Saving, Investing... Starting early

atush

Using Excel and improving your computer skills will only make you more employable- so set up that spread sheet lol.

And no more spending money to save money- we'll give you this one as it will improve your health as well. I imagine come the poor weather you will be back in the car but can go back to the bike on fine days.

Eponym

Primetime wrote: »

right i see, is that after tax your wage? do you do side jobs as well to earn extra cash?

just trying to think of all of the possibilities.

No, unfortunately that's before tax (and NI, and pension, and student loan). I don't know yet how much it will be after tax because this is the first month I'll be paid the new wage.

I don't do any other jobs on the side, though I have considered it. I did a couple of mystery shops but they weren't for me. Too much to remember and low fees. Wasn't worth the hassle of registering as self-employed and filling in a tax return. I ended up paying HMRC tax of £1.65! Just not worth it.

I do as much of my internet shopping as possible through Top Cashback (not sure if you know about cashback sites, ask if you don't!) and I'm on a few survey sites but it will take me a long time to make any money out of those! I've put some stuff on eBay and sold other bits to Music Magpie and CEX but you don't make much money at all from those.

Other than that, I keep a close eye on this site and others to keep on top of good accounts, and switch to make sure my money is doing as much for me as it can. It's very little hassle to switch these days, well worth it! For example, my ISA will net me somewhere in the region of £500 interest this year, because I have it in a top-rate account. If it was in a worse account I probably wouldn't get a third of that.

Primetime_2

haha thanks atush it really will, trust me. and health wise yes, im pretty much a health freak! but you are right, i will stop now. no more excuses.

its sad but im excited to save money ha!

eponym... i know what you mean, i deliver yellow pages in my area and make around £100 for a weeks work which isnt too bad. looked into mystery shops but you're right, !!!!!! all money from them. and no, not sure what cash back sites are?

and do you mean top end isa's as in the best interest ones? i just have a standard barclays isa. but i dont really have enough money in there to make interest?

thanks guys.

Eponym

Primetime wrote: »

haha thanks atush it really will, trust me. and health wise yes, im pretty much a health freak! but you are right, i will stop now. no more excuses.

its sad but im excited to save money ha!

eponym... i know what you mean, i deliver yellow pages in my area and make around £100 for a weeks work which isnt too bad. looked into mystery shops but you're right, !!!!!! all money from them. and no, not sure what cash back sites are?

and do you mean top end isa's as in the best interest ones? i just have a standard barclays isa. but i dont really have enough money in there to make interest?

thanks guys.

Yes, I mean the accounts with the best interest. It may not make much difference at the moment with the amount you have, but as you build up your savings it will, so remember to keep checking you have a top rate and move your money if you don't.

Cashback sites are websites that give you some money back for shopping through them. I'm not allowed to post links but the main ones are Quidco and TopCashback. Say you want to buy something online from River Island. You go to the cashback site, search for River Island and click through the the shopping site from the cashback site. The cashback site gets commission from River Island for sending you there (typically a few percent of the cost of your purchase) and they give that to you.

This won't make you much money from normal purchases but it adds up for things like insurance renewals and mobile phone contract purchases.

I use TopCashback as Quidco has a £5 a year fee which is taken out of your cashback. TopCashback gives you 100% of the cashback you earn and you don't have to earn a minimum amount before you can request payment.

I'm up to about £75 in a year but £50 of that was for a mobile phone contract.

Eponym

While I think about it, there's a page on the main board about cashback sites. Again, I can't link, but you should be able to find it. Have a look at them and see if you fancy signing up to any of them (you can sign up to more than one). If you're interested in signing up to Top Cashback, you can PM your email address if you like and I can send you a referral link.

jimjames

If you are looking for a bike then it may be worth trying Ebay. Generally as people selling are only looking for local collection the price can be more limited and if you look at the right time you can get a bargain. Might be worth a look to see if you can get something decent but for less money.

atush

The op already bought one.

calypso_rhapsody

Can i suggest another column for your spreadsheet Eponym? Review date - the date the bonus expires or the fixed term finishes - that way you can make sure you don't have accounts that have dropped from 3% to 0.3% and you know when a maturity is about to happen so you can start exploring the options for reinvestment in advance and not have money languishing in poor accounts .... mind you sometime you can only put 'ongoing' in the column!

Eponym

That's a good suggestion. At the moment I have the review dates listed a bit haphazardly at the bottom but a column is a better idea, thanks!

Primetime_2

sounds like a great idea, every little helps right

i shall bud, i'll do it tomorrow after work and send you a pm. thanks very much!

cheers jim but yeah i already bought one, saved 20 quid building it myself. was the first day today. will definetely help my fitness! bad !!!...

btw, is it suitable for me to put say a diary of my outgoings on here etc to see where i can change stuff and where people thikn i can, or do i need a diff thing in a diff thread?