My savings journey

fairtrade

"Feeling very foolish for not sticking to my plan and failing on day 1":o

Don't worry. The idea is gain the benefit over the long term.
So, today was a mini-disaster - it can only get better from here.

MaryMurphy

I know, but as "new beginnings" go it wasn't exactly inspiring :rotfl:

It's all about changing my mind-set as well, which will undoubtedly take some time.

I saw a few people on the forum setting themselves a challenge whereby they have a weekly budget (e.g. fiver/tenner per week), which I think overall makes more sense than thinking about it as a "daily" allowance.

So I'll do that, I'll start with £20.00 a week and aim to reduce. Anything leftover I'll keep until the end of the month and then put away (thanks for the tip fairtrade).

And something to be happy about, I am only (roughly) £150.00 away from reaching £1000. Yay.

MMx

EC12345

Hi Mary, don't worry about your failure - it happens to us all.

I always take a packed lunch to work every day but this week I had two work lunches (budgeted for the first one but completely forgot about the other one) so that cost me a bit more - but generally I am really good about taking my lunches to work. I also saw a lovely skirt in the sale which I bought as well - it does look lovely though ...

I managed to save another £30 today but this is my lot now until pay day (still three weeks ago). Still waiting to hear about our bonus payment at work. Hopefully next month, I be nearing the £3,000 mark...fingers crossed....

Hope you get to reach your £1,000 mark soon - it feels great to reach your targets ...

EC x

MaryMurphy

EC12345 wrote: »

it feels great to reach your targets ...

EC x

It really does, I am itching to transfer the funds now but I know I need to get my brother's present etc sorted first and see how it goes!

Glad to hear you were able to put some money away as well, it'll not be long for you now to get to 3 k

I never really fully understood the saying "every little helps" until now...

MMx

MaryMurphy

How do people manage their savings? I am trying to work out the best short-term and long-term course of action for my accounts, and I've realised it's not feasable for me to put every single penny I save towards my ISA until I get to my target.

I want to eventually be in a situation where I have my 3.5 k in the bank, and then start overpaying the mortgage, but I have also other things going on which I need to plan for. Some are closer than others.

My Open University course. This is going to cost me a lot overall. My module starts in October and I can pay it off by monthly direct debit, which means my ISA payments will inevitably decrease.

Christmas. It's not for another while. But getting close. And I will not use the ISA money for it. So, I'm considering increasing my payments going to the "House/Car" fund (I don't have another spare account for this). I usually tend to have £300.00 - £450.00 put away by November. I was really starting to get a buzz from my ISA target reducing by 1 k fairly soon and this has kinda put a damper on things. as again it means I'll not be able to focus on it as much.

I'm writing this down as a reminder for myself more than anything. After I get July and August (i.e. brother's birthday and my holiday) over and done with I'll focus on these two things.

So until 1st September, the ISA is still my main target, and then I'll slow down with it until after I have Christmas over and done with.

I feel better now that I have it down in writing, it doesn't seem as overwhelming.

MMx

MaryMurphy

My OH and I got used to a certain standard of living, and it's amazing how hard it is to try and cut down. I realise that I saw a lot of my spending as a well deserved treat (e.g. I deserve a nice cup of coffee now because that customer was really grateful for my help or I deserve a nice bar of chocolate because that customer was a real pain etc).

I thought I had zero self-discipline but already there's been some improvement in my way of thinking. I can now see that it's not a case that I don't deserve a "treat", just that it's more meaningful if it's occasional. Also, I hate wastefulness and that's exactly what I've been doing, wasting money and resources for short-term gratification.

I am thankful for this forum. The wealth of tips, knowledge and support is really great, and it would have probably taken me a very long time to start making some positive changes in my life.

This said, I thought my life was pretty good to begin with but it's true when they say you don't need stuff (in my case kitkats )to make you happy.

And I've just realised, this is my third day going without buying any chocolate whatsoever. This is soooo not like me, and I didn't even miss it (I usually have at least one bar of chocolate per day).

Go me!

MMx

EC12345

Hi Mary, my husband and I also have a good standard of living - nice house, good jobs, always our favourite food in our cupboard and freezer, a couple of holidays a year and weekends away but we never take anything for granted and we always save for EVERTHING - never putting anything on credit - even if it takes two years to save for the thing we are saving for!!!! We are currently saving for a new carpet for our hall, stairs and landing (plus it all to be painted) plus some nice new lights - we figure we wont have the money until November but hey, November not's so far away. We always have emergency money put away (for plumbing, roof etc) as well as long term savings (we will also be mortgage free in five years - we are only 36 and 38!!) and our own separate savings (hence my £3,500 goal!)

Like you I sometimes have phases of saying to myself "oh, I derserve it, I'll have a treat" so I know exactly what you mean. This year though I have tried to be really strict with myself, I take out cash every week and try and stick to a budget - some weeks will be more, some less - but it seems to be working. This week after petrol, I'll have £10 in my purse....

I totally agree about wasting money - sometimes I look back and think of some of the money I have wasted in my life!!

Keep updating Mary - your posts are really motivating.

ECx

fairtrade

As well as cutting down on your day to day expenses, have you done the comparisions for your ultilities,phone and insurance premiums? You may save more by not spending it in the first place.

Please stop mentioning chocolate.:shhh:

Chocolate is my vice :EasterBun

MaryMurphy

fairtrade wrote: »

Please stop mentioning chocolate.:shhh:

Chocolate is my vice :EasterBun

OK sorry! It's my vice too, I've been trying to convince myself fresh fruit salads are just as satisfying lol

Yes went through our bills etc and due to where we live there aren't that many utility companies to choose from, but we've been shopping around for as many things as we can, and took up any discounts available e.g. direct debit discounts and so on.

We both transfer £400.00 into our joint account (where all be bills come out of) and it always has some founds left over but we keep it this way as OH's income can be a bit unpredicatable depending on how many hours he works so some months we need to dip into the joint account to tide us over.

EC12345 wrote: »

Keep updating Mary - your posts are really motivating.
ECx

Thank you! This means a lot. This forum really helps me to stay focused to have an outlet to put down my targets, highs and lows etc. Plus it's good to know I'm not alone

About saving up for everything, I'm exactly the same. I don't even own a credit card, and we recently fully cleared OH's CC (he went a bit overboard when he was at uni unfortunately, but that's sorted now).

I stopped saving when I hit my 4 k originally and then put it towards the deposit for the house, and I've at least learned from this experience to not stop putting money away (no matter how small) as if you then have one big purchase it's hard to start getting into the mentality of putting money away again.

Once I reach my 3.5 k target doesn't mean I'll then stop my payments. True, my focus will then shift to replaying my mortgage (and EC12345 I hope one day I'll be able to say that it'll be cleared by my early 40s too!) but even if all I'll be able to afford is a fiver per month I'll still work towards it, just because I too one day want to be in a position where we don't need to worry if something breaks or needs replaced (e.g. washing machine breaks, etc).

And I am not alone, OH is getting better at managing his money too (when I met him 4 years ago he was an absolute disaster :rotfl:) and what I'm doing is definitely encouraging him to work that little bit harder as well.

Today was a NSP so it's all good :cool: BUT dentist appointment tomorrow which I'm hoping it'll not sting too much. It's a disgrace that there aren't any NHS doctors in this area, but that's another story.

Hope your Sunday afternoons are going well, off to get a bit of sun now!

MMx

fairtrade

Now I am baking cookies - only 2 bars of chocolate left in the fridge. Well these things are sent to try us - I tried not to eat chocolate and failed :rotfl:
"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." Friedrich Nietzsche

Seriously, I'm happy that your first day didn't make you change your mind, we all know what a marathon is yet how many of us know the name Pheidippides?. I know it is overused in the media nowadays but you have decided to undertake a journey and you deserve our support and encouragement.

Keep posting - the good and the bad.

Don't know if it will help, but every Christmas I get an A4 page a day diary and I record all money saving tips and speedy easy to prepare recipes. I find things are easier if I can refer to a written reference.