Time to curb the spending

VegQueen

Hi everyone!

After many tries to get rid of my debt, I have just been approved for 0% card to transfer my credit card debt (£1343), so I can focus on paying off my overdraft now.

I foolishly took out a student overdraft and still have not paid it off after 3 years of working! I had one good month where I paid it off and actually reduced my limit so it is down from £1500 to £1380 - but every time since then that I have gotten close to reducing it I have ended up blowing the money on a holiday or something.

I earn enough money to live comfortably, I just have a problem saying no to things so always spend more than I can really afford. I'm trying to find a budget where I can still enjoy my life but also clear these debts this year!

My take home pay is £1878 and I have a budget plan that I hope I will be able to stick to and can share later (I have it on a memory stick that I left in my office)

I always manage to spend so little at the end of the month when I am running out - so I am hoping to try and live by these same principles throughout the month and just spend on things that matter. I don't really buy much, it is mostly food, eating out, drinks, holidays... I have been pretty good at making my own lunches for work for the past few months - just need to not buy extra snacks and limit my meals out in the evening!

My goals:
Feb-May
OD: £350 per month --> £0
CC: £50 per month --> £1143

Jun-Sep
CC: £286 per month --> £0
Save: £100 per month

Then from September I hope to save £400 a month

I'm hoping to find some support here as I am pretty embarrassed to admit my debt to any one in my life but I find these things are always easier if you have people to talk it through with!

Any advice is much appreciated

FaceHeelTurn

I'm the same as you come the end of the month; no problem scraping meals together, walking instead of getting the bus, but then I just spend without thinking during the rest of the month! A habit I'd really love to get out of

Happy new diary!

VegQueen

Thanks FaceHeelTurn - I'm going to try for two no spend days a week to see how that goes in not blowing everything at once!

VegQueen

Breakdown of my budget as promised

Income: 1878

Weekly
Veg box: 9
Lidl: 7
Other food: 10
Transport: 20
Hobbies: 15
Eating out: 30
Drinks: 30
Entertainment: 10
Yoga: 6.65 (buy 4 at a time)
House kitty: 5
Total: 620 (I multiplied all by 4.35)

Monthly
Rent: 575
Household bills: 80
Phone: 44
Phone insurance: 5
Bike insurance: 3
Toiletries: 10
Clothes: 20
Glastonbury: 45
Holidays: 70

Total: 852+620=1472

Save: 350
CC: 50

I forgot to bring my memory stick again so I'm doing this from memory but I think it is correct! It is very tight to my income but I am trying to also do some surveys on Prolific for extra cash and to sell stuff on ebay - I have loads of clothes that I haven't worn in years.

I know I usually waste lots of money on food. I get a vegetable box scheme, not the cheapest but I like supporting the small local company that does it and I find it encourages me to cook as I need to use the veg up! I inevitably end up needing extra veg to make meals work (hence the name) - but I'm going to try to get as much of this as possible from Lidl. There is some stuff that I use that I can't get in Lidl so that is the "other food" section - but I will always look in Lidl first!

I also won't necessarily spend the 30 on eating out and 30 on drinks but I think that I will keep that as the budget, and save any of it I don't use - or carry it over if I am having a busy weekend.

Today was OK spend wise - I don't get paid til Thursday so I guess I don't have a choice :rotfl: but I have money put aside that I have made so far from ebay/surveys and in my Glastonbury fund (£70 - I paid £50 deposit and have to pay another £200 in April so trying to keep some aside each month - I worked it out as 35 but skipped a month somewhere so have upped it to 45). The ebay/survey money I want to keep aside for this weekend as I am going away with some friends - I have my budget for dinner, drink, entertainment but I am happy to have the extra buffer.

VegQueen

Back from my trip this weekend - managed to not overspend too much. I knew it would be expensive and it was but I think the rest of my weekends this month should be a lot less. Overall I spent about £180 for 4 days- my weekly budget for food/travel/going out/hobbies is £131 so I did overspend but that money comes from the £90 extra I made from ebay etc. I just need to be frugal until Thursday when my weekly budget will restart.

Today's spending: £4.18
Today I spent £1.50 on bus to work and £2.68 on snacks for the office (should last for a few days)

Other money I spent that I won't count is 79p on ebay postage (paid for by buyer) and 85p on veg for my dinner. This was change that I got from buying a drink at a bar with minimum spend on card- they charged me 10 and gave me the difference in cash, but I counted the 10 previously so I see this as money already accounted for so won't count twice.

I also tilly tidied £1.28 after finding out what it is last night

I live in a house share and the bills go from my account so I need to still chase up one of my flatmates for the money then I can check everything is in order and my ingoings/outgoings will balance out!

Also need to find a few more items to put on ebay - I want to try to list 5 a month for the year. Then donate everything else to charity shops. It is all clothes pretty much and very hit or miss what sells but I have made quite a bit previously.

Tomorrow, I will only have to spend money on transport but Wednesday I do have plans to eat out - maybe I will suggest my friend comes to eat at mine instead as I have not got any money left in my budget! Otherwise I have to borrow from the following week but that will eventually catch up with me!

Shashwoo

Hello hunni. You sound just like me, I've just started a diary too.
Good luck and I have subscribed xx

VegQueen

My spending has not been quite as low as I would have liked...

After posting the day before yesterday, I donated £5 to a friends fundraiser for her theatre project - I feel like this is good spending though so can't complain

Yesterday I went to my boyfriend's for dinner but he was unwell so we ordered deliveroo. I insisted on splitting it even though I'm sure he would have paid but it was not too much £7.56 - still I already used all of my food and eating out budget so had to borrow it from the next week!

I did get free lunch today though! I was walking back to my office after a meeting and I went passed the Hari Krishnas giving away free lunch. I was planning on buying lunch in the office tomorrow - just soup or something cheap - but instead I got the free lunch today and will eat today's lunch tomorrow. So I feel like I have saved something at least.

VegQueen

I have just about managed to keep to my budget - spent a bit more on food and less on drink so it evens out! I added everything up and still on to have £350 of my OD and £50 on my 0% card even after realising I still have £22 to pay of interest on my old Amex that I transferred the balance from!

I'm really going to try for a no spend day tomorrow as I have had NONE since starting the diary! It does not help that I tend to buy food as I go not in a big shop - in general I think this definitely works best for me to reduce food waste and I live in a house share so I have limited space. As I live in a big city it is easy to pop to decent shops so the only reason it would work out more expensive is more opportunities to impulse buy, but I am getting fairly good at resisting most of the time!

Tomorrow, if I cycle to work there is no reason to spend anything as I have no plans in the evening and I have lunch and snacks for work, so I will see how that goes! Also tomorrow evening I will put a few things on ebay - I haven't done any this month. I'm hoping to reach cash out level of £10 on my one my survey accounts tomorrow too so that will be a nice bonus - I'm putting money from this stuff into a sort of buffer fund for any extras that I have not budgeted for