budgetting advice please sweeties

lynsayjane

hi guys, right cards on the table, I'm in desperate need of budgetting help. When I get paid I try and make a list of how much to spend where and when but it always goes pie eyed in the first week :eek: so basically I need a new plan...the best thing I can think of is summit very basic,

I'm going to get several money boxes and have one for each of my different budgets, at the start of the month put the money I'm allowing for each into the pots and take out of them as and when required. then I'll have an extra one to empty whats left into at the end of the month and that can be the start of my holiday fund.

so what do you guys reckon???

am figuring pots for
*food £60 for four weeks
*random spends £40 for four weeks
*going out £40-£50 for four weeks

erm am sure there were more than that while I was debating at work....

all suggestions welcome

ZTD

lynsayjane wrote: »

hi guys, right cards on the table, I'm in desperate need of budgetting help. When I get paid I try and make a list of how much to spend where and when but it always goes pie eyed in the first week :eek:

First things first: Why does it go pie eyed?

lynzpower

I considered doing this as well, however, I often found myself a) dipping into the food jar when I was out of bus fare etc b) turned up at tescos without the cash & had to rely on my card- problem if youve empties your account to jar up the various money.


It really depends I think on your lifestyle- do you go to supermarket same rtime every week ( eg always sat morning) if you are a creature of routine which I struggle with it will work better for you than me

lynsayjane

ZTD wrote: »

First things first: Why does it go pie eyed?

because I spend on a cashback cc and struggle to keep note of what money is going where...plus I spend too much money :cool:

lynsayjane

lynzpower wrote: »

I considered doing this as well, however, I often found myself a) dipping into the food jar when I was out of bus fare etc b) turned up at tescos without the cash & had to rely on my card- problem if youve empties your account to jar up the various money.

well the plan is to get rid of the cc I've been using as a spending card so all I'll have is my switch but not carry it/use it there will be money left in the account in case of emergencies though, I normally use extra at the end of the month to overpay on cc's as opposed to on payday. one thing I REALLY need to do is not take my wallet to work, my worst unplanned spends are munchies from asda during work.

lynzpower wrote: »

It really depends I think on your lifestyle- do you go to supermarket same rtime every week ( eg always sat morning) if you are a creature of routine which I struggle with it will work better for you than me

I am a creature of habit normally but my job screws that up (shift work). mostly I shop on a sunday though, this means I can buy a bag of crisps as a treat for while watching 24 that evening, if I bought them any other day they'd never last!

ZTD

lynsayjane wrote: »

because I spend on a cashback cc and struggle to keep note of what money is going where...

Do you find yourself buying stuff with the cashback in the back of your mind?

lynsayjane wrote: »

plus I spend too much money :cool:

Join the club!!!

lynsayjane

ZTD wrote: »

Do you find yourself buying stuff with the cashback in the back of your mind?

no, I don't buy it for the cashback, and I'm not really that bad but, for example, when my dad came up on wed we went to bnq and the wallpaper I really wanted for the hallway was half price, my dad asked if i had the money and i said, don't worry I'll put it on my cc. this in itself isn't a problem as I'm never so tight I can't pay it off, it just severally limits any debt overpayments/savings.

as far as the cashback goes it might be a case of £5 in my purse and a purchase of £5, ah well i'll put it on my card and use the cash to pay it off.

Willsnarf1983

leave ur cards at home, freeze them?

Will

lynsayjane

Willsnarf1983 wrote: »

leave ur cards at home, freeze them?

Will

my remortgage papers are getting signed on wed, I'm getting a small amount of equity out of it to put in central heating. now that my debt is less than 2k I'll have enough extra to clear them all, it's the acutal budgetting thats the problem, I may allow £40 for going out, but I'll end up taking more and more and spending too much! I struggle with will power so maybe physically seeing the money will help.

ps the plan is to start saving and overpaying my mortgage

Gemmzie

I find that separate 'pots' really help keep everything within budget. Money helps too, it has a nifty little budget with a bar which goes yellow as you spend in that category.

I switched my 'pots' to different savings jars linked to my current account. It's so useful. I keep £10 in my current account as a buffer. Anything else I have to transfer funds in to buy (easy done online, click of a mouse) but it means if I get tempted to splurge I have to get to a computer then get back to the shop - often kills the mood.

lynsayjane

Gemmzie wrote: »

I find that separate 'pots' really help keep everything within budget. Money helps too, it has a nifty little budget with a bar which goes yellow as you spend in that category.

I switched my 'pots' to different savings jars linked to my current account. It's so useful. I keep £10 in my current account as a buffer. Anything else I have to transfer funds in to buy (easy done online, click of a mouse) but it means if I get tempted to splurge I have to get to a computer then get back to the shop - often kills the mood.

I'm hoping having money pots at home will have the same effect...there's only one way to find out! I tried Money once before but that was a bit of a disaster, one of my many-moons-pre-lbm attempts to control my finances. think it had more to do with my ocd than any actual attempt at control!

well I have just put sticky labels on some money bags, in true dfw style thats my money pots for now, I really like the idea of cute little ones that say 'shoe fund' and 'holiday fund' for each different budget, but I'll save up for those.

my food/spends/going out bags are empty at the mo, will take cash out tomo after work. the others stand at,
*gifts money, ie money gifted TO me to buy treats, £45 from my aunt
*holiday fund £10, left over from change in my jar
*bday/xmas savings £2.55, again left over change from last week

I've a note on each as to what it is and how much it contains so I can assess how I'm doing on a weekly basis, this will then also help with my sunday to friday challenge