Down in the Dumps

SavingPennies_2

dreadwing wrote: »

Hi all,
.
The thing is how do people afford to drive, have nice clothes, own the latest technology, go on holiday and festivals and go out most weekends.
.

I earn similar wages to you, but my outgoings are slighly more (no debts but high mortgage). The key for me is:

• taking control of my spending
• keeping a spending diary (record everything)
• plan spending (weekly meal plans etc)
• prioritise, when you can have everything you have to be selective about what you really want and need
• dont spend a single penny without really thinking about it, all those little things add up
• learn to have self control!
• Set saving goals for inspiration, travelling with your GF is a good start

Once you get into good habits it becomes easier

lottie3000

start
[/LIST]Once you get into good habits it becomes easier [/QUOTE]

Once you start to see improvement with your spending it's soooo rewarding

ss3n08

You are a bit like me. I didn't know where my money was going until I went through my bank statement and saw that all the little stops at tesco, asda and such amounted to £486. Now I keep a spending diary x

LittleMissDetermined

£50 on your mobile seems high, can you reduce your tariff at all? I did this and it didn't extend my contract terms at all.

Other than that, quitting smoking will really help with the finances and like has been suggested look at food and what's being wasted... I can shop for a week on £35 now and it used to be £60. I do t think hubby has even noticed!

Good luck, in order to tackle this you really do need to WANT TO do it... Otherwise you may fall off the MSE-wagon!

LMD x

dreadwing

Thankyou all,

Some great advice here. I will stop smoking and ecigs are a start.
The reason I'm unsure what I spend on food is because one week it might be 30 but the next it might be 20. A set amount will help.
A spending diary is a really good idea, there are certain apps that I could use. I know £50 for my phone is quite a lot but I have always paid this and just upgraded.
I have to want to want to do this in order to succeed and I really need to.
Again thankyou for all the great ideas and advice.

LittleMissDetermined

Just popping back, have you started the spending diary? How are things looking for you?

LMD x

wegle

Your set outgoings are well within manageable limits so the problem must be frivolous spending. That means it's time to keep a spending diary. There's loads of free apps that will do this if you have a smartphone. If not a good old pen and notebook work just as well!

Every single penny has to be accounted for though. First thing that will happen is you will start to realise where that money is going, the second thing that will happen is you start to not want to spend as you don't want to see the expense in your diary and this will lead to you actually thinking about what you're spending before you part with the cash.

I take home a tiny bit more than you, my fixed outgoings are higher than yours but I still have over £300 left in my bank account at the moment. I'm not showing off, just trying to illustrate how effective a spending diary can be. Also take a look at some of the challenge threads. I think the No Spend Day (NSD) would be a great one for you to get on board with.

Best of luck with it! You can do it!

quantic

Hi Ben,

I'm 28, also work within the IT sector.

At 23 I was in a similar situation to yourself, lived with my good friend in a flat which I couldn't really afford, struggling to get by, buying crap (like your PS3) which I clearly couldn't afford. Single with no long term partner in sight...

I'm ashamed to say it but on a couple of occasions I was so skint that I actually had to decide between buying a pack of fags or lunch. I had a bit of debt to credit cards and owed money to british gas for our poorly managed bills, drove a shed of a car which was very unreliable.

Fast forward to now, 5 years later - I own my own house, have 25% equity in it, got absolutely no debt, 9k spread across two ISAs, own a car worth about 13k (paid for outright), got married and enjoyed a very nice faraway honeymoon... how did I get here?

I stopped buying crap, and I mean literally nothing I didn't need, I moved home and saved up a deposit for 2 years (on my own, didn't meet my partner until after). I'm not sure how much you earn, but I have had an average salary of 23k over the 5 years so its not like I am on buckets of cash.

It is doable, but you have to be very disciplined. Not many have the stomach for it, start with a SOA and managing your disposable income more effectively.

All the best buddy

LittleMissDetermined

Good advice quantic and well done on what you have achieved!

LMD x

quantic

LittleMissDetermined wrote: »

Good advice quantic and well done on what you have achieved!

LMD x

Its not a very glamorous way to live but it certain gets you out of financial bother!