Turn your ash into cash

Smokers who need that extra push to quit could do so with the help of their local credit union and WeQuit.co.uk.

According to the charity "No Smoking Day" (March 9th), 60% of smokers say they would like to stop, but lack the motivation to do so or think it will be too hard. When they do give up for a short while, the money they are saving is not obvious because it gets absorbed in ordinary household bills and quitters cannot see the full benefit of the money they have saved.

Quitter Val, 60, says: "I realised that by not smoking I was saving money - at 200 cigs a week that was £60 a week, £240 a month I wasn't spending on smoking, but I didn't seem to have any extra money because I was spending it without noticing. So now I send a regular payment to my credit union account every month and am saving up for a holiday next year. On the rare occasions I feel like a cigarette, I think of the fun I'll have on my holiday instead!"

Other quitters will put the money in a jar each time they would have bought a pack of cigarettes, and take the cash they've accumulated down to their credit union, to keep the money "out of sight, out of mind" until they need it. One lady commented that the money she saved represented "guilt free shopping" trips with her friends.

Mark Lyonette, Chief Executive of ABCUL - the Association of British Credit Unions, said: "Credit unions offer a safe and convenient place to put the money you save from quitting smoking. You can save as much or as little as you like, which means the cash that used to go on cigarettes can go towards something special instead, such as a holiday or Christmas. Many credit unions offer payroll deduction too, so savings come out of your wages before you get them and you don't end up spending the money on something else."

Vishnee Sauntoo from the No Smoking Day charity added: "Quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do for your health and you can save loads of money too! If you are a 20-a-day smoker, you can save £2,300 in a year if you give up smoking. You could put that money towards a new kitchen, a family holiday or even save it through your local credit union.

"No Smoking Day - 9th March - is the ideal day to quit smoking with millions of others trying too. For more tips and advice go to our online hub wequit.co.uk/ which includes an online forum with thousands of quit buddies. They'll also put you in touch with your local NHS stop smoking services through their ‘how to quit' page."

To find your local credit union, visit findyourcreditunion.co.uk.