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too skint to start saving?

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  • maman
    maman Posts: 29,737 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I'd suggest three things:
    • get your OH on board with the saving. I understand what other posters have said about secret savings but it must be hugely demoralising if you're trying your hardest to cut back and he's not.
    • keep a spending diary and all receipts. Start with a week at a time and review exactly where your every penny of your money goes to find places to cut back. I find that just keeping a diary helps me because I want to write as little as possible.
    • before you buy anything ask yourself 'Do I need this or just want it?'. I'm not begrudging you a bar of chocolate but I think you could limit it to perhaps a treat at weekends and make sure you get best value when you do buy it not just pick it up from the petrol station or corner shop.
    I'm assuming you new machine is coming from the bank of mum and dad or similar. At the very least, budget a payment per week/month to pay them back and keep putting that same money away when the debt is paid.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 17,413 Forumite
    10,000 Posts I've been Money Tipped!
    ah the splendid little farthing I do remember them and the ha'pennies,thrupennies,tanners and 'bobs' that's when money felt like money not all these pee's :):):).My late Ma-in-law had some old silver 'joeys' that went into the Christmas pud every year (but my DDs had to return them to her in exchange for pennies they could spend.

    Seriously, saving money no matter how small, is a good habit to get into, even when you have enough.There is always the possibility of the wolf knocking at the door one day, so build a little barrier no matter how small for those wolf-battering days :)
  • purpleivy
    purpleivy Posts: 3,664 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I would have a read of Frugal Queen's blog. Some of her posts address daily living and others talk first about getting out of debt and then about saving, to avoid debt in the future. She's good!

    https://frugalqueen.co.uk/
    [SIZE=-1]"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad"[/SIZE]
    Trying not to waste food!:j
    ETA Philosophy is wondering whether a Bloody Mary counts as a Smoothie
  • jackyann
    jackyann Posts: 3,433 Forumite
    What wonderful ideas on here!

    Personally I can't do the "saving change" type of saving - I did it once, in my teens, but gave up. I like to see my "savings book" growing (and earning interest! But I do have lots of friends who have done / still do that.

    But I stand by saying that the kind of saving you do has to suit you and your family - then it is easier to do. And what a wonderful picture i have in my mind of the lined-up threepenny bits!
  • When I started work, my mum insisted on me taking out a 25-year endowment policy, not much per month but it matured just at the right time. I'd gone self-employed and a major contract had just ended, taking with it 80% of my income... and I'm still saving into its successor policy, but can draw on it for emergencies.

    I'd second the Credit Union if that is available - advice from a friend when I went out on my own to open an account. I'm lucky that the local credit union is large and has great facilities, but having to go there to withdraw either cash or a cheque to pay for things means that you think a bit more about it than using a debit card! (In the old days, I had a passbook only account with a building society where the nearest branch was in the next town, again having to physically go there - and generally queue - was a disincentive!

    But once you've established a pattern of saving at a credit union, you can get a loan, and the rates are better than most! I've used that several times, including to replace a car!

    Also think about using charity shops - when the washing machine packed up just after Christmas and my big self-employed January tax bill one year, I got one from the local charity shop - delivered and installed - for about £100 (and it was better than the one it replaced!)
  • Teacher2
    Teacher2 Posts: 547 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    There was a story in the 'Mail' yesterday recommending the following equation for one's money:- 50% on bills and essentials, 20% on savings and 30% to blow on what you want. I thought it was good in theory to demarcate earnings but that many people would be spending all their pay on essentials especially since rents are so high. So it proved from the comments where many said they had nothing at all left over after essential expenses were met.

    Nevertheless, it's still a good idea to try to save. You could try to get one of your bills down by haggling or switching and then save the difference. You could stop buying any food out of the house (huge mark up for the cafes, restaurants and shops) and save that instead. You could cut fares by walking all or part of the way or walk instead of paying gym fees. And so on. Put this money into a savings account so you can't touch it.

    Another way to cut bills for broken and worn electical equipment is to see if you can get items for free on Freecycle or through Streetview or other freebie/swaps websites.

    To be honest, I did not save until I had a very slight increase in pay and then I banked that. Always save your increases as you have got used to living on the lower amount and do not need it. Once you have a small savings pot you will not want to spend it or splurge it.

    My MIL once said to me, 'I like to know I can have something if I want it.' It was very wise because that feeling is as good as spending the money. You know you can have something if you want it so you cease to actually want the thing. It stops you from wasting your money on the thing itself.
  • LameWolf
    LameWolf Posts: 11,238 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Dill wrote: »
    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!
    Oh dear, that brings back memories of my first home; it was a 2nd floor studio flat; no garden or balcony, nowhere for a washing machine, even if I could have afforded one, and for the first year, no spin-drier (I had to save hard to get that); my husband at that time was in a very dirty job, too, and I had to hand-wash everything (his work clothes got soaked in the bath overnight - yukky they were!) and the wet washing was wrung to the best of my ability, and put on a wooden clothes-horse in the middle of the living area, standing on the free newspapers we used to get through the door.
    Dill wrote: »
    You must be quite disciplined to have that money sitting in the house and not dip into it :)
    I regard it as adding to my collection - when my DH was working (he's retired now) he used to tip his change out of his pocket into a wooden tray at night, and I'd pounce on it, to see if there was a £2 in there. :D
    maman wrote: »
    I'd suggest three things:
    • get your OH on board with the saving. I understand what other posters have said about secret savings but it must be hugely demoralising if you're trying your hardest to cut back and he's not.
    It's much easier - one of the many reasons I divorced the ex was his profligacy; I'd be skipping meals to make ends meet, and if he thought there was any money in the house, he'd go and spend it on something for his wretched model train set up. :mad:
    Hence I did used to squirrel money away and not tell him. Thankfully my lovely DH now is a MoneySavingConvert. :A
    JackieO wrote: »
    ah the splendid little farthing I do remember them and the ha'pennies,thrupennies,tanners and 'bobs' that's when money felt like money not all these pee's :):):).My late Ma-in-law had some old silver 'joeys' that went into the Christmas pud every year (but my DDs had to return them to her in exchange for pennies they could spend.

    Seriously, saving money no matter how small, is a good habit to get into, even when you have enough.There is always the possibility of the wolf knocking at the door one day, so build a little barrier no matter how small for those wolf-battering days :)
    I remember all the old money - and I still convert back to "old" money, too. The conversation will go something like:
    DH: Shall we try some of that? It's only 55p ?
    Me: WHAAAAT??? That's eleven shillings, for a tiddly little dessert!!! I'll have a scrat around in the recipe books and make something like it, OK?

    Note to self - beware of knocking at JackieO's door.:rotfl:
    If your dog thinks you're the best, don't seek a second opinion.;)
  • Thistle-down
    Thistle-down Posts: 914 Forumite
    500 Posts
    I have a separate savings account with the Co-op bank that my husband doesn't have access to. He is one for dipping into savings whenever our current account is running low, saying we will pay it back but never actually doing so. Our joint savings has had 3p in it for the last couple of years.

    He knows I set up the Co-op account and try to put a little in it each week but as it's not in his line of sight, he tends to forget about it. I have more willpower than he does when it comes to not spending money, and I will not dip into the savings unless it is a true emergency. This works out pretty well for us.
    :happylove
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 17,413 Forumite
    10,000 Posts I've been Money Tipped!
    LameWolf} wrote:
    I remember all the old money - and I still convert back to "old" money, too. The conversation will go something like:
    DH: Shall we try some of that? It's only 55p ?
    Me: WHAAAAT??? That's eleven shillings, for a tiddly little dessert!!! I'll have a scrat around in the recipe books and make something like it, OK?

    Note to self - beware of knocking at JackieO's door.:rotfl:

    :D:D nothing personal LW you would be welcome to knock on my door any day :D

    Its a great way to stop yourself from spending though isn't it convert back to 'old money' and think 18/- for a Sunday paper I should co-co
    :rotfl: 2d stamp costs over 11/- now :rotfl::rotfl:

    JackieO xx
  • Would an allowance help at all? It doesn't have to be large, even £10 a month would do. My OH loves to shop, he doesn't like debt (thank goodness) but he will spend everything he has until it runs out. By giving ourselves an allowance each he gets to shop and buy whatever he wants and I don't worry that we're wasting money. A few times a year we sit down, go over the budget and decide what seems reasonable. We're about to have a drop in wages soon, so this month we cut the allowance down by 25%. It's a big drop but we can still both have a bit of shopping freedom without any stress because we've ensured the allowance is affordable ahead of time. Maybe that would help to stop you from dipping into the savings?
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