Saving for my very own place... 6 October 2017 at 4:40PM edited 6 October 2017 at 5:34PM in How much have you saved? 39 replies 12.4K views

nyc_451

Good afternoon

I haven't been checking this forum for a while as I wasn't focusing on saving money...but now I am back on track and fully motivated to put aside enough money to get a one bed flat. I will need 10-15k for a deposit, at least 5k for furniture etc, a few thousand for fees and 1-2k as an emergency fund.

I currently have £10,200 in my ISA, the target is to save £370/month so I have £15,000 by October 2018.
I also have £4,445 in Help to Buy ISA which will soon be transferred to LISA. Aiming to save £333/month as this is the maximum allowed.
I have set myself a goal of £2,000 in emergency fund by November 2019 so will be putting aside £75/month.

This brings the total monthly savings to £778. This will be challenging as I got into a habit of eating out every other day and buying overpriced branded stuff...and going on holidays...and buying expensive gifts...all the silly things youngsters do except I'm no longer a youngster! Habits must change and I hope that sharing my sins and achievements on this forum will keep me on the right track.

Thank you for reading :A

savingwannabe

You are a familiar face as we often see you posting. Welcome to your own thread here. We are v happy to have you Ma'am. (I'm being polite as i don't know your age).

Your savings are looking great. Especially the monthly ones. It is hard to stop spending money but keep at it. It took me ages to figure it out but now i am forced to by necessity and i am glad i learned so much from this board and site.

We are so glad to have you please do keep posting as it helps all of us. Welcome to the family.:j:beer::grouphug:

nyc_451

Thank you, SavingWannabe You've been supporting savers in this forum for a long time, good to have you here.

Today I had to make a journey and chose to take two buses instead of one which has cost me time but saved £15. I've put that aside for the dinner with my girlfriends so I can go out guilt free.

Can't wait for the pay day so I can put those monies away...

atrixa

blue_mango wrote: »

Today I had to make a journey and chose to take two buses instead of one which has cost me time but saved £15..

Goodness me, is that the usual situation with public transport making no sense whatsoever? I worked out when I was getting my work bus pass sorted that if I lived about a mile or two away east, a monthly pass would go from around £40 to closer to £70. :eek:

Best of luck with your savings!

nyc_451

atrixa wrote: »

Goodness me, is that the usual situation with public transport making no sense whatsoever? I worked out when I was getting my work bus pass sorted that if I lived about a mile or two away east, a monthly pass would go from around £40 to closer to £70. :eek:

Best of luck with your savings!

I was travelling on National Express and they tend to up their prices if you don't book in advance. I always feel bitter for paying more just because I was unable to pre-book...

Oh and thank you

savingwannabe

Bless you for your nice comment Blue Mango. Sorry about the delay with travel. I used to work for them in my student days. I was one of the staff that took phone calls, in the office we called our company 'National Distress' but it did mean cheap travel back in the day.

Public transport buses etc are so expensive in the South but in The Midlands it tends to be much more reasonable. It is slow though.

Zaphiera

I had a similar problem with bus travel a few years ago when i regularly took public transport. It would cost me less to buy a ticket to use any bus for the entire day then two separate tickets for short journeys which is mad. Good luck with your savings!

nyc_451

So this week I have been focusing on not spending money...rather boring, I must say. It's much more fun when you can go out and enjoy yourself! It made me realise how tough it will be for the next year but I am determined. Maybe I will even manage to save for a two bed flat if I don't get fed up with house sharing...

savingwannabe

It is boring but worth it in the end. I keep seeing things I want but I am not buying them as I don't have enough cash. You are saving spare cash which is great. I would love to be able to save again. lol. hugs. You can give yourself treats for certain targets. Have you heard of the Dave Ramsay Method on you tube?

nyc_451

Thanks SavingWannabe. I don't think I need any special methods to save money, I've been quite good at it since I was a kid but got into bad habits recently.

Had a dinner this weekend so that's my going out for the month. Can't wait for the pay day...

Zaphiera

blue_mango wrote: »

Thanks SavingWannabe. I don't think I need any special methods to save money, I've been quite at it since I was a kid but got into bad habits recently.

Had a dinner this weekend so that's my going out for the month. Can't wait for the pay day...

Oh dear, reading this made me smile - you sound so much like me, just wishing for next payday! Ive never been bad with money either, but things just happen and you lose track quickly. Good luck with the savings Blue!