Having enough money to achieve your financial goals requires patience for many people. Putting away what you can afford to save each month and keeping track of any growth. However, whilst many people will focus on a savings account alongside their pension pot, other finance options could help boost your savings much more quickly and provide a different approach.

Here are 3 different options to consider if regular savings aren’t working for you.

Short Term Borrowing

Saving can take time, especially if you need money quickly and you can only put aside a small amount each month. If you have been saving for a while, you may have built an emergency savings fund just to cover any unexpected expenses when they crop up.

However, for those who do not have this type of fund already, or are at the early stages of building one, short term options are required. Pay day loans, when used for this precise situation, can provide an instant resolution to a pressing financial matter, and can provide affordable, flexible repayments to pay it back quickly. When used only for emergency financial circumstances, short term borrowing will provide a quicker resolution whilst waiting for your savings to grow.

Stocks & Shares

Many people are aware of the advantages of investing money but may avoid this approach due to the high risks involved. Whilst the risks need to be considered, the potential growth from a smart investment, even from a modest amount, is hard to ignore.

Equity investment doesn’t need to be complicated either, with products such as stocks and share ISAs a great option if you are investing smaller amounts under £20,000, your annual allowance. This can help you spread your money over many different sectors rather than putting it all into one, increasing your chances for growth.

A Lifetime ISA is another that comes with the added incentive of a 25% government boost, capped at £1,000 per year. If you are saving to build a deposit for a property as a first-time buyer, for example, this will quickly build up and provide a much faster return than regular savings. If you do withdraw the money for other reasons, however, you will be charged a 25% fee for doing so.

Equity Crowdfunding

In a similar way that P2P (Peer to Peer) lending has become a new money option, equity crowdfunding is another way to invest your money instead of saving and reap huge returns. For some, when picking the right startup to invest in, you could be choosing the next big company that will see your money grow very quickly. Similar to any sort of investment, this can go both ways and not every business that is crowdfunding will go onto greater things.

The reason equity crowdfunding has become a popular option is its relatively easy accessibility, with many platforms providing crowdfunding opportunities. You choose how much you want to invest online, with many companies advising how much of a share in the business you will receive for your investment. This is sometimes incentivised with exclusive gifts and more. As an intriguingly different approach to regular savings, this could be what you are looking for.