Wheres all my money going :(

PasturesNew

You should take out just £10 cash/day and strictly limit yourself ONLY to that money for the next 3 months. Then set yourself a reasonable one off budget for Xmas (say £200 all in), then back to the £10/day. Only spend cash, money you can actually see and feel leaving your hands. It concentrates the mind into where it's going and if it's worth it.

No shiny things, no impulse buys, no handing over of the card, or magical paypal money ... pay cash, keep control.

rictus123

This is fantastic.

claire0788

At 18 I had just bought my flat so lets just say Im 17 again, all of my wages went on digs, phone, clothes and going out (to mcds honestly I never went anywhere under age...).

Why dont you open an account that you cant actually withdraw from ? Like a regular savings account. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-regular-savings-accounts

If your really wanting to save Id say thats a good idea, give yourself an amount to save a month and you can spend the rest as you wish. Plus if the extra money isnt in your current account, then you cant spend it

rictus123

This is fantastic.

Horse_Owner

If you don't have time/patience for a spending diary spend as much as you can on your debit card and keep receipts for a month then the bank does it for you?

rictus123

ttt hoping for a reply from Claire about getting on the ladder at a young age.....

Zoology_Dragon

rictus123 wrote: »

ttt hoping for a reply from Claire about getting on the ladder at a young age.....

I can't speak for Claire obviously but I bought a flat at 18 with my then boyfriend (now husband). We managed it because his parents agreed to act as guarantors an we got a 100% mortgage. I'm not sure this would happen so easily these days.

rictus123

This is fantastic.

Going4TheDream

Hello everyone, This is my first post although I have been an avid reader for a long time. I carry a small amount of credit card debt that I have been lax at getting to grips with and its ben getting me down. Its not unmanagable but all the same it is not going down and each month I have been paying off £250 but then putting most of it back on again. :mad: I have to agree with the advice here. Like you I did a basic SAO and was surprised at how much money I should have available each month... but it was never there. I started to really analyse my spending to see where it was going. Little snacks when filling up with petrol, extra bottle of diet coke at work, the odd things that I bought that I hadnt accounted for. It was quite amazing at how much I had been spending on 'nothing in paticular' hence whacking bigger purchases on my credit card and so the vicious circle carried on. I am happy to say though now I have had the confidence to post I am inspired to really get to grips with it all:j

Keep a diary for a month and you may be surprised