How to fall in love with saving money

Lomcevak

I think the suggestion to try YNAB is a good one too - I have bought the software, after all. It's a matter of sitting down and working out how it works really. Thanks to Lomcevak and citricsquid for spurring me on.

Well done Plenty of advice on here if you need it, i'd suggest getting started by setting up your accounts as they were on the first of the month (don't have to, but easier) - current and credit card accounts on-budget, short-term savings on-budget, long-term cash savings off-budget IMO - and then doing the budget based off that. Spend a bit of time thinking about major and minor budget categories ('Bills' would be a major category, 'Bills: Electricity & Gas' a minor one) then give every [STRIKE]dollar[/STRIKE] pound a job

Some of the stuff on the YNAB blog is good too, so worth a browse through.

http://www.youneedabudget.com/support/article/getting-started-with-three-steps

cathybird

Thanks Lomcevak - and if you see this, good luck for today, though I am sure you won't need it

atush

cathybird wrote: »

atush, yep, done spending diaries previously, back in the bad old days when I was first on MSE. It's not so much that I don't know what things cost, I think, more that I get over-enthusiastic and think I can cut down more than I actually really want to. An example would probably be my decision to live on £10 a week not so long ago. It might perhaps do no harm to keep a spending diary for a month now just to get a handle on the specifics though - probably a good suggestion, in fact. I think the suggestion to try YNAB is a good one too - I have bought the software, after all. It's a matter of sitting down and working out how it works really. Thanks to Lomcevak and citricsquid for spurring me on.

You are a different person now than you were when you first found MSE so I assume your spending patterns will be different.

Lomcevak

cathybird wrote: »

Thanks Lomcevak - and if you see this, good luck for today, though I am sure you won't need it

Finished in 3 hours 32 minutes, which i'm happy with - was on for under 3:30 until miles 19-21 when the headwind nearly finished me off. Easier once I turned for home at 22 miles, but couldn't muster the kick to get the time back.

Even sorted out my ISA before going, very MSE of me

cathybird

Lomcevak, that's fantastic, and congratulations :T:T:T Yay Lomcevak!!! Shame about the headwind but 3 hours and 32 minutes is still a really great marathon time, shurely? ... Well done You must be pleased

cathybird

atush wrote: »

You are a different person now than you were when you first found MSE so I assume your spending patterns will be different.

atush, that is true, and you're right, it wouldn't at all be a bad exercise to undertake.

cathybird

Well I forgot to post yesterday! The weird thing is I could have sworn I had, but no. I think I forgot to because I made my work colleagues choccy bikkies and that tends to take my mind off everything else, as I worry about whether people will eat them, etc. It is a nice recipe, hardly any flour and a massive blast of chocolate, so very chewy and fudgy, more like a brownie. It calls for hazelnuts but I made them with pecans. I might make it a semi-regular thing - I love baking, but live on my own, and I can't very well eat a whole cake so have to find someone to share it with.

Work is offering a Save For Shares programme. Do I want to save to buy shares in my workplace? I don't know if I do because, without saying where I actually work, a) I've pretty much stuck to passive index investing and don't want any particular company's shares per se and b) I'm saving already and it seems to be working pretty well. The argument for taking part is I do get the shares at a 20% discount, or my money back if they have dropped below the value of whatever I saved. What do people think? ... I'm already investing a small amount in the scheme but if I had the time over am not sure I would have done that.

I hope everyone is having an MSE day. Sunny where I am, a bit cold, but the blossom on the trees in the street is beautiful. I love where I live.

Eco_Miser

Save for Shares, get your 20% discount, then sell at full market price with your CGT allowance, so tax-free. That seems to be what a lot of people are doing.

cathybird

Thanks, Eco Miser - that thought did occur to me, though it does (obviously) depend on how the shares are doing when the scheme matures, but I suppose it is a return of 20% if all goes well, which is not bad, in the current climate. Also, I suppose the other advantage is that the money is taken at source from my salary without my having to think about it. So yes, you're probably right, I should probably do it.

JoJoC

Hi Cathy,

I hope you're well!

Your baking sounds delightful! I'm sure your colleagues appreciate a bit of home baking. The rule in my office is if it's your birthday you being in treats which could be home baking, sweeties, crisps, whatever you fancy. There's 140 staff in my office so there's a fairly regular amount of treats on the go!

I'm taking Easter based treats in for my birthday tomorrow.

I've got absolutely no advice about the shares but I'm hoping you get the advice that you need to make the right decision.