Financial confidence isn’t something that comes naturally to all of us – after all, most of us weren’t taught about money growing up and the world of finance is filled with jargon. Not knowing where to start with your money is common, with 35% of people admitting that they felt that way in recent research by Moneybox. People seem to think there’s some magical formula when it comes to being ‘good with money’, and that you can only be financially confident once you figure it out – but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In my experience, both as a financial coach and as someone who has accrued and paid off a large sum of debt, financial confidence is built through small, achievable actions, not through dramatic moments or having a ‘perfect’ system in place. In fact, big overhauls or perfectly laid plans often increase anxiety because they rely on us maintaining high levels of motivation, they can feel very fragile and often collapse under the weight of your day to day life.
Tiny actions can add up to change our mindset and behaviour, helping us to trust ourselves to make good decisions and to give ourselves grace when we make a mistake. They encourage us to engage with our finances in small, unintimidating ways on a regular basis, and when we feel connected to our money, our confidence can grow.
Here are some of the most effective ways to build financial confidence in your everyday life, without having to get it all perfect:
Have one honest money conversation per week
This might be something to track initially, but hopefully it will eventually become second nature. Having open conversations about money means that we can air any concerns before they become steeped in shame, but lots of people hold back. In fact, research by Moneybox shows that 44% of people prefer not to talk about money with others, with 7% admitting that they were embarrassed to discuss their financial situation with a professional. Talking allows us valuable insights into other people’s relationship with money, too. We often assume that everyone is getting it right with their finances except us, which really isn’t the case – talking helps us to get rid of any secrecy and shame, and it also allows us to share tips and support, too.
Try to learn something new every day
Improving your financial education is vital for increasing your confidence with money. You don’t have to plunge yourself into an intense course or spend hours reading up on terminology, you could simply sit down and make a long list of things that you’d like to know, or questions that you have, then try to tick one of them off each day. Or, you could allow yourself to be led by curiosity and click on money stories that pique your interest.
Taking a moment each day, or even each week, to engage with money and find out something new, will help you to build up your knowledge base – you’ll be surprised by how quickly it grows.
Track and celebrate your skipped spends
Often, restricting spending comes with an element of punishing ourselves. We embark on restrictive no-spend challenges that fall apart in a moment of weakness and end up damaging our financial confidence further. Or, we create budgets that don’t allow any room for enjoyment, then get frustrated when we can’t stick to them. None of this is helpful in the long term, and can lead to a yo-yo effect or restrict-splurge cycle that stops us from getting anywhere with our money.
An alternative to this is finding a way to reward yourself for foregoing wasteful spending in the moment. I’m not talking about denying yourself the odd treat – I mean the coffee that you habitually buy, drink half of and then chuck without thinking. You can bring some mindfulness to these decisions by taking a pause and deciding whether you would rather make the purchase or bank the money – and apps like Moneybox make it easy to set aside savings. The more you do this, the more you’ll feel you have control over your spending and saving behaviour – something that 37% of people said they feel constantly conflicted about – one small decision at a time.
Take on saving challenges
Something else that can help when saving feels impossible is setting challenges or games for yourself, with small amounts of money being saved under certain conditions. It might be that you put away £3 for every day that it rains (in the UK, this is a surefire path to wealth), or embrace the 1p challenge, where you save 1p on day one, 2p on day two, etc.
Saving in this manner takes the pressure off, and it’s a brilliant way to flip the script on your relationship with money, especially if you’ve always seen yourself as a spender rather than a saver. You see these small amounts add up to something significant, and it helps you to believe in yourself as someone who saves.You can expand out into saving larger sums when you feel ready.
Start micro-investing
A lack of confidence is a huge factor in people being reluctant to invest, with 72% viewing investing as risky and 36% allowing the fear of losing money to stop them from giving it a try. While it’s important to note that there is always risk attached to investing, and being comfortable with your level of risk is vital, it’s a good way to grow wealth in the long term.
Starting small, with ‘spare’ money, is a fantastic way to learn about investing in real time and build your confidence as an investor. You could decide to invest a small amount each week, or have certain types of money that you invest: the proceeds from selling old stuff, cashback or interest you earn, refunds, gifted money or rebates/bonuses can all work really well. The idea is that you are able to acclimatise to how investing feels, with money that you won’t miss.
Financial confidence isn’t built by being perfect with money, or by making big, bold decisions. It’s built by proving to yourself, again and again, that you can handle it.
Moneybox survey of 4,000 UK adults, December 2025.
Capital at risk. All investing should be long term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest.
We do not offer personal financial advice or make specific recommendations based on your individual circumstances. If needed, seek independent financial advice before making decisions regarding your financial goals.