The post-summer money hangover is real and September is the time to reset

New Year’s resolutions can be a great fresh start, but hard to keep when you're still trying to get on top of things after the festive season.

More recently, the October Theory trend has seen people embrace autumn as another moment to reset. There’s something in that and, financially, September is the perfect time to get a head start.

Summer is expensive. Flights, days out, keeping kids entertained through school holidays, another takeaway because it's too hot to cook. None of this feels irresponsible - but these small payments add up.

That's the problem with summer finances: the pressure builds and doesn’t announce itself. By the time you realise you need to rein things in, Christmas songs are playing in the shops and you’re having to put savings aside.

One shortcut people may reach for is using ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ services. Used for something unavoidable, such as a broken washing machine, it can be a really helpful tool. But if it becomes a way of making ends meet, it's stopped being convenient.

Missed or stacked-up payments can knock your credit score, making it harder to get your finances in order. So where do you actually start? Not by cutting out coffees or denying yourself any fun in the run-up to the holidays. That kind of advice can be hard to stick to because it focuses on what you should give up, rather than building better spending habits. Instead, try a few small changes to make money more manageable during this period.

One example is the 70-20-10 rule: 70% of your income goes towards essentials (food, bills, debts), 20% towards the things that make life enjoyable (going out, cinema tickets, even a takeaway coffee), and 10% towards your future, including building up that money pot for the holidays.

It gives your spending structure and makes it easier to see what you can afford. You start by being honest about what you can’t avoid, rather than what you should cut.

Build your savings confidence with small, steady contributions into your holiday money pot. Even a few pounds a week is progress, and it all adds up. Treat it like a bill, but one you can feel good about paying, because you’re paying yourself first.

And if putting anything aside feels out of reach right now, don’t see that as a failure. Speak to utility providers early, as there may be cheaper tariffs or payment plans, and asking for help is the same instinct as building a money pot: getting ahead of a problem rather than reacting to it.

This might not feel like much in September. But it will feel like everything in December. And if it also means January starts with some breathing room, take that as a bonus. The real win is heading into the holidays feeling more confident and in control of your money.

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Dani Palmer is the Consumer Finance Expert at Loqbox.

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