too skint to start saving?

CapricornLass

Hi, here's what happened to me - I was in a similar situation, in that we had loads of debt, two kids and not a huge amount of money around. I'd already sorted out the budget, moved what I could to cheaper rates, etc. I then started saving for Christmas, working out what the turkey and gammon cost ( as they are the big ticket items for us food wise) and what I would spend on Christmas and birthday presents, divided it by 12, and put the monthly amount away in a separate account.

Well, I did have to dip into it that following year, but I didn't use all of it, and I was able to pay for at least half of Christmas out of that account, I did the same again in the following years, but it wasn't until year three that I had enought in that account to be able to pay for all the Christmas and birthday bills without dipping into my day-today money.

The point is that even if you haven't managed to save up all of the cost, you've at least covered some of the cost and therefore you're not putting youself as deeply in debt as you would have done, therefore can pay this off more quickly and get back to saving again sooner. You will still need to continue to budget/move accounts to lower deals/cut out waste and generally be careful with how you spend money, though.

frosty

I would post on the debt free board even though as you say your not in debt,they come up with ways to cut back and stretch your money.They may suggest things that you never thought of,or come up with ideas to make extra money.When we were £40.000 in debt I followed their advice and we have been debt free for years now and have paid the mortgage off,I can't praise the board enough.

shanks77

I'm with the TSB and have a "save the change fund" which basically means that anything I pay for with my card automatically gets rounded up to the nearest £and that gets put into this account. So if something cost £1.99 a penny goes t the account or if it costs £1.01 99p goes in etc. It's amazing how it adds up and I chose not to have it as a debit card so unless I go to the bank I can't get money out. Also if I do overtime at work I immediately transfer that money minus tax into this account and this is something that def works for me. Good luck with your efforts xx

Living_proof

There is so much good advice on here, and some you can use now and some will keep for later.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

But it is the challenge itself which will take you through it and whilst I have managed to save in years gone by I now rely on Ilona's method of simply not spending (much!). What I do buy is very good quality but from car boot sales or sometimes charity shops. Food is almost always cooked from scratch and now I grow as much as I can, but this is a variable situation depending on the weather and the time I have to weed, etc.

Saving will be your salvation and one day a couple of years down the line you will almost forget you have that cushion of money because you don't have to worry about it and it was no great deal in saving it bit by bit. If the washing machine and fridge freezer pack in the same week (and they probably will, it's Sod's Law!) then the money will be there having been put away gradually in times gone by.

It's a shame interest rates aren't exciting, but then inflation's not at all frightening either. Good luck!

Lynplatinum

Hiya

Brilliant suggestions on here!! :A

I was on benefits for 4 years because of a divorce and my ex worked in the places that I worked and so it was untenable for me to be in the same place.

I went back to college during this time (16 hours per week was permitted) and worked in a Charity shop so I was busy and had two boys to bring up.

I managed to save £250 for a second hand car + the insurance. I used many of the tips on here but I add the following:

1) Pay for everything in cash - have a 'pay day' once a week and on the evening before that empty your purse and put that into savings jars. I have a 'Century Saver' it has 3 tubes - one for 20p - one for 50p - one for £1 and when full gives you £100! Brilliant idea! This paid for a large chunk of Christmas and Summer holiday Coppers went into a jar - and when full paid for a day out treat!

2) Unplug stuff because the transformers still draw power even if the device is off (excluding Sky Boxes etc) and turn lights off and wear more clothes before you put on the heating. Use a washing up bowl (less hot water used) and wash up once a day - not every 5 mins.

3) Dont have loads of expensive cleaning products - own brands can be good (not all of them tho - I use L!dil - my son uses A!di) Bleach - stardrops - washing up liquid - bicardonate of soda. Microfibre clothes are a good thing tho.

Loads of foodie tips already on here
Good luck! Let us know how you get on!

nearlytherenow

I'm looking to start saving, something I've never been good at. I always spend to my means and more but really want to change this. Have read every post on here and feeling positive with all the advice thank you everyone!

Primrose

When I firat started growing our own fruit and vegetables I would "buy" them from myself at the going rate in the shops and put the proceeds in a jar. It was quite surprising how the amount accumulated over the course of the year and it was a good exercise to remind me how much this rnabled me to save (as well as being able to eat good fresh food).

System

There used to be a thread on here monthly - the PIN Money Savings Challenge ( or along those lines) worth searching for regardless.
Out of this challenge, I used to put any money saved on shopping with vouchers into a tin. So if I bought milk and had 20p off voucher, 20p into the tin. You get the idea.

I have jars for coppers, 5ps, 20ps, £2 and the generic Mr Bumble ( a bee! :rotfl:) for anything else. Little bits add up I find.

The other way I used to save, was when I worked behind a bar, I would put all my tips into said Mr Bumble at the end of the night. I would save a small fortune this way.

It's all about taking that first step. Once you see how quickly the pennie mount up, you'll be hooked.

You could try downshifting at the supermarket. I buy loads of budget goods instead of branded or store own and honestly I can't see much difference if any.

Good luck

Dill

nearlytherenow wrote: »

I'm looking to start saving, something I've never been good at. I always spend to my means and more but really want to change this. Have read every post on here and feeling positive with all the advice thank you everyone!

Same here , but I am getting better. Our local libraries have a lot of the CDs I was thinking of buying, so I just borrowed them instead. OK it's not as good as owning the CD, and library CDs are often a bit scratched or dirty, but while money's tight that's what I'll do.

Thanks to everybody for taking the time to reply

Thistle-down

Dill wrote: »

Same here , but I am getting better. Our local libraries have a lot of the CDs I was thinking of buying, so I just borrowed them instead. OK it's not as good as owning the CD, and library CDs are often a bit scratched or dirty, but while money's tight that's what I'll do.

I just re-joined our library. I love reading and download a lot of free books for my kindle, but there are plenty of times I've bought .99p ones because "they were only .99p". I can get most of them from the library for free, it's a 3 min walk from my house so not really inconvenient. This may not have a huge impact on our budget but reinforcing this mindset will pay off in lots of other ways...