Monthly cash in jars (again!)

skintnutta

Hi,

We are trying for the hundredth time to take out our cash for the month and put in 4 different jars, food, petrol, miscellanoues and entertainment. We never seem to keep it up for more than a month or 2 at a time and repeatedly go off the wagon. Anyway we now need to clear our credit card and overdraft and have started again.

Has anyone else tried this and got any advice, I'd be very grateful.

thanks in advance

bottleofred

Hi Skintnutta,

I normally take out money on a Friday to cover me until the next Friday and wouldn't be sure if I could look a month in advance. However, I really think you need to start a spending Diary to see where all the money is going. You can buy a small book from the co-op for less than £1 and you should put absolutely everything into it. This may let you see where the money goes and make you more aware of whether or not you want to spend it.

bravobeastie

I normally do this too, have been tempted many times to dip into it, but then I just remind myself of what exactly the money is for and it stops me. Just keep remind yourself of why you're saving the money

sharpy2010

It DOES take will power, which some people havent got. If you like, buy a sealed contained and give the key to someone else. That will stop you dipping into it on a whim, at least!

DebtfreeBY40_2

What I started last month was budgeting to within an inch of my life! I leave the money in my account to cover DD's, pay the bills and excess debt payments I have worked out I can afford and then I withdraw the cash for petrol and food for the month. Until the next payday. Then I know that I can't touch my bank account. And I know the money I have is all I have for the month. And its working really really well. Its got us focussed on trying to make extra money should we want treats, boot fare, ebay, surveys, etc and its also helped me curb my shopping habit, so far! Usually by this point of the month I don't dare look at my bank account for fear of not having enough to get through the month. But I know I am going to make it because I know that I haven't overspent and that everything is paid. Fingers crossed for next month!!!
Good luck to you, will be interested to see how you manage and hopefully you can inspire me to carry on too!

david_hellier

Plan a spending diary in 2011 to prevent overspend. The encouragement of overspending by the banks is the main problem with the economy, and they will look for ways to perpetuate this, for example by the introduction of contactless cards. The complete elimination of paper money is their long term aim so we as consumers must pay hawkish attention to exactly how much is available to spend.

One of the best ways to tackle this is to use the weekly subtraction method. Firstly work out all your income. If your income is monthly then divide this by 4.33, this will give you your weekly income. Note it.

Then work out your monthly essential outgoings, but exclude food (more later). Divide this by 4.33 to give you your weekly out goings. Note it.

Take the outgoing figure from the incoming figure. This is the weekly Start amount available to spend on anything else including food.

Get any little notebook ( a spending diary) and write the Start figure in it at the start of the week. As you spend or withdraw cash deduct it as you go. Try to get to the end of the week with some left in it and carry this forward to the next week and add it to the new Start figure.

Using this method ensures you do not overspend. I suggest you include food in the Start figure because the amount we spend on it can vary widely. My personal experience shows allowing a specific amount for food is impractical, however, it's up to you.

This method also requires you to effectively ignore your bank balance, because it is meaningless on a day to day basis. What you should see is it increasing steadily.

Also remember to include any OD charges, interest or other fees in the essential outgoing list, otherwise overspending will continue.

Other top tips: stop using credit cards for further spending and make FIXED repayments, never the minimum.

I have an excel spreadsheet which can work out the Start figure if you PM me with an email address.

The_representative

Each month when I get paid I plan what needs to be paid out, what is disposable income after this, and have very strong will power not to break my plan.

For the last year I have been paying debts off using all spare cash I have, and now I only owe £700.00 and will be debt free around four weeks from now.

What a great feeling.