Personal monthly budget - cash or card?

Spanishsunawaits

I don’t really have a set personal monthly budget for food, petrol, spending etc. I tend to just buy as I go along using my Amex card which gives me Cashback. But I think I spend too much without having a grip on the spend as it’s easy using the card. I pay it off every month and am not in any debt, have good savings.

I have thought about just taking a set amount of cash out of the bank each week and using that, but no benefit from the Cashback. But this will tell me what I am spending. Not sure what I’m asking really, but I just feel I’m a bit out of control if that makes sense?

Zero_Sum

Heres what you could do, everytime you spend on card transfer money to savings account. Then pay CC bill from savings account.
That way the money is leaving your current account & you get the cashback

SnowTiger

Spanishsunawaits wrote: »

I have thought about just taking a set amount of cash out of the bank each week and using that, but no benefit from the Cashback. But this will tell me what I am spending.

Use cash if it works for you.

I find it useful to use a card so that I have a record of my spending.

Otherwise I can easily turn £100 in to £1 in a day and wonder what I spent £99 on.

Spanishsunawaits

Zero - that sounds like a good idea. I keep using my card, but keep the receipts and maybe at the end of the week, transfer that amount. That could work.

Snow - I know what you mean. It just frightens me every month when I see how many Aldi transactions are on my statement. It’s just a bit insane.

I do shop with a list, I cook from scratch, I take my own lunches into work etc. But I just don’t seem to have a grip on the spending.

Thank you for the replies.

colsten

You could use something like Yolt to set yourself a budget and to track your spending with the card.

enthusiasticsaver

We do the same as you and pay for food and fuel on a credit card which is paid in full every month. We do not use it for entertainment or diy etc though as I think it can quickly get out of hand. I try and keep the credit card balance each month as £500 or less as that is our food and fuel budget and I know if it is much more than that we are overspending.

If you are feeling out of control with spending there are various ways you can monitor this.

You can withdraw cash as you say but you tend not to benefit from cashback on credit cards and it is a bit of a hassle.


There are lots of spending apps you can put on your phone. Clear checkbook will let you set up budgets as will spending app tracker.


You can go for a pre loaded monthly spends card . No cashback but you will not go over a certain limit.


Over the years we have found the way which works best for us is to try and keep our current account at a certain level. If it is constantly dipping below that we know we are overspending. Our emergency fund is kept in there and the current account pays interest so each month I transfer some to our diy and holiday savings account, standing orders go to our personal accounts for clothes, holidays, personal entertainment and hobbies and our food and fuel credit card is repaid in full. What is left in the current account is enough to pay all the standing orders and direct debits, our emergency buffer fund and our entertainment, household monthly spends money which is transferred into savings if we do not spend it so we start from the same point each month.

Socajam

Spanishsunawaits wrote: »

I don’t really have a set personal monthly budget for food, petrol, spending etc. I tend to just buy as I go along using my Amex card which gives me Cashback. But I think I spend too much without having a grip on the spend as it’s easy using the card. I pay it off every month and am not in any debt, have good savings.

I have thought about just taking a set amount of cash out of the bank each week and using that, but no benefit from the Cashback. But this will tell me what I am spending. Not sure what I’m asking really, but I just feel I’m a bit out of control if that makes sense?

I get Barclaycard to send me a weekly balance, so that I know what my spending is and how much I need to repay monthly.
This helps me to keep a check and not ended up with a nasty surprise when it comes to month end.

LobsterMemory

I'm pretty much like Zero Sum

Difference is that I chuck a lump sum into the savings account at the beginning of the month and check weekly to see if the card spending is covered and if not, top up the savings

Emily_Joy

Surely a quiet hour or two with your AMEX statements for the last 4 months will tell you everything? It helped me very much when I subscribed to a veggie box scheme by a local farm. It turned out that our food bill now down to £25 for two people.... as we have been cleaning up our cupboards. (Certainly these will run out at some point but it has been like that for over 2 months now) and it seems we can carry on for another 2 or 3 months...

Xenon

I have a set weekly budget - used to use debit card but now use cash.

Now i know exactly how much i have - helps me mentally control my spending habits each week.

onwards&upwards

You could try YNAB, when you use a credit card you still assign the spend to a budget category so its not as easy to get carried away.