Advice with budgeting/saving

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I’ve been struggling with how to budget my money and how much to save since I moved into my own place around 5 years ago. I have too much month at the end of my money and can never seem to make my pay last me the whole month - I always end up dipping into my savings which now means i have £0 left in there.

I get paid monthly, and have one account for bills/rent etc, then it’s a free for all with the rest of my money.

How do you budget for the month? How much do you save (a % of your wage, set amount each month)? Do you put aside a set amount for food/socialising? Im struggling at the moment, and don’t know how to budget at all..
 
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The first thing is to sit down and write down all your expenses. Review your last few months bank/credit card statements to see where your money has gone. Group them together in categories so for example I have groceries, work snacks/food (for what I buy at lunch/breakfast at work), travel, clothing, toiletries, fun (can be books, cinema, etc). When you see that your money goes to those different places, you can start looking at where you can make small changes. I put a set amount each week into a separate bank account for me to spend and use whatever I need it for.

For example I saw most of my money was being spent at work on breakfasts. God I love a Pret croissant!! So I found easy fun recipes I could bulk cook and freeze for the mornings.

I will also have a look at annual expenses such as insurance, MOT, christmas, birthdays etc. Think ahead about what you will have to spend over the pay period.

Some people swear by the 50/30/20 budget. This is where you spend 50% of your after-tax pay on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings or paying off debt.

There is lots of good advice on Money Saving Expert forum. I also found a lot through youtube videos. Mamafurfur is a popular account. There are lots of money bloggers/debt free journey community on instagram too. I enjoyed following people with a similar state of mind which helps me focus putting lots more to savings.
 
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The first thing is to sit down and write down all your expenses. Review your last few months bank/credit card statements to see where your money has gone. Group them together in categories so for example I have groceries, work snacks/food (for what I buy at lunch/breakfast at work), travel, clothing, toiletries, fun (can be books, cinema, etc). When you see that your money goes to those different places, you can start looking at where you can make small changes. I put a set amount each week into a separate bank account for me to spend and use whatever I need it for.

For example I saw most of my money was being spent at work on breakfasts. God I love a Pret croissant!! So I found easy fun recipes I could bulk cook and freeze for the mornings.

I will also have a look at annual expenses such as insurance, MOT, christmas, birthdays etc. Think ahead about what you will have to spend over the pay period.

Some people swear by the 50/30/20 budget. This is where you spend 50% of your after-tax pay on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings or paying off debt.

There is lots of good advice on Money Saving Expert forum. I also found a lot through youtube videos. Mamafurfur is a popular account. There are lots of money bloggers/debt free journey community on instagram too. I enjoyed following people with a similar state of mind which helps me focus putting lots more to savings.
This is brilliant, I have a quiet weekend so I’ll trawl through my bank statements and see how much I’m spending and where the money’s going. Thanks so much for replying to me, I’ll have a look at youtube too! Ive just had a payrise from work and want to be better with money and dealing with it. I feel like money is sometimes a taboo subject and not many people will speak about it x
 
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There is an app so you can see what your spending but I cant remeber what it is. I more x amount into my savings the day I get paid. If there is any money left the before the day I get paid I move that over too.
Currently saving for a new kitchen and patio. So in really on it at the moment.
 
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I joined Monzo and it lets you do savings pots (I’ll put all my DDs in there and transfer to another account), breaks down what you’re spending money on (entertainment, bills etc) and the best thing is if you’re paid by BACS it goes in 4pm the day before! Would recommend if you want to monitor your spending. I still have a high street bank account and all my DDs come out of that cause I can’t be bother changing them. You can also pay cash in at PayPoint which has been handy during all this, no queuing at bank (limit is £1k every 6 months).
 
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A blogger I follow has a great budget spreadsheet that I’ve used for years now. It’s changed how I spend money for sure. Most months I save around 40% of my salary and prior to using her spreadsheet I was terrible at money management :(.

If you google “125 budget spreadsheet” (it’s a tumblr blog 🤣) it’ll be the first link returned.

I use that to track all my expenses and it really works alongside using Monzo for day to day spending. I use the pots but only ever aim to have a few hundred pounds at a time in the Monzo accounts because I’m not 100% certain in their banking security. Anyway...

I do love it for the real time spending notifications and the “you’ve spend X today” because it keeps me focussed.

Also, think about what’s important to you and how you’d like to actually use your money. I had such a bad habit of going to Starbucks across from my office (pre covid!) every day for a drink just to get out of the office but decided to cut that out in favour of having more money for other things that actually bring me joy!
 
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I love talking about money and budgeting and saving. I know I’m weird. But I agree that it is such a taboo subject still and I don’t know why.
Also why financial literacy is not taught in schools baffles me but that’s another discussion for another day.

I used to be terrible with money (like you said too much month at the end of my money) and the way I changed my mindset was to save for something specific (for me it was a holiday) - it’s a good motivator and it also makes you take that extra second of consideration before you make an impulse purchase - do I really want this or would I rather have this for my holiday.

I would say if you are starting out keep it simple. There is so much out there on blogs and YouTube it can be overwhelming.

I do my budget every month in the notes section on my phone (and have done since 2010). I write my income at the top then my bills and “x” amount that I want to put into savings. Savings is moved into a separate account that same day - pay yourself first!

Once I started I became a bit addicted and now my husband and I kind of gamify savings - it’s fun and we’re both super competitive.

Honestly though my biggest tip is put your savings away somewhere that’s not easy to access as soon as you get it and give it a purpose. You will be surprised how quickly it builds up.

Over the years I have saved enough for a house deposit, my dream wedding, dream 6 week honeymoon and just recently a new kitchen and I still have 5 figures in savings.

Oh one other piece of advice I live by that’s not directly related to your question - work our what you roughly get paid each hour and then every time you want to buy something think of it in terms of hours worked ie £20 per hour and you want to spend £50 on shoes - are they worth 2.5 hours sat at your desk?
 
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I have always loved budgeting and a good spreadsheet! My mum works in banking so I have aways been good with money, my husband on the other hand :oops:

I work out all my bills, I then work out extras, so we put away money for Christmas, insurance (car, home etc) so we can pay in full each year. We also have an emergency fund. We also put include £100 for meals/takeaways. I have about 10 accounts (all thanks for mum) where I put money for each thing so I know what is for what.

Our bills (inc money we put away) is about 40-50% of our income. We then both get fun money which is out to do as we wish and for the kids, the rest then goes into savings.

When I met my husband he had about £500 of debt (10 years ago) It took me about 2 years to pay it off as I was a student and he was on a poor supermarkt wage, but we got there. We now have £30k in savings and are working to pay for an extension.
 
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I used to fritter money away on crap until I left my bank statement lying around
my fella had a fit about how much money I wasted on nothing
so I stopped buying crap and set myself a budget for each day-once it’s gone it’s gone-any left over goes into my savings
ive saved £420 since Christmas which doesn’t sound loads but it’s mine and I don’t touch it
 
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I used to fritter money away on crap until I left my bank statement lying around
my fella had a fit about how much money I wasted on nothing
so I stopped buying crap and set myself a budget for each day-once it’s gone it’s gone-any left over goes into my savings
ive saved £420 since Christmas which doesn’t sound loads but it’s mine and I don’t touch it
Well done! Saving does take dedication if it doesn’t come naturally to you. I really wish I had been told from a young age how important it is to put money into savings and be intentional with your money! I’d have not wasted as much of it 😖

Alas, every day is a day to learn and make smart money management decisions :)
 
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My top tip is to cut down your direct debits. Go through your banking app and cut down unnecessary direct debits that you may have. For example you may have Spotify but do you really use it?

Secondly takeouts. Allow yourself £50 for example for takeouts every week which includes Starbucks, KFC, Chinese, breakfast everything!

Before you go food shopping, have a look in your kitchen cupboards, fridge and freezer and see what you already have. Then make a list of food you may want to eat next week which includes breakfast, lunches and dinners including snacks. If you like cereal for breakfast then write cereal and milk on your list etc and if you want fajitas for dinner one evening, then make a list what you already have at home and what you may need to buy from shops. Then make a list of any toiletries, household items that you may need for the week. Weekly shopping list like this helps save! Also when you go to the supermarket, go through each aisle whilst checking your list and pick items up. I think if I go food shopping without a list and start middle of Aldi or Tesco then I add random junk in my trolley that I don't even need and it adds up to £100s...

Think about any treats that you may wish to buy yourself each week. Maybe a nice jacket or new foundation or a new top for work? Only then allow yourself few treats a week. If you have bought nice stuff for yourself for this week then wait for next week to treat yourself. Remember a treat is a treat which means a nice surprise or luxury not necessity. I know friends who treat themselves multiple times a day which loses the essence of a treat.

Anyway always pay your bills on payday for the month. Then set yourself a shopping/food budget for each week for example £50-£200 depending on the size of your family.

Set yourself a budget each week for treats.

It's really that simple sometimes when you think about it. You can make your finances as complicated as you want or simple as you need. Obviously different things work for different people and this is what works for me 😊

Always bills and direct debit on payday, then weekly shop then treats or takeout. Some weeks you don't need a treat 😉 and obviously give yourself some spending money each month for socialising, birthdays, clubbing or whatever you enjoy.

I always put some money in my savings each month on payday and stick to my weekly spending budget. Take each week as it comes and before you know it, it's the next payday.
 
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Also I would like to say that I used to have 1 bank account for everything! 1 bank account for wages, spending and saving and it worked! I used to save loads before when I was at uni albeit I had less expenses back then.

So I really think that you don't need lots of accounts or saving apps to save money. You can do it all from 1 bank account. The point is to not spend. It sounds silly but it all just comes down to not spending money.

Of course if you are really good at saving and budgeting then you can have lots of accounts for different purposes and monitor them. Some people are so good at budgeting and monitoring their finances and they can keep track of all accounts each month and save money!

Unfortunately I'm not so good at maths and accounts lol so I keep it simple for myself with just 2 bank accounts now. Do what works for you! If you can keep on top of different accounts then excellent do it! If you think you'll get lost then keep your life simple, keep 1 account.

I know people who have 2 accounts as 1 for saving and 1 for spending and still dip into savings each month. I know I have done this before lol.

It takes patience and resistance to spend those £££ on payday lol and it comes with practice. Remember we are all learning haha!
 
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Also if you've got a savings account dont put too much in their.

For example, dont put 300 a month in if you need to dip in and take some back out. Try 230.

As soon as you start dipping into your savings it goes down hill.
 
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Also if you've got a savings account dont put too much in their.

For example, dont put 300 a month in if you need to dip in and take some back out. Try 230.

As soon as you start dipping into your savings it goes down hill.

I agree with this!! Start with a smaller amount and increase your amount every month! Even if you pay £10 more each month into savings is better than paying £300 and then taking £50 out because it would have a negative impact. The idea is to save and be motivated to do it each month regardless of how much you save. Pennies make pounds! You just have to keep going lol
 
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Also I would like to say that I used to have 1 bank account for everything! 1 bank account for wages, spending and saving and it worked! I used to save loads before when I was at uni albeit I had less expenses back then.

So I really think that you don't need lots of accounts or saving apps to save money. You can do it all from 1 bank account. The point is to not spend. It sounds silly but it all just comes down to not spending money.

Of course if you are really good at saving and budgeting then you can have lots of accounts for different purposes and monitor them. Some people are so good at budgeting and monitoring their finances and they can keep track of all accounts each month and save money!

Unfortunately I'm not so good at maths and accounts lol so I keep it simple for myself with just 2 bank accounts now. Do what works for you! If you can keep on top of different accounts then excellent do it! If you think you'll get lost then keep your life simple, keep 1 account.

I know people who have 2 accounts as 1 for saving and 1 for spending and still dip into savings each month. I know I have done this before lol.

It takes patience and resistance to spend those £££ on payday lol and it comes with practice. Remember we are all learning haha!
I couldn’t agree with this more!

It is all about finding what works for you. Some people love having lots of accounts as it makes ales it harder to dip into dedicated accounts for items that are not allocated whereas for others too much complication can mean just throwing in the towel and giving up.

Find what works for you! The important thing is to find a balance - pay your bills, enjoy some of your money (you have worked for it after all) and save some to secure your future!
 
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For savings I’ve got a Marcus by Goldman Sachs account. It’s free and the interest was really good (until recently!) but it’s a no frills account that I have a standing order setup for. I really rate it!
 
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For savings I’ve got a Marcus by Goldman Sachs account. It’s free and the interest was really good (until recently!) but it’s a no frills account that I have a standing order setup for. I really rate it!
Me too! Something else that helped me get used to a budget is a regular saver account. You can put a certain amount away each month usually for 12 months. It helps me look forward to a big lump sum at the end
 
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I do have the 2 accounts wages goes into one and DDs come out of that. I then save £500 a month (£350 into locked savings and £150 into another to pay for car insurance/house insurance etc and any unexpected stuff) then have about the same to spend on whatever is left. I work out my daily spend allowance until payday and make sure I stick to this. It's not easy as I do love buying crud but lockdown has helped me have a bit of a clearout/eBay selling session as well.
 
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I also put a small amount in my NS&I account sometimes! It is the money that I would have spent on a takeaway or Starbucks that month which may not seem alot but if you keep adding to that amount, it can build up!

I think NS&I saver bond is great because you can put £50 in it every once in a while or whatever you can afford and forget about it. Then one rainy day when you really need it, the money is there. Or you may even use it for a holiday deposit and treat yourself for saving!
 
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