Why can't I stick to my budget?!

sophie131

Each month I do a budget... withdraw my petrol money, grocery money and 'fun' money!

The part I struggle with is my 'fun' money - this is supposed to cover all those little things like meals out, cinema, days out etc. My partner also does similar so really, 2 people have £300 to blow each month but every single month we go over!

Sometimes I can attribute it to things like friends asking us to go out near to the end of the month or us being super stressed and going out for dinner so we don't have to cook.

Has anyone got any tips to make this money stretch a little further?

ColdIron

Cut down on 'those little things like meals out, cinema, days out etc'?
They may not be so little after all

Own_My_Own

Batch cook something at the beginning of the month, then just reheat it when you can't be bothered to cook. It's a lot cheaper than going out.

SavingPennies_2

Does "fun" money include things like clothes? could that be where the money is going?

£300 each for meals, cinema and days out is a lot...so I can only assume that unless you are actually spending it on something else you arent fully committed so saving.

Can you give yourself a specific goal and stick a reminder (like a cut out from a magazine) up, like if its for a house/wedding/holiday. If you dont really want to save it you will find a way of spending it.

sophie131

I think part of the problem is that I have only recently (May) moved out from home into my first place, so I was used to having a much larger amount of disposable income.

I guess that some of the money does go on clothes but I don't buy a whole lot! I generally save up my vouchers from surveys and buy them with that where I can. Sticking up a picture sounds like a good idea too...

Batch cooking seems like a great idea, I am on my summer holiday until September so I bet I could cook a reasonable amount that would keep me going through until Christmas... I will have a look at what sort of things keep best!

SavingPennies_2

sophie131 wrote: »

I think part of the problem is that I have only recently (May) moved out from home into my first place, so I was used to having a much larger amount of disposable income.

QUOTE]

Well that explains it! I left home at 18 so Ive always been good at budgeting. My OH lived at home until his mid 20s so it it took him a while to get into the swing of things. When you live with your parents you dont realise how much everything costs! Try to stick at it, it will get easier after a few months of adjusting.

John1993_2

sophie131 wrote: »

Has anyone got any tips to make this money stretch a little further?

If you lack the discipline, then perhaps get the money out weekly, not monthly, and do it on a Friday, not a Monday. If you get it out on a Monday you are more likey to blow it on other things and then "treat" yourself to borrowing from the following week's money for the weekend.

Also, don't aim to spend it all. Even from your budget, try to end up with some spare at the end of the week.

~Beanie~

John1993 wrote: »

If you lack the discipline, then perhaps get the money out weekly, not monthly, and do it on a Friday, not a Monday. If you get it out on a Monday you are more likey to blow it on other things and then "treat" yourself to borrowing from the following week's money for the weekend.

That's what I do - I take out £50 every Friday for 'going out' money. Once it's gone, that's it!

If friends ask you to go out towards the end of the month, just tell them that you can't afford it. Most people (ones who don't live with parents at least) don't have a great deal of money left towards payday so I'm sure they will understand.

pmduk

It might be useful to track exactly what you spend in a notebook, eg £2 on a coffee on the way to work may seem insignificant, but it amounts to £40 a month each.

The result shocked me when I undertook this exercise, I was spending a fortne on magazines and newspapers. To this day I track what I spend on these items to ensure I don't fall back into bad habits.

Once you know where your money is going you can either rejig your budget to ensure it's more realistic or make necessary cutbacks.

alinwales

My can't be bothered to cook remedy #1
1 bag of oven chips £2
4 cod fillets £2

Will sort you out 2 meals for £1 per person per meal!
OK, not super healthy, but all things in moderation eh.

My can't be bothered to cook remedy #2
Frozen Pizza in the oven £2 each (or less). Splash out and throw a garlic baguette in too (50p tops).

[puttin stuff in oven with no preparation required does not count as cooking!]

lazer

We have budgeted £400 for fun money each money - and generally go over it too!

everything adds up - it depends on if you want to save more or not where you go from here - you could limit the amount you spend to the budget or you could increase the budgeted amount.

One thing i found helped was to keep £50 in an emergency fun mone fund, that would only be used if you got an invitation to something you weren't aware of at the start of the month!

Most of mine goes on meals out, concerts, festivals and just general nights out, on a night out monye slips through my fingers!