How much do you have left over at the end of the month?

zenshi

It helps to talk a d bounce ideas around!

I started a spending diary and fill it in every day., even now! Joining the NSD challenge also is a fun any to make sure you stay on track.

I'm about 18 months from having my LBM so things are settled for now. I still give myself targets though....sometimes unachievable but that's how it goes

You will get there. Once you have everything written down and its sunk in, you can then start to deal with. I'm single with two grown up kids who know everything and have been majorly supportive to me

concrete_kid

Yes, I account for everything. However there needs to be flexability, a budget is just a guide to keep you on track, nobody has a crystal ball so you can never fully plan for everything that you will spend over the month.

But quite a lot can be planned for. For example, birthdays are the same day every year so I look ahead and see who I need to buy for next month and budget. I generally have a night in the pub once a month so I put that in, I may not know when it will be but I know I'll go at least once.

Also at some point, your boiler will break, your car will need replacing, the washing machine will die etc etc. You should try and plan for this happening with an emergency fund, otherwise these can be a massive set backs if you have to stick it on a credit card.

I also always have a 'misc' category for things that can't be planned for, this is usually about 10% of my take home pay. It's a handy buffer, that I use if I want to a) do something I hadn't planned for or b) if I overspend in another category. Before I had this my budget never really worked and I'd end up giving up and overspending.

Hope that helps, good luck.

Popstess

zenshi wrote: »

It helps to talk a d bounce ideas around!

I started a spending diary and fill it in every day., even now! Joining the NSD challenge also is a fun any to make sure you stay on track.

I'm about 18 months from having my LBM so things are settled for now. I still give myself targets though....sometimes unachievable but that's how it goes

You will get there. Once you have everything written down and its sunk in, you can then start to deal with. I'm single with two grown up kids who know everything and have been majorly supportive to me

Thanks Zenshi, yes that's why I asked to give me ideas this is all brand new to me as I've been living above and beyond my means for quite some time now.
I love the idea of NSD's think I might start leaving my purse at home when I'm at work lol. Do you still count it as a NSD even if for example a DD goes out of your acc to pay a bill? Or is it just what you spend over and above usual outgoings?

WannaBLoaded

I am in a pretty unique situation i have bills but no rent to pay and i am self employed, a good month and i can be left with £2500 spare after food , gas etc, a bad month is when i only have £1000 spare.

And i don't even feel well off, the grass is greener on the otherside etc. Thankfully i don't have kids.

I always wonder about other peoples finances, though. Personally i have bad credit history from debts, only small debts though and the biggest was £2.5k overdraft with the halifax, my current total debt is 3k but because they were defaulted i just never paid anything back but not everyone agrees with doing that.

I plan to get more money saving though, my food bill is 400 a month and thats just for me and my cat so i am wasting money, which is why i joined here. And to be nosy into other peoples lives haha.

crazy_cat_lady

Spending diary is a good idea as it can often make you think twice about handing over the cash. And yes, as others have said, it needs to be budgeted.
Join in with the challenges - I never miss the daily dfw thread because that keeps me accountable.

enthusiasticsaver

I budget for absolutely everything as things like birthday cards, coffee out with friends, newspapers and bus/train fares or car parking charges all seem like small amounts but when you pay out for a couple of these a week they all add up. We are calculating how much we spend in readiness for early retirement in three years time and budget to spend 50% of our income on and save 50% so we know we can live on a reduced income. How much you allow for each category depends on your own circumstances - ie level of income, level of debt and fix an amount you are comfortable with. I only buy birthday presents for close family members and one or two close friends and spend £20-£30 on friends, siblings present and up to £50 for OH, daughters, son in law and mum.

Popstess

WannaBLoaded wrote: »

I am in a pretty unique situation i have bills but no rent to pay and i am self employed, a good month and i can be left with £2500 spare after food , gas etc, a bad month is when i only have £1000 spare.

And i don't even feel well off, the grass is greener on the otherside etc. Thankfully i don't have kids.

I always wonder about other peoples finances, though. Personally i have bad credit history from debts, only small debts though and the biggest was £2.5k overdraft with the halifax, my current total debt is 3k but because they were defaulted i just never paid anything back but not everyone agrees with doing that.

I plan to get more money saving though, my food bill is 400 a month and thats just for me and my cat so i am wasting money, which is why i joined here. And to be nosy into other peoples lives haha.

I guess if you live beyond your means you end up skint no matter how much you earn. I've been very silly and lived beyond my means for a long time no so I'm in a mess but time to start dealing with that now.

Popstess

crazy_cat_lady wrote: »

Spending diary is a good idea as it can often make you think twice about handing over the cash. And yes, as others have said, it needs to be budgeted.
Join in with the challenges - I never miss the daily dfw thread because that keeps me accountable.

Definitely starting my spending diary, hopefully will be able to have some NSD's too.

Popstess

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

I budget for absolutely everything as things like birthday cards, coffee out with friends, newspapers and bus/train fares or car parking charges all seem like small amounts but when you pay out for a couple of these a week they all add up. We are calculating how much we spend in readiness for early retirement in three years time and budget to spend 50% of our income on and save 50% so we know we can live on a reduced income. How much you allow for each category depends on your own circumstances - ie level of income, level of debt and fix an amount you are comfortable with. I only buy birthday presents for close family members and one or two close friends and spend £20-£30 on friends, siblings present and up to £50 for OH, daughters, son in law and mum.

Thank you, my plan once I've paid off all my debt is to start saving. I've never had any savings before.

rolls99

Look on all your bills (DDs and so on) as already spent; you can't of course spend your Council tax payment for instance; so it's not really a "Spend" - that comes from anything you've left after all that.


Aside from the NSD there's tons of posts with people cutting costs of other bills: mobile phones, TV/Internet packages, club memberships and so on, and it can be very rewarding as a challenge never mind anything else!


If you can, try and do an SOA as plenty people will help you with that too. Realistically, it is down to "incomings versus outgoings" - and with your outgoings there's a portion you can't do much about (priority stuff) but pretty much everything else you can change one way or another!