Trying to save for a deposit but I'm crap with money :(

KateVonPapen

Hi guys,

Sorry in advance for the long post, but I just need to vent and to hopefullyget some advice from all you money savvy people

My boyfriend and I are saving for a deposit for a house, we both earn good money and are putting a portion of our wages aside each month into a separate bank acccount. I am 20 and he is 23. I have had to pay off a car that my parents bought me when my old one failed (this was necessary as I have to travel a reasonable distance to work) I have finally paid the last of it off this month, so from now on the money I am putting away will actually be my savings.

My boyfriend is saving £800 a month and I am trying to save somewhere in the region of between £500-£800 depending on bonuses/ leftover money at the end of the month. I earn 22,000 per year.

My problem is that I just dont feel in control of my own money. I'm crap with numbers, and impulse buy pretty badly. Or I'll check my balance like once every two weeks, see something and just think "I can afford it, I've got loads in there" then when I next check i'm in my overdraft or *gulp* have exceeded my overdraft of £200, like I did this morning And the thing is it makes me feel so bad, because I'm not stupid and feel like an idiot when this happens it makes me feel physically sick when i realise I have no money. I know people can bring up a family on what I earn and I feel terrible for being so wasteful I wish I was more careful and that I knew where to start managing what goes in and out of my account. Feel so down this morning.

I'm disheartened by the ridiculous amount we need to save to get a deposit (we want to avoid the 95% mortgage and try and get a big deposit together for the better rates etc) but its getting me down when you see your "friend" who is on her third kid by the age of 21 be told she is going to be moving from her lovely flat she didnt pay for, to a proper house with paid for furniture, that she won't be paying for either :@

I'm desperate to move in with my bf in our own place, but our mates are all moving in already with their 95% mortgages and its getting me down. Though I know in the long run, it is better to wait and buy something we can actually afford.

I was just looking for reassurance and advice really...Does anyone else have this issue? What can I do to keep an eye on things and make sure I don't spend what I don't have?

I feel like such a failure this morning and like I'm never going to acheive anything. Saving that much is just so hard

Thanks in advance guys xxxx

Skinto_7

Kate,

I think your maybe being a bit hard on yourself.

With your BF saving £800 and you saving £500 a month it wont be long till you have what you need.

What i did when i was saving for my deposit was just simply work out what i take home each month and what my essential outgoings were, mobile, car payments, insurance etc.

Once i knew what was left i just decided how much of that i needed to live on, buying food, beers, clothes etc and just took that out in cash at the begining of every month. This then left me with the amount i could "save" which i just set up standing order to my isa for every month.

I made sure i didnt use any of my cards, and that meant i was only spending what i had withdrawn at the start of the month, being able to see what was left in my wallet and it going down every time i bouight something made it easier for me to cut back on the stuff i was just wasting money so i had enough for the things that i enjoyed.

I wouldnt get to caught up with what your mates are doing, you seem to have a decent plan that will work out better for you in the long run

HeadAboveWater

Exactly as Skinto_7 says!!

Give yourself a budget/allowance every week/month for shopping or entertainment and treats. And don't carry your credit/debit card around.

Good luck and stay focussed!

macman

Put the money by standing order each month into a savings account where you don't have instant access (that will earn you more interest anyway). Then you won't be able to spend it.
Find the best account in the Savings section on the main board.

[Deleted User]

Between you you're saving £1300 a month - is any of that money getting "un-saved" again? i.e. Are you spending it later in the month?

innovate

Don't be jealous of 21 year olds with 3 kids in a council house.

KateVonPapen

hahaha innovate this made me laugh! and it is so true and a much better way of looking at things.

I'm not really jealous, I have always wanted to acheive more than that; it just gets on my wick people who have never worked get given something that is basically unacheivable for decent working people :mad:

Thanks for the replies people, feeling a bit better about things now xxx

innovate

Honest, at 21, you are doing way better with no kids, living at home or renting than someone of similar age in a council house with 3 kids. They probably envy you for your freedom, and most definitely for the money you can put to one side.

If you stick to your plan, you'll manage to get your own place before long - a nice place that you can (eventually) own outright, and in which to bring up your family.

In the meantime, get saving you money in cash ISAs, regular savers, current account that pay good interest, and use cashback credit cards if you use CCs.

macman

Good point on ISA's, you've still got time to open an ISA for 2012/13 and subscribe the full amount before the 5/4/13 deadline.

Gizmo247

One reason I like ISAs for this (apart from being tax efficient) is that even on a instant access ISA, you can't just move money in and out willy-nilly as you will hit the annual funding limit. That makes it feel a little different, it's there for a purpose and makes you think "Do I really need to take this money out now?"

sabretoothtigger

Could collect old gold and silver coins. A different form of cash but not easily spendable