How can I save?

ms_london

Hi Alice

I'm the opposite, I live in London but want to move back to Herts and buy my own place - will then be faced with the hefty commute and price tag, as well as having to pay all of the necessary bills on my own (may get a lodger), and I will probably also need a car, though will try and manage without one, easier said than done if you are living in a remote area!

So I do totally understand where you are coming from and I don't think your lifestyle is extravagent, however, if you want to pay off your debts and then save for a deposit, you will need to make adjustments - its up to you to decide where. Youve mentioned you will cut your clothes allowance for a bit, a great start, well done.

I paid off £19,000 of debt whilst living in London by having two jobs, it wasn't fun and I had to make huge sacrifices, but use your own place as your motivation - all the little things really do add up (although I must take my own advice again as I seem to find it really difficult to take my own lunch in to work, might try leaving my purse at home!).

Its easy for people who are in couples to say 'stay in', but completely different if you are single, and you don't want to isolate yourself, as that won't do you any good. Doesn't mean your nights out have to cost a lot, but don't give up everything that makes your life worth living.

PM me if you like :0)

xx

ms_london

zcrat41 wrote: »

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.

:T:T:T Yes, smug marrieds - totally agree

It is such an achievement to manage on your own and all the bills - another annoyance is how the single persons reduction in council tax is 75%, how does that work!!

Catslovelycats

ms_london wrote: »

:T:T:T Yes, smug marrieds - totally agree

It is such an achievement to manage on your own and all the bills - another annoyance is how the single persons reduction in council tax is 75%, how does that work!!

Eh? Don't you mean 25%?? :cool:
Re smug marrieds, I have lovely married friends who are very aware of how lonely singleness can be. At the risk of sounding obsessive about a minor point made a few posts earlier, I don't think it's fair to generalise.

msl -I wish we COULD have 75% discount! That would show 'em!

AliceBanned

ms_london wrote: »

Hi Alice

I'm the opposite, I live in London but want to move back to Herts and buy my own place - will then be faced with the hefty commute and price tag, as well as having to pay all of the necessary bills on my own (may get a lodger), and I will probably also need a car, though will try and manage without one, easier said than done if you are living in a remote area!

So I do totally understand where you are coming from and I don't think your lifestyle is extravagent, however, if you want to pay off your debts and then save for a deposit, you will need to make adjustments - its up to you to decide where. Youve mentioned you will cut your clothes allowance for a bit, a great start, well done.

I paid off £19,000 of debt whilst living in London by having two jobs, it wasn't fun and I had to make huge sacrifices, but use your own place as your motivation - all the little things really do add up (although I must take my own advice again as I seem to find it really difficult to take my own lunch in to work, might try leaving my purse at home!).

Its easy for people who are in couples to say 'stay in', but completely different if you are single, and you don't want to isolate yourself, as that won't do you any good. Doesn't mean your nights out have to cost a lot, but don't give up everything that makes your life worth living.

PM me if you like :0)

xx

Hi ms london. Thanks for posting. Property does seem pretty cheap in this area (I live 35 mins on the train from London and some asking prices are around £80k for one bed flats - then again not always super desirable places, but as so many people are priced out of London it does seem a possible option. I've needed the break from London, although living there is fun it is not easy and doesn't seem to get any easier. I quite like the train part of the commute, it is fairly civilised and relaxed and I enjoy my morning and evening read of a book or newspaper. Very difficult to live outside of a city without a car; public transport just doesn't exist in many places. I like having a car too.

I am going to look for better paid work; I'm sure I can get even 2-3k more for the same type of job, if I just get on with applying. I feel ready for a change anyway. I recently got dumped by a guy, only after 6 months but I was getting hopeful that i wouldn't be alone for ever and I liked his company. . There were money issues there though. ie he had property and a good job, but seemed to have an extreme frugal streak, to the point that I would pay for things with my credit card rather than upset the mood or have him feel I'm ripping his right arm off because I needed to eat.lol.

AliceBanned

sydneybean wrote: »

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:

I had a go at keeping somewhat below the speed limit on the motorway last night.:D was not unpleasant. A few people flashed their lights behind me but I was doing 60, that's not a crime!! Hopefully I can still go out as often if I drive slowly and yes smoothly enough..lol.

AliceBanned

catslovelycats wrote: »

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!

Yes, drawing out cash from my current account before I went shopping today, and then paying with it was a revelation. Burning plastic just has that sense of limitless amounts which vaguely get paid off on payday and then build up again. The cash will take a while to get used to.:)

thevinternet

AliceBanned wrote: »

Holidays are quite important as I didn' have any for several years when I was temping, and now get 30 days' leave. Not very good at choosing hols though as I usually go with organised group tours - more expensive so any recommendations from anyone would be very welcome.

Well done for coming back Alice, after reading the first few slightly blunt responses on this thread, I am impressed that you came back for more! It's tough to hear other people's opinions sometimes, but I'm sure they all mean well and you've had some great advice already.

I have two suggestions for you about holidays:

1. Staying with friends/family somewhere, so that you aren't paying for accommodation.

2. You make think I am crazy when I say this, but hear me out...have you thought about volunteer holidays? My friend is a student and works on a farm in France each summer for a week with some friends. So she has to pay to get there (they all share a car and the driving), but accommodation and food is all provided. And unlike some volunteering holidays, you don't have to pay a fee to do it.

I did a similar thing for two weeks in SA, and I can honestly tell you that I came back really rested and rejuvenated. Yes, it's hard work at times, but because it's physical work rather than mental, I actually got the chance to switch off. Also I was exercising every day without realising it, which meant I slept soooo well out there. You have to pay for a few little luxuries (for example if you want wine or whatever) but it works out really cheap. I don't think we're allowed to post links on here, but pm me if you're interested and I will tell you which site she used.

Good luck on your journey, is this going to be your new diary? I hope so.

thevinternet

AliceBanned wrote: »

I had a go at keeping somewhat below the speed limit on the motorway last night.:D was not unpleasant. A few people flashed their lights behind me but I was doing 60, that's not a crime!! Hopefully I can still go out as often if I drive slowly and yes smoothly enough..lol.

Ah - I am the QUEEN of economical driving, even if I do say so myself. Recently managed 400 miles of driving on £42 of petrol, a new personal best :OD. So here are my top tips for you:

1. Check your tyre pressure - if it's wrong, you will end up using more petrol than you need to.

2. Make your car as light as possible, no empty roof racks, no spare bags in the back or anything!

3. Try to never let your revs go about 30, certainly never above 40 - I have an automatic so this is a lot easier for me, but it's harsh accelerating and breaking which use up the fuel. Use the lightest touches on the pedals possible, and keep a good distance from the traffic in front so that you can anticipate speed changes. Night-time driving is better than rush-hour for this, so avoid rush-hour driving where you can.

4. If you want to drive slower on the motorway, my favourite tip is to get into the left/slow/crawler lane behind a lorry and stay there. They are instructed to go at around 56-60mph and tend to try and save petrol themselves, so start copying their behaviour. You will avoid the flashy lights from others too by doing this, as you aren't holding anyone else up.

WARNING - this kind of driving can get extremely boring, so make sure you stop regularly/keep the radio on. I personally try to turn it into a game, I have a doodah on the dashboard that tells me how many miles approx I have left in the tank, so I try to keep this the same for as long as possible. NERD!! lol

determined_new_ms

Hi Alice. Have just read thru ur thread. And it got me thinking - holidays are a must for my oh (I would be happy with 1 a year or none) for him its really important so we go on 3 a year (we are now debt free, but we were in debt for several years). We shop around and get really good deals, we also go on a sun holiday each summer and then 2 abroad. Have you thought of looking into sofa surfing sites? Or holiday swaps? Also cheap things to do so you don't get isolated - I wished we lived nearer to London, what about community gardening projects? I really want to do one, the only cost to you would be petrol to get there and you would get fit & meet loads of people. When we were killing the debt, we still did stuff but either heavily reduced or free, museums, free gigs, lectures, sign up with seefilmsfirst and get free cinema tickets. Orange Wednesday, happy hours with a little bit of resourcefulness you can find loads of stuff to do. Good luck, it does get easier and then can become a bit of a game x

AliceBanned

thevinternet wrote: »

Well done for coming back Alice, after reading the first few slightly blunt responses on this thread, I am impressed that you came back for more! It's tough to hear other people's opinions sometimes, but I'm sure they all mean well and you've had some great advice already.

I have two suggestions for you about holidays:

1. Staying with friends/family somewhere, so that you aren't paying for accommodation.

2. You make think I am crazy when I say this, but hear me out...have you thought about volunteer holidays? My friend is a student and works on a farm in France each summer for a week with some friends. So she has to pay to get there (they all share a car and the driving), but accommodation and food is all provided. And unlike some volunteering holidays, you don't have to pay a fee to do it.

I did a similar thing for two weeks in SA, and I can honestly tell you that I came back really rested and rejuvenated. Yes, it's hard work at times, but because it's physical work rather than mental, I actually got the chance to switch off. Also I was exercising every day without realising it, which meant I slept soooo well out there. You have to pay for a few little luxuries (for example if you want wine or whatever) but it works out really cheap. I don't think we're allowed to post links on here, but pm me if you're interested and I will tell you which site she used.

Good luck on your journey, is this going to be your new diary? I hope so.

Hi thevinternet, thanks for posting in my diary:D. If it is a diary I may need to add a confession page after today. Having said that I spent on my debit card and have not used my credit card since last pay day - err 4 days ago - but trying to do without it for as long as possible. I spent £17 in an outdoor shop which has a good sale on at moment, and did need the item I went in for (a flask, to save money on coffee on way to work lol), the other was free (decent water bottle for walks) and a compass (I bought as it was 3 for price of one so had to find another item). Long walks are another cheap way to pass the time and meet people.

Yes I found it tough to hear in the beginning but I think the forum can be a confusing medium at times and I agree nobody has meant any harm at all; people are helping a lot.

Volunteer hols very good idea. I have done similar in the past but forgot about considering this to save money. My friend does some in the UK and has to sleep in barns etc but said it is a great cheap break, outdoor work etc. Thanks, I'll PM you to find out more. Is it on organic farms by any chance?

I went to Thailand last December and paid a lot of money for a low standard online TEFL course and the privilege of teaching as a volunteer; long hours, poor accommodation, the school which was not well resourced at all also had to pay the companyto have me there (I found out when I got there through the school). so i don't want to go with that kind of company again; though a good life experience i could have done it for half the money. One reason I have debts today and also the reason I have a very good range of clothes so I don't need to add to it for some time.:)

Thanks for wishing me luck; I am making small changes and determined to stop being ripped off with interest charges; that is the main problem so am going to stick much closer within my means, that is stage 1 anyway!:A