Can afford to save on paper, not in reality

Purplesky_2

Well, you just have to sit and save for a while. :beer: Making lunches and yes, that pesky 'misc' spending. It adds up quickly doesn't it? (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/08/01/a-millionaire-is-made-ten-bucks-at-a-time/)

I would suggest you up your savings to £60 a month. It's not that much more, and I bet you won't miss it. And when you don't miss it, up it again by £5 or £10. Keep doing that every couple of months. You'll end up with a surplus, a little buffer. And each month it will get easier and each subsequent year it will get even easier. :T
Don't bother saving 'What's left'. You've already demonstrated, there IS nothing left at the end of a month. Take it out at the start, and you'll adjust. You'll hit a level where it becomes a squeeze each month. Stay there.

Can you boost your income? A Saturday job? Or picking up some bar shifts? Sell some stuff? (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/07/02/if-you-wouldnt-buy-it-you-should-probably-sell-it/) :cool:

Otherwise, keep looking for a job closer to home. Put out feelers with people you know in the area. The car commute is killing you! (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/)

And seriously have a look at the blog I've linked you to several times now, especially this post: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/11/28/new-cars-and-auto-financing-stupid-or-sensible/
:eek:
Also look at 'The Monevator' and try to generally improve your personal finance knowledge, so that when the time comes for something to change or a contract is up, you can pounce!

Purplesky_2

Also, Good luck!

dcouponzzzz

Not sure if anyone's interested, but I've kept an comprehensive spending tracker for every purchase made for the last 8 months. I've not needed to borrow from the bank of mum and dad once since, and have been able to comfortably cover some unexpected car maintenance costs and holiday spends on top. I've somehow reverted back to buying snacks and stupid purchases like game subscriptions so the below SOA will be my current update without those expenditures (as I'll get rid of them going forward.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1550
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1550

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 304
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 263
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 53
Electricity............................. 11
Gas..................................... 27.5
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 26
Telephone (land line)................... 6
Mobile phone............................ 45.48
TV Licence.............................. 6.06
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 180
Clothing................................ 35
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 70
Car parking............................. 35
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 6
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
E-Cigs.................................. 70
Total monthly expenses.................. 1318.04


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 156000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 162000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 53500....(304)......3.99
Secured Debt.................. 8876.....(263)......6
Total secured & HP debts...... 62376.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,550
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,318.04
Available for debt repayments........... 231.96
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 231.96

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 162,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -62,376
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 99,624

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

lee111s

You should really look into the mortgage again. At 75% LTV (current value) you could save 2% or more on your mortgage. There's calculators on this site that work out if it's worth you paying the ERC's in order to get a better rate of interest.

HappyMJ

Do E-cigs really cost that much? I thought they were supposed to be much cheaper than actual cigarettes. £70/month is quite a lot. I smoke occasionally myself and I spend about £32/month on cigarettes.

You now have nothing down for medical? What happened there? You should visit the dentist every 6 months for a checkup and a prepayment prescription is £10.40/month. Even if you don't need prescriptions on a regular basis you could put something aside for your health needs.

You have nothing for life insurance. Owning a property with someone you really should consider having life insurance to pay out your share of the mortgage in case you are no longer able to earn money due to critical illness or death. Benefits will not cover the mortgage payments.

I would also suggest putting a small amount such as £20 per person per month aside for a holiday. You may not go on holiday but it's also useful as an emergency fund and if you don't use it then you can treat yourself to a weekend away once a year.

dcouponzzzz

Afternoon guys, sorry to drag this thread up as I'm sure no-one followed it, but it's nice to have as a diary for myself

There'll be a new SOA up soon due to 2 things... I've kept a budget and spending tracker on every transaction for the past 12 months, and I've just been accepted for a new role with my current employer for a guaranteed £6-8k/pa raise. If you can't reduce the spending, increase the income! :P

dcouponzzzz

HappyMJ wrote: »

Do E-cigs really cost that much? I thought they were supposed to be much cheaper than actual cigarettes. £70/month is quite a lot. I smoke occasionally myself and I spend about £32/month on cigarettes.

You now have nothing down for medical? What happened there? You should visit the dentist every 6 months for a checkup and a prepayment prescription is £10.40/month. Even if you don't need prescriptions on a regular basis you could put something aside for your health needs.

You have nothing for life insurance. Owning a property with someone you really should consider having life insurance to pay out your share of the mortgage in case you are no longer able to earn money due to critical illness or death. Benefits will not cover the mortgage payments.

I would also suggest putting a small amount such as £20 per person per month aside for a holiday. You may not go on holiday but it's also useful as an emergency fund and if you don't use it then you can treat yourself to a weekend away once a year.

Hey MJ, I found myself straying from the e-cig to analogues when I used the cheap stuff but I have a sub-ohm kit that drinks the e-liquid up now, and I have no desire for a proper cig since. I buy 30ml at £15 a pop and it seems like 1 bottle lasts a week (or maybe just shy of).

Life insurance is a benefit provided by my employer, and until recently I had no medical conditions and probably had prescriptions at the frequency of 1 every 2-3 years. I've recently been diagnosed with psoriasis however so I've got a 3 month subscription temporarily (was cheaper than all 5 items on the first prescription )

dcouponzzzz

lee111s wrote: »

You should really look into the mortgage again. At 75% LTV (current value) you could save 2% or more on your mortgage. There's calculators on this site that work out if it's worth you paying the ERC's in order to get a better rate of interest.

Unfortunately my mortgage is 5 year fixed expiring in Jan 2017, with a 5% early cancellation fee. I was planning on waiting until January, but it's yet to be seen how Brexit will be affecting the house price/mortgage rate... hopefully the rate drops but the house value doesn't! There is still the chance I may go an live nearer Manc but we'll see

dcouponzzzz

And PurpleSky, I blame you for hours of procrastinating in work :P I read MMM's entire blog from start to finish, it definitely changed how I view finance!

mattk_180

You're spending an awful lot on juice for your e-cig. I'd recommend having a look around online for alternatives.


The site I buy from (insanejuice.co.uk) is only £15 for 100ML so you'd be saving yourself a lot on juice alone only having to pay £15 every 3 weeks rather than every 1 based on your post.


Good job on making the changes to try and get everything straightened out. And well done on not having to use the bank of mum and dad!!