Post wedding/pre wedding money makeover

Clobo204

This makeover comes at a time when after 10 months of planning and paying for a wedding I need to now create a budget that works for me, I have enough money coming in but never ever have anything middle of the month and I actually can't account for it, I budget every month but it's just not working, it doesn't help that I smoke (this is another work in progress) anyway an outline of my outgoings
£1117
Outgoings: £400 joint account
Phones: £77 (don't even go there!)
Marie curie: £8.00
Internet: £35
Buses: £30
Home insurance: £13
Phone insurance: £9.00
Cigarettes: £141
In theory I should still have quite a bit left over, but I never do. My joint finances are fine but my personal are rubbish, I splurge and try to be careful but it never happens I always overspend and then borrow off my family. I'd like to be in a position where I can budget for new clothes/hair/make up/nails etc. I'm getting married on Sunday and going on honeymoon for 10 nights so I'm not going to be real good this month but I would like to improve! Any tips would help

PeacefulWaters

then borrow off my family

Thank them for their previous help and ask them never to lend to you again for day to day items.

Write down everything you spend on. This will help you understand where the waste is.

Sort out the phone contract madness. Consider a joint fee paying added benefits current account that includes mobile phone insurance cover and annual travel insurance for both of you (if you both have clean credit files).

Usually it's things like coffee shops, workday lunches, a cheeky beer, vending machines etc that waste your money. Scrap this sort of thing an you can add real comfort to your finances.

colsten

Clobo204 wrote: »

it doesn't help that I smoke (this is another work in progress)
Cigarettes: £141

That's over 10% of your income. So in every 20 day working month, you work more than 2 full days just so you can buy cigarettes, have bad breath, smelly skin and hair, and damage your health.

I used to be a smoker for many years, I know difficult it is to give up. But it can be done, make this a priority, don't waste any more of your money and your health. There is a lot of free help available: http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/smoking/Pages/stopsmokingnewhome.aspx

Dobbibill

Clobo204 wrote: »

In theory I should still have quite a bit left over, but I never do. My joint finances are fine but my personal are rubbish, I splurge and try to be careful but it never happens I always overspend and then borrow off my family. I'd like to be in a position where I can budget for new clothes/hair/make up/nails etc. I'm getting married on Sunday and going on honeymoon for 10 nights so I'm not going to be real good this month but I would like to improve! Any tips would help

Congrats on your upcoming wedding on Sunday, I hope you have a fab day :beer:

Have you considered taking out the money for cigarettes in cash each month (keep it in an envelope/jar/spare purse) at home whenever you need to buy them it's there for you. Then maybe if you took £50 cash every week from the ATM (pick a certain day of the week and stick to it rigidly) for your spends. On a 5 week month this should see you keep £30ish per week in your account for clothes/hair/make up/nails etc and even more if it's only a 4 week month.
How much do you spend of this type of thing per week/month??

This is just one idea, you may find someone else comes along with a better idea that works better for you :T

Good luck

DB