The 'Save 12k in 2014' Thread!

lavenderlover

Skippycat more of a rainy day fund for me. I'm at Uni now (undergraduate) so get all the usual Student Finance help (plus some scholarships and bursaries for being a good student/low household income), but I might decide to do a Master's degree when I'm finished and that's self-funded, so the thought motivates me to save, even though I'm not exactly "saving for Master's" as such.

Lomcevak

Just out of interest, is everyone saving up for something in particular (eg. holiday, house deposit etc) or are the savings more of a rainy day fund?

Rainy day for me, my personal rule is that if I plan to spend it then I can't count it towards this challenge - other saving goes on each month for things like holidays, car replacement, home improvement, etc., but doesn't get reported here. Just my take though.

fatpat

Skippycat - I'm saving up for a masters degree hopefully starting in september/october which as lavenderlover says is self-funded.

matttye

Yesterday and today I've been reviewing my outgoings and where I can make some savings so that I can start putting some more money away each month.

Something I'm finding myself tempted to do is to pay off my two O2 contracts (one is a phone plan on O2 refresh which will cost £500 to settle) and the other is a pay monthly which will cost £213.09 to settle. I would then switch to GiffGaff, where I'd pay £5 less than my O2 airtime plan and get a plan that better suits me at the same time. This will mean I have to sacrifice some savings (£713.09) but I'll be paying £12 per month instead of £80 for my phone and I'll be contract free. I'll then be able to increase my monthly savings.

I've also found out that TV is included in our Virgin bundle, yet we're paying Sky £35 a month, so I'm going to cancel Sky and get a TiVo box from Virgin so that'll save another £30 per month (as TiVo costs £5 per month).

Would appreciate everyone's comments with regards to paying off O2, as I really can't make my mind up!

Thanks

CDotX

Skippycat wrote: »

Just out of interest, is everyone saving up for something in particular (eg. holiday, house deposit etc) or are the savings more of a rainy day fund?

House deposit for me. Not long out of Uni and into a new job so this is the next sensible goal for me.

Out of respect and grace I pay a small rent to my parents (which they haven't asked for) while I temporarily busk here and save up for my own place.

I also refuse to put holiday expenses and other luxuries onto credit cards so I use savings funds for living life :j

115K

Skippycat wrote: »

Just out of interest, is everyone saving up for something in particular (eg. holiday, house deposit etc) or are the savings more of a rainy day fund? OH and I are getting married next year :j and also our house really does need a new bathroom so my savings from this year will probably go towards those 2 things.

I'm saving as my DH has health problems so we want to know we have some money tucked away if he doesn't get any income from his job for a few months.

cydney65

Skippycat wrote: »

Just out of interest, is everyone saving up for something in particular (eg. holiday, house deposit etc) or are the savings more of a rainy day fund? OH and I are getting married next year :j and also our house really does need a new bathroom so my savings from this year will probably go towards those 2 things.

I'm wasn't really saving for anything in particular, just really for the sake of saving but I'm now saving for a new fridge, two new carpets, going to see Hamlet, paying for daughter's accountancy course and for DGD!

porgiegeorgie

Skippycat wrote: »

Is everyone saving up for something in particular?

We're also saving for a house deposit :cool:

We've been saving for three years already (fervently for two of those) and predict that at the rate we currently save it'll be another 2-3 years before we have our target amount.

Each month we also save into a car account and a small amount into a holiday fund, but I don't count these on here because they could be spent at any time!

skyblueshez

Skippycat I'm like a lot people on here and am also saving for a house deposit. Sometimes I get despondent because it can seem like an unrealistic dream for a single person but threads like this help me see some light at the end of the long tunnel.

cookie02

matttye wrote: »

Yesterday and today I've been reviewing my outgoings and where I can make some savings so that I can start putting some more money away each month.

Something I'm finding myself tempted to do is to pay off my two O2 contracts (one is a phone plan on O2 refresh which will cost £500 to settle) and the other is a pay monthly which will cost £213.09 to settle. I would then switch to GiffGaff, where I'd pay £5 less than my O2 airtime plan and get a plan that better suits me at the same time. This will mean I have to sacrifice some savings (£713.09) but I'll be paying £12 per month instead of £80 for my phone and I'll be contract free. I'll then be able to increase my monthly savings.

I've also found out that TV is included in our Virgin bundle, yet we're paying Sky £35 a month, so I'm going to cancel Sky and get a TiVo box from Virgin so that'll save another £30 per month (as TiVo costs £5 per month).

Would appreciate everyone's comments with regards to paying off O2, as I really can't make my mind up!

Thanks

Have you called O2 to ask them if they can switch you to alternative contracts that will suit you better? I had a similar thing with 3 in December. When I called them they switched me to a different plan and they didn't charge me anything extra despite it being a 'downgrade'. I have been with them for a few years and also have 2 additional phone plans with them (those are PAYG). I only had 7 months left on my contract.

I have never negotiated any phone contract before and was calling to buy myself out like you so it was a nice surprise when they gave the SIM option.

If O2 won't let you out of the contract then personally I would pay to get out if you know it will save you that much long-term. That's what I was planning to do before they offered the downgrade. Good luck!