How can I save?

Catslovelycats

AliceBanned wrote: »

So nice of you to say, Sydneybean, thank you. I was scared to read any more responses but to be honest I was very sensitive and down at the point when I first posted about this. I can't run away from reality.

Very wise. And people here honestly do say what they do to support each other. Good luck with reworking your budget!:money:

sydneybean

baby steps all the way!

and as someone once said nothing worth doing is easy - or something like that:D

Im currently on a salary not dissimilar to yours although am about to drop that by half:eek: (with a teenager and a mortgage lol) but you know what? it will be fine, i will survive..... (song there somewhere!:rotfl:)

*rushes off to subscribe*
x

AliceBanned

sydneybean wrote: »

baby steps all the way!

and as someone once said nothing worth doing is easy - or something like that:D

Im currently on a salary not dissimilar to yours although am about to drop that by half:eek: (with a teenager and a mortgage lol) but you know what? it will be fine, i will survive..... (song there somewhere!:rotfl:)

*rushes off to subscribe*
x

I suppose at some point I should have an aim in sight and quote it on my posts. that would be more than a baby step for me. :eek:. I have a bit of denial about my attitudes to spending, to say the least..lol. I don't think I'm extravagent or irresponsible - I don't have any luxuries apart from the counselling (is that a luxury, not sure?!) and the occasional facial or massage for relaxation (at a college so not full price). I don't think I need any more treats than that, have to have some though I think. But I do struggle with sticking to absolute limits with money rather than vaguely having an idea of what I'm spending as it's on credit and it will be paid off, some of it next month the rest whenever blah blah I'm sure people know how it goes.:cool:

AliceBanned

catslovelycats wrote: »

Very wise. And people here honestly do say what they do to support each other. Good luck with reworking your budget!:money:

Thanks catslovelycats. Putting it on paper is not too difficult..it's having the patience to have a long term plan and see it come to fruition that I sometimes struggle with but I'll just have to find the discipline and will to do it..putting it all down on this site now seems scarey as though I'm committing to it. I'm doing this in stages though I guess; it's a big shock to the system.

sydneybean

Im not good at sticking to set budgets either really! i budget around £40 a week for food for me and DD although i know i can get by on £20. Its psychological with me - tell me i cant spend it and i will feel as if i am being deprived and then waste it on something i could of made at home.

tell me i have £40 a week for food and hey presto i'm thinking myself very clever to be able to get by on £20:rotfl:

Re the counselling - if it is helping you then yes its worth every penny, every time. And as for a signature - yes it helps me, that doesn't mean it would work for you.

we are all different there are no set rules, do what feels right for YOU! you have already made the biggest step by just posting initially and then coming back when what you were reading was tough. the easy option would have been not to bother. But you didnt, so give yourself a big pat on the back!:T

one other thing i do as im going to work now is when i see people who are driving a nice car i think "Ha bet you are in debt!" (very broadbrush i know but helps!) although i do also look for people who are driving at a constant speed and think "Ooh i bet you're a MSE!":rotfl:

Catslovelycats

It does get easier. You'll soon see that the way you think about spending and money changes and before you know it you'll have come a long way and will see you're making inroads. My finances aren't perfect by any means, but I'm now savings and spending better than this time last yeR. I'm not there yet, but it's those baby steps again!
Keep posting!

AliceBanned

Thanks both. The encouragement really helps. I tend to not recognise my own efforts.

I got my Halifax credit card statement today - £26 interest which is a lot as I have o/d charges too. I did take out a loan with a credit union to pay them both off, then had costs to my car at its MOT and did some squandering (before my new frugal ways of course:j). I am considering cutting it up as seeing the interest and imagining having that cash is an incentive. It will increase each month now as the balance is around £2k. I know this isn't a lot by some people's standards but considering my available free cash it is enough to get me in trouble if I don't reduce it asap. I'm trying not to stress about the interest - I paid £35 in charges on my current account this month. I've ran both of them fairly well for a couple of years, but the increases have been gradual and that can be insidious and difficult to spot it happening! I was hoping to get a 0% balance transfer soon but I don't seem to qualify though a CCJ will be removed any day as we speak - by end of November and that is major on my file. I hope to get at least lower interest loans but either way will be paying them off. It is tough psychologically, a major change from debt to saving.

Problem is I'm paying charges on the credit union loan too (12%) and don't want to keep increasing this loan to pay off the cc, though I probably could as I have a good relationship with them. don't like the credit card debt habit and like you sydneybean it is fairly psychological. I think for a while I was enjoying using it as for many years I could only get Vanquis, then improved my file and got this and then got higher limit blah blah and now think am better off without it. It's a tricky one as I do struggle to get by each month. Vicious circle as everyone on here must know. :mad:. 0% balance transfer would probably encourage me to keep spending..but I have to remember the discipline and the pain of charges which will come around in the end.

AliceBanned

zcrat41 wrote: »

Hi Alice Banned,

Just wanted to say that I have been there as a single and spent money on my social life. I do think its hard sometimes for the smug marrieds to understand how lonely life can be especially if family are a long way away.

Its not for everyone but I found a bit of a lifeline by joining a local church - lots of free and cheap social life plus some lovely new friends. Is there anything you could do to provide that social contact for free? Book clubs or getting involved in community stuff.

Good luck

ZC

HI ZC

Thanks, good idea. I do salsa which is a fairly cheap night out but I have the petrol on top. Would like to meet more people in my town. I like church people, I have met some but don't think it's for me. book club is a good idea, I'll look into that. Community things too - must be opportunities.

AliceBanned

Cherryjack wrote: »

definetly too much on food.. im spending £200.00 on 2 adults and 1 child and we have packed the house out with the stuff .. try and cut the clothing down.. just making a few changes can really mount up over the year and you will feel fantastic for it.. you really will..
If you have been spending £100 a month on clothes then im wondering if you have lots of stuff you could ebay? if your fed up of it and not wearing.. u can make some really good extra money from this and put it in your saving pot..
There's a saving pot challange on one of the threads that could be really good for you also.. pick up all the little tips on these boards and you could be flying high soon ( to an even nicer holiday destination :-)..

Keep positive and good luck

Thanks. need to get to grips with the thread and the challenges when I have a mo! Not sure how it all works but will look out for that.

I sell books and CDs on Amazon and then buy new ones so it is cost neutral at least. Have sold on Ebay before but not that much I can sell at mo. I like my wardrobe so probably best I stick with it and don't add to it. I can cut grocery to £100-£120 and have started already! Thanks again.. there are temptations everywhere but I only need to make big changes for a few months to feel that I'm getting somewhere..

mildredalien

Hi Alice,

Just wanted to pop by and say well done for coming back and addressing all the advice and suggestions, can take a lot of guts sometimes to put your fears aside and look at your budget with a fresh eye! It sounds like you're really considering where to cut down and how to manage your money better which is great. Maybe you could post up your revised SOA? It would be good to see how you've put all the advice into practice and where things stand with your revised estimates.

I know you've thought about moving and I totally understand wanting to keep your car - I couldn't live without mine! (Ok I could if I didn't need it for work, I just don't want to :P) Is there any possibility of moving closer to the centre of a town/village so it isn't quite so necessary? It really is quite a big expense on top of your work travelling expenses! Of course it might turn out that on balance you can manage your finances and debts without getting rid.

I totally agree about a lot of these things being psychological too. It took me a really long time to understand that I needed to manage my debts and not let them drift on and build up forever and a day. I think I started being really aware of just how much interest I would be paying over my life if I allowed myself to pay minimum payments all the time! Small steps really help

Anyway, good luck!