If you’re in a position to make saving a regular habit, you can ease financial stress and enjoy the occasional feel-good reward

When you look back on your childhood, it can often seem like a golden age – hazy sunshine and happiness, a kind of endless summer’s day. As children, many of us had few responsibilities, and very little to worry about – and a big factor in this was money. We had no bills, no credit cards, no mortgages and no dependents. Many of us will have been fortunate enough to receive some pocket money from our parents, which we spent or saved as we chose.

“Remember that feeling as a child – saving up your pocket money until you reached your goal and then taking all your pennies and pounds (now a phone or bank card) to the shop to make your long-awaited purchase?” says Rachel Jones, senior marketing manager at Coventry Building Society. “That emotional response doesn’t leave us.”