Finding it hard to save, whats the best way?

grey_gym_sock

i know it's small compared to the unaccounted-for £600, but i'd drop the £5 phone insurance. you're better off to self-insure, i.e. keep enough cash on deposit that you could replace your phone if necessary.

the insurance has to cover their admin costs and profits, as well as the costs of claims, so you're going to lose overall.

it's also plausible that ppl who have insurance are (on average) more careless with their phones. which would make the average cost of claims to the insurer higher than your average cost if you self-insure.

Rob_192

JohnRo wrote: »

Personally I'd favour a regular contribution to a stocks and shares based monthly income plan of some sort but that's not advice and based more on my own ideology.

John, totally off topic, but I agree that shares are a better bet. What I do is put as much as I can into FD Regular savers, which when they were at 8% was a fantastic offer, but still worth doing at 6%, then once the year is up, that money generally goes across to my S&S Isa where I buy high yield shares.

However, in the case of BrookesAndrew, the OP, he/she needs to build up a cash sum before even considering such things.

Regards

R

matttye

IMO open a Santander 123 account and use it as your main current account. You'll earn interest on your balance and cashback on bills.

Do you live with parents or does your rent include your utility bills? If you live with parents, you could ask if you can pay some of the bills rather than paying rent to maximise cashback with the 123 account.

I appreciate what you're saying about Santander's customer service, but you shouldn't need to contact them once the account is up and running. You can do everything online.

JohnRo

Rob_192 wrote: »

John, totally off topic, but I agree that shares are a better bet. What I do is put as much as I can into FD Regular savers, which when they were at 8% was a fantastic offer, but still worth doing at 6%, then once the year is up, that money generally goes across to my S&S Isa where I buy high yield shares.

However, in the case of BrookesAndrew, the OP, he/she needs to build up a cash sum before even considering such things.

Regards

R

Some cash yes but I don't subscribe to the view you need to have saved thousands in increasingly worthless cash in a bank account before considering an investment portfolio. Clearly if you're saving for something specific in the short term then an investment account is a very bad idea but not otherwise.

The advantage of holding an investment account is that the temptation to spend it is somewhat lessened when doing so involves effort and delays, compared with instant access from cash deposits and debit or credit cards.

Good_Goose

I would say save up 6 months pay in an instant access cash account (£6000) which will cover emergencies etc, then if you manage this start putting away a monthly sum into an investment of some sort.

Come back here and ask once you have managed to accrue the £6000!!

jimjames

JohnRo wrote: »

The advantage of holding an investment account is that the temptation to spend it is somewhat lessened when doing so involves effort and delays, compared with instant access from cash deposits and debit or credit cards.

That is a very good point. One reason I think I was able to build up a reasonable portfolio pot was because I started with small amounts each month but by buying investment trust shares there was not the same temptation to just dip into that money that there would have been from being able to access it via cash machines or bank transfer.

thoughtsaboutbudget

BrookesAndrew wrote: »

Hello there,

Recently I have been having quite a bit of trouble trying to save. I have a Santander account at the moment. I have just applied for an account with Lloyds TSB though because I do not like Santanders customer service in branch or over the phone. At the moment I have £394 in my current account. £0 in my savings account. I get paid on the 28th of each month so I get paid in around two weeks. By then I hope my Lloyds account will be open by then and I will ask for a savings account as well.

My outgoings at the moment are;

£294.50 - Rent (That might be going up soon to around £310).
£42 - Phone bill.
£5 - Phone insurance.
£100 - Food.

My incomings are;

£1028 - Pay (After tax).

My question is what should I do with the rest of the money. Where should I put it? Should I just put a certain amount of money in my ISA? Should I just let it build up in my current account? I think maybe I care about it to much and what I should do is just get on with it!

Any suggestions would be brilliant, thank you.:D

I noticed that you do have a huge wiggle room by simply subtracting your expenses from your income. The only thing to remember now is investing it on low-risk business such as in banks or in stocks, given that you have chosen wisely.

Also, avoid malls and other stores. As much as possible, go straight to your home from work to save more.

BrookesAndrew

Thank you for your help. Yes I know I need to start sorting how much I am paying out and stop wasting my money on stuff I do not need. I want to save for the future, a house, to be able to live comfortabley and not have to worry about money.

I am going to start a savings diary for next month. I will transfer a certain amount into my savings. First of all it is going to be something I know I will not miss and then after I find out what I am wasting my money on I will stop spending it and put that towards the saving as well. I would like to have at least £500 by Christmas. I think that is a nice small term goal for the time being.

As I said, thank you all for your help. Some very good advice on here.

atush

Do come back and let us know how you get on.

foxwales

Before you start saving, you need to know realistically what you can save.

Your outgoings do not look representative of average outgoing categories.

You should lay out a full Statement of Affairs to work out where your money really goes. Once all of these considerations have been taken, the remaining amount will be closer to the amount you can realistically save.