The "Save 12k in 2018" Thread!

denmjd

May I just ask please for hints & tips on how people are managing to save these amounts? Don't mean to be rude, I really am just genuinely interested, is it from your wages or is there anything else anyone does to supplement this for savings? I am looking for the best savings method as I want to start saving for my wedding, thanks in advance for all your help & I wish you good luck in your goals! Thank You

bobobski

denmjd wrote: »

May I just ask please for hints & tips on how people are managing to save these amounts? Don't mean to be rude, I really am just genuinely interested, is it from your wages or is there anything else anyone does to supplement this for savings? I am looking for the best savings method as I want to start saving for my wedding, thanks in advance for all your help & I wish you good luck in your goals! Thank You

Not rude at all! And congratulations on your engagement It's simple really: budget budget budget. Personally YNAB is great for me as it keeps me accountable for every penny I spend, which I need as by nature I am terrible with money. Within two years with YNAB I'd moved from paying off credit cards with next month's salary and barely having £3k savings (the highest I'd ever had up to that point) to having savings of £23k-ish and always spending on my credit card out of budgeted money. Other people like different methods of budgeting and it doesn't have to be software - pen and paper is better than nothing - but it comes down to your spending habits and self-control really.

I've never bothered with a second job as the higher rate of tax makes it not worth it for me, but I am careful about where I put my money, so I play the game of high interest current accounts with a minimum pay-in cycling around every month as well as high interest regular savers. On my relatively low savings sum I'm likely to be paying tax on my interest this year, which puts me in the c. 5% of the country that will do so. I have also been quite ballsy about pay rises at work so my salary now is more than 20% higher than it was two years ago and nearly 50% higher than it was three years ago. But if you're not in a position to negotiate over salary and/or are a basic rate taxpayer, a second job might work for you?

Good luck saving for the wedding!

BritOnABudget

I've managed to save £826.14 this month, as I got paid a bit more than expected and also received my TSB switch bonus :rotfl:

tori.k

Challenge number???
2000/6000

Like other I cannot open the update form, 2k is my first savings of the year ( wish every month could be the same) this is made up from some Christmas money received Feb and March council tax payment ( done over 10 months) and savings from December.

denmjd

bobobski wrote: »

Not rude at all! And congratulations on your engagement It's simple really: budget budget budget. Personally YNAB is great for me as it keeps me accountable for every penny I spend, which I need as by nature I am terrible with money. Within two years with YNAB I'd moved from paying off credit cards with next month's salary and barely having £3k savings (the highest I'd ever had up to that point) to having savings of £23k-ish and always spending on my credit card out of budgeted money. Other people like different methods of budgeting and it doesn't have to be software - pen and paper is better than nothing - but it comes down to your spending habits and self-control really.

I've never bothered with a second job as the higher rate of tax makes it not worth it for me, but I am careful about where I put my money, so I play the game of high interest current accounts with a minimum pay-in cycling around every month as well as high interest regular savers. On my relatively low savings sum I'm likely to be paying tax on my interest this year, which puts me in the c. 5% of the country that will do so. I have also been quite ballsy about pay rises at work so my salary now is more than 20% higher than it was two years ago and nearly 50% higher than it was three years ago. But if you're not in a position to negotiate over salary and/or are a basic rate taxpayer, a second job might work for you?

Good luck saving for the wedding!

Thank You Bobobski, so kind of you to reply.. WOW YOU HAVE DONE BRILLIANTLY! :T:T:T That is such a fantastic achievement... I have a questions if that's ok? what is YNAB? I am pretty much stuck in my job at the moment, no chance of a pay rise, had 1% in 8 years, rubbish i know but I am almost at the end of my 50's & finding another job at that stage of the game is nigh on impossible & yes I have tried, just seems to be no interest at the moment, I will look into the second job bit though, as i am a basic taxpayer, I am trying to sort out a budget plan & savings account, just need to find the right one I will get there as I am determined to sort everything out this year, thank you for your help x

AWPTheo

denmjd wrote: »

May I just ask please for hints & tips on how people are managing to save these amounts? Don't mean to be rude, I really am just genuinely interested, is it from your wages or is there anything else anyone does to supplement this for savings? I am looking for the best savings method as I want to start saving for my wedding, thanks in advance for all your help & I wish you good luck in your goals! Thank You

Congrats on your engagement!! :beer:

Some of us aren't saving huge amounts! I have massive respect for those who do manage those amounts but they work bloody hard at it. I sat down and had an honest look at my finances, looked at what I could afford to save whilst paying off important debts and settled on a reasonable target. I think half of getting great savings is initially working out a great budget and sticking to it (the hard part lol). The rest is just hard work. The advice you've already received is excellent, I'm just learning YNAB (You Need A Budget) myself but it's a great starting place. The one thing I'm finding is that people treat you with the same kindness on MSE if your goal is £100 or £100,000 so don't be shy about setting a lower target. Hope you find some tips that work for you!

stoozie1

My aim is quite high (24k/annum), but I put this down to a few things: with the help of MSE and a very driven personality I have managed to pay off my mortgage. So that frees up quite a bit of savings money per month.

I also have less pension than I would like, so my SIPP is a way of topping that up. Tax relief increases this by 25%.

I set a very frugal budget for food which helps.

denmjd

AWPTheo wrote: »

Congrats on your engagement!! :beer:

Some of us aren't saving huge amounts! I have massive respect for those who do manage those amounts but they work bloody hard at it. I sat down and had an honest look at my finances, looked at what I could afford to save whilst paying off important debts and settled on a reasonable target. I think half of getting great savings is initially working out a great budget and sticking to it (the hard part lol). The rest is just hard work. The advice you've already received is excellent, I'm just learning YNAB (You Need A Budget) myself but it's a great starting place. The one thing I'm finding is that people treat you with the same kindness on MSE if your goal is £100 or £100,000 so don't be shy about setting a lower target. Hope you find some tips that work for you!

Thanks AWPTheo so very kind of you to reply, thanks for clarifying YNAB i had no clue,i thought it might be an app i hadn't heard of lol. & you are so right, it is sitting down & having an honest look at finances, can be a bit daunting, but worth it, it's just that initial where do i start bit, so far what l have checked seems to be pretty much on track bills wise, just a couple or so changes there, I will check more thoroughly when i have all of my paperwork in front of me, I need to work out a budget plan & list everything in it, so i can accurately save a set amount, i am going to meal plan & batch cook, & only take out a couple of pounds in my pocket rather than my cards so i am not tempted to spend, (still have an emergency £10 in the car) I will work out a budget as you suggest & glad to hear that other people are not putting £12000 as their target, you are right i did feel a bit embarrassed on choosing a smaller target but as soon as I have sorted it I will be joining in, just need to work out where best to save it! Thank you so much for your kind words & help xx

Viking_mfw

Could I belatedly join with a target of 5k please?

Westie983

AWPTheo wrote: »

Also unable to open spreadsheet.

Had this problem on virtual sealed pot too but westie managed to fix it. Think it requires some fiddling with the settings?

Its does need a little jiggling, if you want help SF let me know.

Westie983