeply ingrained weekly routine. Alongside this, you’ll be more likely to look for ways to save money elsewhere, like subscriptions, non-essential purchases and so on, meaning you’ll have a bit more cash flow to save larger amounts.

Top Tip: Open a savings account that pays interest on weekly deposits. Watching your savings add up and the interest being applied helps you feel more excited to keep going. If you’re in Europe, I highly recommend Plum because you can set it up to move the money for you (sign up to Plum here). If not, Wise is great because it lets you set up “Money Jars” that earn daily interest in your choice of currency (sign up for Wise here).

And if you want to continue, either start at the beginning again or stick at saving the higher amount £52 per week) for as long as you need to/can.

4. The Spending Wishlist & Cooling-Off Log

Impulse buying is one of the biggest budget-killers. And we’ve all been there, haven’t we? New planner season, which usually starts in September, is understandably a hard time for me, because, well, all of those new journals and planner systems to try. I’m writing this in November 2026, and I’ve definitely spent my entire 2027 in the past few weeks.

Keeping a spending wishlist and cooling-off log in your bullet journal can buffer the urge to buy and the decision to hand over your hard-earned cash.

How to Set It Up (the simple version):

1. Rule: Use four simple columns. Label them Item, Price, Date Added, and Cooling-Off Date.
2. Set a rule: Give yourself a mandatory x-day waiting period before buying anything non-essential. The waiting period can be anything you like; whatever you think will help you curb impulse spending.
3. Add a result column: At the far right, add a final column for the outcome: Bought or Saved! Highlight ‘saved’ in green so you can see how things work for you across the month or year.

Why This Approach Keeps You Motivated:

Nine times out of ten, when the waiting period is up, the initial spend excitement has passed, and you’d happily skip the purchase or the urge to buy is replaced with an urge to see more ‘saved’ notes in your bujo.

Top Tip: If you add a running total at the bottom of the page titled “Total Money Saved by Waiting.” Watching that number grow feels even better!

5. The “Save the Change” Tracker

If you feel like your budget is too tight to set aside large amounts each month, this layout focuses on harvesting the small, hidden savings you barely notice leaving your account.

How to Set It Up:

1. Draw a repeating pattern: Honeycomb grids, stacks of coins, or simple rows of circles work wonderfully well here.
2. Assign a small value: Assign each unit a low amount, such as 50p, £1, £2, or £5.
3. Move and log your savings: Every time you save that spare change into a savings account, colour in the corresponding value on your tracker.

Why This Layout Keeps You Motivated:

It proves that small amounts add up fast, and because you aren’t committing a massive chunk of your wages all at once, there’s zero feeling of sacrifice. It’s low-pressure and feels almost like “free” money accumulating over time.

Top Tip: If you don’t have a goal in mind, dedicate this specific tracker to a fun treat, like funding a weekend lunch out or buying a new set of journal pens. Rewarding your efforts, even when you couldn’t save larger amounts, helps you see what’s possible when you do have a goal to work towards.

Recommendation: Again, I recommend Plum for this as you can set it up to automatically move the money for you.

FAQ’s: Using a BuJo for Saving Money

Here are some of the questions I often get asked about using a BuJo for tracking my finances. If you have any more, drop them in the comments and I’ll either edit this blog or write a dedicated post for you.

How do I choose a Layout to Start With?

I’d start by asking myself which type of saver I need to become first. Someone who spends less on the non-essentials or learns to save for specific goals?

If you are watching your spending, then try a no-spend month and a spending wishlist with a cooling-off log.

If you have a goal you want to save towards, start with either the Save the Change challenge tracker or the visual goal tracker, and then move on to a 52-week challenge.

Do I Need A Special Journal for Any of These BuJo Layouts?

No, not at all. If you have a ruler and a pen, you can make your own tables on any paper. However, if you are considering keeping a bullet journal for other things, then most bujo users recommend a dot or grid paper in your notebook. Personally, I opt for dotted paper; either the Buke A5 Dotted Journal or the HOMEMARS A6 Pocket Notebooks (bulk pack) if you want to create a super portable series of journals.

Can I Customise Each Money Saving Method?

Absolutely! I’ve given you a basic guide, but you can make each method your own by customising the core elements or adding decorative points to pretty up the page.

How Do I Become More Consistent with Financial Journaling using my BuJo?

I think it depends on the layout you choose, but your biggest challenge will usually be staying consistent with saving money. I’ve always used a separate savings account for specific goals and, where possible, automated the process through a standing order. That way, savings get added to even if I am not consciously doing that myself, and I can worry about tracking it later.

But. And I stress the B.U.T. Sometimes the challenge starts with creating a routine around tracking your money habits. If that feels more like you, I’d start by using a pocket notebook you can carry everywhere. This will give you more incentive to use it.

If believing you can save money feels like your main challenge, read this blog: From Anxiety to Abundance: How Money Journaling Changes Your Mindset.

From here you’ll want to read:

1. How to Set Up Your Bujo for Finance Journaling. This will give you the tools to tackle your wider finances through your BuJo and reassert your desire to save.
2. Mindful Budget Binder Setup Ideas for Your Journal. This will help you budget better, plus I have included some extra saving ideas here too.

What if I Miss Saving for a Week or Two?

I think it’s important to have some balance, because while I’ve promoted the importance of consistency, sometimes life gets in the way and you can’t save in a particular week.

If this is where you find yourself, firstly, remember that it’s okay. Unexpected bills have a way of popping up now and again.

That can’t be helped.

Simply pick up when you can and try again.

And if you need to evaluate either your goal or the number of increments it takes to get there, start a new page in your BuJo.

That’s okay too.

Save Money This Year Using These BuJo Finance Tricks

Saving gets easier once you can see it working. Whether you’re colouring in a jar, counting down 52 weeks or watching your “saved by waiting” total creep up, each layout gives you a reason to keep going on the weeks when your motivation has gone out for the day. Small amounts add up faster than you’d expect once they have a page of their own, and a page you enjoy filling in is one you’ll keep coming back to.

Choose one layout and draw it tonight. Write what you’re saving for at the top, add your first amount (even £1 counts), and you’ve started. You can always add a second layout later, once the first has become a habit.

Which layout are you going to try first, and what are you saving for? Tell me in the comments (I love hearing what everyone’s working towards), and if you have a question the FAQ didn’t answer, I’ll add it to the post.