Living within our means?

blindmouse

pilesofstones wrote: »

Chris,

I mean in a holistic view really. We pay for things on credit cards, essentially using money that isn't ours. I know the arguments to all of this go deeper into lifestyle, banking ethics etc, but it was more of a general point.

I'll let you know how I get on.

I'm not too sure about the cash thing. I've been told by a few people that it's better to manage a budget by only using cash. I don't see how it works really. £7 on lunch, paid with £10 note. £3 change that gets wasted on something pointless. Whereas a debit card would take the exact amount...

Wow seven pounds on lunch :eek: Is that a regular thing , I take my own lunch to work and ensure that its been made with clean hands etc, sometimes its the small things that add up at the end of the month.

I wouldn't cancel overdraught either until I knew I really really didnt need it and that would mean a few months of it sitting there untouched, small steps and all that

pilesofstones

blindmouse wrote: »

Wow seven pounds on lunch :eek: Is that a regular thing , I take my own lunch to work and ensure that its been made with clean hands etc, sometimes its the small things that add up at the end of the month.

I wouldn't cancel overdraught either until I knew I really really didnt need it and that would mean a few months of it sitting there untouched, small steps and all that

Here

blindmouse

Ouch, sorry I missed that post

noh

Just re read the thread.
You are dipping into you overdraft which is at 0%
You say you save £800 a month.
Therefore you are not spending more than you earn.
Using your overdraft costs you nothing.
So at present you have no problem.

All you need to do to avoid dipping into your overdraft is change the timing of the movement of funds from your bank account to your savings account.

CLAPTON

maybe you should get out a bit more?

victoriaplum1

I get the idea though....If you have got the cash you may think more about the spending of it rather than just flashing a credit or debit card every time you buy something....prime example, I went to town shopping at weekend and spend £300, hadn't had clothes for a while but still......if I had the cash in my purse would I have spent it so freely???? Probably not! Different people have different levels of resiliance, so not much point saying to someone that is easily swayed...keep the OD just don't spend it. When I was a student at Uni 10 years ago the banks were basically throwing overdrafts and loans at students encouraging them to spend...needless to say I only recently paid off my student debts....definitely overspent as a student, so easy to do.

anotherginger

pilesofstones wrote: »

Chris,

£7 on lunch, paid with £10 note. £3 change that gets wasted on something pointless. Whereas a debit card would take the exact amount...

i know you were using this as an example, but why don't you think of your actual money in your account as cash and use your debit card accordingly?

just disregard your OD (i wouldnt get rid of it if its 0%) and only spend money you actually have.

i think you're kidding yourself that most people live in their overdraft, most people who i know that say this are actually using a 0% overdraft, and if that wasn't there they wouldn't be using an overdraft at all.