motivation to sort finances?

lushlifesaver

I have only just managed to start saving really, bf is a fab saver - not sure how he does it!

My motivation is that we are expecting our first child (in 35 days!) and I want to finish learning to drive and get a car. Bf and I already save together (£120 each per month) which is to steadily build up a fund to eventually buy a house / any emergencies etc. My saving is also to fund as much of my trip to Rio as possible to watch bf compete in the 2016 paralympics (if he gets selected obviously)

I now do as ecgirl suggested and give myself an 'allowance' in cash each week to spend in bits/bobs/junk. I also keep a note of everything I spend now - a real eye opener and its instantly made me spend less without really meaning to :-)

getmore4less

AS above goals are the key.

They need to have a bigger pull than the instant spend.

Spending diary, track everything, carry a little note book or use your phones calendar or note facilities if you have one.

Planning and tracking.


Have you tried MSMoney(free) if you can get that set up and keep it upto date it can help(or spreadsheetts but why bother when there is a tool allready made)



Might also be a good idea to find something to do that occupies your time, hobby, any free things museums etc. filling in MSMoney.

Wandering round the shops is not a good recreation activity.

1st goal is to always pay off the CC in full every month and NEVER use the overdraft.

2nd is shop once a week for you daily stuff at work make a week plan and take it in on Monday, then don't go shopping every day find something else to do.

trailingspouse

How to carry on sorting your finances - the key is to be organised. I do it on a Friday. Every Friday. No need to 'want' to do it - that's just what I do. Every Friday. I check the bank account, make sure there's enough money in there to pay the direct debits that are due to go out, move money around as necessary, look through credit card/current account statements to see if there's anything I don't recognise or need to query.

About every 6 months I take a look at utilities etc to make sure we're not paying more than we need to. I put this date into my diary, so again there's no need to 'feel' like doing it - it's in the diary, so it just gets done.

I'm also basically quite lazy, and OH and I decided a while ago that we would do what we could to avoid as much stress as we can. This is a very simple way of avoiding too many money worries. In our case, because we run our own business, money comes in lumps - it's either feast or famine - so being organised means we know we're not overspending at the beginning to then find ourselves short before the next payment. Who needs that sort of grief?

pollypenny

Don't have a wander round the shops, that's fatal! There'll always be something clamouring for you to take it home!

Go for a walk or even round a museum.

Hermoine

I was at first quite frightened about looking at budgets and financial planning for me, which is weird as I've always been good at doing it in the various jobs I've done, and its taken me a bit of time to work out why - and its definitely to do with being frightened...

I'm ok at the moment because I'm earning a reasonable wage, so I have no debt, but I'm also quite good at spending money, so I'm not saving. And I'm getting to an age where I have become increasingly aware that the only person who is ever going to look after me, is me, which I think meant I started getting quite frightened about what that would mean for my old age, and that fear stopped me doing anything about it.

What was interesting was that when I did start looking at my accounts, and treated it like something I would do for work, it became very clear where I was wasting money, and that led me to look at all my direct debits and so on, but it also made me aware of all my discretionary payments, especially in areas like clothes. So, I've now broken my budget down and I keep telling myself how much I am allowed to spend on certain items each month.

danih

Finances scare me too. I pay bills, then stick my head in the sand and pay the rest.

Wasn't so bad when I was on minimum wage - had v little left after paying for basic bills. With student income being irregular, unpaid placements and coursework affecting my ability to work, some months there might only have been £100.

Even leading up to wedding I didn't sm to waste as much - had wedding stuff to buy.

I think I'm becoming aware that my current spending habits aren't really achieving anything beyond a short term buzz.

after we buy our house, we hope to have kids and I want to work part time. Can't do that on current habits.

Have recorded my shopping today- what I spent, where and on what. I have no need to spend tomorrow.

I have a week of my main job (wrk 2 part time jobs) so time to organise my head.

Hermia

1) Work out why you do what you do.
2) Change your habits. If you can't resist picking things up in the supermarket, start online grocery shopping. If you treat visiting the mall as a hobby - stop! If you treat shopping as relaxation find something else instead.
3) Find a way to motivate you. This will be different for everyone. I am quite a visual person so I like making vision board (a collage of how you would like your life to be). Your board could be pictures of the house you would one day like to buy or travel destinations or being home with baby pics or just people skipping around in a 'I'm not saddled with debt' kind of way. I currently have some gorgeous Project 333 pictures inside my wardrobe door to inspire me not to buy clothes I don't need.

tiny_courageous

Shopping is not a hobby. Find something else to occupy your time.

getmore4less

danih wrote: »

Even leading up to wedding I didn't sm to waste as much - had wedding stuff to buy.

That's a hint back to goals.

You had a spending goal(wedding stuff) so did not waste as much on other stuff.

Just need savings goals that achieve the same focus.

hgotsparkle

I'm an impulsive shopper, was living at my parents and was never asked to pay any rent so I never really learnt the value of money so would get myself into debt just to buy material things. I've now decided that now is the time (early 20s) so get those debts paid off before I go into a mortgage and I'm working long hours, doing extra overtime, and travelling to other locations just to get travel expenses to pay back those debts.I do stick to a weekly food and fuel budget, and I try my hardest not to buy myself anything as I tell myself I'd rather have the money in the bank and know that its there than have new clothing/bag/shoes etc