too skint to start saving?

Money_saving_maniac

IME you are never to poor to save even if it is £1 a week. The key is to be realistic about what you can achieve and to ensure that nobody dibs into the savings for anything other than what they are for.

There are two kinds of savings, the 'emergency fund'' which is what you need to use for a washing machine or fridge and the 'long term' money which is what you may not be able to afford.
The 'treats' saving is a whole different ball game and you may not be able to afford that either.

£10 a month sounds eminently do-able. Take it out and put it away before any other spending is done, same as you do with your rent/mortgage and council tax.

Do not tell your nearest and dearest you have it. You don't have it, it's gone, same as the rent and the council tax. That's really important, because if you have to scrimp at the end of the month, if your other half knows you have £10 somewhere, it will be taken out and spent.

[Deleted User]

Years ago as a young Mum in the 1960s I found that squirrelling away even a small amount of cash was easier if I put into a building society account that was not near to where I lived.

For example I used to put around £2-3 a week in an account that was a good half hour away from my house.This way if I was running a bit short I made what I had streetch a bit more rather than trailing to the other side of town to draw out a tenner say.

If you can't put your hands on it easily once saved, its less likely to be frittered away.

My late and very wise old Mum used to say cover all your bills/outgoings, then food, and whats left is 'spare'. Take a small amount out for 'Happy Cash (treats etc) and the rest stash away for the lean times in your life

Believe me I have had a few of those When my late OH came back to England for his contract work in Africa finished he was out of work for 16 months, and things got more than a bit thin on the ground .

We cut back on every single non essential and luckily we had a small stash of savings that got us through.

I was working at three jobs at a time at one point though and seven days a week.But we survived and he eventually found employment in his field.It was in the mid 1980s when things were very uncertain and many folk lost their houses because of the 15% interest rates.We hung on to ours by the skin of our teeth though.

So sit down and list all your outgoings and see what you can cut without too much pain.Menu plan, and use up as much as you have indoors already, as you bought it to eat in the first place, and your store cupboards probably have quite a bit of cash in stock in there already.

Learn to think of ways to eat better more cheaply It is possible to live without steak and chips egg and chips is just as filling

Cook as much as you can from scratch ready meals are expensive and to my mind just not worth it I look at the stuff and think I can make that better ,cheap and with less chemicals in it.I was married with two children for 7 years before I owned a washing machine. I did it all by hand and sheets and towels (and in those days blankets ) I plonked in the bath with two small children who delighted in jumping up and down to help Mum clean the stuff :)

Look on it as a challenge to your ingenuity and when things pick up as they will do remember to stash in the good times for the lean times.I hope you can get through your problems as there is nothing worse than worrying about the lack of cash Do pay the important stuff first i.e. the roof over you head and utilities gas,water electric etc.Nice to have Sky or cable but no essential and you won't die without it, and no point having it if you get evicted and don't have a roof over your head So prioritise as much as possible. I would say grow things but at the moment you need to sort immediate things out.

Make your local library your friend ,thats what its there for and books DVDs and lots of good recipe books and advice can come from a library It is possible to live without a mobile as well, millions of people do, and look at what is really essential to living, you can cook and eat an Iphone and don't be sidetracked by inconsequential stuff.Ebay what you don't use or need
Good Luck
JackieO xxx
P.S I have PM'd you

Pollycat

Dill wrote: »

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or on the DFW board, but as it doesn't really concern debt I thought I'd see what the the Old Stylers think

It might be worth posting your SOA on the DFW board, lots of good people there who can spot areas where you can cut down on expentiture and if you can do that, there's your start on savings.

LameWolf

tori.k wrote: »

we live on a tight budget due to overpaying debts and needed to get an emergency fund in place so started a penny saver (a broke version of the pound a day challenge) been a dead easy habit to get into, day one save a penny day two a tuppence...and so on buy the end of the year you will have saved £667

Whenever DH or I get a £2 coin in our change, it goes in a tin. This stood us in good stead a while ago when we had several small appliances bite the dust at the same time - there was over £300 available to replace them. I think the tin currently contains £128.

suki1964 wrote: »

I save loose change in jars all year round and it's surprising how it all adds up. Even saving coppers will pay my road tax £30 each year

I also have a "roadkill" tin (money found on the pavement or redway while dog-walking etc). I don't find much - they must be a careful lot around here - but there is currently £6.48 in that tin.

I think the important thing is to sift through alll the suggestions and cherry-pick what will work for you.

Oh, and I'm also a fan of not telling the OH you've squirrelled money away for savings if they are a savings-dipper. What they don't know won't hurt 'em in this case.

Dill

JackieO wrote: »

It was in the mid 1980s when things were very uncertain and many folk lost their houses because of the 15% interest rates.We hung on to ours by the skin of our teeth though.

I remember black Wednesday, but was too young to own a property at the time, thank goodness!

I was married with two children for 7 years before I owned a washing machine. I did it all by hand and sheets and towels (and in those days blankets ) I plonked in the bath with two small children who delighted in jumping up and down to help Mum clean the stuff :)

Wow I don't know how someone with a family can manage without a machine. It's not so much the washing, it's the wringing out/spinning!

LameWolf wrote: »

Whenever DH or I get a £2 coin in our change, it goes in a tin. This stood us in good stead a while ago when we had several small appliances bite the dust at the same time - there was over £300 available to replace them. I think the tin currently contains £128.

You must be quite disciplined to have that money sitting in the house and not dip into it

tori.k

Dill wrote: »

You must be quite disciplined to have that money sitting in the house and not dip into it

That's the crux of it, we tend to buy most of our white goods around the same time usually when you move into your first property so usually it's not very long before the next goes kaput.

cornishchick

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

If you have a garden you could get a whirly gig line in Argos cheap, failing that 2 sturdy posts and washing line wouldn't break the budget.

Clothes pegged to coat hangers and hung off any where, the porch, backs of doors , the fence, inna window off the curtain rail and the window open, I've done them all ,:):) lol just be sure to peg them if they are light items,, ( asking for your bra back is great way to meet you neighbours :rotfl: )

monnagran

My mantra is always, "PENNIES MATTER". It is so easy to mentally pass over tiny amounts of money with the view that anything under 20p is not worth bothering about. Oh, yes it is.

Alert! One of monna's memories about to surface.
When I dropped a farthing, which rather dates me, I happened to remark that it wasn't worth looking for it as it was ONLY a farthing. My grandmother immediately launched into what that farthing could do for a family in the poorest parts of the world. Feed a family for a week or something like that. She ended her lecture with words I have never forgotten. "That farthing could stand between you and starvation one day."

Well, that was a long, long time ago but the principle remains true today.

Much as I would love to, I have never been able to justify buying a newspaper every day, though I do miss the daily tussle with the crossword. I do try not to make other people uncomfortable with my way of life and will always pay my share if others want to eat out or go for a coffee but would much prefer to take a picnic or a flask.

There can also be fun ways to save. When I first left home I lived in a pretty large bed-sitter with a picture rail all round. I propped up threepenny pieces all round this picture rail. Many of you won't remember them but they had straight edges so didn't roll. I got all around the room and those threepenny pieces paid for my wedding dress, headress, veil, shoes and three bridesmaids dresses.
These days I save all my new, shiny coins which go into a pretty purse for my DGD's birthday. My eldest DGD looked forward to that every year and now she is too old to consider it a treat I have started doing it for the 3 year-old DGD.

Honestly, I find that treasuring each penny makes it possible to live on a pretty tight budget and once you get used to it, it very quickly becomes a way of life.

All the old sayings are very true.

Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.

Many a mickle maks a muckle. ( I think that's right. I failed 'O' level Scottish)

Penny wise. Pound foolish. (Which means something slightly different but never mind.)

Give up the jellybabies and the washing machine shall be yours.(OK, I made that up.

Good luck.

x

Dill

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

If you have a garden you could get a whirly gig line in Argos cheap, failing that 2 sturdy posts and washing line wouldn't break the budget.

The only thing I've got in the way of a washing line is a Minky clothes line in the bathroom. I don't like it much and it rarely gets used, as the bathroom doesn't get much ventilation (it has no window!)

I usually just improvise by hanging washing up around the flat, on curtain rails, etc

monnagran wrote: »

Give up the jellybabies and the washing machine shall be yours.(OK, I made that up.

I do have a weakness for chocolate.. But if you don't drink and don't smoke I guess you've got to have some vice

Ilona

I've got a slightly different approach to saving, I stop spending, and when the essentials are paid for, the money left over automatically accumulates in the bank. My account reached rock bottom when I was still working because I went part time, my choice, but I managed on less income because I cut out all impulsive buying, every penny I spent was calculated, and still is.

I had a mortgage when I reached retirement age of 60, but I kept up my frugal habits. I was able to pay it off in three years, by carefully monitoring my spending with a diary.

I changed my car 18 months ago, I had saved for three years and so had enough to upgrade. I am now saving for the next one in about 2 - 3 years time.

I don't separate out my savings into pots, or different accounts. It works for me. Although I call it my savings, the money I have is my emergency fund, and is available to spend on things that might break and need replacing, it's for my pets should they need to visit a vet, it's for car tax and insurance, house insurance and utilities and council tax. What's left is for holidays. I have no long term savings, as I don't plan for more than 4 or 5 years ahead.

Even if you don't have much money to start with you can always save something, by carefully monitoring your spending.

Ilona