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FTBlalala

deleted as no longer relevant - sorry

kev2009

Hi,

I guess the question is why are you buying the things you do? is it due to being bored and thing oh i could buy that for this etc?

What I do is, once I get paid, I have 2 regular saving accounts that are paid by DD so that money gets put in those accounts, I then pay any bills etc and the money left I then put into a normal everyday savings account or if I particular need/want something then I will purchase if i have the money to do it.

Perhaps you could do this? I presume your able to pay for the things your buying and not running up debt(s)?

Also, if you havn't already, don't forget to put money aside for emergency use i.e job loss, unexpect bill bills i.e boiler, roof, windows etc?

I personally tend to spend more if i get bored... I pretty much always save my agreed figures each month, with maybe the odd exception when i have large bills due that can't be met out of my pay packet so i use savings and then work to put the money back etc which doesn't always happen but oh well, at least i have the money in savings to dip into when needed, i guess at the end of the day its what they are there for I never spend silly amounts of money, it usually coupe of hund quid in total here and there so not too bad.

I do need to try reuce it though.

At the moment, i'm considering a Apple 4k TV purchase along with a new HDMi cable but can't decide if a new version will be coming out this month or not so part of me wants to hold off and part of me things, how much better will it be and should i just buy it as if the new one is capable of more than 4k resolution, my TV ain't so wont affect me as no plans to replace it any time soon.

My current apple TV is only capable of 1080p and you can't add any apps to it.

Kev

FTBlalala

Hi Kev,

Great to read what you do and congrats on the good money habits I'm always interested to hear what people do and different ways to manage money.

So we have no debt besides the house and we have been OP'ing, we're really good at putting money aside for things like annual car insurance, Professional fees, general house maintenance, car maintenance etc. Once my pay check comes in, I have a few DD's to syphon off some straight to joint general savings, some to bills (Joint Santander 123 Lite), some to my savings (new to me car probably next year) and whats left is kind of spending money. Same with when he gets paid, the money scatters so we don't really have to think about it.

We have 3 months savings at this life style and 6 months at cut back if anything unfortunate happened. We are adding to this monthly so by Dec this year we should have 6-9 months at current life style.

So we're in a relatively okay position, I'm not getting into debt but just feel like my Amazon spending is a bit frivolous and could totally cut down. Definitely agree, boredom is probably my thing. I have taken our cards off the account so every time I purchase I have to put my card details in but I've done this too many times and can remember it !

I guess I'm being a bit overdramatic, I'm not spending too much but like in Jan it was £235 of which £50 was only necessary and Feb was £195. I want to put this towards the house maybe or more savings.

I tend to get an idea and think oh yeah I need this.... when no, no you don't. It's a bit of laziness and convenience and boredom :rotfl:

Some of Jan's purchases -
8 pack of D batteries (only need 2!) £9.99
Expanding File (current one is fine but this one has rainbow dividers :rotfl:) £11.99
Sport socks £11.99
Gorilla Double sided tape £4.30 (I have some somewhere but was easier to buy more - cue slap myself)
Microfibre Tea Towels x8 £16.99 (didn't really need them but they are actually really amazing!)
Finish Dishwasher Tablets x90 £10.25

All random stuff I could most definitely live without :j:A

kev2009

Hi,

I see what you mean. I guess its a fine line between treating yourself and just saving every penny and having no life.

For me, i'm single so I tend to always ensure money is there to paybills and then after that, save some and then whats left is up to me but I agree i could probably save more also.

For me, last month i spend £103 on.... SOCKS!!!!!!! Yep don't ask why.. but I previously bought some hiking socks when i went on hols few years ago and they actually quiet comfortable and warm so as they not too bad and I saw the ones i bought are hardly obtainable now, i decided to buy some more in different colour, 7 of those @ £9 each (down from around £18 in sale, then i saw these other comfort ones @£20 and thought hmm ok i'll try those and bought a pair in both colours....:(

In hindsight the 7 socks would probably have done ok, only mainly work work use as i'm on my feet a lot walking round all day.

Ofcourse then is the fact not bought socks in a while so not too bad of an expense considering wont need to buy for a good few years to come I tend to be, if i see something and think ah that be good for x then i'll buy it but usually if i give it few days, i dont bother. For instance, new s10 phone is coming out, i currently have a s9 but they offering £300 trade in which brings s10 down to £500 which is more tempting than £800 but tbh i'm not sure its worth it i mean, yes bigger battery would be nice, fingertip reader under glass be nice and screen going truly edge to edge be nice but, do i actually need it? probably not, s9 does all i need, battery not as good as when i got but its by no means needing charging every few hours, once a day is enough so probably wont bother.

Maybe you should post future purchases you plan and we can approve or deny requests lol

Kev

kev2009

don't forget pension payments too

Kev

kev2009

I got my place in 2015, bit late to the game but was never in a position to before. So i'm currently got mortgage over 30 years (didn't fit into 25yr) and im currently in a 5 year fixed mortgage due to be up in 2020 so hoping to pay off what i can this year and next and then re-fix for 5 years hopefully and continue to pay off what i can each year also.

Last year i overpaid BUT chose to reduce monthly payment. I'm hoping to do the same this year and next. Then once on new 5 yer fixed, change it so my over payments reduce term as my thinking is IF interest rates go up, having the longer term will be in my favour to reduce the monthly payment, albeit prob cost more overall but i can hopefully counter that by over payments. Currently would love to pay it off by a similar time to do but have to see how things go, if i can would be great but not sure its doable.

Kev

Happier_Me

Welcome to the MFW board!

I finished my mortgage free journey last year but I suspect I'm quite a bit older than you (I'm clinging to 43). Hopefully our next move will be down the ladder to release a lump sum for retirement in 15 years or so.

Since turning 40 I've become obsessed with going to the theatre and seeing tribute bands...I find that now I can actually afford to go to a concert everyone I want to see is dead🤔.

This is where most of our money gets frittered away. That and alcohol! We're of an age where we can't pay pub prices without coming out in a rash, so we drink at home. This unfortunately encourages my other weakness of booking stuff to go and see.

Our spending habits are far worse now than in our 20's and 30's. Our 20's were spent doing DIY for some reason and I stumbled through my 30's in a sleep deprived haze (children made an appearance). I need to remember though, that there is a retirement to pay for...

Good luck on your journey, as another poster has said, try not to overlook your pension savings!

Yellow_mango

I am also a guilty amazon addict!

I have started just adding stuff to my basket but not checking out until later. Often when I go back to it I can’t really remember why I wanted it. Or decide it can wait a little longer. Often I’ll move things to the “save for later” list so I can find them again if I do decide I need them.

It seems that (for me at least) most of the fun is in the searching and research, rather than the actual buying.

Good luck!