From hitting 10,000 steps or drinking three litres of water, we all have daily habits we try to stick to.
And with the New Year fresh in our minds, we’re also thinking about smart financial decisions to make in 2026.
A number of digital banks have been rolling out savings schemes this month which are proving popular among customers.
For example, Monzo’s ‘1p savings challenge’, which went viral last year, can build a £667 nest egg by the end of the year.
Now, eager to throw their hat in the ring, Starling Bank has launched their own feature, which they say can save Brits an average of £1,600 a year, based on the mid-point between saving 1p and £9 daily.
The challenge is simple: users are encouraged to check their bank balance every single day and transfer the last digit — in pounds or pence — to a separate space called the Last Digital Widget.
Do you check your bank balance daily?
Data from Starling Bank has shown that the 43% of Britons who check their balance daily save more frequently than the majority, who don’t.
On average, daily balance checkers set aside money at least every two months, while weekly checkers do so every three months, and monthly checkers do so just once a year.
To put that into perspective, the bank’s findings indicate that daily balance checkers have £18,243 saved on average, 6% more than those who check their balance less than monthly.
And savings aren’t the only reason to regularly check your bank balance. MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis regularly urges people to keep an eye on their account to watch out for ‘pointless payments’.
Talking specifically about reoccurring outgoings that we might have totally forgotten are there, Martin noted: ‘The thing about regular payments, money direct debits and similar that drip out of your account is that they are passive transactions. We spend our money but we don’t do it consciously – it happens behind our backs.’
Starling’s research indicated that the main reason people don’t check their balance daily is because they prefer to keep a rough mental budget instead – with 51% citing this.
A third of non-daily checkers say that it’s due to the fact that their bank automates their bills (34%), and 14% say it simply doesn’t occur to them to check.
Finally, financial anxiety is also a factor for 7% of those who don’t check their balance daily.
How to use the Last Digit Widget
The Starling Last Digit Widget can be found in the Spaces section of the app.
There’s no ‘sign up’ process, to take part all customers need to do is check their bank balance daily and transfer the last digit – in pounds or pence – to the Last Digit Widget space.
For example, if your balance was £150.75, you could either transfer 5p or £5, for example. Or, if it was £82.68, you’d transfer either 8p or £8 into the savings pot.
iOS customers also have the option to install their Last Digit Widget onto their phone home screen. You can do this by pressing and holding down your home screen, tapping edit, add widget, and then searching for the Starling app.
The widget will then show you a running total of how much you’ve saved and provide regularly reminders to transfer daily.
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