My Spending Diary

jessicamb

Hi All

This is a long thread and a bit of a personal kick up the bum. I don't have a serious debt problem at the moment but have been spending more than I should for the past few months and am trying to be proactive before it does become a real problem. I know there are people on here with a lot more serious problems and this might seem really small/petty to some but hopefully writing things down will help me get sorted.

I've been popping in and out of the forums for a few months now and have picked up some really good tips.

I have decided to do some self-motivation and post my spends/saves here to challenge myself into paying off the debts (even though they are not that huge in comparison to others they still feel big to me) and cutting costs so I can save for a new bathroom (this is quite urgent in psychological terms as my current bathroon has three different types of tiles, beige carpet, flowery type stencils on the walls, flowery curtains, a threadbare blind, is avocado green and has a gold glittery toilet seat - anyway enough of the rant!)

My current financials are as follows:

Net Income £1,400

Outgoings:

Mortgage £350.19
Council Tax £45.28
Mortgage Payment Protection £14.86
Electric £20
Gas £30
Home Insurance £30
Car Insurance £32
Broadband £15
Tesco Loan £98
Water £15
Home Phone £12
Mobile Phone £12
Flat Management Fees (every 6 months) £62.50 - £375 due Oct and nothing saved yet

Total Regular Costs: £691.83
Remainder: £708.17 to cover all other expenses, card repayments, food, toiletries, hair cut, gifts etc.

This sounds like a vast amount of money but manages to disappear every month - at the moment the accounts are looking like this:

HSBC Savings Account £5.64
HSBC Current Account £354.91 (with another £272.83 to go out this month on the above bills) and a month until pay day. This is excluding food etc
HSBC Credit Card: £251.93 (actually less - £50 I paid off the balance hasn't cleared yet)
Egg Money Card: £145

Current Debt Balances:
Tesco Loan 6.9% £3,430
Mortgage £76,500 (not sure on rate but it is discounted at the mo)
Student Loan £10.5k approx - waiting for statement from SLC (currently paying £82 a month from gross wage)

I expect on past history to be about £450 overdrawn on the current account by next payday - if I dont change anything. :mad:


This cannot continue - There is only me and on the numbers above I should be loaded Where has all my money gone? It makes me mad at myself to think what I have spent lately, worrying about overdrafts etc.

Therefore I have had a lightbulb moment and am challenging myself to cut costs. This post is a starting point that I can refer back to when I feel bad - and look at to see how far I have come when I am hopefully debt-free and saving.

Things I have done so far through MSE:

Switched my home phone to Post Office to get £50 back. This hasn't kicked in yet so I need to remember to save the money when it does.

Selling an old mobile phone =£18 cash to come in when I send if off at the weekend. This is going straight off the credit card.

Got two piggybanks from Ebay - home and work. Saving: -£10 capital investment

Signed up for every freebie going on the freebie board

Got 50% off my mobile line rental by renewing the contract but not getting a new phone saving: £120 annually (need to remember to put this aside rather than absorbing it as now)

Stardrops and microfibre cloths

Checked on switching gas/electric but the annual savings are smaller than the amount I currently owe British Gas - will have to wait until I have paid that off over the summer and try again.

Car Insurance - despite my best efforts searching on the internet and trying every price comparison I can find I cant beat the renewal quote from Churchill. I could save more by paying it off in one go but the cashflow isnt there at the moment - but this a definite aim for next year.

Egg Money: Just opened this card and am going to transfer across money to 'spend' each month when I get paid. When its gone its gone! Also pleased about the 1% cashback and £10 from the moneymanager when it arrives.

Other credit card: I dont think its worth switching cards to a 0% on such a small amount - just need to get it paid off as quickly as possible.

Pigsback - buy nothing (I dont need anything they sell) but click through to get points for vouchers. £2.80 balance at present. Would have been higher but I blew it on a couple of squeezy piggies.

Therefore unless anybody can help me with new ideas I dont think that there is much I can do at present to cut the regular bills.

The definite area to tackle is the big black hole of other spending - first thing to compile a decent list of what I actually spend on things.

More details to follow when I go through the receipts and figure it out!

moozie_2

Hello jessicamb and welcome!

You have made the fist - and hardest - step. Hope it changes things for the better for you. I haven't much to suggest as you seem to be really on top of your regular bills. You need to get to the bottom of where the £708.17 'spare' goes every month.

I'd suggest that you start a spending diary as a matter of priority. Record everything you spend so you can see where the 'leaks' are. I have found this exceptionally useful. Also, set yourself small challenges - such as a week on a tenner every now and then. It really helps to focus the mind and it leaves some cash in the bank account too

Best of luck and keep posting, we love to see how everyone is getting on.

LookingAhead

Hello jessicamb! You've definitely come to the right place!

You will be getting so much advice and will pick up so many tips throughout the Money Saving Expert site. Make sure you check out the Old Style board every day as well.

I noticed your home insurance is pretty high - is that £30 a month over 12 months? Is there a reason why it is that high/can you get a better deal? What sort of house/flat do you have?

Also your gas & electric seems high per month or are you in arrears/building credit up? If you are in credit you an always ask for some money back or reduce your monthly direct debit.

Your spending 'black hole' - as you so rightly say - needs looking at.

DO get your spending diary up & running as soon as you can...write down every penny that you spend. I find this brilliant for focussing - you will be shocked how much you waste on silly things you just don't need (or you think you do...then discover them tucked away in a drawer a year later untouched!). Even spending money on stamps becomes an issue: can it go second class as opposed to first class! It may only be pennies but it all adds up.

Personally for me I have now got into the habit of banking any spare cash I have in my purse (luckily I can walk pretty easily to a bank with a coin sorter at lunchtime) so I don't spend it on !!!!!! - that has been a real boon.

You say you are going to transfer money across to 'spend' - you need to be so strict with yourself. Can you be? Can you stick to budgets?

How much do you spend on food - is it just you?

Finally (for now) I would get your credit card whittled down as soon as possible - it's a manageable amount to clear and be out of the way if you can plan a couple of months ahead and be strict about not going out much or being smart with your money when you do/don't buy clothes for a while/go to a cheaper salon if you can (or have to go).

Stick around - the tips will come thick & fast!

Good luck!

jessicamb

Thanks for the quick replies and being so nice!

The spending diary is a top priority - I've been saving receipts for about a week so I should be able to go through fairly soon to get an idea of spending.

Home Insurance - the cost is really high but I took it out with the mortgage last September. I will be changing it as soon as it is up for renewal.

The gas bill is quite high at the moment as I only moved in this year (first home) and didn't have the summer to build up any credit - so at the moment I am trying to pay off last winter and get ahead for next winter at the same time. The electric seems to be in line with the meter readings but I'll be looking at cutting consumption.

K9cuddles

In regards to pisgback defo go for the Costa Coffee vouchers.. I tend to order them as soon as I get 550 points.. you can use them in loads of places but tend to use them as a treat on weekends in Pizza Hut, Beefeater or Brewers Fayre!

Good luck with your quest!!! Stick around!! That's what keeps me movtivated!

LookingAhead

jessicamb wrote:

Thanks for the quick replies and being so nice!

The spending diary is a top priority - I've been saving receipts for about a week so I should be able to go through fairly soon to get an idea of spending.

Home Insurance - the cost is really high but I took it out with the mortgage last September. I will be changing it as soon as it is up for renewal.

The gas bill is quite high at the moment as I only moved in this year (first home) and didn't have the summer to build up any credit - so at the moment I am trying to pay off last winter and get ahead for next winter at the same time. The electric seems to be in line with the meter readings but I'll be looking at cutting consumption.

You're welcome!

Your home insurance - you may be able to switch it at any time. I've never done it mid way through a year but I am sure I read on here some time ago that you can switch any time/cancel old insurance.

It could be worth ringing someone like Norwich Union or Sainsburys (who were cheapest for me for the last few years) and getting a quote. Tell them you are thinking of switching immediately if they are a lot cheaper.

I would hope they would clarify if you can do that or not...may be worth checking.

Good luck with the spending diary....don't forget to write down even the smallest thing i.e. £1 to a colleagues collection or whatever. It all counts.

Being really good with your utilities i.e. don't run the tap when cleaning teeth, put washing on quick cycles (full loads), get a water saver bag for your loo cistern (available free from water companies to save half a litre or so per flush), use energy saving light bulbs, don't leave things on standby will all help bring your monthly bills down in time. Sorry if I am telling you things you already know.

jessicamb

Not at all - all tips are more than welcome at the moment!

I'll post a start to the diary tomorrow :eek:

Wizwoo

Hi jessicamb,
Welcome.
The spending diary is such a good way of really seeing where the money goes. Lunches / meals out, drinks the odd magazine - that's where ours used to go and they soon build up.
I've mentioned this before but what really helped us was taking all our outgoings out from our wages and then dividing the money left by the days to the next pay day.
e.g. income £2000
Bills & DDs £1300 (including above minimum payments on the CCs)
Groceries etc (be realistic - and it looks like you've already checked out the OS board ) Birthdays cards / Xmas / Petrol / Car Tax / TV Licence : £300
Leaves £400 - divided over 30 days = £13.33 per day which can go pretty quick! (Although £13.33 would be pretty good at the moment :rolleyes: but that's another story!)

Hope that makes sense and helps a little.
Take care x

jessicamb

After an analysis of where all the cash has gone I've deduced the following:

Clothes: approx £150 (£50 of this I would classify as unavoidable - I've lost some weight and all my old trousers are hanging off. 3 pairs though)

Cigarettes: currently duty-free so lower than normal £2.50 per pack = £75
No more once duty frees are gone!

Books: £30 - my other vice

Groceries: £200 - I suspect most of this has gone on stuff for the house and impulse buys because I dont eat that much.

Going Out: £50 (a bit higher than normal last month as a bit of a blow out at work)

Lunches etc: £100 - sounds a lot when its all totalled up. Need to get the sandwich box back out.

Presents: £25

No idea on the rest of it really - but looking positive on ways to cut this back significantly.

jessicamb

Being an accountant by trade surely I can put the skills to good use here.

Before I tackle the numbers a bit of strategic thinking:

SWOT analysis

Strengths: I know my numbers and can tackle this
Being proactive

Weaknesses: Impulse Buys/"Bargains" (avoid these!)
Spending on the house (save now and get that new bathroom!)
Fickle motivation (spending diary)

Opportunities: Have a clear out for some extra one-off cash
Better budgeting = more cash

Threats: Nothing set aside for a rainy day - tackle debts first

jessicamb

I get paid each month on 20th - so I'm classing this as the start of the month

So far this month:

Mortgage: £350.19
Credit Card Repayments: £130 (will leave me skint but gets it paid off a bit quicker - £70 more than I usually pay)
Gas: £30
Electric: £20
Home Insurance £19.40
MRP: £14.86
Council Tax: £48

Birthday Present For Grandmother: £15
Meat from the farm shop: £22.06 - but this will last a month or more
Alcohol from the farm shop: £15 (3 bottles of wine & 5 bottles of beer) to last two weeks or more
Morrisons Groceries: £23.71 of which £2 I can claim back from work
Tesco mid week shop: £6.41
Woolies: £1.45 on a notebook and bottle of pop
£30 on petrol - to last a month
Brothers birthday: £10
Going out for brothers birthday: £20
Lunches etc at work: £8 (but a freebie lunch tomorrow)
New Oven Element: £19.89
New Perfume: £34.63 (a huge bottle that will last hopefully until Xmas)

Total non bills spend so far:

£182.09 + £70 cc payment above normal (woah cowboy! Only got paid last week) :mad:

What do I need for the rest of the month excluding regular bills:

works night out tomorrow: £10 (drive to save money on taxis and alcohol)
fathers day: £15ish
Book subscription: £14.76 (cancelled going forward - not VFM)
Groceries: The freezer & cupboard are full so I shouldnt need much more to get through - just the basics. £20 a week to include all supermarket spend incl cleaning, toiletries, etc. 4 weekend shops to go = £80
Lunch at work: £15 - take lunch in from home therefore cost lowered as its more like £15 week normally. Its not realistic to say I wont spend anything there but I'll try and keep it to a minimum.

Cigarettes sufficient for rest of month but paid for them back in Jan so a sunk cost - I could sell them but I'm working up to the date (pathetic excuse I know to all non/s but I'm getting there)

Total expected to spend for rest of month: £135

Achieved through the following initiatives:

Take diet coke from home instead of buying it at work. 80p per 700ml at work but by filling a bottle from home 2L=1.20 therefore 42p per 700ml. Saving = 38p day x 12 remaining work days = £4.56

Take lunch from home: estimated cost £1 per day (wont know until the weekend for sure) = saving £12

Cancelled book subscription: £15 (from June onwards)

Sell old mobile phone to envirofone: £15

Other things to investigate:

Selling books on Amazon
Don't go window shopping on a weekend - start a cleaning initiative (distraction therapy)

A quick check on the calculator tallies up as follows:

Total bills to pay this month: £663.74 (home phone pre-paid previously)
Total already spent: £182.09
Credit Card Payments: £130
Expected To Spend: £135

Total Outgoings: £1,110.83

Total Income

Salary: £1400
Sell Phone: £15


Surplus: £304.17 :A

Ooh - and just remembered I can claim back £56 in expenses from work but that probably wont come through until July

This is good as car tax is due next month. Going to use this to reduce the overdraft that appears around the week before payday as the interest free ends in July and the rate goes up to 14.8%

Sounds good but it seems like a tight budget £135 for four weeks. Will have to do some OS techniques to make it work I think. :eek:

Incentive:

This month anything left in the budget next payday can be spent on anything I like! :j

(Note to self: This is at the end of the month not this weekend with a muttered "I'll make it back I promise")


Progress to be tracked here.

On a positive note, freebies received this week: :T

Comfort Creme fabric conditioner
Pigsback pigs
honey recipie book