Need help to keep on track

Rip_mortgage

Hi all
first time I’ve ever posted on here, so not sure if I’m even doing it right, I’m not really up to speed with technology haha! Anyhow here goes.

 I’m in my 50’s, have a mortgage of £56000 left to pay, I can’t make any more overpayments until October 2022.  I have no other debt just the usual bills and stuff but I do tend to waste money, for example buying takeaways when I’ve got plenty of food in the cupboard or not meal planning and spending too much in Mr T’s, or buying that dress I desperately want and then never wear.

So if any of you could give me tips on how to get rid of my pesky bad habits so I can save some cash and pay off the mortgage I would be very grateful.  Soz for the long first post.

Rip_mortgage

Almost forgot to say, I’ve been following other people’s posts for years but this is the first time I’ve given a diary ago myself.

smetf

Hi, and welcome to the board. I haven't been posting long either (but lurked for a long time)!
I wonder if a target might help? For example if you can overpay 10% in October 2022, having that sitting waiting and ready to go?
Often the first step in saving money is in tracking what you're spending, we were a bit off track (and have had a reduction in income) so I'm back to tracking every spend this month and will do the same next month.
Good luck!

Thriftmaster1973

You need to start on November 1st a system where you write everything you spend down - EVERYTHING!
I guarantee at the end of November you will be very surprised at the amount of wasteful spending that has gone on.
This is a good outcome though as it will make you think in future about parting with your money and about what you are getting for every pound spent.
Good luck.

GreenBeanDreams

Hi and welcome
Congratulations on getting this far!

I've also just started, although I've lurked for a while, and I'm struggling to find effective ways to keep motivated to stop spending too. I will be trying writing everything down now, as suggested above, but as well I have started attempting to put money into my savings when making a decision whether to buy something that's within budget (e.g. when I nearly bought a £3 candle earlier, I ummed and aahed and (eventually) instead put £3 into my savings, so I still felt I'd gained something from not spending, rather than being enticed to spend the budget I had left). 
I hope this helps, but it might be something that only makes sense to my funny little brain!

savingholmes

Well done on making a start. I'm getting a new mortgage in a few weeks so will be a few months behind you. Getting down to a £56K mortgage sounds fab to begin with.

Rip_mortgage

Thanks for all the suggestions.  The tracking every penny sounds good, I think doing that will definitely shock me into not wasting money in the future and like GreenBeanDreams says I can put what Money I don’t waste into savings.