How much to live on

Savvy_Sue

Organgrinder said:

I have another spreadsheet listing every account and their balances, income details etc. However I really need to sort this all out.

I wonder if anyone offers a service that does this. It strikes me as a necessary evil maybe.

The problem is that in order to sort it out initially, any 3rd party would need you to supply the information with which you update the spreadsheet, surely, and then do you give them access to all your accounts, or just get them to ask for information on a regular basis?

I suppose 'Open Banking' might partially address the issue, if you trusted it. Details of all your accounts in one place, or even many.

If I'm talking rubbish, you may guess my attitude to this solution...

LL_USS

@Organgrinder and @Savvy_Sue I also find it increasingly more difficult to keep track of all the accounts that I have moved in and out of. Especially for those who does bank switches and moves to better holders of ISAs and savings, the number of accounts keeps increasing.

I still manage this in a spreadsheet and push accounts that are not quite active towards the end of the list. Then have a separate list of where my ISAs/ LISAs have been moving around to and from....

Organgrinder

LL_USS said:

@Organgrinder and @Savvy_Sue I also find it increasingly more difficult to keep track of all the accounts that I have moved in and out of. Especially for those who does bank switches and moves to better holders of ISAs and savings, the number of accounts keeps increasing.

I still manage this in a spreadsheet and push accounts that are not quite active towards the end of the list. Then have a separate list of where my ISAs/ LISAs have been moving around to and from....

It was making me wonder whether to carry on stoozing or not. So I ran the figures. I have two cards with the 0% interest term ending in September, and one ending next Jan. In total they have about £23k on them.

Assuming I can get three new cards at 0% over 32 months, then even with the fees I'm looking at almost £3k in profit over that period. 

I think I'll carry on!

LL_USS

@Organgrinder sounds worth doing. I am just too stressed/ anxious to do stoozing.

Organgrinder

I used to be. But every year it brings in about £1,000. It means we can afford more holidays. 

Once you set it up it is just a case of making sure every penny you spend on the card gets put into savings, and taken out in time to pay it off in full.

Plasticman

Organgrinder said:

I used to be. But every year it brings in about £1,000. It means we can afford more holidays. 

Once you set it up it is just a case of making sure every penny you spend on the card gets put into savings, and taken out in time to pay it off in full.

Same here. Around £30k on cards now generating some extra cash every year!

Organgrinder

Plasticman said:

Organgrinder said:

I used to be. But every year it brings in about £1,000. It means we can afford more holidays. 

Once you set it up it is just a case of making sure every penny you spend on the card gets put into savings, and taken out in time to pay it off in full.

Same here. Around £30k on cards now generating some extra cash every year!

Just thinking, say your after tax income is £30k. It's a free 3%. It basically covers inflation.

What's not to like!

LL_USS

@Organgrinder what's not to like indeed. I have just read around to see the mechanism and best card options - seems straightfoward for a person who's disciplined with tasks and deadlines. Definitely I will try when I have a bit more free head-space (I am trying to look into longer-term investments for my cash at the moment - I guess I can only learn and do one new thing at a time, otherwise it's too much stress).

In a way, I have already maximised saving interests for un-invested funds that I need access to within 5 years. Yet I still pay off credit cards monthtly and in full at the moment, rather than minimum payments and let the cash work elsewhere to earn interest.

LL_USS

@Organgrinder oh well I've just applied for M&S 0% interest for 24 month, with direct debit set up for minimum payment (I applied for maximum 15K at any time on the card - and I need to get this 15K if I use all of it, minus minimum payments, ready to pay back before this 24m ends, right?). 

The card is on the way.

Hopefully it's in time for me before I need to pay my kid's rent at university so that's included in the new card too.

I mentally set up an emergency amount at a side in case a mistake happens when I learn how to stooze. Wish me luck please :-:smile:

Organgrinder

@LL_USS there are many good deals around. Some well over two years long.

Just use it for all your normal spending and transfer that amount into savings (mine are in ISAs). Make sure you don't have big penalties and you can afford the monthly minimum payment. If in a flexible ISA you can always use this if need be.

At the end of the interest free period pay it off in full and bingo, there's a nice bit of cash to spend. Or transfer the balance to an interest free card and carry on gaining the interest.

If you search stoozing calculator it will give you an idea of how much you can make in order to maximise "how much you have to live on".