Could I cut down on anything?

kerri_gt

My first question is do you actually have £429 a month left each month? If so, what do you do with it? You aren't accruing debt so seem to be ( based on the numbers you've given) living within your means. So, what are your motivations for wanting to cut down? (Saving for a new car, moving out, house deposit etc) and how much more per month would / do you need to achieve this vs what your current budget is?

GTR_King

I was just wondering if i could cut down on anything....

Rest of money I do nothing with that...

I am going NZ at xmas & Berlin in oct...

just saving for when i need it..

thx for all the advice....

Pixie5740

Yes there are things you can cut down on but you've rejected all suggestions.

Some of the £429.46 you have left every month will need to go on things you've missed out such as VED (car tax), MOT, repairs, replacement tyres, hair cuts, prescriptions, Christmas, birthday presents, to name but a few.

GTR_King

Car tax/repairs/mot (Mum pays for it) I do help sometimes....
hair cut is £12.50

but what's left over i don't spend.

determined_new_ms

It does seem from your responses at the suggestions that you are happy with your expenditure and there is no real reason for you to cut down you are saving around £600-700 pm. So there's no imperative for you to not have the things you are spending your money on.

Your budget next to your desires seems reasonable

uncreative

To be honest you sound like a young guy starting out in life and remember you do need to enjoy it. If you want Sky Sports or an Iphone 6 then thats fine. You are also allowed to go out and enjoy yourself!

The thing you really need is a plan or goals to give your monthly income and spend some context. To be saving £250 a month in the TSB saver means you are ahead of 90% of people in their early 20's (sorry for making that assumption about your age).

I take it your salary is £18k per year. Is that going to go up over time through progression/promotion i.e. are you going to get much beyond the £18k in your job/career?

What are your goals in 5 years time? You need to have a reason to save. If its for a flat then you are already saving £3k per year. If you up that to £6k per year then in 5 years you will have £30k in savings which should be a great deposit for a flat. £18k will let you borrow roughly £50k so looking at a flat about £70-£75k with a decent deposit could be a goal.

So, rather than looking to cut back, I would recommend that you do a full SOA as has been suggested, and start to budget properly with the context of having some reachable short and medium term goals.

GTR_King

I am 25....

It might go up soon as MY NVQ has Finished & they gonna take me on (Most likely)

Just wanna save some money no goal at moment....

so I am all good money wise & check my accounts weekly & see what i have spent

KxMx

I'd suggest a spending diary.

I've just spent the past month doing one for everything, cash, bank account, debit card, credit card, other etc, and it's been very illuminating.

I certainly was spending more than my "aim" list like in your OP. I suspected I was which is why I started the diary.

Seeing in black & white what I am spending and where is very useful. And has also made me want to spend less, question myself more etc.

I use a spreadsheet and even a notebook & pen while i'm out, but there are apps etc out there.

I managed to be only £1.50 out on cash spending which was quite good I thought for the first try!

chesky

Presumably if you have £429 left at the end of each month and you're not spending it, then you must be saving it, even if it's not going into a specific savings account? So you're actually saving £679 per month. If not, then it's going somewhere.

thegreenone

GTR, I have two sons of 22 and 23. The 23 year old is a student and on limited means, whilst the 22 year old is working part-time and about to change jobs with a break.


As a Mum with boys roughly your age, I would strongly suggest you save as much as you can while living at home, but still make sure to have fun. Buy and play games, go out but save now and get rid of any cc debt.


I'll say good luck, but I don't think you need it as you seem to have your head screwed on right!!!