Give your budget a break... and quit

TODAY is the perfect time to take control of your health and wealth – it’s No Smoking Day.

If you smoke 20 a day it will set you back an eye-watering £3,021 a year. Smoke for 10 years and you’ll be coughing up over £30,000 – that’s enough to buy a brand new Lotus Elise or BMW 3 Series.

But it’s not just the tobacco firms’ pockets you are lining, as £7.32 of the £8.30 price of a pack of ciggies goes to the taxman.

The Government is making £2,664 a year from someone with a 20-a-day habit.

Instead, if you quit, you could improve your health and be putting that cash away into a savings account or a stocks and shares ISA.

If you’re saving for a house and you’re under the age of 40, choosing a Lifetime ISA will give you an extra bonus from the Government.

For every £100 you put in you’ll get another £25. From the cash you could save quitting, plus the Government bonus, you could have a £15,000 deposit towards a property in just four years.

Sarah Coles, personal finance analyst at investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Today is the perfect day to stop a habit that’s burning a hole in your finances – and sending thousands of pounds worth of your hardearned cash up in smoke.”

The British Heart Foundation says one of the best approaches to quitting is to pick a day when you’ll give up for good, and focus on sticking to it. It recommends buying yourself something as a treat with the money you save – which could be a daily treat or putting the money aside towards something like a family holiday.