Advice with budgeting/saving

[working9-5]

All the advice on here is great. To keep you motivated and to stay on track, read MSE forums.

I love MSE. It helped me to pay off £20,000 of debt many years ago. The forums are great.

 

[Allthevest20]

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.

 

[no-no]

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).

 

[Titntat]

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.

 

[Immoslips]

Here’s the links to my favourite savings apps mentioned in my earlier post:

plum https://friends.withplum.com/r/q9VzLb

Chip use this promo code and you get a free £10: JAS3JY
NOTE: I don’t think I get anything for the chip promo code

moneybox

Turn your money into something greater | Moneybox

Moneybox is the simple way to save, invest, buy your first home, and combine your old pensions - all with one award-winning app. Download now.

go.onelink.me

 

[Boredinstagrammer29]

I’ve always been good with money. I saved £20k towards my deposit by 30. Albeit I haven’t travelled much as other people my age so I have made some sacrifices of my own.

I had a separate account for savings and didn’t have a bank card or app for this account so I make it super awkward for me to access it. Ignore it. It’s not to dip into. Consider yourself broke if you have £10 left on the last week of the month.

tot up your outgoings and see what is realistic for you to be able to put aside each month. Like someone said don’t do £300 if you always need an extra £100 by the end of the month, so £200 is realistic.

Itemise food bills When out with friends. People don’t need to know your financial situation so be bold with wanting to just pay for what you’ve ordered.

if you have any debts pay off the highest interest first. Move your credit cards around to 0% too.
I always worked extra jobs for cash in hand. Cat feeding, puppy sitting (yep, I was paid to entertain a puppy), babysitting.

I was using Monzo before lockdown. I put £100 aside for petrol a month (I commute), £100 socialising and £400 food shop a month. Takeaways came from which ever pot I was doing well with budget wise (I discovered Aldi and was spending £30 a week on food so I could afford a weekend take away)

any extras I added into a going away pot for my mums 60th.

I probably have loads more as I’m managing to pay my student loan off at an extra £600 a month now too.

I don’t need Monzo anymore as i managed fo change my mindset around my weekly spending

hope that helps x

 

[petra23]

Is the interest rate higher on your credit card than savings? I would pay off the credit card in that case, tbh I probably would aim to get that paid off regardless as it will hold you back saving & it being gone will go in your favour when it comes time to apply for your mortgage.

Yes it is, I think I'll just try to get rid of that in the next month or two then focus on the saving. That'll teach me to buy a Dyson airwrap the week before I get the sack

 

[Greencatfysh]

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!

I agree re NS&I - I save in the account that (and this might be the case for all their accounts) makes you wait 2-3 days for any money you take out to hit your bank account. This makes me think twice before I take money back out of my savings, but also means you can obviously still access it if you really needed it. It’s been so much better than my previous savings account with my bank which I could take money from instantly.

 

[MotherofDragons]

I think I'm just after some advice really... My partner and I really want to crack on and buy a house, we've both rented since 18 but moved back in with our parents now to try and really save. My problem is that I have had to take a lower paid job recently after being made redundant and I think I am still spending as though I'm on my previous higher wage. I have made a Monzo account and thinking of transferring a set budgeted amount into that for spending on food, petrol etc.. my direct debits will come out of my normal bank account as I don't want to have to change that one and then I'll use that to store my savings as well. I am aiming to save around £500 a month as my parents are not making me pay rent (they are desperate to be rid of me)

I have about £600 to pay off a credit card then I am debt free (apart from my car finance but that will be finished in January 2022), my question is do I pay it off in big chunks, perhaps £400 this month and £200 next month and sacrifice this months savings or do I save and pay off the credit card alongside... My only issue is that I want to cut my card into small pieces and never have the temptation again

Also any advice for saving for a deposit would be gratefully received!

The advice is usually to concentrate on paying off debts before saving, and personally this is what I would do, especially since you could do it over a very short period of time.

In terms of saving generally I have found what works for me is to budget as follows:

I write down my monthly take home salary then subtract my food shopping, bills, phone contract and other direct debits. From what is left I decide how much I want to save, and put that straight into a savings account - I'm currently saving to get married so that's what this pot is for. Whatever is left is my budget for the month, and I divide this into 5 equal weekly budgets. Chances are that the 5th week won't ever be a full week, but this means that you don't have that last few days to get through until payday that you have if you divide it into 4 weeks. The reason I do weekly budgets is that I find it hard to make it stretch with a monthly budget, whereas with a weekly budget if you blow it all in the first few days you don't have long to wait until you can spend again. Anything left at the end of the week from my weekly budget gets transferred into my Monzo account, which I'm using as a second more short term saving account for any treats like concert tickets, clothes, Christmas etc. I make sure I write it down whenever I spend anything so that i'm not going over budget at all. This might seem overly-complicated but it's what is working for me at the moment and i'm managing to save quite a lot into both pots since we're in lockdown. I also write down at the beginning of the month any dates I know i'll have to spend money such as birthdays, social events so I can make sure I plan around these and they will be within my budget.

Just generally I'm trying not to spend much which is so much easier now that I can't pop to the shops on my lunch break and i'm not really going out socially. I'm avoiding shopping websites and deleting marketing emails which might tempt me straightaway. I'm on an £8 per month SIM-only deal instead of having a phone upgrade and I've switched energy suppliers through lookaftermybills.com

 

[bluebell22]

I have my own bank account that my wages get paid into each month. Straight away on payday, I have a standing order that takes money into a joint bills account that I share with my husband, and all of our bills automatically come out of that. The rest of my wages left in my personal account I give myself a monthly budget (I try to do it by week, say £80 a week for example which covers bus fare, food shopping, weekend plans) and that gets transferred into my Monzo account. I try to not touch my main bank account then. Monzo is good as it gives you an idea what you spend your money on. It also has the option to do 'round ups' on your purchases. So say you spend 79p, it will round it up to the nearest £1 and the difference will be put into your pot. I've saved so much money this way - it all adds up.

Sometimes I'll dip into it my main account, but I try not to touch it. At the end of the month, whatever is left over I put into my savings. I could probably do this the other way round and put it straight into my savings when I get paid, but I like having money in there just in case. This has all changed due to COVID as I've been on furlough, I haven't really needed to budget apart from food, so I've saved so much money!

 

[Bubblesandflowers]

Thought I’d bump this thread because a few of us could do with tips. I know I spend hundreds a month in supermarkets. It’s just me and the dog but it is costing £40 a basket (and I go several times a week ). I’m vegan and usually only buy on offers but there’s hardly any these days so what I’m spending has obviously shot up.

I think I’m going to be more conscious of meal prepping but that’ll only take me so far. I need to kick the habit of going to the supermarket of a weekend and make an effort to use up what I have in the cupboard. I’m not in a position to save at the moment and have a few BNPL’s I have to clear off before Xmas. This month will be tight

Batch cooking is probably the best way I found I can cut my food shop down. I always bulk things up with lots of veggies and pulses too.
You are right - I've found there are less offers recently. I also shop around to find the best offer. So I found Asda had a 5 for £5 freezer deal and stocked up on a few faves.
Can you find your dog food cheaper online too?

 

[Boredinstagrammer29]

Guys what do I have to do on Prolific to make some actual decent money... I’ve made like £3.09 in two weeks what am I doing wrong

 

[Anonymous_Troll]

Ooh I’ve just downloaded plum @Scvee13 - do you find you don’t notice the money going out? I’m hoping it will help me save up an emergency fund as currently I live wage to wage with nothing to fallback on.

 

[Fenella]

I’ve just gone to sign up for YNAB again as I need some focus- I used to pay £6.49 a month and thought that was a lot but now they want £11.49 a month subscription- they can fuck right off!

Will go back through this thread and read the recommendations for budget apps as just looking at my bank balance doesn’t seem to help me and I’m stupid with money

 

[Scvee13]

I use the credit union, comes straight off my wage, I also use plum, I have 2 separate bank accounts for savings that direct debits are set up for. I am good with money but my husband is terrible. It really annoys me

 

[Anonymous_Troll]

@Tiredbones I was in exactly the same boat. I used to aim to earn £5 a day on prolific to buy milk, beans & bread when I was out of work due to health reasons. Terrible state of affairs but like you, things are looking up for me now!

Vypr sounds good as does one pulse. YouGov is one I use too but my god is it slow. Like with anything you’ve just got to be consistent and that’s probably the main thing I find hard.

 

[Paradisefalls]

How good does it feel to be near the end of your student loan!! I paid off some with £500 chunks but this morning decided to put the rest on an interest free credit card.
I just want to money from my wages and I will decide how much to pay each month!

Honestly can’t wait for the day they are out of my life for good!

If I had known when I took them out how long I would be paying them back I would definitely have thought twice about it! Really think there should be more done in schools to educate young people.

Come the end of the year though I will definitely be celebrating when they are gone!

 

[GiftedNotFree]

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!

 

[GiftedNotFree]

I’ve just gone to sign up for YNAB again as I need some focus- I used to pay £6.49 a month and thought that was a lot but now they want £11.49 a month subscription- they can fuck right off!

Will go back through this thread and read the recommendations for budget apps as just looking at my bank balance doesn’t seem to help me and I’m stupid with money

Hey! I posted earlier in the thread about and excel template that I use for budgeting. It’s from a blogger I’ve followed for years - a tumblr blog but it is a really good sheet!

If you google “125 budget spreadsheet” it’ll be the first link that comes up. She has blogged about how to best use is etc so see if that could work for you!

 

[Jc456]

Guys what do I have to do on Prolific to make some actual decent money... I’ve made like £3.09 in two weeks what am I doing wrong

I keep it open in a tab. I've made £40 since I signed up in June