The "Save 12k in 2021" Thread!

mole_man

#80 reporting in with £850.00 for April! As always, all my standing orders went out on the 1st... I am not including my workplace pension or AVCs.

I was dithering on the LISA but decided to deposit £4K before the end of the 2020-21 tax year! It makes more sense for our house purchase/timeline. My S&S ISA is doing OK and the pension has recovered too at the end of March!

April breakdown:

• Holidays: £212.82
• Halifax RS Interest: £37.18 (added to my Holidays pots)
• HTB ISA: £200
• Club Lloyds: £400
• Total: £850

greent

#46 reporting March's figures in:

S&S ISA                                                                            450

2 X £400 SAVER                                                             800

2 X £250 SAVER                                                             500

PB                                                                                     75

RANDOM                                                                         250    (rent paid by eldest and rounded up - put in a separate account - not sure what to do with it yet...)

 

                                              TOTAL                                2075

Sadly my husband wrote his car off last week - so he needs to buy a new one this month - he's not helping my targets!!

Update form sent in

Karen's_girl

# 22 reporting £200 each for March and April. Am hoping to significantly increase this sum from May onward. Fingers crossed! 

DireEmblem

Number 8 reporting an odd number of £1819.95 for March, bringing my total to £3086 for the year to date.

Looking back over spending, turns out I paid £80(5) in Jan, £224(11) Feb and £160(8) March on eating in(Deliveroo, JustEat, UberEats) or so says MoneyDashboard that I'm using to track...

  I think I can make some more savings there...

mole_man

DireEmblem said:

Number 8 reporting an odd number of £1819.95 for March, bringing my total to £3086 for the year to date.

Looking back over spending, turns out I paid £80(5) in Jan, £224(11) Feb and £160(8) March on eating in(Deliveroo, JustEat, UberEats) or so says MoneyDashboard that I'm using to track...

  I think I can make some more savings there...

Oh wow! Your savings are still impressive though, despite the outlay on takeaways. It is so ‘easy’ to spend £400/£500 on them over 3 months! Been there, done that! 

Currently on a detox from takeaways myself - we did not have a single one during March!

thepennyfarthings

Hi, 
Number 23 reporting £1,123 for March.  I have completed the update form.

DireEmblem

mole_man said:
Oh wow! Your savings are still impressive though, despite the outlay on takeaways. It is so ‘easy’ to spend £400/£500 on them over 3 months! Been there, done that! 

Currently on a detox from takeaways myself - we did not have a single one during March!

Yes, I got into the bad habit again last year.  I used the excuse that I felt bad that I was relatively unaffected as able to work from home.  Especially when lots of restaurants and stuff cant open and support staff.  I sort of used it as an excuse that I was supporting them, and probably went a little overboard.

I used to be quite good at swapping a pizza delivery for a Chicago town stuffed crust pizza or similar.  Especially when they were on offer <£2.50 as they regularly are.  I would perhaps get some Gu desserts as well, so all in all under £5, and then put the £15ish into VWRP.  I would similarly cook my own Indian or make tex mex as well, similar deal - put the difference into a global equity tracker something or other.  I'm going to get back into that habit again I think.

mole_man

DireEmblem said:

mole_man said:
Oh wow! Your savings are still impressive though, despite the outlay on takeaways. It is so ‘easy’ to spend £400/£500 on them over 3 months! Been there, done that! 

Currently on a detox from takeaways myself - we did not have a single one during March!

Yes, I got into the bad habit again last year.  I used the excuse that I felt bad that I was relatively unaffected as able to work from home.  Especially when lots of restaurants and stuff cant open and support staff.  I sort of used it as an excuse that I was supporting them, and probably went a little overboard.

I used to be quite good at swapping a pizza delivery for a Chicago town stuffed crust pizza or similar.  Especially when they were on offer <£2.50 as they regularly are.  I would perhaps get some Gu desserts as well, so all in all under £5, and then put the £15ish into VWRP.  I would similarly cook my own Indian or make tex mex as well, similar deal - put the difference into a global equity tracker something or other.  I'm going to get back into that habit again I think.

Fair play! The last year has been incredibly difficult and I know so many people who have done the same as us, which in a way, makes me feel better about it!! That’s a good idea to sometimes try and substitute a takeaway for cheaper alternatives/options.

The money I would have otherwise spent on takeaways in March ended up being spent on some new trainers and clothes instead! I realise I did not save any extra in the process but that was never my aim. I feel like it is important to have some money set aside to treat yourself! But the golden rule for me is to pay myself first.

darkidoe

#6 Reporting £2849.58 for the month of March.
Good 2 months due to the extra work, but likely to drop off the next few months. Hope to keep expenses low. Trying to avoid any holidays this year!

greent

mole_man said:

DireEmblem said:

mole_man said:
Oh wow! Your savings are still impressive though, despite the outlay on takeaways. It is so ‘easy’ to spend £400/£500 on them over 3 months! Been there, done that! 

Currently on a detox from takeaways myself - we did not have a single one during March!

Yes, I got into the bad habit again last year.  I used the excuse that I felt bad that I was relatively unaffected as able to work from home.  Especially when lots of restaurants and stuff cant open and support staff.  I sort of used it as an excuse that I was supporting them, and probably went a little overboard.

I used to be quite good at swapping a pizza delivery for a Chicago town stuffed crust pizza or similar.  Especially when they were on offer <£2.50 as they regularly are.  I would perhaps get some Gu desserts as well, so all in all under £5, and then put the £15ish into VWRP.  I would similarly cook my own Indian or make tex mex as well, similar deal - put the difference into a global equity tracker something or other.  I'm going to get back into that habit again I think.

Fair play! The last year has been incredibly difficult and I know so many people who have done the same as us, which in a way, makes me feel better about it!! That’s a good idea to sometimes try and substitute a takeaway for cheaper alternatives/options.

The money I would have otherwise spent on takeaways in March ended up being spent on some new trainers and clothes instead! I realise I did not save any extra in the process but that was never my aim. I feel like it is important to have some money set aside to treat yourself! But the golden rule for me is to pay myself first.

We've been making curries from S1mply C00k/ Sp1ce Ta1lor kits, rather than buy takeaway ones - a takeaway curry can easily cost £55 or more for 4 of us - way cheaper (and often nicer) to cook with a kit. Lots of other options - not just curries, too Hasn't stopped our takeaways entirely - the chippy and kebab shop still both occasionally feature - but these are cheaper, anyway!

(If anyone fancies trying a box of 4 S1mply C00k spice/ flavourings kits for FREE I can give you a referral code - please DM me - genuinely no need to carry on with them after your free box. Disclaimer - I would also get a free box from any sign up )