From Bad to Good and back again

Istartedontherighttrack

Hello MSErs,

I am watching Britain's Spending Secrets on iplayer. It is quite interesting viewing. I don't have anything exciting to report, except that my spending is under control, I haven't done anything overly extravagant, and I have managed to do a decent amount of exercise this week.

More gripping tales from to path to financial stability next week...

Istartedontherighttrack

Britain's Spending Secrets again. It is a bit like a televised version of this forum.

I am impressed by people who manage to make regular, interesting updates here. Aside from the fact that I have managed to take lunch to work twice already this week and get a free lunch tomorrow, my money saving efforts have been minimal. My new goal is to buy a blender so I can make soup when the weather starts to get colder.

in_need_of_direction

Why not save a token coin when you bring lunch to work and use that towards your blender.

Istartedontherighttrack

Evening MSErs!

I can't believe over two weeks have gone without my making an entry. It is the weekend before payday, so I am having a quiet evening in. It has been a turbulent few weeks. The value of my savings has dropped thanks to the turmoil in China. I am in the process of getting a mortgage, which seems quite daunting. I am finally going to be saddled with property and a 25 year debt. I think this is something St Martin approves of, and I got a very good interest rate. My plan to make additional money has so far come to nothing. I have managed not to buy lunch two days a week, although this week it was a result of having lunch bought for me rather than taking it in, so not worthy of any praise. I had independently come up with in need of direction's idea of saving a token coin each time I take lunch to work. I have also been saving my silver at the end of every day. It seems to be mounting up pretty quickly. However, I do wonder whether the overall effect of this daily squirrelling is that I ultimately just withdraw more money from the bank each week, making the whole endeavour counter productive. As long as I get my new blender without using credit, I don't suppose it really matters.

Have a good weekend.

Istartedontherighttrack

Hello MSErs,

I have been reading quite a lot of financial blogs, mostly about people who want to achieve (or in some cases have achieved) financial independence at quite a young age. A MSEr called Youngbusinessman (I don't know how to post links) in turn posted a link to Mr Money Moustache. Mr Money Moustache is quite inspirational, but I am not yet quite up to his level of saving 50% of income. The only way I could currently conceivably do it would be earn more, and so far I have had little success on that front.

Anyway, back to financial independence. There seem to be quite a lot of people who are severely scrimping away so that they can one day achieve a desired amount of money, whereupon they will quit their much hated jobs and begin wonderful, fulfilling lives. In theory, this sounds great. However, applied to me, I imagine that in the unlikely event that I were to reach such a stage, some of the crappy genes present on both sides of the family would kick in and send me to a premature end (see post about great uncle above).

I have also spent the last two days off work ill. Whilst I do not enjoy my job and would very much like a career change, I actually don't mind working. I would just like to do less of it and in a different profession.

So in financial dream land, I am scheming up ideas to accumulate a healthy investment portfolio, save up for a buy to let, and work four days a week. Back in reality, a few planned purchases on my credit card means I am technically beginning the month £500 short. As I wrote in an earlier entry, this is because I now take such delight in the fact that evil bank pays me a few quid on my savings each month, I cannot bear to use the money I saved to buy much needed items to pay off my credit card bill as I was supposed to do. Instead, I pay off my credit card bill in full each time I get paid, but then use my credit card for all my regular spending, so I effectively get free borrowing while the money that should have been used to pay off the credit card three months ago earns 0.5%. Although this seems to be a win win situation for me, I cannot help but feeling that there is something wrong with it, so I am going to give myself three months to get back to the state where there is enough money in my current account at the end of each month to cover the credit card bill, rather than it coming out of the next month's salary.

Yawn.

In other news, my coin collection now has over £50 in it. I shall have a shiny new blender in no time, without causing a further imbalance to my credit card.

Istartedontherighttrack

Evening MSErs!

I have now managed to take lunch to work twice a week three weeks running. Woo! Unfortunately, this small good deed has been eclipsed by my general spending. I shall attempt to keep this up for October, then in November I think I need some better (read tougher) challenges...

Istartedontherighttrack

Hello MSErs,

My spending has been a bit out of control of late, and I couldn't tell you why. I've not been on any exciting trips, and other than a pair of shoes and two belts, I haven't been extravagant. I stopped doing my spending diary as I found it dull, but I think it might be sensible to start again, now that I am imminently due to become a home owner...

When_the_going_gets_tough

Hi Op once you buy your own home there will be all sorts of spends you haven't yet considered! Why not set yourself a budget for spending on food, takeaways lunch etc - a weekly budget, draw it out in cash and be firm that when its gone thats it. The first week you might go a bit hungry but its amazing how inventive you can be with what you have in the house when theres no choice! Some people on this board have to do this for real - why not give it a try? Cash in the wallet is very tangible. Good luck - also you are clearly in a responsible job - why not try applying to skills you use at work to your personal financial situation - you just might surprise yourself!

Istartedontherighttrack

Evening MSErs,

I have little to report. My property purchase is plodding on very slowly. Thanks to a combination of various posters' ideas, I started putting £4-5 in an old bag each time I made my own lunch, and three months later, I am the proud owner of an expensive blender. Whilst the whole fad for mindfulness gets on my nerves, mindless spending is a sure fire way to a low bank balance and/or debt. I think this is something I will keep up throughout 2016. It's amazing how £10 a week mounts up into something tangible if you don't waste it.

I also have a healthy Christmas savings pot. Whilst not massive, it is a nice thought to be able to buy presents from saved money rather than worrying how you will pay for them in January.

Now I just have to apply these few small steps to the rest of my finances, and actually stick to my budget...

Istartedontherighttrack

Happy New Year, MSErs!

In an attempt to change my repetitive rants (although surely we are all guilty of repetitive behaviour, or else we wouldn't keep ending up in financial messes), I am going to attempt to set some goals. I appreciate that I am reasonably fortunate compared to a lot of people, so my budget is comparatively generous. Sadly this doesn't make me any better at sticking to it.

1. Over the last year, I went from being debt free (other than my student loan), to relying on my credit card at the end of every month. I always manage to pay it off the following month, so I never incur any interest, but this is not a good state to be in and needs to end. Otherwise, it is the beginning of a slippery slope.
2. Spend less on crap (this is the cause of 1, and I couldn't even tell you what crap I bought).
3. Reduce food spending. This has crept up to ridiculous levels, and I would be ashamed to post just how much on here.
4. Budget.
5. Keep a spending diary.
6. I am not sure how much I owe on my student loan, but I think if I manage to pay an extra £50 a month off it, I will clear it in 2 years instead of 2 and a half. The effect of this would be like having a 10% pay rise.

I have got massively better at work lunches. I managed 3 from home this week. Woo!