Random question?

junior_j

Hello everyone!

Just wondered as this is the "old style" money bit.
When there weren't so many bank things around like isas and savings ect how did people manage there money. I have 2 bank accounts , one I don't use (because I have not scratched the pin number thing off yet) and the other is where my wages go and my dd get taken out.

I am useless with money and saving ect. I have one pot I put some money in at the beginning of the month and usually I have to get it out to use again. Some one mentioned evelopes for dividing money up ect , does any one else do this , I do not want no more bank accounts x

Hardup_Hester

I use an envelope system, having lots of bank accounts wouldn't work for me as I have trouble getting to the bank, because of my hours of work I need to work 2 lunch breaks & leave early to visit the bank, or get into town on a Saturday.
Hubby gives me cash every month when he get's paid, I call it my housekeeping, but it is actually his share of all the bills.
Until we gt married next summer the house we have is in my name as is the mortgage & all the bills, our outgoings are about £800, so he gives me £400. All the direct debits come out of my account & I use the cash for day to day expenses. As soon as he gives me the cash I divide it into envelopes labled Petrol, Food, Birthdays, Milkman, Egg Man etc. The unallocated money is put in the bottom of a tin with the envelopes on top. Towards the end of the month if the unallocated money is still there, I pay it in to the bank, this month it was needed to repair my car.
Hope that helps.
Hester

Linda32

I actually use a spread sheet I wouldn't admit that to many peeps, but its okay on here, I hope.

OH gets paid monthly, so I allocate whatever is needed to each DD and assume that money has gone. Then I divide whatever is left by four for the four weeks of the month. (He gets paid the same amount each month so its easy)

Then I add this money to my wages and take it from there.

These are not exact figures but it will give you an idea
So lets say:-
Food £50.00
Petrol £30.00
Cash for us £50.00
Spending money for the week £100.00

So if I only use £45.00 for food £5.00 goes to savings, (transfer to ISA, before ISA's it would have been a savings account)
If all the Petrol money not used then thats saved and so on.

Online banking is a god send, as I'd not have the time to stand in a que at the bank either.

Then from the spending money allocation and ferrit away £5.00 of that every few days, you don't notice the £5.00 and it all adds up.

I assume your council tax is the same in as much as you pay 10 months of the year. The other two months I save towards our holiday.

Just reading back, its the same as the envelope system, mines just written down, and the spread sheets does the adding for me.

Penelope_Penguin

junior_j wrote: »

I am useless with money and saving ect. I have one pot I put some money in at the beginning of the month and usually I have to get it out to use again. Some one mentioned evelopes for dividing money up ect , does any one else do this , I do not want no more bank accounts x

We work out how much we need to live on each month, then as soon as we're paid, any excess over that goes into a savings account. We then can;t touch it unless we have a large bill to pay (holiday, for instance ).

I'll move this to the Budgeting Board, where there are more threads to help you out

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Loughton_Monkey

junior_j wrote: »

I am useless with money and saving ect. I have one pot I put some money in at the beginning of the month and usually I have to get it out to use again. Some one mentioned evelopes for dividing money up ect , does any one else do this , I do not want no more bank accounts x

Your first line is surely the root of the problem.

If, by the end of the month, you spend all the money, then whether you temporarily keep it in envelopes, a bank, or under the mattress is a bit irrelevant.

At the very least, start budgetting properly and build up a surplus somewhere. Up to a point, it doesn't matter where. If you can't manage this, then nothing will really help you. You will be destined for an extremely poor retirement.

If, however, you can manage this, then there will come a time when you will feel the need to 'save or invest' the money for the future. That's when you might welcome some more detailed advice. But it's a fact of life that if you spend everything you earn, then you don't need to know what an ISA or a pension are, or the tax advantages of either.