Any tricks to help me stop spending?

DCFC79

Don't carry cards with you when you go to work/ go out for the shopping.
Take cash with you.
Stick to the shopping list.


The speeding fine you have to pay for BUT you can prevent future ones by watching your speed.


If your good at cooking why not look into making your own meals that could be takeaway quality, I'm sure Jamie Oliver has covered this.

natlie

Hi

I think you ned to refocus on something to avoid the spending

-Cook Fakeaway meals and freeze to avoid take-aways or buy a meal deal in Tesco or M& S which is much cheaper

-Start a gift box - buy potential presents in the sales and when theres a birthday you won't rush out and buy a last minute expensive gift

- I use a Monzo bank account for budgeting it allows you to put your spending money into pots, each month i move my spare cash into Monzo and thats all i have to spend for the month

Money_maker

You could be close to your lightbulb moment when you realise how much debt you are in and make a positive start towards figuring out how to pay them off. This is when it can get hard to spend anything as you're always aware that it increases your time in debt and you discover new and creative ways to hang on to your money.

Louoffofsparkle

I agree with a spending journal. I used mine daily at the beginning
Might sound silly but if I got the impulse to buy something I would do a pro/cons list. It didn’t always work and I still bought things but the high feeling didn’t come and I just felt really low- so would return it. And honestly the high from being able to use that money to pay down my debt was fantastic.
I still allow myself some treat money as becoming debt free is a journey that I need to enjoy

kazwookie

I just go out without my cards, just take £10 or what ever in cash and that is it.


It soon makes you relise what you are spending on rubbish that you really don't need.

mrfourcreditcards

The best method I've found is to calculate out how many hours you'd have to work to buy something. It makes everything seem extremely expensive I can tell you! (unless you really love your job of course!)

For instance, my main dealer car servicing quote worked out at 15 DAYS!!! Suffice to say I'll be going elsewhere!

getmore4less

As has been said annualizing costs is a way of normalizing the spends into context.

another normalization is comparisons against something earnings is a good one another is something you want/need that has a higher priority but needs saving for

If you have debt the true cost needs the interest on the debt you could have paid off adding.


A speeding fine is not a luxury it is a stupidity.


Takeways can be stopped if you have the right products in the cupboard/freezer.

SOA and a spending diary essential tools to get control

REJP

Stop buying birthday cards , Christmas cards, and presents.
No tobacco or alcohol.
Pack a small lunch if at work, don't go to the coffee bar or snacks shops.
Follow advice given to keep a spending diary and look for items in the diary that you really did not need.
Buy supermarket own brands where possible. Only carry enough cash for daily needs. If you go to work by bus try and walk to the next stop if possible, assuming you are able to, get off a stop earlier to save stage fares. Saves money and helps fitness.
I cook enough food for three meals at the same time and freeze two for later, saving cooking fuel and time.
Above all, stick to your budget, but occasionally give yourself a small treat so that you appreciate what you have done by saving.

Gervais3232

Unless it is down to absolute necessities most of us can do without what we initially think of as essentials. Prioritise what you must spend first, mortgage/rent, utilities etc. then set yourself a realistic budget for paying off debts. Good suggestion is Martins mantra for spending money - want vs need, will I use it? Be kind to yourself and make not spending money the challenge, you will feel so much better if you can become debt free. At the end of the day the power is within our own hands.

Teacher2

There is some fantastic advice about cutting down on this thread.

I would echo the 'spreadsheet'method. I do not do this online but use a W.H. Smith triple entry accounts book to record all incoming cash and all outgoing expenses. It is updated frequently.

When the financial month starts I put all of our joint income into the book and take out global sums for several accounts: the standing orders (for utilities, council tax, mobile phone and insurance bills etc.), an 'other bills' fund for meeting contingencies which arise sporadically, a car fund for MOTs, servicing and repair bills and a holiday fund where we save ahead for small, cheap breaks.

The sum that is left in the current account after taking all these sums out is our disposable money for the month and food, clothes, haircuts, presents and other contingent expenses come out of this.

Keeping on track of spending is the main way my husband and I have kept solvent and on top of our outgoings for many years. Knowledge about where the money is going is the main way to be debt free.

But you asked, 'how do I avoid temptation?'

When the dear husband and I were both earning at the top of our limits there was a reasonable amount of cash going through the system but in the last few years I have had to retire, he was made redundant and has only found a part time replacement job so our outgoings have had to be reduced massively.

I have had to avoid the temptation to spend.

We now never go near shops for entertainment. If we go shopping it is now to supermarkets to hunt down yellow sticker bargains for the freezer, around which we plan really nice meals. Doing this we live like kings on the outlay of beggars. Yesterday, for example, I found boxes of £5 M&S chocolates for 75pence which were a lower unit price than the bar of Cadbury's Fruit and Nut we share at the weekend. I often find meat bargains such as a £14 joint for £4. If you can't do this it is still possible to find supermarket special offers online of non perishables where you can stock up. I only ever but Original Source shower gel or Viakall when it is half price, for instance. Otherwise I buy supermarket own label goods which are cheaper.

So, physically I avoid shopping for fun, but also online I have unsubscribed from shop emails where I know I will be tempted by offers and bargains. I only look online if I actually need something. My son has Amazon Prime and has added me as a second user (for free) so I always search this for essentials first. This week I was given an unwanted phone when a friend upgraded their contract and sourced Amazon for a cover, which I got the next day for £2.49 delivered free. (Needless to say I am on a £6 a month 'pay as you go' tariff, not an expensive contract.)

So to sum up, keep a close eye on incoming and outgoing money and avoid shopping for anything you do not actually need.

Another few tips I would endorse are:

'Secret Santa' £5-only gifts at Christmas and only buy for children. Have 'no present' arrangements with family and friends.

My husband and I do not buy each other Christmas presents. Instead we buy what we need afterwards in the christmas sales and I get the Tesco Clubcard points to spend while he gets the Boots points.

For birthdays ask for tokens for shops you actually use so you do not have wasted outlay. Use these for things you need like coats and boots, not unnecessary luxuries.

Buy Christmas cards in the January sales or send Jacqui Lawson ecards.

Never buy fast food outside your house until you are solvent and then only sparingly. Take home made food and a flask of hot drink to work.

Do house swap holidays or avoid breaks away until you are solvent. Save up for holidays (we put £50-100 a month away when we can afford it and only go when we can pay for travel, accommodation and spending money.)

Sell unwanted clothes and goods on eBay or Facebook Marketplace.

Use Freecycle to give away unwanted items and get free things in return. I have had two fridges, a breadmaker and a (new) mattress and given away many things on Freecycle.

Overhaul your standing orders and direct debits. You might be paying for things you no longer use. I found 'Ancestry' had signed me up for a tariff I knew nothing about and saved a lot when I cancelled it.

Pay your council tax on a ten month cycle which will give you a massive boost in February and March when it is 'free'. An injection of money after Christmas is a boon. Ours paid for a ruby wedding bash we couldn't have had otherwise.

Indulge in free pleasures: use the library, go for walks, crowd fund a National Trust membership as a present and every visit is then free. In fact crowd funding presents is a great idea per se. I asked for John Lewis vouchers for birthday and Christmas presents and saved them up for over a year for a Dyson V10 which is the best toy I have ever had. (Watch the expiry date on gift cards though.)

Charity shops are great for cheap books, clothes and household items. I bought a designer type black dress for a funeral for a tenner recently and my detective novels cost me 25pence apiece.

Well, you get the point. It is important not to be stingy or make others suffer in your cost cutting as life itself is more important than money, and, on occasion you have to splash and pay your dues to the party gods. However, being habitually frugal and unwasteful is good for the planet too and being so makes you a more conscious and thoughtful person.

Good luck.