Is anyone starting from scratch???

davenport151

Hi Mudangel - great to see you over here!

A year on from my first money saving year.

I'm the same at present. I am good at putting that first part of cash away. Not so good at the odds and ends bit. I put them aside, I end up dipping in to them.
Methinks I need to re - do my budget to check what I actually need each month!

Brokeattheminute - I am really impressed. Good luck with your target.

As usual will update on payday (31st). Will be slightly down on pay this month (our firm goes on contracted hours so every now & then the amount falls short - but it also works the other way as well- a challenge for budgeting I can tell you!) but luckily February is only 28 days!

I love that T*M**x ad 'Respect your money'

Brokeattheminute

Hi Everybody.Just posting an update.Got a letter there saying there were no funds for my car ins.I took it out by d/d in November and the woman told me they'd take the d/d out on the 17th Dec.Thought theyd took it out and used the money left to buy christmas presents on 20 Dec.Unf d/d didnt come out till 21st so they are charging me £20 for an unauthoorised o/d to come out of my account 2morrrow:mad:On a brighter note got o/t this Fri in work so thats another £70 extra next wk.Will post an update on how much i have saved when i put the money in at this weekend.

davenport151

Hey Brokeattheminute!
Ain't that the way. I tend to keep a notepad file on desktop with all outgoings which helps me remember whats going / gone then check against statement online. Though thats not infallible.
Target reached. :T Wasn't sure where to head next on this but my three to six month salary back up will be between £1500 and £2000 so thats my next goal.
Unfortunately car MOT/service is due April so I think the next two months will be putting money aside for this. However I think I have learnt a lot about spending so i'm going to really think about any expenditure these next few months and hopefully put some more aside.

Brokeattheminute

Well done on reaching your target Davenport.Hopefully the M.O.T on the car will not cost you too much!

Flat_Eric

minus savings for me at the moment !!! but been crunching numbers and hope to sort it so that one bank account has all my bills and another my spends rather than it all be lumped into one account and I simply spend my overdraft and more ! I have no kind of limit at the moment on my treat spends.....

I never know whether it is better to start saving even a small amount when there are debts to be paid.

I would also be interested to know whether it is better to pay off as much as possible from the credit even it means using the overdraft or whether it better to remain in the black or slightly in the red but have a large credit card bill which attracts charges

davenport151

Hi Flat Eric and welcome.
Not sure I can offer much advice for you. Thankfully debt has never been an issue for me. Though getting by each month is a way of life (which i'm trying to change!). If you've not done so already check out the debt - free board and perhaps post an SOA. great advice to be had there. It may shed some light on any unnesscary spending and help you towards your goal quicker.

meandsam

I hope you don't mind if I post this little savings plan on here.Take a small pot or cup and keep it somewhere prominent,on a piece of paper write a list starting with day 1-10p,day 2-20p,day 3-30p,day4-40p and so on down to day30-£3.00 on the 30th day take the money out and put it in a savings account(i.e. ISA).Start again day 1-1p,etc.This works for me and it gets you into the habit of saving without realising you are doing it.If you can afford to do it try starting with £1.00 and increasing by £1.00 each day,you will be surprised how quickly it builds up.Good luck and happy saving.

Brokeattheminute

Total now up to £777/6000 over10%:j Forgot i owed my o/h £269 for the childrens Christmas presents so paid her the 1st £100 this wk but its out of my debit card.Considering we have 3 children thats not 2 bad!Have kept a money box in the house before used to get £20 changed into £ coins from the post office and put them into it and any £ coins from my change i used to put in it as well,it doesnt take too long for it to build up!

dude0nvacation

Count me in. After the holidays, my savings went down to 0... no regrets though as I had fun over the holidays with my family and friends. Planning on saving (starting from scratch) this February and hoping that I may be able to save a lot this time!

Goodluck to all of us!

davenport151

Hey dudeOnvacation and welcome. We are gaining great momentum on this thread!
Great to come on here for a boost when willpower is flagging too!