Help please guys...

dinkylou

I remember what it was like living at home, when you need to get out sometimes and either let off steam or just be on your own.

Instead of driving round in your expensive car, why not put your trainers on and go for a jog? or if you re not into exercise, walk or take the dog for a walk. (if you have one)

It ll burn off some energy, give you time to chill out and not cost you anything.

Honestly, try it, it gives the same feeling as going for a drive. (and you wont be waiting your money)

Entrepreneur_en_faillite

The most relaxing thing I find I do is walking the dog, but hey, I'm an olden, and us oldens like that sort of thing!

johanne

Dont know how much this will help but my thoughts are:

I didn't mean I 'go out with friends' we go up the town in our cars and sit and chat thats all... doesn't cost anything at all only petrol which I've included in my budget

Firstly..not sure if this would be appropriate on your situation but you say "our cars" and that you all just sit and chat.. couldnt you take it in turns to pick each other up and go in as few cars as possible? Cutting everyones petrol bills?

I earn £1025 per month

My costs p/m are as follows:
£190- Car
£130- Insurance
£80- Petrol (Way Too Much I reckon as I have a 5mile all round drive to work)
£80- Dad for rent
£30- Mobile
£90- Roughly on food

I don't drink, smoke or anything else. I don't go out very often. Maybe head up town with friends on friday and saturday night.

Im 20 (So understand the costs of being young ) and live on my own so have rent and bills etc to pay alone ..... Just to give you an idea of a budget that is liveable i'll show you what up until recently what my income/costs looked like

NET income per month: £931

Outgoings:

Rent - £425
Council Tax - £80
Water - £20.56
Gas - £25
Electric - £20
Landline calls - £10
Telewest (phone/net/tv) - £31.50
Mobile phone - £30
Food - £50
Credit Card - £30
Savings - £43.33

Total Outgoings - £765.39

Leaving me with £165.61 a month to "play" with to cover things i hadnt budgeted for such as toiletries clothes cds and going out (and that includes drinking alcohol in "rounds") I know for some people that may seem tight but i have got a weird situation of working nights and so only socialised on tue and wed nights and really only got to go the shops on them days too as i sleep through when the shops are open! :rotfl: BUT i have a relatively good life and as you earn more than me, your costs are less and i assume "normal" working hours then your life would be "rock n roll" in my terms! :rotfl:

I mean I just can't save... I Tried giving my cards to my brother but I still managed to get them and spend money... Wether it was clothes, cd's, a psp (180 quid)!!

How about freezing your card in a block of reeaaally thick ice in the freezer? Then you have to wait for it to thaw (in theory!) before you can make a purchase on it! Silly but it might work?

Cds - do you buy them in shops or online? If you REALLY want one.. make sure you shop online.. use discount codes etc and/or cashback sites. That means you can almost always save money compared to buying in shops and gives you the added bonus of the "buzz" of waiting and then it arriving on your doormat a few days later. (or is it just me that likes getting parcels? :rotfl: )

Clothes - i know you said youve shut the ebay account down BUT couldnt you get your brother to set up one (seen as you trusted him with your cards i guess he must be willing to help you) and get him NOT to tell you the password so you cant log in and bid on anything....... then get his help to use it to sell your old clothes (and anything else you have like cds/playstation games etc) you dont want anymore on there getting back some of the money you have spent on them already (im currently selling old clothes i dont want anymore - out of fashion etc and am making at least £17 from 7 items of clothing that would have otherwise been binned/charity shopped/stayed in back of my wardrobe never to be worn again)


Oh and a bit of an outthere idea dunno how youd view this - how about giving your dad a set amount extra every month to be put into an account you cant access so that you are saving but have no ability to dip into it without asking your dad to get the money for you?

tryingmybest_3

Guys, what can I say except thank-you all so, very much!

I'm on the wagon now! :T

tryingmybest_3

I've started to download my music to cd now! Saving myself £12 a week.

Instead of driving round in your expensive car, why not put your trainers on and go for a jog? or if you re not into exercise, walk or take the dog for a walk. (if you have one)

I do have a doggie (2 infact) which I walk them every day. I also have a membership with the gym which comes free with my job and I'm there 3-4 times a week if I can get.

Bossyboots

Even though you say that you are struggling, I am concerned about you have a one year old car on finance which is only insured third party. You drive a lot of miles it would seem and if you have an accident that is your fault (such as hitting a patch of ice and coming off the road) you are not covered for damage to your own vehicle. If your vehicle is written off, you will be left with the repayments to make on a car you no longer have. That is a substantial amount of money down the drain. An accident can happen close to home (I was rear ended in the next street by a girl who lives round the corner. She wrote both cars off) so you seem to be taking a huge risk with a lot of money.

You are paying a lot for your insurance and I wonder whether you really needed such a new car and whether you have bought something in a high insurance group. It seems you may be stuck with it now though.

tryingmybest_3

Bossyboots wrote:

Even though you say that you are struggling, I am concerned about you have a one year old car on finance which is only insured third party. You drive a lot of miles it would seem and if you have an accident that is your fault (such as hitting a patch of ice and coming off the road) you are not covered for damage to your own vehicle. If your vehicle is written off, you will be left with the repayments to make on a car you no longer have. That is a substantial amount of money down the drain. An accident can happen close to home (I was rear ended in the next street by a girl who lives round the corner. She wrote both cars off) so you seem to be taking a huge risk with a lot of money.

You are paying a lot for your insurance and I wonder whether you really needed such a new car and whether you have bought something in a high insurance group. It seems you may be stuck with it now though.

My car is only a small Ford Fiesta the new shaped one. My insurance is the cheapest I can get. 1700 a year. I had a corsa before this car worth 900 and 11 years old!! 100,000 mile and I was paying 2100 a year on insurance! I priced alot of places yesterday and the cheapest quote I got was 3,100 for third party fire and theft. I know I should go fully comp but its an extra 70 pound a month! But I will think about it very seriously.

---lee---

Hi,

I'm sure I read in one of your other threads that you are trying to get a credit card and taking sky diving lessons? Please correct me if I'm wrong. That won't help your saving, but then again, your only young once!

In that post, you also said you were 19 (I think). I don't think your insurance is excessive for that age as I guess you won't have any no claims bonus and therefore are probably not getting any discount.

Your posts reminded me so much of when I was your age. I always had plenty of spare cash until I got a car, in very similar circumstances to yourself. I also got a loan for it and paid a fortune in car insurance. From that point onwards, I always seemed to struggle financially. Cars eat a lot of money.

At your age, you may have been better off going for a new car where the insurance is included. You may also consider having your Dad add you onto his policy if he drives, but that way, you won't build up your own no claims bonus.

I'm surprised that you only have 3rd party insurance. Finance companies normally require that you get comprehensive insurance as if you have an accident that's your fault you could end up paying out for your car for years whilst not being able to repair it.

I guess what I'm getting at is that your car will tend to eat your money, so you may want to consider getting rid. I also know how important my car was to me at your age, so that's probably not realistic.

I would recommend that you destroy your visa delta card. They make spending much to easy. Ask your bank for a cash card instead. Decide (budget) how much money you are going to spend each month on petrol, food etc and withdraw the cash for it each week and stick to it. You should have a healthy chunk left over.

I would also cancel your overdraft. It's only for £100 and given your wage, you can certainly live without it. If you don't, the bank will be only to happy to extend it in the future and try to trap you into using it from month to month.

There may never be another time in your life when you have so much disposable income and so little to spend it on. In the future, when you’ve got a house to run, children to pay for and all the rest of it, I’m sure you will agree!

Your asking for help, but the truth is that only you can help yourself. You seem to recognise that you’ve been spending a lot. Your young. If you’ve just recently got your job and your getting used to having some money in your pocket, that’s fine. Just avoid debt and set a date for when your going to reign in your finances and take control again.

BTW, I dream of an £80 petrol bill per month. I spend around £200+ per month on petrol – thirsty car and that’s just for going to work and dotting around the shops.

Lee.

trainee_expert

Back in the days when I was still at home, I found that by adding my mum onto my insurance policy knocked it down a couple of hundred pounds. My youngest brother is still at home and I know he does the same thing now, so that definately works. They must see you as a more sensible type if you include your parents

Toby_3

Hello Tryingmybest

Do your wages earn you money in your bank account?
If you switch to Alliance and Leicester, they pay 5% interest and an on-line savings account that pays 10%. They also allow you to go £250 overdraft without a charge (although naturally you can't earn interest on the account if you are overdrawn).

Martin recommends the switch, see article

As for petrol in the car, use a Supermarket... they are usually a couple of pence per litre cheaper... but a five mile round trip to work? Why not get a bike and cycle (you will keep fit at the same time)? Use the car at weekends / evenings out.

If you are young, then enjoy being young... but if you can save - think of the benefits in a few years time when you have £10,000 saved for a house deposit.

Do you smoke? 20 cigs a day could work out at £1300+ a year - it's soooo stupid, and it will knock years off your life as well !! :beer: