Budgeting help

sarahowen

Hello!

Am hoping this is the right place to post. I'm delurking afterns good long while to try and ask for your tips and advice on sticking to a budget. I see, to knack the necessary willpower and whilst I have made it all work on paper, I can't stop myself spending money that I ought not to.

I've got a very limited income at the moment so really can't afford to keep buying myself things to cheer myself up. I am trying to have things set up in different accounts but I end up transferring money so I can spend it and then get stuck when it comes to bills.

Is trying cash only worth a go? Leaving cards at home? Having different purses? Am willing to give anything a go at this point. Please help

Thanks

Sx

Gers

sarahowen wrote: »

Hello!

Am hoping this is the right place to post. I'm delurking afterns good long while to try and ask for your tips and advice on sticking to a budget. I see, to knack the necessary willpower and whilst I have made it all work on paper, I can't stop myself spending money that I ought not to.

I've got a very limited income at the moment so really can't afford to keep buying myself things to cheer myself up. I am trying to have things set up in different accounts but I end up transferring money so I can spend it and then get stuck when it comes to bills.

Is trying cash only worth a go? Leaving cards at home? Having different purses? Am willing to give anything a go at this point. Please help

Thanks

Sx

You'll find great advice on http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76 and http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

Good luck with it.

Anthorn

sarahowen wrote: »

Hello!

Am hoping this is the right place to post. I'm delurking afterns good long while to try and ask for your tips and advice on sticking to a budget. I see, to knack the necessary willpower and whilst I have made it all work on paper, I can't stop myself spending money that I ought not to.

I've got a very limited income at the moment so really can't afford to keep buying myself things to cheer myself up. I am trying to have things set up in different accounts but I end up transferring money so I can spend it and then get stuck when it comes to bills.

Is trying cash only worth a go? Leaving cards at home? Having different purses? Am willing to give anything a go at this point. Please help

Thanks

Sx

If you're desperate and it sounds like you are inquire at your local Credit Union about jam-jar accounts. Simple to operate: You arrange for your income and/or benefits to be paid direct to the CU and tell them about regular bills to pay or save for. They put the relevant amount of money into the jam-jars and what's left is available for you to spend being transferred to a bank account or more likely a CU prepaid debit card. Then they pay your bills when due. The big advantage is that if you haven't saved enough to pay a bill you are likely to get a loan so you can pay it. The jam-jar account is free but the loan is charged interest and has to be paid back occupying an extra jam-jar.

An alternative for much the same service is Think Money which costs £17.50p per month. But be careful because they are likely to drag you down to a worst state by offering you one of their credit cards.

Either option only works though if you stop yourself spending on cards and other credit accounts: Cut up the cards and cancel the accounts.

Anthorn

Just come up on the Soldo Blog. Ok it's a promotion for the Soldo prepaid card and I therefore apologise for posting this link. But it illustrates quite graphically what I've done for quite some time, actually in varying degrees since 2008. That's why I use prepaid cards. I do stress that any prepaid card can be used, it doesn't have to be the Soldo card. In fact the £2 per month fee for the Soldo card may be prohibitive for some people.

When selecting one or more prepaid cards do pay particular attention to fees and limits for different purposes.

What it's all about is keeping money for different purposes separate. In my earlier post I mentioned a jam-jar account at credit unions. This is another way of doing it:

https://www.soldo.com/en-uk/best-prepaid-mastercard/