Is anyone starting from scratch???

ShootForTheMoon

My OH earns a lot less than me too Broke...
It's hard sometimes as I know she worries that we're not "equal" when it comes to mortgages etc.
hopefully by being more "on board" in our savings mission she'll feel much more involved!!

I think clearing the debt and proving how much we can save has made it easier to see what is achievable!

emma768

I'm joining in!

I really want to save for a house - and trying to encourage my boyfriend to do the same (which is a struggle in itself). We're literally starting from zero, and our challenge is to save £7500 by the end of next year - though I think we're going to be nearer to £5000 combined, which isn't bad.

The plan is when we have £10000 saved, we're going to move in with his parents (mine live in a different city - they have a 4 bed house with 2 livingrooms - it just makes sense!) and REALLY save hard. That should be around Summer 2015. We haven't mentioned this to his parents yet, but I know that his Mum would like to have us!

Hopefully if all goes well, we should be able to get a house Summer 2016ish? We've been looking now just to get an idea of prices, and there's one in the area we're looking which is a 3 bed semi for £145,000 - so our aim is £14,500 minimum

The unfortunate side - neither of us have jobs where we can do overtime to boost our income. I'm a teacher - so only occassionally over school holidays will there be any extra work on! So I'm setting an amount a month and sticking to that going into my savings. Unfortunatly, I have debts - £150 to my parents each month, and paying off a c.card so at the moment, the aim is to put away £150 and then any extras that I don't spend.

It doesn't seem like a lot - but its a start! I guess I need a mini goal though - so £600 by the end of the year?

davenport151

Interesting comments Broke & ShootForTheMoon - I am at the other end of the spectrum where your partners are.
I work part time. My OH is not yet on baord with 'savings.'
Yes most of the 'spare' money' is probably with my outgoings BUT I maintain my car plus all the extras that go with that.
A lot of my savings comes from being savvy with the food shopping.

Hi Emma768 :wave: and welcome. Good luck on your journey.

emma768

Urgh - I'm struggling to get my OH on board with savings. He seems set on "I'll save what I have at the end of the month" - which is a REALLY bad idea. I told him to put a small amount away at the start of the month (like £50?) and THEN save whatever he has at the end of the month. He doesn't seem to "get" that he has a tendency to overspend...

davenport151

Good luck with you partner emma768!
Funnily enough when I put my OH's figures in the budget planner ; (I love playing about with the figures in this)! His non essential spending comes to about the same as mine! This is the amount thats 'free' money each month. So why do I have 'more' spare left over!

Elisecas

It was a looooong time ago, but I started from nothing when I was about 22. Is t was in response to a dentist telling me my still-present milk-teeth would fall out and leave gaps and each replacment was about £4k. I had nothing, but I wasn't going to have no teeth..!

Someone already said they key to saving is to find out what works for you. For some its packed lunches and stretching food, for others making do and mending clothes, and others cutting back on going out, and so on.

In case it helps, here's what worked for me.

(a) Move the money I want to save into my savings by direct debit on the day I get paid. And be a tiny bit more ambitious than I intially feel comfortable with. I was saving £250pcm on a £14500 salary when i thought my teeth were going to fall out, so it CAN be done. I can always move some money back when you need to but I'm more inclined to want to leave it there than move it back.

(b) Have two pots... one for savings and one for 'annual bills'. I managed to slowly build up a pot that I now put a regular amount into so that i can pay some bills annually rather than monthly/quarterly, which saves me money. It hurts a bit building that position but when you add up TV licence, car insurance, pet insurance, MOT, buildings insurance, contents insurance, I'm saving a lot by being able to pay the lump sum up front...

(c) Use credit cards, but not for debt. I have a couple of credit cards and they are set up to automatically pay the whole amount off by direct debit at the end of the month. And I put EVERYTHING on them, inclyding my work expenses. So why do I use them? (a) I get to keep my salary in the bank all month and get a paltry but better-than-nothing rate of interest on it; (2) I get loads and loads of points that convert into vouchers for M&S (but choose the one that works for you, obviousl) so about once a quarter I get a windfall, (c) my credit rating is great.

(d) When you get a payrise pretend you didn't. Ok, maybe one treat as a well done, but if you could afford life before, you can afford it now - chuck the excess in savings from the get-go so you don't miss it. another advantage of this was when I wanted to make radical change i wasn't disturbed at taking an initial paycut because I'd already been used to living on less.

(e) Keep a spreadsheet. I know. But.... One tab per month. Record what you spend in whatever way works for you. I alwasy know to the penny how much I have where, and it means I can take advantage of great deals and curb my enthusiasm when I can't afford something.

I know its partly luck too, but sometimes you create your own luck and i think its a combination that means the only debt I have is my mortgage.

BTW, I also still have those milk teeth 16 years on.... £250pcm adds up fast, esp when you take tip (d) on board.

davenport151

Good advice from a 'newbie'

Re; (b) I tend to use 3 'pots'.
One is long term savings (I would rather not dip into this unless I really have to)
Two is monthly saves. The amount put aside each month to pay those larger items. this includes; car related expenses, holidays and christmas.
Three is extras; whenever I have a voucher or money off deal I 'pocket' the difference into this account. This is then used towards something or if not used goes into the long term saves.
As said before, You have to find what works for you.

Brokeattheminute

Have finally reached the £1500 mark and my mum has said she is giving me and my 2 sisters £2000 each from an insurance policy that was took out yrs ago and is now maturing which will really help me get closer to my target of £6000.My total now stands at 3500/6000.Over half way there!

ShootForTheMoon

Congratulations Broke!! That's fantastic news! How lovely of your Mum to help you out!

Great advice Elisecas! I am currently working on a principle of 5 "pots"...

1. Emergency Fund - aiming for £3k in Vantage account earning 3%

2. Known Events - eg. insurance, holidays etc in instant access account

3. Unknown Events - eg. car repair, appliances etc in Cash ISA

4. Long Term Savings - eg. house deposit, car upgrades, significant life events in Regular Saver, ISA and Bonds

5. Retirement - pension, bonds, looking to have a dabble in investment in the future once other, more immediate priorities are achieved.

At this stage, none of the pots are "full" - maybe they never will be - but I'm working on it, trying to save in all the "pots" at the same time!!
Slow progress, but really believe it is important to plan for the future whilst enjoying life!!

Brokeattheminute

Thanks Shoot For The Moon,wasn't expecting it so it was a nice surprise.Has inspired me to try my best to get at least £5000 which will give me £10,000 (have £4000 from the claim for my fractured jaw that i recieved at the start of this yr+ £1000 from last yr which i havent included in my savings challenge) in total for my extension to my house at the end of April next yr.Plan to use the £10,000 as a contiguency fund,am applying to borrow £30,000 from the building society after Christmas which will go on to my mortgage.Have my planning Permission passed and am in the process of getting quotes and costings from builders at the minute.