OMG How stupid could I have been ???

EMPTY_PURSE_5

OMG no wonder I never seem to have lots of spare cash as I should have !!!

Looked at my bank statement yesterday ( first time I think I have actually spent time looking at it) and realised that between 01 - 24 october 2007 I spent £ 576.82 on absolute crap !!!! God knows how much the OH has spent !!!

This has been spent going to supermarket during lunch time at work. Go in for bread, havent got cash so go in search of things to buy so that I dont have to swipe my card for 52p, so end up spending in the region of £ 20.00 when all I needed was bread !!!! Also dont know what is happening to the cash backs I get at the till ... Think there may be a hole in my purse !!

So the OH and I have now decided that we will set ourselves pocket money every week to spend ... say £ 30.00 to spend on fuel etc or toiletries needed etc.

We have no major debt, small mortgage, finance on only 1 of the cars, 0% finance on a sofa and less than 10k on credit cards etc ..... so have now realised ( light bulb moment, ta da ) that we should actually by living very comfortably.

So with the new year fast approaching we will sit down and work out all incomings and outgoings and start afresh with finances.

So thank you all for the SOA's and wise tips on money saving, which I read daily, which have now made me realise that if we continue to spend, spend, spend then not too long from now we could be in the s**t.

Thank you so much and wish you all a happy and comfortable future

Millie xxxxx

Nuclear_Tom

Good luck with this! After a short time of struggling to be disciplined, it will become second nature and will be no time before you are debt free!!!

nidje

Hi
Writing it all down in a spending diary really will make a difference.

I used to be just the same but now the day I am paid all my dd's and regular payments are taken off and I'm allowing myself £20 for misc spends which I record in another little book (the £20 needs a bit of fine tuning though, especially this time of the year :rolleyes: but I'm determined I will get there)

It's a bit of a shock when you realise just how much money you can spend each month on "nothing".

Good luck

N x

Mrs_Sparkle

Just a word of warning from the experienced! You say you have no major debt but then list under £10K on credit cards, car finance and finance on a sofa... I used to think I had only minor debts too but didn't realise I was on a slippery slope. Well done for getting your lightbulb moment BEFORE you get any deeper and I wish you all the best for clearing it all and curbing your spending now.

By the way there are a lot of us here who can totally sympathise with the non-identified spending... I've been there myself and cannot believe how much I used to waste at train stations, in airports, at work, quick trip to Tesco's... you name it- I think my Switch card was slipping out of my purse and spending money by itself...

pollyanna24

I was thinking the same. Under £10K on cc is still a lot.

Storm

If you were spending on the CC it's worth drawing out your weekly allowance in cash on a Monday morning - this is what works for me as I see the money actually leaving my purse, can check quickly what I've got left etc

My one tip would be not to make the budget too tight initially going from about £135 a week to £30 is a huge jump - I tried making such a big cut & it went horribly wrong! So what I'm doing now is each month I'm reducing my weekly allowance by £5 until I get to my target of £50 a week (food, fuel, cigs, going out etc)

Good luck!

nickyhutch

10k is a lot, but if it's manageable for the OP, and it's not causing difficulties, then i can't see that it's a problem. She has identified what IS the problem - spending £576 on absolute crap - and has done something about it.

OneSpike

Mrs_Sparkle wrote:

Just a word of warning from the experienced! You say you have no major debt but then list under £10K on credit cards, car finance and finance on a sofa... I used to think I had only minor debts too but didn't realise I was on a slippery slope. Well done for getting your lightbulb moment BEFORE you get any deeper and I wish you all the best for clearing it all and curbing your spending now.

I have to say I thought the same, that's actually a fair bit of debt and that's from someone with 85k+!! You're doing absolutely the right thing working out where you are with your finances, but I would also be sorting out how to pay off the sofa, cc's and car finance - all it takes is one relatively small change in circumstances and you could find yourself unable to meet payments.

Well done for your LBM!

EMPTY_PURSE_5

10k does sound a lot now I have read all your thoughts ... but always felt okay with it cos it was more than manageable. God knows what the card has been used for ... have to dig out bill .... think it is approx 6300 at the mo. But it is going in the freezer very shortly. Once I curb the 'crap' spending then the card will not be needed.

EMPTY_PURSE_5

Onespike,

Thats what my plan is .... the £ 500 odd pound spent on crap would be much more useful put towards the CC ... finance on the sofa is 0% ... so would rather tackle that last ... car finance has penalties for early payment so will tackle that later ... CC is no 1 priority at the mo

skylight

I can never write everything down - I just forget, but I am in the habit now of asking for a reciept for EVERYTHING! Even a 30p newspaper (if I get one!)

Each evening I tot it up on my spreadsheet and categorise it (ie tesco Lunch or tesco main food, newsagent, local shop) and was very surprised a the end of the week hpow much we were actually spending at the local shop, rather than buying more at Tescos for less money!

Each category is added at the end of the month to see what really does go where.


And for the first month (even 2!) it was really scary!