Awful at sticking to a budget, considering ThinkMoney account, is it worth the fee?

Snowy_Owl1

For years now I have had trouble sticking to a budget. I sit down and make a budget, nowadays with my partner, I've used the budget calculator on here which is fab... but then time and again I just get carried away. I've been trying to 'kill off' my overdraft (I have a Lloyds Graduate account atm) for ages but I always end up back in the red and although I can get an overdraft from Lloyds with no problem, I'm fed up with getting nowhere managing my money.

At the moment I'm thinking of transferring over to a ThinkMoney bank account. I like the idea of all my bills/savings money being separated off and then the money that is available, I don't need to worry about spending. However £14.50 is a pretty steep monthly fee and I've heard bad things about their customer service too. You are meant to get a personal adviser and help with your budget which sounds great but apparently this involves calling a premium phone line! It seems such a rip-off when you consider that the account is obviously aimed at people in financial difficulty.

Personally though, I know £14.50 per month is affordable at the moment as we're living with my parents for a while to get on our feet financially. I've been trawling this website for advice and found out about the best accounts for interest rates, cashback etc. My partner has just switched to a firstdirect bank account and we're getting an M&S joint account mainly for the cashback! And we'll both be paying money in to a reasonable savings account so it's all looking good but I just don't want to mess things up again. Potentially we're hoping to save up money for a deposit on a house and we won't get anywhere if I continue to overspend and need digging out of holes.

Anyway this post is probably too long and I know a lot of people will think "just get a grip" but I'm trying to be realistic this time as I don't think my personality is going to change, so at least this way I will keep on top of my financial commitments even if I splurge the rest on silly stuff.

What do you think? Is ThinkMoney worth it because they take all the confusion away, peace of mind etc? At the moment I never quite know where I am with my money and forget to plan ahead, stick my head in the sand and spend money with my fingers crossed that I still have enough in there! Ridiculous I know. I am basically a child with money and not good at figures, or delayed gratification. Advice would be welcome, whether to try ThinkMoney or a different approach.

:o

Archi_Bald

Snowy_Owl1 wrote: »

I like the idea of all my bills/savings money being separated off and then the money that is available, I don't need to worry about spending.

you can do that yourself, with two current accounts. Use one for bills and the other for spending. You can easily set up one or more standing orders to send the apprpriate money to the other account once a month.

BTW, what bills do you have if you live with your parents?

Snowy_Owl1 wrote: »

I've been trawling this website for advice and found out about the best accounts for interest rates, cashback etc.

are you really sure you have found the best accounts?

Snowy_Owl1 wrote: »

My partner has just switched to a firstdirect bank account and we're getting an M&S joint account mainly for the cashback!

You have lost me now. I didn't think there is any cashback with M&S? Which M&S account do you want? Please tell me it's not the one that costs £10 a month. Why do you want to open a joint account? Do you realise a joint account creates a financial link on your credit files? Also, what would happen if - god forbid - you decide to part company? There are many horror stories on the forum about joint accounts. Plus, each of you could get the switch bonus, i.e. 2 x £125 rather than just the one £125.

Snowy_Owl1 wrote: »

And we'll both be paying money in to a reasonable savings account

there is presently no such thing as a "reasonable" savings account, as they all pay abysmal interest which doesn't even cover inflation. So any money you put into a savings account (including ISAs) is actually losing value. You should focus on current accounts for your savings, starting with TSB Plus. There'a list of good interest paying current accounts in this document: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-loophole . Ignore all talk about NISAs, though, and moving money from one account to another can be much much much easier than described in the article - - - see threads on each of the accounts on the forum.). Also any necessary DDs are very easy to set up http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=66577117&postcount=4

Snowy_Owl1

Thanks, I may do that (with two bank accounts.) Bills-wise we don't have a lot but the car is proving to be a much bigger expense than expected because we are further from work. Plus we bought an old banger and my lovely partner managed to write it off! And we do pay a small amount towards our keep.

I think the accounts we have found are the best for us based on the guides on here. We are closing one joint account and opening the M&S one which is advertised with a £125 voucher as a reward for joining (following MSE link). I couldn't see anything about a £10 charge, I hope I haven't got myself muddled!
I do have a high level of trust in my partner. He's the most decent person you could hope to meet, he's much more careful about spending than I am so no worries there and we have a two year old son together and we're planning to get married in the next couple of years, it's just a case of getting more ourselves sorted. Also the joint account is only an 'extra' account we would use if buying from M&S. Maybe if I set up a standing order from my main account it could become my personal spending account... but does that work with it being in both our names?
DP is transferring his main account over to First Direct so he'll be getting the cashback there, we can't do M&S and First Direct for him as he only has one account to switch from.
Our savings are going to be with the TSB current account that offers 5% interest at the moment. Does this all sound sensible?

I have an overdraft at the moment and was wondering about transferring to Nationwide because their overdraft facility is so much cheaper but there isn't much else to tempt me there, plus I'm trying to get out of my overdraft rather than keeping it going.

Snowy_Owl1

I guess what I basically need is one account for my wages to go into and my direct debits to go out from, and every month transfer some out after I'm paid leaving enough there for bills and then not touch it.
The spending money could go into some kind of basic account. The trouble is though, I use my card and then it's a few days til the money goes out, and that's the point at which I can sometimes end up with an unplanned overdraft because without thinking I spend on something else.

It's not that I'm massively extravagant as such, just that I have very small means at the moment and a weakness for certain things, like going out for coffee or buying nice food or getting sucked into buying some special offer or other, plus I'm always on the look-out for things for our home when we move out - so if I see a good price I end up buying and telling myself we'll make the money stretch that far!

rach_k

I had a student overdraft that needed paying off and was hopeless about sticking to a budget with that account so I opened a new account at a different bank to use as my main account. I didn't get an overdraft with the new account. Then I worked out my budget and set aside a reasonable amount to pay into my overdrawn account each month (actually at the lower end of what I could comfortably manage) - this was paid on payday. The day before my next payday, if I'd managed to keep anything back in my current account I put that into the overdrawn account too. It was nice knowing that I didn't have to pay in extra but great when I managed it. I took the bank card for the old account out of my purse so I couldn't use it on impulse buys when I was out.

I don't think you need to pay people to help you do something similar. Just get rid of the possibility of using money you know you should be spending!

ETA - Opening a few savings accounts has helped me budget for things like home stuff. Okay so I can't go out and buy a wardrobe this month but I can see that the savings account for that is getting there and that is enough to hold me back!

bsms1147

Snowy_Owl1 wrote: »

The trouble is though, I use my card and then it's a few days til the money goes out, and that's the point at which I can sometimes end up with an unplanned overdraft because without thinking I spend on something else.

Log in to online banking regularly, and write things down as you buy them so you know how much is in the account at any one time.

Snowy_Owl1

Thanks for the advice. Can I just ask, has anyone heard of/got experience with Ffrees? It's a similar-looking but cheaper service, found it through google but can't quite work it out.

CLAPTON

if you are living cheaply with parents and can't manage to clear your overdraft, I would say you have zero chance of ever saving for a deposit for a property


Try leaving your debit and credit cards at home and giving yourself a cash amount to spend : when it's gone it's gone

Snowy_Owl1

CLAPTON no need to be mean, thanks.

We have a savings plan, we are currently setting that up. I am also trying to work out a way of sticking to a budget much better. My overdraft is far from huge but I keep going back into the red. Living with parents does not mean zero expenses unfortunately! I work part-time to be with my child til he starts school so don't have a lot coming in, I'm running a car, etc.
Using cash is a good idea but what if I leave my card at home and need it for an unexpected expense of emergency? Say I'm out and miss a last train, need to get a taxi, or some other scenario?

pmduk

If you don't have a lot to spare at the moment, then put the idea of the thinkmoney account out of your mind. Why waste that account fee?

colsten

Snowy_Owl1 wrote: »

Can I just ask, has anyone heard of/got experience with Ffrees?

Ffrees and Thinkmoney are designed to take money off whilst making you feel you immature and insecure about managing your money. There is no good reason anyone should need their services.

If you want to spend some money to improve your money handling, spend it on something like YNAB but only after you have used the free trial. It will be a one-off expense that can give you complete control over your money if you use it properly.