The "Save 12k in 2016" Thread!

bobobski

Aye mine started like yours, as I have a cashback credit card. I started immediately repaying it after spending on it, but that gradually slipped into repaying it with next month's pay, so effectively I'm always a month behind. It's nothing unusual, and it's what most people do, but I'm trying to break the habit and live on this month's salary. I may still use the card for the cashback, but go back to paying it off immediately.

Your rounding down to zero or five thing looks a lot like VSP (virtual savings pot). I like it

I think it's all about the "non-earth shattering" things we do, to be honest, as they're the things we do that will last. And being able to stay in a Hilton hotel for free, after enjoying a wonderful day that your friends are paying for (;)) sounds good to me!

RichyRich

It's so tempting to get the 'max interest free days' (I mean 'it's money they're lending me FOR FREE until the due date!') but I've tried to fall out of that mindset as it makes keeping track a bit of a nightmare. It's all down to what works for us all as individuals.

Just waiting for the train tickets to come available now. Wedding is end of April so they should be released late January/early Feb. Virgin West Coast is one of the more expensive lines so I'm hoping to snare a bargain.

I might also have enough free points for a night/weekend away for our anniversary. Tight? Me!?! Let's see how it goes

I've updated my sig now to try and spur me on some. I can't begin to describe how tempted I am to cash in the coinage I've accrued from my pockets and around the house. But it will be sooo much more satisfying to wait until it's full.

A penny saved is a penny earned!

There_Is_a_Light

bobobski wrote: »

RichyRich: a lower number than when you started can be disheartening but at least you're aware of your numbers (seriously, that itself is an achievement) and you have a plan

TIAL: very impressive!! What do you do for a living??/QUOTE]

I am in education but my OH also works and both of our children have flown the nest (one is still at Uni). This month is unusually high due to 2 x Bank bonus sign up offers and OH getting some back pay for overtime that he did during December.

Light x

enthusiasticsaver

bobobski wrote: »

RichyRich: a lower number than when you started can be disheartening but at least you're aware of your numbers (seriously, that itself is an achievement) and you have a plan

TIAL: very impressive!! What do you do for a living??

As for me, I'm not going to declare until the end of the month, but I did spend quite a while this morning preparing a plan. It goes something like this:

• £300 per month into First Direct regular saver - maturing on 12 Feb but I'll open a new one immediately.
• £250 per month into TSB regular saver - will open this on payday (28th) as I'm not sure how long it takes to open and don't want to go overdrawn by accident... Also prefer regular savers to come out after payday.
• Split the matured FD regular saver between my TSB classic plus (approx £1,650 to bring it up to the max) and a new Flex Direct (remaining approx £2,030) - going to wait until just before 12th Feb to open this to make the most of the 12 months' 5% interest.
• I'll pay out my MOT and road tax from my February pay, and then for subsequent months Ill open a Tesco current account and deposit £125 in there per month as follows: £30 car insurance (December), £20 breakdown cover (August), £8 MOT (next year Feb/March), £12 road tax (next year March), £15 lease renewal fee (June) and the remaining £40 as a buffer for technology breakdowns and clothes (I don't buy much by way of clothes and I don't own a whole lot of technological equipment). I'll also open a Flexclusive regular saver after my February pay and start drip-feeding from the Flex Direct.
• From March pay (so, April spending) I'll be saving £300 (FD RS), £250 (TSB RS), about £300 (Flexclusive, topping up to £500 from FlexDirect) = £850 per month. I'll also be setting aside £125 per month as above.
• My pay in July will hopefully jump if I get the payrise my boss is hoping to secure me. If so, no more drip-feeding from Flex Direct into Flexclusive, as I'll be saving the full £500 from my pay. Any extra, and my bonus (expected around £1,000) will go into the Flex Direct, which will be a little depleted at this point as I'll have been drip-feeding for a few months.

So from July onwards, I'm hoping to be saving £1,050 per month, plus setting aside my true expenses and small buffer pot, while still allowing £600-£700 per month to live on without the credit card. One reason for lower savings in Jan and Feb is getting out of the credit card habit - so December's spending (Jan bill) is £483 while this month's spending (Feb bill) is £280. The plan is not to use it anymore, have a very stingy couple of months, and implement plan savings! Anyway, following this plan the £10,000 goal I set myself for this challenge might just be achievable - I was deliberately aiming high by my standards.

Any recommendations let me know. I'm mostly posting the plan here to make it seem more real!

P.S. Does anyone else find it tricky to budget month-by-month when they're paid at the end of the month? I don't know why, but I think I'd find it easier to budget if I were paid on 1st!

Sounds like a plan and yes I find it hard to budget as we also get paid at the end of the month. The flip side to that though is I am always reluctant to spend as my spending tracker is in negative until 25th of month when I get paid and 27th when OH gets paid so we probably spend less than if we were paid at the beginning of the month. This year I am recording the difference between monthly income and expenditure as savings as although I am funding four regular savers and a stocks and shares isa every month it will not always be from our salaries and if we have a lean month it will come from lower interest investments like my Santander or FD esavers

enthusiasticsaver

RichyRich wrote: »

No I know what you mean and know you weren't trying to put me off

I like your idea about killing off the credit card spending but I have quite an addiction to collecting Hilton HHonors Points. I stick all of my spending onto my Hilton Barclaycard and get enough 'free' points for a couple of free hotel nights a year. Nothing earth shattering but we are going to a wedding in Liverpool this year and are not paying anything for the stay, saving over £200. It's just about maintaining the discipline to only spend what you earn, paying in full when the bill comes out.

I've now started paying the full balance by FP the day after I get paid so I don't get caught out by the DD and then after I get paid all the money in my account is 'mine' (less whatever's on the CC for next month).

I also do this which might seem a bit obsessive: I check my balance on my current account every day and keep it at a round figure (ending in a five or a zero), moving the remainder over to my savings account. Again, no great shakes, every time a DD comes out (mobile bill, whatever) that makes my balance an odd number it's a little bit more saved towards the target. It also keeps my statements neat. My wife thinks I'm autistic.

LOL I do this too to keep it all neat. Although there is a reasoning to this as I keep the balance in our joint Santander 123 account at £20k all the time (the maximum interest is paid on) so when a direct debit is paid from there I top it up from our esaver. The Santander 123 pays 3% whereas the esaver only pays 0.70%. With my personal FD account I do as you do and keep a round £50 or £100 in there and when I spend anything from there I top it up from the FD esaver. I try and keep round amounts in the savings accounts as well but that does not always work.

kev2009

Hi,

#025 declaring £500 for Jan 2016! Form has been submitted also.

Hoping by March/April I will be in a position to know exactly what money I have and what's effectively allocated, all a bit up and down at the moment.

Thanks!

Rosie_D

Hi number 079 saved £1000 for January thanks x

Ashers92

#157 checking in for January.

Managed to sell one of my cars alongside this months savings so happy to be putting away £2400 this month into mine and my girlfriends Help to Buy ISAs that we've just opened!

Have a couple of bank switches in the works so next month should include those incentives, as well as give me access to some regular savings accounts for the remaining money that cant go in the Help to Buy ISAs.

And hopefully another car being sold!

First time I've actually focused on saving and am quite enjoying it so far!

kitjos

Hi SlowlyFading. Can i join up please? I usually go on MFW yearly but im spending 2016 on increasing our joint saving account. Could you out me down for £12,000 please?

I've put away £2,570 for January (months following will be a lot less hence the 12k target!).

Hope this is ok, ill await a number if so .

Many thanks xx

rjrs0510

Hey everyone,

It is good to have started another year... another goal to hopefully meet. I didn't meet my target last year, so this year I am on a mission. I just put £2,600 into savings for January... not abad start, i think! As always it is so encouraging to read how everyone is doing. Keep warm and dry!