How to make Budgeting work??

icklepiggle

Hi everyone

my OH & I have done the Budget Brain; shocked ourselves with our overspend & already started tackling the overspend by changing life insruance; cancelling sutff we don't need etc etc.

But the thing we're finding really hard is how to stick to the small amount of income we do have to spend on stuff like: food shopping; clothes; going out; household stuff . I keep finding that my OH has taken cash out of the joint account & then it just gets spent so I don't know what it went on.

I have read Martin's book & about piggybanking, but I don't want to have lots of different bank accounts.

How do you guys make it work day to day?

thanks
ickle

northerngirl30_2

can't help with this one, but I would love to know how people do it cos I def can't!

icklepiggle

it's so hard isn't it - I know the plain truth is we spend too much but how do we stop!

northerngirl30_2

I think my biggest prob is that becasue i dont go out or do entertainment things the odd 20 quid here and there on books or dvds doesnt seem like much! sadly when u have 80 a week and 60 of this is needed for petrol food and smokes it is a lot!

One of my friends swears by taking your set amount out at the start of the week and not allowing yourself to take any more out, unfortunately I'm a bit rubbish at that too so it doesnt work for me! but might for more disciplined people!

icklepiggle

we do spend a lot on fuel as we both commute - that seems to take a massive chunk out of all we have right away

jennikitten

One idea I really like is dividing the budget money up into envelopes - one for food, one for going out, one for bills etc. Once there's no more money left in the envelope, that's it - you can't spend any more in that area until the next month. It's better than dividing it up equally between weeks because sometimes you need to spend more in one go, and sometimes less.

You could always leave the bill money in your joint account and use envelopes for everything else.

Tixy

It seems different things work for different people.

Is there any chance of getting OH (and yourself) to keep a spending diary for a couple of months - to help see where the cash withdrawals are going?

I know some people allocate themselves a 'pocketmoney' budget and withdraw a set amount of cash at the beginning of the week and limit themselves to when its gone its gone.
Others go with the envelopes idea as jenni outlined above.

For me I try to rarely use cash, so that I can keep a track of things retrospectively, so I nearly always use a debit card. Whilst I don't have lots of bank accounts I do have 2 - I for my wages to go in and bills & petrol get paid from, then another I transfer a monthly amount to to spend on general things (which I include haircuts, clothes, entertainment, books etc).

Frogletina

Budget in advance, no impulse purchases

You have to question everything that you buy and you have to write down every single thing - both of you

Buy everything for cash, take the minimum amount with you when going out

At the end of the week, check whether you really needed the item, ate the food etc and amend next weeks budget accordingly

I've budgeted for years and still do it even though it is not as necessary as it once was.

I like a challenge though, and if I get a £2 coin in my change, I'll do without something I might have bought as I want to save the coins (it's addictive for me do this, more than buying something) I saved one the other day, then broke into a fiver and got 2 more in my change (that is what happpens when you try to cheat the system!)

mel12

I take out a set amount each week to spend. Any I don't spend one week goes into a box I can take from if I have a more expensive week.

icklepiggle

Thanks for your posts :A
I think we will try the monthly envelopes for food & clothes & keep the debit card for big things like fuel. Then give ourselves a bit of cash pocket money budgeted each week so we have a limit on buying coffee/ crisps etc. at work

laisbojar83

If you are going to the supermarket, take cash.. no plastic. Prepare your shopping list within your budget, ours vary from 60.00 to 70.00 every couple of weeks - for a family of 4, including toiletries and laundry, so I only take 70.00, my list, calculator, pen and make it work within that amount. I dont like to keep money in my account, I am prone to spending it shopping online. So I pay everything I have to, direct debts, etc. Then whats left I withdraw and separate in envelopes. Holiday, Xmas, Emergency, Grocery, Clothes, Car Expenses, etc. Only other account I have is a savings account, no card for it.
I never go to town with my card anymore, just a set amount and when its gone.. back to the car and home. You are more inclined to spend more money if you leave everything in your account and use your card.
Good Luck, just stick to what you are doing. You may fail a couple of months but never give up. Budgeting is very important and once you get the hang of it, you will be doing things naturally like questioning if you really need before buying something .