Savings Log of a 26yr old on low pay

Suarez

What I do is keep my savings in the ISA then save £500 in a spare current account to use as a backup for when car insurance etc comes up.

dixon-bainbridge

Suarez wrote: »

What I do is keep my savings in the ISA then save £500 in a spare current account to use as a backup for when car insurance etc comes up.

This is my approach too. I have a set amount I save each month with some going into the ISA and some into a savings account. This way if I do need to dip into savings I can without withdrawing on the ISA and losing that part of the allowance that I can't put back in. At the end of the year I can then use up my ISA allowance with what is in the regular savings.

A bit fiddly maybe but it works for me

atush

Actually. learning to do a basic spreadsheet will not only keep you on top of your finances, but is good for employability to be comfortable/up to date with IT skills.

MoneyWaster2007

Thanks guys...but I'm in a bit of a panic now!

After making up a s/s of all my annual expenditures and then dividing each by 12, it has added a further £90 to my monthly fixed costs :eek::eek::eek:

So, now I can see the true picture of where I am and it means I have £20 per week to myself - but that's only if there are 4 Fridays in a month, if there are 5 I'm practically down to nothing much at all (I put petrol in the car and go food shopping on Fridays).

So I'm desperately looking at where I can cut back...

• Sky TV/Internet and Phone line - need the internet but not sure if I can cancel the TV inside the first 12 months
• Get rid of the car??? - need this for a variety of reasons
  
  Help

StegarSaving

You could post an soa that people could analyse but that would be giving a lot of information away after saying you didn't want to. Usually the first items people look at is electricity bills, mobile phone, tv packages, insurance and food bills.

At least you have realised the increase in fixed costs now and not months down the line when you could potentially be in debt. Well done!

linz

Hi MW, nice to see you back

You could try ringing Sky and telling them you can't afford to keep the package you are on and you want to cancel. Loads of people do this and Sky I believe are quite willing to cut your bill for x months. Do you NEED Sky anyway ? Talk Talk and Plusnet are currently offering good packages, check this link from the main page http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-broadband plus if you go through Topcashback I think Talk Talk is about £40.

Is there anyone you can give a lift to work to and they could contribute to your petrol ? or liftshare with anyone ?

Is there an Aldi or Lidl near you ? I save a lot on my food shopping by going to Aldi, plus their toiletries and washing powder etc are all good.

MoneyWaster2007

Hi linz, I was thinking of selling the car, using the cash generated to buy a bike, cycle to work in the spring/summer and then get monthly bus passes for the winter, which would still be cheaper than having a car. That way I could keep Sky TV, save at a quicker rate and have this stress off my back...

...but I do like the convenience of having a car...

Eco_Miser

MoneyWaster2007 wrote: »

Sorry about the huge delay in posting...I was having a think and wondered if anyone I know was reading this thread and if so, that would mean they know my financial status to the penny...so it's put me off sharing too much info about my finances...

Congratulations on realising you are not totally anonymous online. However, do any of your friends or acquaintances know you as MoneyWaster, or have you revealed sufficient detail in your posts for them to identify you?
If not don't worry too much, and stick to the financial, not personal, details.

MoneyWaster2007 wrote: »

But now I've adopted a different method, wherein I just put ALL of my surplus into one pot (my ISA) as this pays the highest interest and when an expense comes up I draw on the ISA. So this means my ISA balance is constantly fluctuating and it's difficult to predict how my savings will grow with time. So the question is: is this new method the best way of dealing with 'larger annual expenses?'

Using an ISA for short-term savings is only sensible if the total amount of both long- and short-term savings is less than your annual allowance, otherwise you are restricting your long-term tax-free savings. Apart from that, putting all your savings into one high-interest account (and keeping track of what each bit of it is for on a spreadsheet) is the way to go.

MoneyWaster2007 wrote: »

So, now I can see the true picture of where I am and it means I have £20 per week to myself - but that's only if there are 4 Fridays in a month, if there are 5 I'm practically down to nothing much at all

Remember there are four and one third weeks in a calendar month, so if you've got £80 a month for yourself you should try to only spend £18.46(£80/4.333) a week. The other £1.54 accumulates over 12 weeks to cover the 13th. Typically one month in three has 5 Fridays, though they don't occur every three months.

MoneyWaster2007

Please can someone tell me if I should sell my car or keep it because I can't decide?

On the one hand, keeping it means being able to go where I want, when I want. It also means I can transport bulky items. And give lifts to family.

But on the other hand, it means I'm not saving much per month; £20-30, so I'm not really getting anywhere with the savings, in fact going backwards if the car breaks down unexpectedly. So I'm in a constant state of limbo and not knowing where I am with my ISA.

If I sold the car, Id free up a lot of surplus, which I could save into the ISA, would know that my savings are going upwards only (no worries about a car breakdown) and get wealthier at a quicker rate. Sounds good to me!

Who needs a car anyway? What's wrong with public transport?

Any answers much appreciated.

mike88

It depends where you live and the costs of the alternatives. A car is expensive but so is public transport. Weekly tickets can be bought cheaply but if the service is poor then they are not much use.

If you are intent on saving money and there is adequate public transport then probably your best bet will be to sell the car.