Time to shape up!

financial_muppet

Hi All,

Looking at some of the challenges people are dealing with on this forum, I feel almost embarassed posting my own situation on here. I have an income of £3250/month with just over half of that going on core living (Rent, Council tax, electric, gas, phone). I am single and live on my own in a bachelor pad over at Canary Wharf. in spite of having over a grand a month for food/clothes/entertainment I appear to have got myself into about £3k debt. This has been building gradually over the last few months and I am keen to nip it in the bud.

To be honest I know what I need to do: I need to sort out my luxury spending. the biggest offenders (and quick wins) are:

Starbucks/Costa: Looking back at the few crumpled receipts I have managed to save from the washing machine I can see days where I have had Skinny, Extra hot, Wet, Double hit, Lattes for breakfast and again in the afternoon. This is a pointless waste of money and there is no excuse for it. I have a perfectly good espresso maker at home which should negate the breakfast purchase perfectly (£2.25/day saving = £45/month). I need do some experiments around the afternoon slot. I can't stand instand coffee, so it will have to be either a flask or tea bags. I'll get back to you on this one.

Pret/Other lunch time type places: Again - silly amounts of money being spent needlessly. £3 for a sandwich plus another coffee works out to just over £5/day (£100/month). For now, I am proposing going for the home made option for 3 days per week which will save abut £60/month.

Takeaway/Eating out: I am ashamed to admit it, but I cannot remember the last time I cooked a proper meal at home. So from now on I propose a maximum of 2 meals out per month and only one takeaway option per month. Even with vouchers I can no longer justify my ongoing relationship with Dominos. I reaquainted myself with my local Lidl this afternoon and have stocked the fridge and freezer with a mixture of raw ingredients and ready made options so there are no excuses.

Alcohol: Not giving this up, but I will no longer be ordering any of the following in bars: premium lagers, spirits, glasses of wine and long island iced teas. From now on it is bitter and reasonably priced lagers with an aim of not spending more than £3.20 per pint. I will also avoid large rounds which never pay back!

Socialising: I am single and quite extrovert, so I cannot simply spend every evening at home: I will never meet the future Mrs FM otherwise! I will limit nights out to two per week though. My circle of close friends went through a phase of dining at each others houses and taking it in turns to host a while back. This was great fun and cost effective. I shall get this up and running again as it is far cheaper (and more rewarding) that eating out.

Finally, the only one that isn't a luxury spend (but definitely a quick win):

Expenses: This comes down to not tracking expenses correctly. Last month I didn't claim back any expenses, but I estimate I should have claimed back about £100. This is just plain silly. I have set up a spreadsheet to track expenses, along with a daily alarm in my calendar prompting me to complete it.

and erm, that's it for me now really! I'm aiming to get the debt situation sorted out as soon as possible and then focus on getting a savings acount up and running with a view to purchasing my own place when the market bottoms out.

Thanks for listening - watch out for more updates
FM

bank_of_slate

Hi fm and welcome to the board!
can you complete a full Statement of affairs and we will be able to advise and support you batter!
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html
...Linda xx

Ames

Sounds like you've got plenty of ideas already! And a 3k debt is definitely manageable.

A quick tip about the coffee - I'm addicted to Cafe nero latte's. I've just got myself a cafetiere (£2.99 in a charity shop) and it's saving me a fortune. Maybe you could get one for work? Or you can get filter coffee machines for less than a tenner, you could call it a present to the office so they don't realise you're being money saving.

Skint_Catt

Welcome and well done for catching the debt early (well earlier than me )

You've made some good moves there - if you need help with cooking/shopping pop over to the Old Style Moneysaving board - helps with cleaning tips too and everyone's REALLY lovely

Not claiming expenses back is just plain silly - you're effectively paying them to work! Sort it NOW!

(Don't underestimate freedating.com either - two years in and I'm settled and very happy! )

C xx

bank_of_slate

Definitely suggest getting the dining in group up and running again!
that sounds like a great idea!
A slow cooker is great for cooking curries, chilli etc for large meals.
keep the plastic takeaway cartons and portion your homemade chilli/curry/bolognese etc into them for freezing, that way it'll feel like you're having a takeaway when you're re-heating them for tea!
...Linda xx

Skint_Catt

bank_of_slate wrote: »

keep the plastic takeaway cartons and portion them into them for freezing, that way it'll feel like you're having a takeaway when you're re-heating them for tea!
...Linda xx

LOL, 5 minutes ago I've done exactly that (batch made HM chilli pasta sauce and fille dmy takeaway tubs!)

Horace

Muppet - at least you have made a start, it isnt easy going drinking in London because of their silly prices:rolleyes:

For tips on cooking your own meals - nip over to the moneysaving oldstyle board because they have tons over there. They also have lists of the best foods to buy in Lidl as well. Make friends with your local butcher (good ones usually have a queue outside - avoid the places that sell monkey meat:eek: ) as well as your local greengrocer as meat and veg will be cheaper than down at the supermarket.

Would it be cheaper to buy a bag of coffee beans and grind them yourself? I am not over keen on instant coffee either (you can stick Nescafe and Maxwell House and Kenco) but I will drink Douwe Egberts instead which was quite flavoursome.

As others have suggested, list your SOA and we will be able to help you cut down.

Oh and if you like meeting people (I know it can be difficult in London) how about joining a social group? There is one that I am thinking of - where you can meet the future Mrs FM called 8th Day - basically what will you do with your 8th day? It has fun things, pub nights, holidays etc.

Good luck.

new2civvystreet

I nearly didn't claim my expenses back this month. £250 so what a muppet! When I added them up I realised how much I could get, slapped myself on the wrist, filled out the necessary forms and posted them off to the pay clerk.

As for being single but social and not able to stay in during the evenings, I completely get that. I'm moving again soon for a new job (have being staying with my parents). They live in a small town and I don't know anyone so I've been staying in and have been bored stiff. What I used to do was go to exercise classes, kickboxing mainly. It's really sociable, meant I didn't need to pay for a gym, wasted time in the evenings etc etc and overall didn't cost that much to do. When I move out (fingers crossed in the next couple of weeks!) I'll be going back to them. Mainly to help meet new people but lots of other benefits too.

bank_of_slate

Skint_Catt wrote: »

LOL, 5 minutes ago I've done exactly that (batch made HM chilli pasta sauce and fille dmy takeaway tubs!)

I often do it!
I can get 7 or 8 portions from a batch of curry/chilli!
Great when you're tempted with something hot and quick after work, especially once it comes dark and cold after work in winter!
just remove from freezer in the morning to defrost, then zap in microwave or pan when you get home!
Stock up on rice & pasta at Lidl to accompany it.
healthy, money saving and far more delicious!
...Linda xx

benbenandme

Have a quick peek at Prets website for the nutritional info ... the caloris info is enough to put anyone off of going there :eek: :eek: think of the waistline as well as the bank balance, and am sure any future mrs will appreciate it too

financial_muppet

Thanks for all of the speedy responses
@BOS/Linda:I have done a SOA, which told me I am saving over £900 per month. This basically tells me that I haven't got a clue where my money is going. I have told myself off and set up a diary which starts tomorrow morning.
@Ames: Good thinking. Sadly I move between 5 different offices so the machine for the office is not really an option. I will look around to see if I can buy a cheap plastic 1 cup cafetiere which will fit in my laptop bag though. I reckon a 35mm cameral film canister should hold enough coffee for one cup, keep it fresh and stop it spilling all over the laptop!
@SC: Thanks for your encouragement. I haven't made the changes *yet* I've done the easy bit which is telling myself what I need to do. Now I actually need to *do it!*. and yes, expenses is v silly.