Help to stop spending and start saving!!

Lj112

Hi everyone,

I'm pretty new to all this but could really use some helpful tips!!
I'm 23years old and is struggling to stop spending and start saving.

So I have some debt too which I seem to be struggling to put as priority. Payments include:

Loan (£140 a month) - till Jan 2015
Dad - around £1600
Overdraft - £900

The problem is, I used to live with my dad, when my boyfriend got a new place I thought it would be an idea to move in with him (it was also closer to work), then (which is not his fault - although he does blame himself!!) my dad moved to a smaller house.
I realised it was a bad move and couldn't afford to live with my boyfriend.
So now I am living at my sisters and her boyfriends (she is the only person who has a spare room!!) for £150 a month. And to be honest, I am finding it difficult to live here. After 3 month, we argue quite a lot about little things and I'm also a nurse and work long hours so I don't always want to come home to tidy my room or sort my washing out as you can probably understand.

Anyway, I need to figure out how I can repay this debt so I can afford a place of my own. I struggle with prioritising my debt and seem to spend money so quick and really I don't have anything to show for it!!

Any helpful tips please??

Thankyou

ViolaLass

Start by filling this in

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

and we'll see what we can do to help.

longtermplanner

I agree that a Statement of Affairs would be useful. However I am guessing that you don't actually know where all the money goes? If you don't then that is the first thing to tackle by keeping a spending diary, either make notes on your phone or carry a little notebook and write down everything tright down to putting £1 in a collection at work.

Other tips?

- only take out the amount of cash you WANT to spend today. No cards at all.
- if you want to buy something then make yourself wait 30 days for it, see if it seems that important then
- don't go into shops or online sites if you don't want to spend money.

It really will only take 15 mins a day to tidy your room and sort the washing. Buy a kitchen timer, set it for 15 mins and then do everything as fast as possible. After that you can really relax with nothing niggling away in your mind. You are probably saving £300 a month in this room, that's £10 a day. If the cost of this is 15 mins work, then you are being paid £40 an hour after tax for a spot of tidying! Bet you don't get paid that much in your real job. Nice sister for letting you stay so cheap.

Catcherupper14

Hi


As a nurse are you able to do additional bank shifts for more money?


It may help as a short term solution, especially if you are living with family and want to keep out of the way a bit.




As long as you don't make yourself ill by doing too much.


Your debts are not huge so a small extra income will make a big difference.

catwoman73

You really need to work out where all your money goes. You should have loads left each month after you have paid your sister £150 out of a full time nursing salary.

Lj112

Thankyou for all your replies.

The debt is really only part of the problem. I have other commitments too: finance on my car is £210 a month (was silly to buy but at the time I lived at home with my dad paying hardly anything out) and my insurance is £101 as well as phone bills ect.

My debts are manageable and I agree with the spending diary, this is a great idea!! Thankyou.

The banking option sounds great but as I am a theatre nurse and qualified just under 2 years ago, my confidence isn't great (although people tell me I worry too much) but maybe I should try it out!

This site is great and everyone is really friendly. Thankyou again

Lj112

Thankyou for this too, I will have a look!!

On_my_way

You can do anything you set your mind to - there may be rooms advertised at the hospital so that you can move out from your sister's if you need it - in the meantime, try to help out as much as you can with the house etc.

skogar

I second the spending diary. It's really useful for seeing what you actually spend your money on then you can see where you can cut back easily.

Within a week you'll know things like how much you spend eating out, on workday lunches, and on trivial things that you could easily cut back on. How about doing the spending diary for a week and then ask for ideas on the areas you want to cut back on.

The other thing about the spending diary is sometimes the fact that you are going to write it down and have to admit to yourself that you bought something unnecessary puts you off buying it in the first place.