Never ending dept and inablity money story for many years

Sanctioned_Parts_List

Thank heavens for EH - got to the crux of the matter far more elegantly than I would have.

Just to note that, as per networthify, if you saved what you're currently spending on debt, crap and designer labels, you could be financially independent in only 9 years. Fancy taking Tuesday off just because it's sunny? Well you can - in 9 years time... if you grow up a bit first.

-taff

Yup, what's your main goal for your money? Are you working to enjoy yourself as you go, do you want to retire early, do you want to travel for a few years, do you want to own your own place [bit different in germany i know]?

If it's a lack of discipline that makes you spend your money on nothing, have you added all the cost of these spends and multiplied by 52 weeks? bit of a shock when you see the true amount you are spending. If you have a money goal, you will start to see what money you are now wasting or spending on crap as you say, and how much you can put towrds your goal

chevalier

Good Morning
The thing that your Opening Post (OP) says to me is that you don't have a goal for your money that would mean that you could go no stop don't spend on that crap!

So you have a child. What about a saving scheme for his/her college?
Do you want your own home? Would saving for that be enough of a motivator?
Doing a round the world trip? What about that

good luck
chev

Maysie

I have an internal voice that I use for purchases.

Do I want it?
Then do I need it?
If I don't need it I know there is always a way to get it cheaper or with some saving.
If I really want something say a dress but I don't need it I wait until there is a sale and see if I can get it cheaper. I look online through a cashback site I dont' know if Germany has the equivalent but I use Quidco . I google the store and see if they are offering any discount codes. You can get a buzz like buying something new from saving money too. You just have to try.

Have you made sure you have the best deals for your internet and all your other bills. Changing supplier might save you money. The cashback site I use often gives you bonus for changing to a new supplier. I have had over £400 cashback over a few years.

Find your buzz saving money. Start a list and add to it as you stop yourself from buying something. Add discounts to it. Sell off some of your excess books and crap add totals from that. Say to yourself if I read all my unread books then I can have a new one. Go to the library if you really want to read something you don't have.

EssexHebridean

Sanctioned_Parts_List wrote: »

Thank heavens for EH - got to the crux of the matter far more elegantly than I would have.

Just to note that, as per networthify, if you saved what you're currently spending on debt, crap and designer labels, you could be financially independent in only 9 years. Fancy taking Tuesday off just because it's sunny? Well you can - in 9 years time... if you grow up a bit first.

Glad to be of assistance SPL! :rotfl:

Maysie wrote: »

I have an internal voice that I use for purchases.

Do I want it?
Then do I need it?
If I don't need it I know there is always a way to get it cheaper or with some saving.
If I really want something say a dress but I don't need it I wait until there is a sale and see if I can get it cheaper. I look online through a cashback site I dont' know if Germany has the equivalent but I use Quidco . I google the store and see if they are offering any discount codes. You can get a buzz like buying something new from saving money too. You just have to try.

Have you made sure you have the best deals for your internet and all your other bills. Changing supplier might save you money. The cashback site I use often gives you bonus for changing to a new supplier. I have had over £400 cashback over a few years.

Find your buzz saving money. Start a list and add to it as you stop yourself from buying something. Add discounts to it. Sell off some of your excess books and crap add totals from that. Say to yourself if I read all my unread books then I can have a new one. Go to the library if you really want to read something you don't have.

Pretty sure that Topcashback is worldwide?

Wodan - something that might help. Stop comparing yourself with others and measuring how you're doing against what they appear to "have" - you don't have any actual idea if they are achieving those things, or whether it's all a facade. Set some goals for yourself as Chev suggests, and set some targets as well - with rewards when you reach them. So for example - all debts cleared? That equals a E200 clothing spending spree. E2,500 added to your savings? Buy an electronic item you've been wanting - but ONLY ONCE YOU'VE SAVED FOR IT! Remember - be yourself, everyone else is already taken!

wodan

Hey ho everybody.
First thanks for the support. At the beginning I thought that I would get some responses like "You are a dumb !!!!!!!" or something like that. I think you know what I mean.

EssexHebridean wrote: »

OK - genuine question - are any or all of these people somehow better than you because they are driving "cool cars" or wearing expensive clothes? How do you know the clothes weren't from a charity shop (thrift store) and they are just wearing them really well? The Car - that might be costing them more than they can afford, and any day now will have to go back because they can't make the payments? IN a short time those people might go completely broke (Bankrupt we say over here - not sure of your equivalent) as a result. Are they so cool now?

Remember - you are not "things" or "stuff" - and you shouldn't define yourself by those things. We have NO idea how other people's lives are funded - some of them may be living off rich parents, with no idea how to make their way in the world. Others may be illegally claiming benefits - living from day to day with a great lifestyle but no idea if they are going to get caught, and prosecuted for it. Some may be borrowing, borrowing, and then borrowing more - all with no clear idea of how they will ever pay it back. Some though, they'll be living within their means, saving up for the things they want - and THEY are the really contented ones.

Pay it off your debt. All of it. As soon as you get it.

As was said previously - if you want a better lifestyle than your income allows, then your option is simply to increase your income. There is no short cut. The ONLY way that those of us on here have settled debts, in some cases paid off the mortgage early, and are now building savings is by matching our lifestyle choices to our income.

Sure I know what you mean. Fight Club is one of my favorite movies because I like the message or call it intention of the movie. "We have jobs we hate to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like". But it is somehow easier to say then to life that way, I envy people who own much money but don't spent it because they say "For what? I don't need that thing".

To quote my fathers words, he said one day to me "It does not matter how much you earn you'll be always in trouble with money" and I think that's the point. I have never learned to deal with my money. I always had trouble with that. Further I am currently working on increasing my income. I am looking for another job and are currently studying besides my full time job.

Sanctioned_Parts_List wrote: »

Thank heavens for EH - got to the crux of the matter far more elegantly than I would have.

Just to note that, as per networthify, if you saved what you're currently spending on debt, crap and designer labels, you could be financially independent in only 9 years. Fancy taking Tuesday off just because it's sunny? Well you can - in 9 years time... if you grow up a bit first.

I don't really know what you mean with netwothify, but I know what you mean with that grow up thing. Sure I am acting like a little child with my money thats true.

-taff wrote: »

Yup, what's your main goal for your money? Are you working to enjoy yourself as you go, do you want to retire early, do you want to travel for a few years, do you want to own your own place [bit different in germany i know]?

If it's a lack of discipline that makes you spend your money on nothing, have you added all the cost of these spends and multiplied by 52 weeks? bit of a shock when you see the true amount you are spending. If you have a money goal, you will start to see what money you are now wasting or spending on crap as you say, and how much you can put towrds your goal

Main goal... mhm.. to be hones I have no main goal. I just want to save money to save money. You know what I mean? I think I want to save money because it gives someone a bit of security and I think everybody is looking always for some kind of security. Security if something gets broken you can just take the money and repair it without any problems.

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Glad to be of assistance SPL! :rotfl:

Pretty sure that Topcashback is worldwide?

Wodan - something that might help. Stop comparing yourself with others and measuring how you're doing against what they appear to "have" - you don't have any actual idea if they are achieving those things, or whether it's all a facade. Set some goals for yourself as Chev suggests, and set some targets as well - with rewards when you reach them. So for example - all debts cleared? That equals a E200 clothing spending spree. E2,500 added to your savings? Buy an electronic item you've been wanting - but ONLY ONCE YOU'VE SAVED FOR IT! Remember - be yourself, everyone else is already taken!

Yea I know that comparing with others is always toxic because you are always the looser in this comparisons. Its a really toxic behavior.
==================================================

As all of you said: Wisdom is nothing without taking action. That's why I have to do something. I am just worrying a bit and I am a little bit insecure that I am already 29 and that it is somehow to late to perform a financial turn around. Further it gnaws on my self esteem that a men with already 29 years hast just saved ludicrous 1,200 € so far in now 6 years of full time working and I am ashamed of that. I am also ashamed of that, that my girlfriend wants to do some holiday in another country and it is really hard for my to effort it. Sure would be possible with my "savings" but yea I don't know... I think she expects that I have enough money to pay it easily for me.

Mistakes have been made in the past - more than once but I have to stop it and perform a "restart". A new beginning in my money handling. That's sounds quite cool and I am motivated. Further I am totally happy that I found a platform to talk about that problem with people I don't know and which are don't know me (I hope you don't take that negative. I really appreciate your effort to help me!). I really want to start and really want to change something until its to late but I am a person who always needs a "plan" but currently I don't have one.

What I know is that I'll pay off my credit card as soon as I get my double loan next month. Then there are 3,000 € left but I should be able to pay it out over 2017.

But besides that, which steps should I also take?
- How much should I save each month
- How high should I place my budget for one week
-- Just get that money at the beginning of the week from the bank account and then put the bank account away until the next week?
- What If the budget runs out before the week ends?
- What if some unexpected costs come up over the month?

have a good night and hear you tomorrow

Sanctioned_Parts_List

wodan wrote: »

I don't really know what you mean with netwothify, but I know what you mean with that grow up thing. Sure I am acting like a little child with my money thats true.

Aw, now I'd have thought that an intelligent young man that works in IT would've heard of this marvellous thing called a "search engine," and used one to find this link :beer:

Anyway, sorry if I came across as harsh, but I couldn't help reading some of your earlier posts with my youngest child's voice - "but Dad, I neeed it!" He's 6, by the way.

wodan wrote: »

As all of you said: Wisdom is nothing without taking action. That's why I have to do something. I am just worrying a bit and I am a little bit insecure that I am already 29 and that it is somehow to late to perform a financial turn around.

There are people arriving on these boards many decades older than you with tens of thousands of Euros of debt and no savings whatsoever. And yet they turn it around in a few years, change their habits, turn their debts to savings and build an independent life for themselves. 29 is still young - you have all the time in the world to change. Just know that the earlier you make a start, the easier it is.

To me, you're a problem case - you've already recognised the problem, and recognised what you need to do. You're already tracking your expenses and keeping a budget. Normally people arrive on these boards ignorant of the cause of their problems and without understanding money enough to know why they're in trouble.

And yet here you, doing everything we'd advise you to do and still spending yourself into debt. You're deliberately wrecking your finances, and then complain about it.

The number 30 is magic - this is the point where you can no longer get away with being a little bit young and careless. This is the point where you should really start being comfortable in your own skin, looking after yourself and not caring if other people think you're uncool. Stop trying to show off to people that really don't care and instead think about what really makes you happy. Then do whatever it takes to make it happen without fuss or complaint. It's your choice and you're in control.

This is what I mean by "grow up a little".

wodan wrote: »

But besides that, which steps should I also take?
- How much should I save each month
- How high should I place my budget for one week
-- Just get that money at the beginning of the week from the bank account and then put the bank account away until the next week?
- What If the budget runs out before the week ends?
- What if some unexpected costs come up over the month?

1) Your income minus your expenses tells you how much you can save each month
2) You should view every Euro spent as a personal attack, and do everything you can to minimise it - if something is available more cheaply, get the cheaper option. And don't buy crap
3, 4, and 5) First you save an emergency fund - call it €1000. Then you save a buffer, call it 3 months normal spending. Then you save long term funds, for which I'm not sure what tax-free options are available over there, but use them if you have them.

The emergency fund covers stuff that goes bang - broken car, broken house, unexpected legal expenses... the next fund covers unemployment. I know Germany has companies pay unemployment insurance, but don't rely on it - eventually this will change. The rest is what you'll live on in years to come.

theoretica

I think you are trying to make your financial decisions everyday -'shall I buy this drink or shirt?' I find it much more effective to make decisions in advance and then stick to them. I will buy X as a cheap multibuy and make it last all week. This month I need a new shirt, so will buy one, but I don't need any other clothing.

I think you need to think about money a bit more when you are at home to set a plan, so you can think about it less when you are out and just follow the plan.

wodan

Hey there, how are you doing so far?
Just want to place an update as I am not the type of guy who asks for help and then gets lost. I assume that you know what I mean.

I was finally able to pay my credit card off using the bonus I received from my company and it hurt a lot.... After paying off the credit card I've destroyed the card using a scissor and put the pieces into a frame to remind me of what I've done. Further, I've cancelled the credit card contract as I'm currently not able to use this card with sanity. Maybe this will change some day but currently, I need to protect myself from such 'money and debt possibilities'.

Next, I've set a budget for each week. Currently, the budget is at 140,- EUR per week which makes 560,- EUR per month just for spending. With spending, I mean all costs which are not included in the monthly fix costs. So the 560,- EUR covers the costs for gas, food, restaurants and so on. So far I'm running good with this budget and I always try to not spend the whole 140,- EUR in one week so that I have a left over of around 10 - 20 EUR per week which I can put aside. Further, after I get my wage, I directly put around 280,- EUR aside. At the beginning of 2017 my wage raises by 300,- EUR net so that I'll be able to put around 600,- EUR aside per month which leads to around 7.200 EUR per year (by theory). Besides that I'm currently looking for a new Job to raise my income as the financial growing perspective in my current company is not so good.

After I've paid my credit card I still face around 3.000 EUR of debt but I assume that I will pay the debt of in the next year. My current savings are around 2.900 EUR so that I am able to pay my debts off if I would like too but to have some money in the "backhand" if something happens I'll wait until I saved another 3.000 EUR before I pay off these debts.

Before I buy something, like Energy Drink or Cigarette crap, I always ask myself 'If you multiply the price by ten - would you still buy it'? And most of the time the answer is 'No'. To be honest I don't ask myself when buying food because food is something you need.

As I need to get a bit better in finances I currently listen to the audio book 'Rich Dad, poor dad' and I somehow like the way the rich dad thinks. Like the example with the hamster wheel. You just go to work to get money because you are scared of not beeing able to pay your debts and that more money won't fix you problems because your expenses will also grow and so on. But what I don't understand is how you gonna 'let your money work for you'? Currently, my only income is the wage of my job. But in this book he is talking about creating some other income? How you gonna do that? I can't afford a House or something like that to rent it to others or to buy stocks (also I have no clue about stocks). So my other questions is 'how do you generate money or other incomes'? I don't know if this book is good in case of financial knowledge.

MrsTinks

Never read the book personally and some of the options open to us here in the UK may not apply in Germany - but making your money work for you can happen in many ways. Some will not yet be suitable for you so please approach with care!

I have debt but it is all on 0% cards. There used to be good savings rates and it made a profit to borrow on 0% cards and then paying them into savings accounts. It's called stoozing

I do it differently... I've invested in specific pieces of art that appreciate and will be worth more when I sell them than when I bought them. One increased by £250 the week I bought it so it's now worth £2k.
Please understand this is an area I have done a lot of research on and should NOT be done without understanding your market and risks. There is always a risk that one of my chosen artists may become unpopular (which is also why I only have one by each... minimizing my risk profile), but this is a small risk to me (again because I have researched these artists a LOT).

Others will invest in things they know about like antiques, property, ebay selling etc. Some will buy stocks. I have a 24 year old analyst working for me who has a stock portfolio... it's his hobby and also his house deposit for him and his girlfriend. Again he's done a LOT of studying and found stocks he understands and he spreads his risk.

Over here we have Peer 2 peer lending where you can together with other people put your money in and lend it out to other people at a decent rate. Some will default (they always do) but on the whole you should turn a profit. Again it's not risk free.

Set yourself some targets: I want to save 5000 Euro, when I have that I will treat myself to a 1000 Euro holiday. When I get to 10000 Euro I will allow myself a 1500 Euro holiday. Setting yourself rewards can help until you get into the swing of things. My husband HAS to have goals or he can't focus. You sound like you're not that different. For what it's worth over the last 10 years I've managed to change him so now he doesn't struggle every month to eat at the end of the month despite earning a decent salary. He's just bought his 3rd Audi and I've just bought my first second hand Audi (A6 S-line black edition) I'm not saying this to show off, but to show you that you CAN have these things, you just need to change your mind set first... then give it a few years and there is no reason you can't have those things IF they are still what you want... If a posh car is THE thing for you that you long for, then make THAT your target "I need to save half the cost of the car before I look at one" - then look at the most cost effective way to actually buy cars in Germany - here for us it's cheaper to buy on finance and then hand it back in 2-3 years and they write off the money the car has lost in value