How the hell do I budget :(?

geniegal

Hi just wanted to say that I can see where vaporate is coming from. I am there now, pretty scared and you start resenting others who have spare cash. Yes budgeting is easy when you have no choice

However we are all here because at one time we were all unable to budget, and at least OP is cutting out the overspending poison before the debt rot sets in

I remember v clearly thinking oh my god i cannot give up my gym membership. those days are soooo long gone.

basmic

Out of interest, how much do you spend at work - say on on the 'odd coffee' or 'odd snack', etc? I shocked myself recently, and found I might spend £4-5/day :eek::eek: on £2 sandwiches, 50p coffees etc.

Now, although not in complete MSE-style, I buy 2x sandwich fillers from Morrisons, buns, snack bars and fruit and take them to work. Not only am I losing weight, but my wallet is on a diet too!

OrkneyStar

jojo90 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 450
Total monthly income.................... 2650

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 850
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120
Electricity............................. 55 how big a house
Gas..................................... 55 ditto gas, as these are quite high combined
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 50
Telephone (land line)................... 16
Mobile phone............................ 50 high
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 35
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 crazy for one person- we spend less than this on two adults and a toddler (and we live in an area where we only have Tesco, Lidl, Coop- no Aldi, Asda etc!)
Clothing................................ 150 I spend this in a year! Even if you need smart clothes for work places get a couple of good suits (eg Next etc) but get things like shirts, underpants, socks etc from Tesco/Asda/cheaper places! Or try charity/ebay! Sell what you don't wear!
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 15
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0 really ?
Contents insurance...................... 0 really ?
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40 how many for ?
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 150 what is this- try to keep a spending diary to see if it really is this amount ?
Holiday................................. 0 really ?
Emergency fund.......................... 0 should really have something in here if you are a homeowner!
Total monthly expenses.................. 1993


Assets
Cash.................................... 3500
House value (Gross)..................... 154000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 600
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 158100


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 125000...(850)......2.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 125000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,650
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,993
Available for debt repayments........... 657
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 657

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 158,100
Total HP & Secured debt................. -125,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 33,100

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Basically I usually end up spending everything I get in and some months going over i.e. had to buy a new laptop this month, replace some computer bits the month before, unexpected car expense the month before that and so on.

Now I make money from matched betting so things aren't all that horrible however I'm not finding the time for it lately. I have sold all the crap I have lying around and not in use for about £1,500.

So OK I'm not in debt but I'm living pretty damn close. The lodger will help but I reckon I will still somehow spend all the extra cash I get in from her .

I'm 29... my friends are on much less than me (£19,000, average wage, right?) and they get by. How do they manage it? ... I mean I don't think I waste that much money but I must do somehow...

I've never budgeted properly in my life... are there any guides or tips that could help?

Oh, I'm recently separated (divorced soon) so the expenses used be OKish as partner brought in £1,200 p.c.m. Having said that we still spent £3.4k for 2 people with no kids each month pretty easily.

ARGH!!!!

My parents have offered I move back home (tempting but who wants that?) which would kill my base outgoings by £1,400... so yeah very tempting... but not the right decision

EDIT: thinking about it £125ish a week on misc. stuff really isn't that bad.- HAVE TO DISAGREE- IT IS A COMPLETE WASTE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.. maybe I just don't earn enough or have unrealistic expectations? I'm going for a promotion at work which will mean the salary goes up from £36,800 + 10% OTB by £6,000-£16,000 ... think I will probably get it but that won't be for another 3 months.

You hgave a very good wage compared to many in this current climate, but just need some help managing the money. Sit down and look at your budget and compare your spending diary- are the figs what you think they are ? Where do you need to cut down ? What do you need ? How could you reward yourself, yet stick within your budget etc ? Pop over to the Old Style board for tips on how to reduce your grocery spend. AS you say you are not in debt, but I think you feel your money management is out of hand, and will feel much better once you get a bit more organised- you can still spend/treat yourself, just in a more organised way!
All the best!

tallyhoh

My mum always used to say that its not how much you earn but how you spend it.
I get £800 a month & pay for everything out of that (3 adults, 2 dogs, 1 bird) I have multi room sky & run a car, even have a gym subscription.

I just cut down on stuff that I have no interest in or can buy cheap.

You need to decide what is important to you, spending £125 a week on nothing is dumb.

Remember, if you didnt wake up this morning realising that not buying "xx" would have a detrimental affect on your life, you probably dont need it.

drivebyargument

I'm also confused. What on earth is Matched Betting ?!
Betfair etc? Very dangerous.

You need to stop buying so many clothes if you want to save money. If, like me, you have one favourite shop, simply don't go in it. Easier said than done but it has saved me hundreds and a lot of space too.
Other than that you'll never be in debt unless you go ridiculous with holidays etc, especially if you get that pay rise. NO person, single or otherwise should struggle to save with a salary as big as that. That's a fact, I'm afraid.

jojo90_2

Hiya,

Again some good advice.. especially the writing stuff down advice and making me realise that I was spending far too much on food and electricity/gas. Figured out my water bill is actually only £15 a month so a pseudo-saving there too.

I'm going to be more careful with my nights out so I don't go quite so mental ....

Clothes are important to me and All Saints is my favourite shop . Buy cheap buy twice is certainly true. I have a few pairs of Diesel jeans bought for £100-£150, Ted Baker shirts for £70 and a couple of jackets for £350 a pop that have lasted me close to 8 years now. In fact the jeans and my Abercrombie shirts get better with age - I've worn them so many times.

To be fair I've lost track of how much junk from H&M, River Island etc. I've gone through... scrimping on quality isn't moneysaving to me What I will be doing however is limiting the spend to £150 p.c.m which means saving (ARGH!!!) for 2 months to buy say a jacket or just getting a couple of bits a month.

So anyway the challenge is on to stick to the budget this month... lets see how it goes .

As for the poster above that is exactly why I want to get control of things. I love my holidays and have ambitions to pay off mortgage early. If I save £3k over the next 3 months that will pay for a 3 week blowout in Thailand I've been scheming for a while .

savingmummy

Your wardrobe must be bursting at the seams!!!
How on earth can you spend all that each month, i don`t spend that a YEAR lol!
Do you NEED new every month??

I think you should start an emergenct fund for when things crop up, drop the clothes every month and put it in your emergency fund.

globalds

Don't forget Cheltenham starts March 16th ...Maybe time to book a couple of days holiday ..
A weeks work could easily get you a grand

consultant31

I don't understand the "pseudo-saving" comment re the water bill. If you're only using £15 worth of water you need to get a meter installed. My Mum got one fitted after Dad passed away and the bill went down from £48 a month to £9 a month!!!

If you were to change your mind (though why would you?), they'll remove a meter in the first 12 months for free.

I agree about buying good clothes so that they last, but £150 a month - every month- paid out on good quality, long-lasting clothes, well, where are you keeping them all?