The "Save 12k in 2019" Thread

Jazee

During December I saved £500.17 which has amazed me. I now feel my target of £5k for next year really is achieveable.

Suffolk_lass

As there are so many new people signing up for the challenge I thought it might be helpful to suggest a system of saving that a number of us use to scrape the little straggly bits of money away, into a savings pot.

It is known as Tilly Tidying (after one of the people that first recommended it) - and put simply, you check your online account daily/weekly and take away the extra bits to round down your total. This can be in pence, to the nearest pound, in £n.nn to the nearest £5 or £10 or it could be to the nearest £50 or £100, all depending on your circumstances, what you know is coming, and how you are doing that month.

Mine goes into an instant saver but I then make a lump transfer each month. In my case this is paying down my mortgage but it could be to your interest-bearing account, your S&S ISA, if you are confident enough to think you can leave it there, or to pay off debt earlier than you would otherwise manage - it is intended to make things slightly uncomfortable but it is addictive - in my case over £60k addictive against my mortgage - so I can vouch for it working.

I am sure others on here can share other things they do, to help our newbies but I thought this might be a good starter

garfield33

Hello, thank you for running this again!
I think I'm going to reach by 2018 target of £6k (still 3 days to go!), so please put me down for £7k for 2019. However that may all go up in smoke if I finally get brave enough to leave my job to take some time out to volunteer, work experience, travel etc....

Smegasaurus

Can I join in?
I've always been a lurker but I think it would be good to actually join in. Saving has always been a bit sporadic but I'm not that far off a house deposit so a bit of concentration could go a long way.

SF - Can I have a 10K target please?

Suffolk - I've got the account set up to 'tidy' £5 a week into savings but this sounds like a good idea. I'll probably just start it with rouding to the nearest £ and see how I go.

geoffers4

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

I am sure others on here can share other things they do, to help our newbies

What a great idea - I'd love to hear other people's suggestions on how they approach this.

For me, it's essential to understand exactly how the money is spent - so I track every penny in a budget spreadsheet like this blank one;
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Oh96Hx2M37Iea6b94Rar1sIhivfLyXmuwkk9GX3kgyk/edit?usp=sharing
(feel free to take a copy and use for yourself).

Even small amounts can really add up, particularly if it's a regular/daily expense like commuting, snacks, lunches etc. So I make small changes like;
*take packed lunch and snacks to work. Money spent in work restaurant/vending machines = £0.
*make coffee in the kitchen at work. Money spent on posh coffees = £0.
*weekly grocery shopping from Aldi and all meals made from scratch. Annual grocery cost reduced from £8000 (Tesco) to £2000. Money spent on take-aways = £0.
*swapped car for one that does average 67 miles-per-gallon, if I drive carefully without crazy acceleration. And it's low emission so car tax is free, and work parking permit is discounted.
*mobile phone is a hand-me-down from OH and pay-as-you-go. Mainly use it on home & work wi-fi so annual top-ups come to about £30.
*I get proper eye tests (for free actually, because of glaucoma in the family) - but buy reading glasses from Aldi rather than paying for posh frames at SpecSavers.
*inspired by www.theminimalists.com I try very hard not to buy "stuff" - in all of 2018 I bought; 1 book, 2 combs, slippers and gloves. I ask for clothes at birthday/christmas rather than buy any.
*cancelled Sky and borrow a relative's Amazon Prime account for internet TV.
*we keep on good terms with our lovely neighbours who look after the dog when we're away on holiday, rather than paying for kennels.
*plus the obvious things like shopping around for car/home insurance and gas/electric/broadband.

What else do people do to save money?

[Deleted User]

geoffers4 wrote: »

What a great idea - I'd love to hear other people's suggestions on how they approach this.

For me, it's essential to understand exactly how the money is spent - so I track every penny in a budget spreadsheet like this blank one;
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Oh96Hx2M37Iea6b94Rar1sIhivfLyXmuwkk9GX3kgyk/edit?usp=sharing
(feel free to take a copy and use for yourself).

What else do people do to save money?

Thanks for sharing your spreadsheet geoffers.
Things I do to minimise spending are:

1. Set a budget every single month. I know where the money is going. I pay money straight into savings on pay day - I don't leave it hanging around in case I get tempted to dip into it.

2. Shop in Lidl mostly and go to Mr T for yellow sticker items for the freezer regularly.

3. Food plan and stick to it. Always have something in freezer ready to defrost for easy cooking. Although I am no saint - I do have takeaways but trying to cut them out.

4. Take lunch to work. The canteen at school is very expensive.

5. Shop around every year for car/house insurance/broadband/mobile phone etc. We do not get a new phone each year. The current one I have I've had for years.

6. We don't have Sky TV but do have Netflix which is cheaper.

7. Stockpile non-perishable/freezable food when on offer or when coupons available. Same with toiletries/laundry detergent etc. I remember a friend once making fun of me as she could see inside my pantry - I had probably about 12 bottles of Comfort fabric conditioner. She stopped making fun when I told her the price I paid for them as I had combined an instore offer with manufacturer coupons.

8. We only have the heating on when needed/don't leave lights on etc. The warm weather over the past few days has meant we haven't needed it the heating on much at all.

9. This year OH and I have agreed to prioritise savings so we are foregoing any holidays away. We will still have days out locally and take picnics to save on food costs.

10. At the end of the month I do a 'sweep' of any money not used in petrol/groceries/personal spending categories into savings. I also collect loose change from my purse/OHs wallet throughout the month and deposit it in the bank.

As with everyone, I am not perfect and can come home from work and feel that I can't be bothered to cook or that I just want to have a takeaway or I just want to get something for them canteen at work etc, there is always room for improvement. My big area this year needs to be with books - I have loads, I buy loads! So this year I need to stop buying books.

DerekWRE

Please count me in. Aiming for 15k pls

iquit

Thank you for the great tips guys, I'm taking notes. Tips I think I can incorporate are
1) weekly round down my current account balance to the nearest £5 and transfer to my savings account. At the end of the month I'll put this towards my mortgage OP.
2) monthly empty current account balance to zero, transfer funds to my savings.

Amara

Hi! Can I join in, please? I'd like to save £5000. It's an ambitious target on my modest wage, but I also want to increase my income. I'm about to finish payroll course and I'm doing AAT level 3.

Smegasaurus

Thanks for your input it's really helpfu:
1. Taking lunches to work - I've been very on this for the last few months, although more diet related. Helpful to your bank balance and waste-line! :rotfl:

2. Making coffee not buying - helpfully I live in the !!!!-end of nowhere so getting to a coffee shop is a pain in the !!!!. So this is achievable

3. Food - May have to venture into the Lidl and see what savings I can make, but I know that my main issue here is meals out.

4. Car - I have a company van so no costs associated apart from the BIK tax.

5. Mobile - I chose not to upgrade this summer so I'm on a low SIM only tariff

6. Eye Tests - I've got contacts so I get free sight tests and check ups with specsavers. I cut down my monthly contact lens charge by removing the solution from the monthly delivery. I don't get through as much as they send and can get it cheaper elsewhere.

7. 'Stuff' - This is my big downfall. I am so bad at ordering things because they're pretty! I'm on for a serious e-bay mission to sell some of it and I may have to remove my card details from amazon just to stop my boredom ordering

8. TV - I've got amazon prime (and my sister's netflix) so no Sky/BT charges

9. Dog - Looking after him during my holiday is mums job. Poor dog wouldn't know what to do in kennels!

Overall I've always tried to be fairly savvy with minimising the 'main' outgoings. My issue is the small 'treats' that add up to more than I think they do. I'm in a pretty fortunate position financially with a decent income but my saving up until now has lacked focus!

Geoffers - thanks for the link very useful. Hopefully knowing I'm totally those extra purchases at the end on the month will shame me enough to keep a lid on it. :beer: