I need a kick up the butt today please

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2

When I choose my log in name it was really to do with my ultimate goal when I eventually pay off my debts!

Having joined a number of weeks ago and going round all the boards and starting all guns blazing unfortunately I seem to be slacking off. I was hoping you guys could give me some advice as to how you keep it all together. I get very easily distracted and stop looking at my bank statements etc. to the point that today I couldn't lift out a tenner from the cash machine - it said I'd no money. When I got home it turned out my salary hadn't gone in to the account (changed to A&L after seeing the £50 for recommending friend). Although it has now been sorted (went in to work and got cheque to deposit) it has made me realise that I really need to check things daily and write them down.

How do you keep it going? Do you write things down? How often? I did fill in the budget planner from this site but I'm not always on the computer so I guess it's a pen and paper for me.

Thank you in advance.

tesuhoha

I always keep an eye on things with internet banking but sometimes things go wrong like they did this week for me. But internet banking is more immediate as it shows you what is going on now, rather than in the past as bank statements do. Before internet banking I used to have an exercise book and I wrote everything down and did a running balance of the bank account and then when the statement came I balanced it with my exercise book. Seems like I made a better job of things then. That way I always knew what was (or wasnt) in the account.

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2

Thanks for this. My trouble with the internet banking is the amount of passwords with the A&L account which I never have in the right place at the right time! An exercise books sounds good to me. :T

Will rummage through the cupboards now for one rather than spending another penny.

sillylornie

Hi,

I too also keep an eye on my account with internet banking, checking it daily. I was away for 2 weeks cat sitting with no computer and felt lost! Actually went home in the middle weekend to check bank and emails.

I was doing a spending diary on a spreadsheet before i went so just continued doing that on paper while I was away and transferred it into the spreadsheet when i got home.

If you get into the routine of checking your online banking daily, you soon get to know your passwords and account numbers etc off by heart!

Lornie xx

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2

Thanks for this Lornie. I'll make sure to log in each day and keep a spending diary that way I'm sure to keep things on track.

All the best

LookingAhead

Something you could do is have one password for all things "fun" and another for all things "financial" and then you don't have so many to remember.

Make a point of making them strong and secure though i.e a mixture of numbers and letters = replace the letter S with a number 5 or the letter B with a number 8....this helps to make password cracking harder.

And don't write them down!! If anyone finds them they will have access to everything = nigthmare. Don't tell anyone either.

<OK IT person shuts up now....>

MinnieSpender

I have a spreadsheet called "bank account."

At the beginning of every month I enter all my direct debits, standing orders and any bank payments I need to make. These are for bills, rent, savings towards my college fees and debt repayments. Then I put in my salary as soon as it is paid and the lovely spreadsheet tells me exactly how much I have left. This amount is then divided into 4 or 5 (depending on the length of the month). This is the amount I take out of my bank account ONCE a week. Then the bank card is left safely at home. I have to budget around what's in my purse. Anything left at the end of the week is put into a pot marked "treats" - there's often not much in there, but it builds up eventually!

This is great because if you have regular DDs, SOs and bank payments you can just cut and paste from one month to the next.

I check my spreadsheet against my internet bank every few days and tick off what's gone out.

Hope this is useful!

Kazonline

When watching Spendaholics the other day they gave the guy a whiteboard, I like the book idea best (so you can look back over the past few months) but I know I'm the sort who'd lose it under all the paperwork! (It's a Freudian thing)
I've wasted ££'s in the past on 'proper' financial packs for the pc - and while I spend hours at the pc I never seem to 'get around' to updating them and they end up in a mess.
Personally the best move I ever made is to set an ammount I could have per week and now I take that out on a Sunday, if I run out - tough. If there's left overs - in the jar it goes. When the jar's full it'll go off the cards.
Since doing this I've found that I squander so much less, and now notice if I'm short changed/over charged (dread to think how much I've missed in the past given what I've noticed lately!)

Ali-OK

I do the same as Minniespender (but x marks when something's gone out the bank!) and I also note at the bottom all the savings in the month - like BOGOFs, savings to insurance change, etc, plus anything extra coming into the account (Quidco payment, envirofone cheque, etc). As my cc payments are all by DD, they're factored into the spreadsheet, but anything left after my budget for food, petrol and 'general' I do a bank transfer overpayment to highest APR cc.

Everytime I spend something, I note it in my little book and transfer onto the PC later on! I'm disciplined enough to use my debit card and cash when I need it - but because I track that vs. budget, I don't overspend and I know exactly where my money is/has gone. I don't need any money during the week luckily (f/t work and child to pick up/collect on way home) and by time the weekend arrives, I usually have a list of 'to do's' which includes shopping..but I also use that time to mull over if any of it is want instead of need. Wants gets crossed off, or rolled forward to next week (serious debates with self :rotfl: ) and if I decide to go ahead, I wait until the end of the month, after I've paid my overpayments and see it as a treat. (Last week was 2 bunches of daffs for £1) !!

I even keep my points for Sainsburys and Boots on there! Helps me to plan forward for Xmas food and pressies, though I've already bought loads of pressies in the sales. I've turned old shopping habits into new bargain hunting habits - I turn my nose up at full-price stuff these days!

I'm a bit obssessed by it all really! :rotfl:

MinnieSpender

Ali-OK wrote:

Everytime I spend something, I note it in my little book and transfer onto the PC later on!

I wait until the end of the month, after I've paid my overpayments and see it as a treat. (Last week was 2 bunches of daffs for £1) !!

I even keep my points for Sainsburys and Boots on there!

I'm a bit obssessed by it all really! :rotfl:

Some great ideas there, Ali-OK! Might have to nick a few!

I also have spreadsheets for each of my debts. Every time a payment goes out (I do this weekly) it gets marked up. I find it a useful way of cheering myself up and seeing that I am making an effort to clear them.

Loose change goes into a pot too. This is also entered onto a spreadsheet so I can see at a glance when I have enough 1ps, 2ps, 5ps etc to bag up and take to the bank. Once banked, this money is transferred into my "I need it!" savings account. At the moment, it's a new washing machine and I'm nearly half way there. Once that's bought, I will look at my wish list and pick something new to save up for.

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2

Ali-OK and Minniespender thank you so much.

These are just fantastic ideas which I'm sorry to say I never thought of
Especially taking out what is spare cash once a week and leaving the cash card at home. I have cut up all my credit cards even after I've tarted to a new one. As soon as it hits the letterbox the scissors come out :rotfl: Some good sound advice.

Cheers to you all for your great ideas :beer: