How much can you save?

gelato_cat

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

Wages 1675.00

Outgoings
Household ( I pay half)

- Gas £69
- Electricity £27

You probably need to switch away again at some point - from what you were saying before, your bills seem pretty high!

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

- Food £200

For two people? I probably spend about £80 for one person and two cats (occasionally my bf stays over too) so that sounds comparable to my spending, which I don't think is excessive at all. Is there any way you could make savings here? Do you take your own lunches to work?

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

Car
- Tax £125 a year
- Car insurance £321.30 a year with 7 yrs no claims
- Petrol £30-40 a month

The insurance seems high - I say that because I know an American girl who just got her UK licence (had to retake test etc) and got started on her own insurance and only paid about £300 for the first year. She was 28 or 29 at the time. I don't know anything about insurance meself though, not being a car owner (yet). Have you ever reviewed your car insurance?

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

Personal
- Union £11.33

This is compulsory for teachers, isn't it? I have the option of joining a union (I'm a civil servant), but even though I am not a member, any pay rises they negotiate apply to me as well

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

- Gym £50 (I know!!! But helps me de-stress after work)

How often do you go?

How about doing "free" exercise or joining a local authority gym (bound to be cheaper, not sure if they're free). What kind of equipment do you use at the gym? If it's stuff like the treadmill, maybe you could run to work or something... or go to fitness classes at the local recreation centre or something.

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

- Contact lenses £12.50

Who are you with and what kind of lenses do you have? I pay £10/month for one pair of lenses and solutions. There are some quite good bargains to be had online, too, depending on the type of lenses you need.

Also, wearing glasses works out even cheaper I hate wearing specs though so I'll pay my £120/year for the contacts.

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

- NTL (Virgin) - £40-50 (BB, phone, basic tv)
- Virgin mobile pay as u go £20ish evry 3 mths

As you are on Virgin Mobile it could make sense to integrate this into your main package. You could ring and find out... I reckon if you call Customer Services and ask for this package, they'll put you onto it. You'd get more TV channels and free weekend calls at the weekend too (I assume you have to pay for all of them at the moment). I don't have a Virgin Mobile but it looks like you'd be getting a better deal on what you already have with the mobile chucked in for nothing. Ring them today and let me know how you get on :P I think the number's 150 from your NTL phone.

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

I tend to leave about £200 to spend on other things for the month and put the rest in savings.

£200/month on "other things" seems a lot - you might want to analyse what that's going on... I don't begrudge anyone their luxuries but logically this is where the biggest savings can be made, if you want to. I only suggest this because in terms of saving we seem like-minded and you have asked for comments so please don't take it the wrong way.

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

Normally save £700-£800 at the moment

That's still loads, I reckon you're doing really well!

Suze

moneysavingwannabe

Hi Suze,

Thanks for all your feedback, I will consider all of it carefully!

Have been considering changing my contact lens supplier - who do you use?

Thanks for the Virgin mobile thing I will contact them/investigate.

I know I need to look at my car insurance - I have protected no claims at the moment which I don't really know if I need it????? I get roadside recovery too but I think it is probably too much still I went on confused.com last year but lots of companies I'd never heard of came up - not sure if that should be an issue?

The gym is alot but it is one of the only things I still make sure I can afford! I go 2-3 times a week which makes it worth paying for "Gold" membership. I also go swimming and use the steam room and sauna etc :j

Boyfriend does the food shopping, he tells me he is trying to cut down!! It is generally £45 a week for 2 people. I do like Green & Black's ice cream tho!!LOL

I will look again at everything you have suggested and think about what I spend the rest of the money on. I work out all my bills and savings on payday and then shuffle my money around so I leave £200 "just in case" I suppose. I never take money back out of my savings once it is transferred I just make sure I don't spend more than I have. Maybe I should put more in with the idea of taking some back out if absolutely necessary.

Thanks again :T

gelato_cat

Hi again!

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

Have been considering changing my contact lens supplier - who do you use?

I use Specsavers. There are some cheaper lenses at £8/month but they have a lower water content so they're not as comfortable for me.

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

I know I need to look at my car insurance - I have protected no claims at the moment which I don't really know if I need it?????

Not sure I'd bother with that if I had a car to be honest.

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

I get roadside recovery too but I think it is probably too much still I went on confused.com last year but lots of companies I'd never heard of came up - not sure if that should be an issue?

There's probably a regulatory body for insurance companies (like ABTA for travel agents) which you could check to see if they're a member of. How did you choose your current provider?

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

The gym is alot but it is one of the only things I still make sure I can afford! I go 2-3 times a week which makes it worth paying for "Gold" membership. I also go swimming and use the steam room and sauna etc :j

Fair enough! My bf pays £40/month and goes maybe twice a year, so each trip costs him £120 :eek:

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

Boyfriend does the food shopping, he tells me he is trying to cut down!! It is generally £45 a week for 2 people. I do like Green & Black's ice cream tho!!LOL

Ha! Maybe you could try doing it this way - you go shopping one week and he goes the next. When he sees he's paying more than you he might start thinking more about what he's putting in the trolley! My ex and I had a system whereby we shopped together but would take turns to pay, which can also work.

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

I will look again at everything you have suggested and think about what I spend the rest of the money on. I work out all my bills and savings on payday and then shuffle my money around so I leave £200 "just in case" I suppose. I never take money back out of my savings once it is transferred I just make sure I don't spend more than I have. Maybe I should put more in with the idea of taking some back out if absolutely necessary.

I'd be more inclined to put extra in with the idea of living within more restricted means - I don't like taking money out of the savings pot either. And I don't believe in depriving yourself if you don't have to. So, say you have your £200 just in case each month and are finding you don't use all of it, analyse the pattern and see what your average monthly "just in case" expenditure is (it might only be £125/month). Then reduce your £200 JIC to that.

Or, get a credit card. Have no JIC cash. Spend on the credit card, receive your salary and bills at the end of the month. Pay off all the bills (including CC) and put the surplus cash into savings (does that make sense)? This method relies on you spending sensibly on the card but it also means all JIC is dealt with at once and all surplus is safely tucked away in a more timely fashion.

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

Thanks again :T

No probs, hope you save some money somewhere!

Suze

gelato_cat

Forgot to ask, is there any chance you could share the cost of this with your bf? Or doesn't he use them?

Suze

moneysavingwannabe wrote:

NTL (Virgin) - £40-50 (BB, phone, basic tv)

moneysavingwannabe

Hi Suze,

Boyfriend doesn't use internet and only uses phone on a friday night to say yes 8:00 pub!! , he does watch the tv but he does lots of housework and washing up too!

Plus he earns less than me so I pay this, cos he pays half of everything else.

Am looking at virgin prices at the moment - wondering if I can haggle and whether to wait til monday and speak to retentions department - probably not in til then??

Hmm contact lenses next? Then car insurance - due to renew next month so good time to change.

gelato_cat

Sounds like bf is earning his keep then

I went through Retentions in 2005 as I actually did want to leave. They offered me a good deal which they said was for life, but after 12 months they wouldn't honour it. I then had a moan about this when I rang CS to downgrade my services (to save money that way) and they have a range of things they can offer people there as well. So I now have near enough what Retentions gave me anyway. It's up to you but I find the CS route much less stressful, esp if you are ringing Retentions with no intention of leaving. Let me know how you get on though, I'm sure you can save money whichever method you go with. I'm now paying less than £30/month for 2mb BB, what used to be called Family Pack TV and free evening and weekend calls.

Retentions are only available 9-5 Monday to Friday I think. Which was another reason it was difficult for me to be able to get the discount back - not allowed to use work phone for personal use and 0800 is not free on my PAYG mobile.

I've heard that you can get a discount with your existing insurance provider if you threaten to go elsewhere too - get a quote from someone else and tell them about it. They can only say no.

Suze

moneysavingwannabe wrote: »

Hi Suze,

Boyfriend doesn't use internet and only uses phone on a friday night to say yes 8:00 pub!! , he does watch the tv but he does lots of housework and washing up too!

Plus he earns less than me so I pay this, cos he pays half of everything else.

Am looking at virgin prices at the moment - wondering if I can haggle and whether to wait til monday and speak to retentions department - probably not in til then??

Hmm contact lenses next? Then car insurance - due to renew next month so good time to change.

winkle1

jamtart6 wrote: »

I think if anyone wants to post their SAVINGS SOA then go for it!

Here I go then:

• Mobile Phone - £10 per month (£20 maximum very rarely)
• Petrol £40-50 per month depending where I travel to
• Hairdressers £30 every 4 or 5 months
• Meal in a restaurant - once per month £30
• Cups of Tea in the canteen £2 per week
• Drinks in the Pub £15 per month max (this is with work)
• Clothes Shopping £40 per month average (its a bad habit)
• Internet costs £27 per month (I only pay £15 towards them)
• Bootsing via the Boots thread for Toiletries - £0 as usually have PB vouchers
• null

• A key problem area is generosity for the family. I'm good at buying friends and outside family gifts in sales when on offer etc, but mothers day, fathers day, boyfriends bday, mum n dads bday I will literally spend hundreds, usually because they have never been mean with me and i can often afford it im good at thoughtgful presents too, but love to give lavish things to spoil my beloveds!

Ok have I missed anything vital there? (live at home rent free btw!) On the birthday front, I am helping OH pay for Oz for his "birthday present" but I am asking everyone else for money/ ozzie dollars to help with the spends for my bday IF THEY ASK of course!!

hit me ladies and gents!

the only things i can see you could cut back on is hairdressers by tying your hair up (!) or going and getting it cut by a student.

meal in a restaurant - we used to have this but since OH and I have been cooking at home to save money, when we eat out we think our own food tastes better! so find your fave dishes on BBC food and make it yourself at home?

cups of tea - buy your own teabags

clothes shopping - try primark. i love clothes shopping but always buy cheap... i make cheap clothes look good! today i brought a cardie, a dress and a smock type top all for £16.


i know what u mean about buying pressies for people. i spent £18 in the nxt sale today (got loads for it!!) for my sisters unborn baby. my other sister said said she would give me half for it but i said no... should have said yes!!

jamtart6

I think we are mental cases...we are about to book a holiday to New York too.

However given the current situation (kind of saving for a house but have no ties) we both decided Australia and New York (bit lavish i agree) whislt we have the opportunity, we may as well do it before we get saddled with bills.

So im now on a money saving mission for a cheap hol to NYC! so far 5 nights and flights are £663

zag2me

I just booked my skiing holiday on the cheap Easyjet and some dodgy french bus service! Can't wait.

winkle1

zag2me where are you off to on hols? i went skiing last month in andorra - loved it