Just an idea...

Jo3y83 · 23 January 2014 at 11:14AM

Hi all fellow DFD Wannabees

Just a little tip that might help you through controlling your money.
I have a rolling spreadsheet that calculates all my outgoings and removes them from my monthly wage, leaving me with a figure I have left to last me a month. From then it divides again into how many weeks there are in the month and it tells me how much I have per week.
I then draw this amount from the bank and put it in separate envelopes and write on the front, i.e. "23-30 Jan, £30.00"
This way I know I have to make the £30.00 last a week and I cannot open the next envelope until 31st Jan when my "new money" week starts.

It really does work and has been a bit of a savior for me over the last few years.
I even draw the money out for petrol and food and put that into separate envelopes too.

Try it, it does work and you feel in control of your spending again.

Just remember that once you have drawn the money from the bank do not touch that debit card!

Good luck

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Tabatha_Kitten · 23 January 2014 at 11:25AM

Great idea.
Dont forget to put something aside though for the yearly stuff - road tax, MOT, tyres, boiler service, dentist, pet annual boosters etc etc etc.
Go through 12 months bank statements and add up all the "one offs". Divide by 12 and put that amount away before you split whats left into your spends envelopes.

Jo3y83 · 23 January 2014 at 11:39AM

Tabatha_Kitten wrote: »

Great idea.
Dont forget to put something aside though for the yearly stuff - road tax, MOT, tyres, boiler service, dentist, pet annual boosters etc etc etc.
Go through 12 months bank statements and add up all the "one offs". Divide by 12 and put that amount away before you split whats left into your spends envelopes.

Hi Tabatha,
Some of this is already taken care of and, as we are currently renting, some of it does not apply to us as yet. Good idea for MOT/tyres, etc

Tabatha_Kitten · 23 January 2014 at 11:55AM

There is nothing more guaranteed to blow any budget out of the water than an unexpected "one off".
I have been keeping a record of all mine for 4 years now. The longer I have been doing it the more accurate it has become.
Mine is split into 4 "virtual" categories. Cars, Vets, Holidays and House related.
Obviously everyone has different priorities.
I keep an ongoing record and an ongoing average per month and make sure I set it aside after the monthly bills have been paid but before I split whats left into "spends".
Because I have been doing it so long it now takes into account and makes an allowance for pretty much every eventuality.

1005922 · 23 January 2014 at 12:09PM

I keep meaning to sit down and set up a spreadsheet or 2 but haven't as yet, might do that at the weekend

Sully1012 · 23 January 2014 at 1:03PM

i have something similar, it goes on for the next 2 years and keeps growing with more things i keep thinking of that i can keep track of, it even goes down to projected savings, %apr's on CC's, exactly how much interest ive paid each month (very much dislike that part) total CC balances. its nice to see them go down each month, little bit of motivation to keep throwing as much as possible at them to get to 0 !

cookson · 23 January 2014 at 9:13PM

I do a similar thing with the envelopes for my spending. I also manage all other 'piggybanks' on a spreadsheet, but in reality the money is mostly in an ISA.

I definitely thinking avoiding paying on your card is a good thing. Paying by card can spiral out of control.

kataklysm · 23 January 2014 at 10:09PM

So much more disciplined than me! I have a spreadsheet forecasting all my outgoings and telling me what I *should* have at the end of each month... but reality gets in the way and I always spend too much. The envelopes idea would be a really good way to control those little temptations.

mrsinvisible · 29 January 2014 at 7:27AM

my mum used to call this 'the sugar bowl method' where each outgoing was catered for by being put in a seperate certain container, eg a sugar bowl, or ornament, vase, etc. so that it was there when needed for each bill or outgoing as needed.

ivanbrownbear · 29 January 2014 at 10:53AM

I have been budgeting for as long as I can remember - even when I got pocket money from my parents it was put into envelopes for buying presents or spending! Then got a building society account and saved £5 a month (in 1970s!).
When I went to work I bought an analysis cash book and headed up the columns for the expenditure that I needed to save for - holidays, car repairs, petrol, fuel bills etc.
When spreadsheets were invented they did just the job only better - they add themselves up!
Now headed for retirement and still plan everything.
Never been in bad debt. Only borrowed what I could afford to pay back.
Got stung with fixed rate mortgages (twice) so wouldn't advise them.
Most important thing is to be happy and buying stuff you don't really need or can manage without doesn't make you happy.

karmix · 29 January 2014 at 8:59PM

I just had a quick look at when i started my spreadsheet, and was astounded to realise it was in 2006.
I have various tabs - one for day to day income and expenditure - to keep a track on my current account.
I have a tab for all the regular outgoings - mortgage and bills etc. I regularly monitor this to see where I can save any money.
In addition, i keep a tab to show my mortgage - the interest (grrr), any overpayments and the balance...its reassuring to see it coming down :-).
There is a savings tab, and a gas and electric tab where I went through a phase of recording the usage to compare over the different seasons.
The new tab that i added a couple of weeks ago is to monitor my son's student finance for him now that he is at Uni.
I like the fact that I have all that information at my fingertips whenever I need it. it has really helped to focus on where I was wasting money, and where I could save. I am not stingy, i would just rather save money on the things I have to spend on so that I can spend more money on the things I want to spend on.

Just an idea...

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