motivation to budget

I'd be interested to see how people motivate themselves to budget.
Do you record your spend daily or weekly or save it till then end of the month?

I know i'm spending too much and there are quick wins like no. takeaways etc.

but need your tips guys

thanks

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  • skint_spice
    skint_spice Posts: 12,539
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    Spreadsheets, lots of spreadsheets!
    I have a sheet with income against expenditure and it has all DDs etc on it and a set amount for food etc. I check with my bank account online a couple of times a week to make sure it's still right. Personally I just take out a set amount in cash each week for food and spends and make it last, once it's gone it's gone except for major emergencies like car repairs. Repairs, road tax, pressies are budgeted for but standing order goes to savings account for them to stop me getting my grubby mitts on it.
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  • Sagaris
    Sagaris Posts: 1,852
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    I have Microsoft Money on my pc, and update it daily for the bills, standing orders etc, and also check my bank account every day.
    Everyday spends (not that there's many of those!) go on a list - the thought of actually writing it down and adding to the expenditure puts me off most of the time. And clearing debts/saving for something in particular are great motivators IMO!
    :j Almost 2 stones gone! :j
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  • You seem to be asking three questions so I will answer all of them.

    My motivation to budget is that now that I am out of debt, I never want to use my CC again without knowing where the money to pay it off is coming from. Secondly, after reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I want to build up my savings/investments as best I can.

    The method I am using to track things is to use a software package called Accountz. I use this to track all my spending down to the penny (including cash transactions). I can also enter my forecast spending (including regular bills) so that I know how much disposable income I have till the next pay day.

    One of my ways to save money came about because I was sick of having £10 left with a week left to go till payday. I now take packed breakfast/lunch to work. (I sometimes go swimming in the morning so need to make breakfast as well). I have found that by buying slightly differently, my food shops may have even gone down even though I am now getting 3 meals out of them instead of one. I have also saved on buying things on the canteen so that is £15 - £20 saved per week.

    HTH
    If you are at a poker game and you cannot figure out who is the patsy then guess what...you're the patsy - Warren Buffet
  • berserker
    berserker Posts: 67 Forumite
    Thanks for the great advice guys.

    lazy runner thats just the kinda thing i was asking :) i'll check out Accountz as it sound like the thing i'm after. Hows the rich dad poor dad approach working for you? I'm trying to get my spend in order so i can move onto investments


    Skint spice i like the idea of only drawing out a set amount a week for spends. I hate it when i look at my statement and see i have withdrawn loads over a week.

    Sagaris, do you have a set time everyday you sit down and do your accounts or depends on your day?
  • tealady
    tealady Posts: 3,741
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    I take the set amount of the bank on a weekly basis and I (nearly) always do it on the same day. I try to work on a five week month so most months I have a weeks "spends" left over, that goes into my savings for big things. At the end of each week I also tip into my piggy bank any money not spent that week then use it for the odd small emergency.
    Find out who you are and do that on purpose (thanks to Owain Wyn Jones quoting Dolly Parton)
  • There is that japanese word 'kaizen' meaning a little bit of improvement every day.
    Or I prefer to think of ratcheting things up to increase the pressure as I go along.

    I am making savings in my daily/monthly spending, and putting some of these savings into my savings accounts. For instance my energy supplier wrote to me that because I had a surplus in my account, my dd was going down by £11/month. £5 of this has been added to my savings account standing order.

    I also save 10% of my net income and when I get payrises, I try and put some/all of the payrise towards my savings. I am trying to get to the point where I have 3 months of salary in a savings account. When I have reached that point, I will continue to save at a lower rate, and start putting the remainder of my money in investments, again.

    I was investing a few years ago, but was very poor at it as I kept losing money. This was because I was not disciplined. (This lack of discipline also led to the debt). I plan on practice trading for a few months and then start putting my money towards this.

    Not sure how good Accountz is for tracking investments, suspect I will use a spreadsheet for that.
    If you are at a poker game and you cannot figure out who is the patsy then guess what...you're the patsy - Warren Buffet
  • berserker
    berserker Posts: 67 Forumite
    I need to set up the 10%, and will soon be starting a new job so plan on putting all the extra money from that into a savings account.
  • Slightly off subject, but as a motivation not to spend I think of how much I earn per year and times that by the number of years I've been working - which equates to quite a substantial amount. Then I think about how much I have in my account or what I have to show for all those years of working. This usually puts things into perspective :rolleyes:
  • Another point purely on the motivational front - if we are trying to get away from something (ie get away from a scary debt) then our motivation naturally declines when we are a safe distance away from it (ie when we're not getting regular red bills through the door) and we tend to lose interest in it and it becomes easy to go back to our old ways.

    However if we aim towards something (like a goal of having a savings account with £100 in) our motivation is strong until that goal is reached, where we then set another goal.

    Hope that helps!
    Piggypoints - 207+£10 * Quidco - £95 * Tesco - 1095 * Sainsbugs - 4237
    :DI SHALL be debt free!!!!!:D
  • Cheery_Daff
    Cheery_Daff Posts: 15,562
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    I'm motivated by knowing that the less I spend, the longer I've got to finish my PhD without having to get a full time job :)

    And when I've done that and I'm working full time, I'll be motivated by knowing how good it feels to have enough to pay for things in advance! :)

    To keep track I have a small cash book that I take everywhere, and have a page (or two) for each separate budget (food, van, presents, unnecessary, allotment, clothes, etc) with the amount at the top. EVERY time I buy something, I write in what it was, the date, the amount (rounded UP for everything other than unnecessary spends), and take that amount off the total.

    I also keep a running total of how much overall I have for the month (not including bills etc, keep track of that separately), and write down how much I've spent each day on everything, so I can see overall how much I've got left, and whether I can occasionally afford to overspend a little on one budget, and take it out of another.

    Hope that makes sense! :)
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