Moneysaving tips for a new homebuyer

Lumiona

Apodemus said:

Set up a new bank account for Bills.  Keep a track of all the household bills as they come in, round each bill up to the nearest five and work out the annual costs.  Then transfer that sum monthly to the Bills Account.  After a year you will have a revolving fund for all your bills. When bills rise, recalculate and increase the monthly transfer to the Bills account.  If you do this you will remove any future worries about a bill coming in, because the fund is there to cover it.

This, I'd recommend having a separate account for monthly DDs to help with budget. Extra points for a Santander 123 Lite account to earn cashback on your bills. Set up all your DDs to go out on the same date, so simple but I don't think everyone does this which can make budgeting more difficult.
Yes to emergency fund for annual repairs, servicing, sinking fund.

Brokenlynx

Apodemus said:

Set up a new bank account for Bills.  Keep a track of all the household bills as they come in, round each bill up to the nearest five and work out the annual costs.  Then transfer that sum monthly to the Bills Account.  After a year you will have a revolving fund for all your bills. When bills rise, recalculate and increase the monthly transfer to the Bills account.  If you do this you will remove any future worries about a bill coming in, because the fund is there to cover it.

Yeah I've been applying some of this thinking already.

Even pre completion I'm building up a monthly costs spreadsheet and some estimates for bills. Using a current account as a fund definitely makes some sense here though I'll bear this in mind.

jimpwarsop

If you dont have one open a Topcashback and Quidco account.

Learn to use it properly to make money every time you buy  financial products or switch utility providers.

You "should" make approaching a hundred a year, more when power suppliers start competing again.

another vote for having a "household" account where all your bills depart from.  Of course in due course this might become your switching account, bringing in another £150 ish every year or so.

[Deleted User]

RobM99 said:

Buy good quality anything! Not those 50p bendy breadknives, for example. No pleasure in using cheap (in the worst sense)  things. 

And definitely not money saving.

Ebe_Scrooge

[Deleted User] said:

RobM99 said:

Buy good quality anything! Not those 50p bendy breadknives, for example. No pleasure in using cheap (in the worst sense)  things. 

And definitely not money saving.

I have to agree with this.  Particularly for DIY tools, don't just buy one of those cheap "every tool you'll ever need in one box" type of things.  Perhaps start out with a few basics, but then as and when you find you need a tool, buy it, but buy a good quality one.  That's assuming it's a tool you'll need to use fairly often, of course - for one-off or once-in-a-blue-moon tools, borrowing or hiring is a better option.

When my grandad died many many years ago, I got first dibs on his woodworking chisels.  He'd had them since he got married - by my reckoning, they're well over 70/80 years old, and still as good as new.  And tools that I bought myself when I was younger are well over 30 years old now, and still going strong.  Buy a decent tool, look after it, and it'll probably outlast you :-) 

Brokenlynx

Ebe_Scrooge said:

[Deleted User] said:

RobM99 said:

Buy good quality anything! Not those 50p bendy breadknives, for example. No pleasure in using cheap (in the worst sense)  things. 

And definitely not money saving.

I have to agree with this.  Particularly for DIY tools, don't just buy one of those cheap "every tool you'll ever need in one box" type of things.  Perhaps start out with a few basics, but then as and when you find you need a tool, buy it, but buy a good quality one.  That's assuming it's a tool you'll need to use fairly often, of course - for one-off or once-in-a-blue-moon tools, borrowing or hiring is a better option.

When my grandad died many many years ago, I got first dibs on his woodworking chisels.  He'd had them since he got married - by my reckoning, they're well over 70/80 years old, and still as good as new.  And tools that I bought myself when I was younger are well over 30 years old now, and still going strong.  Buy a decent tool, look after it, and it'll probably outlast you :-) 

Yeah I'm typically the kind of person that is willing to spend a bit more for 'quality'. 

But I've realised that sometimes that added quality is worth less than others. I guess I'm looking for a little insight on when that extra perceived quality isn't worth the extra pounds.

goldfinches

Brokenlynx said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

[Deleted User] said:

RobM99 said:

Buy good quality anything! Not those 50p bendy breadknives, for example. No pleasure in using cheap (in the worst sense)  things. 

And definitely not money saving.

I have to agree with this.  Particularly for DIY tools, don't just buy one of those cheap "every tool you'll ever need in one box" type of things.  Perhaps start out with a few basics, but then as and when you find you need a tool, buy it, but buy a good quality one.  That's assuming it's a tool you'll need to use fairly often, of course - for one-off or once-in-a-blue-moon tools, borrowing or hiring is a better option.

When my grandad died many many years ago, I got first dibs on his woodworking chisels.  He'd had them since he got married - by my reckoning, they're well over 70/80 years old, and still as good as new.  And tools that I bought myself when I was younger are well over 30 years old now, and still going strong.  Buy a decent tool, look after it, and it'll probably outlast you :-) 

Yeah I'm typically the kind of person that is willing to spend a bit more for 'quality'. 

But I've realised that sometimes that added quality is worth less than others. I guess I'm looking for a little insight on when that extra perceived quality isn't worth the extra pounds.

I think it's well worth your coming on to this board or the Old style Money Saving Board and asking for advice from others before you buy any tools/equipment for yourself so that you can get the benefit of others recent experience. Your local library may have a membership to Which magazine and/or Good Housekeeping so that you can use their computers to have a look at their tests of things like washing machines and lawn mowers etc.
Don't forget to ask family and friends to turn out their cupboards, sheds and garages etc. to see if they can pass on any duplicated bits and bobs such as tea towels, buckets, corkscrews and so on. I'm sure I could pass on enough spare kitchen kit to get someone up and running and most people have spare curtains, sheets, towels and so on. Also start visiting your local charity shops to get an idea of what sort of things people donate to which shop. I've found a 28cm Stellar saute pan with lid and waitrose tart tins as well as pyrex dishes for a few pounds and nice, heavy stainless steel cutlery too. Buying things like laundry baskets, bins and recycling containers second hand saves a bit when you're setting up house and bits like washing up brushes, mops and e-cloths all add up.
I agree with the earlier advice about emergency funds and using one account for DDs and bank switching too. Other than that I suggest reading your electricity, gas and water meters regularly to give you a good idea of your normal patterns of usage. Keep a record somewhere so that when you are considering switching your supplier you can readily estimate your future bills. For water, keeping records allows you to spot leaks quickly and to decide whether any tariffs your supplier proposes are in your interest. 

Brokenlynx

goldfinches said:

I think it's well worth your coming on to this board or the Old style Money Saving Board and asking for advice from others before you buy any tools/equipment for yourself so that you can get the benefit of others recent experience. Your local library may have a membership to Which magazine and/or Good Housekeeping so that you can use their computers to have a look at their tests of things like washing machines and lawn mowers etc.
Don't forget to ask family and friends to turn out their cupboards, sheds and garages etc. to see if they can pass on any duplicated bits and bobs such as tea towels, buckets, corkscrews and so on. I'm sure I could pass on enough spare kitchen kit to get someone up and running and most people have spare curtains, sheets, towels and so on. Also start visiting your local charity shops to get an idea of what sort of things people donate to which shop. I've found a 28cm Stellar saute pan with lid and waitrose tart tins as well as pyrex dishes for a few pounds and nice, heavy stainless steel cutlery too. Buying things like laundry baskets, bins and recycling containers second hand saves a bit when you're setting up house and bits like washing up brushes, mops and e-cloths all add up.
I agree with the earlier advice about emergency funds and using one account for DDs and bank switching too. Other than that I suggest reading your electricity, gas and water meters regularly to give you a good idea of your normal patterns of usage. Keep a record somewhere so that when you are considering switching your supplier you can readily estimate your future bills. For water, keeping records allows you to spot leaks quickly and to decide whether any tariffs your supplier proposes are in your interest. 

Great advice here, appreciated.

FreeBear

goldfinches said: I agree with the earlier advice about emergency funds and using one account for DDs and bank switching too.

Check to see if you can open an account with a credit union (find one here - https://www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk/ ). Some have agreements with employers and allow for payroll deductions - Handy for saving regular amounts, and you get a better interest rate on your savings. The money may not have instant "I want to spend it NOW" access, but it can normally be transferred to your regular bank account within 24 hours.

goldfinches

You might find this page from the BBC about what items to have in your store cupboard plus recipes useful How we developed our new £1 meals - BBC Food.
There is also a wonderful store of recipes submitted by MSEers on the Old style board which is included in each month's Grocery Challenge thread on page 1 along with useful information about living costs from the ONS in the first post. Here is a link to September's thread September 2022 Grocery Challenge — MoneySavingExpert Forum