Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

@Sun_Addict - I do wonder how many times, back in the Spendy Years, you & I might actually have been in the same city centre queue with our credit cards out, lol.

Sun_Addict

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80027956#Comment_80027956

We used to go into the city centre most Saturdays. Started off with a coffee in Cost@ then just generally mooched around the shops looking for things to buy before ending up doing lunch somewhere. I liked nothing better than sitting in a nice restaurant with a few bags of goodies by my side. We used to always see the same couple (definitely not you as they looked to be in their late 60s/early 70s) every week doing the exact same thing. We would often drive to out of town retail parks for a change in shopping venue, Fosse Park was a favourite. Things did change once we got the dog in 2012 as we used to take her out instead. Then the following year Mr SA was taken ill so that was the end of the spendy years. It may well have gone on for longer had that not happened and we hadn't got the dog.

joedenise

I think most people would struggle with my savings pots! I've got about 40! Most of it is in one account but the separate pots are kept track of in a spreadsheet. It's taken me several years to get to a system that works for me.

I like your idea of setting a limit for each of your pots - I just put X amount into each pot each month and if it's more than we've got then I start taking off £10 here and £5 there until it balances! Some pots don't get touched like this, eg vehicle taxes as that's been worked out and I know exactly how much needs to go into that each month to cover all the VEDs - we have 2 cars, a motorhome and a scooter; each vehicle also has it's own pot for insurance, maintenance, MOT etc.

I suppose it's a bit micro-managing but it works for me. Just wish DH was more interested. If he wants something he just says "have we got enough for X, Y, Z?". Still at least it's better than when we were younger when he used to come home and say I've bought X, Y, Z and it cost £XXX!

Humdinger1

I have just one big savings pot. I don't think it's the best way perhaps but as I have money going in and out quite often, it keeps it simple. Decent interest rate and one thing that paying off 140k of debt taught me was is this purchase really necessary '? Agree @foxgloves, the fact that we are all different is fab. Love Humdinger PS as I've said before and as we all agree, you are NEVER boring. Not even close, not even once

themadvix

@joedenise our system sounds very similar to yours and we probably have that many pots too (also with additional vehicles and separate pots for MOT, tax, maintenance). I like knowing that there's the money for tax/insurance even if we've spent a lot on maintenance (and knowing we'll have to find additional maintenance money from elsewhere if there's not enough in the pot).

foxgloves

Interesting that one big savings pot works for you, @Humdinger. I tried that in the early days of my conversion to budgeting, & I couldn't make it work. This was because......say rhere was £500 in the single savings pot. Over the course of the month, I might use it for 6 bags of compost, seeds, bird food, a new dress, cat flea treatment, new towels, coffee filter papers, a replacement cable for some or other gizmo,a new washing-up bowl & a birthday gift for a friend. While I could remain within rhe amount available, I spent without any sense of how much money was going to different categories of goods. Am I making sense? So, I could happily hand over £70 at the garden centre because it was £70/£500 & seemed perfectly doable. But there wasn't much sense of what further spending might become necessary on other categories as the month progressed. There were times where I felt, for instance, that garden purchases were getting more than a reasonable share. Now that I have 10 separate pots, I can see what ££ is available in each one & often find myself using this knowledge to postpone or abandon the purchase of a particular item.

We do have some general savings too & an emergency fund, so thankfully our Savings Pots money is used for its intended categories. It's interesting hearing about the different ways people arrange & manage their various pots. The beaity of ot is that there is no right or wrong way - it's whatever works for us all as individuals.

F

milann

I also find it interesting hearing people's budgeting ideas. Other than my Christmas pots I'm more in line with Humdinger……everyone finds their own way once they've had the lightbulb moment 👍 and we all learn from each other 😃

Humdinger1

@foxgloves you've got something there. The fact is, I only really spend on clothes, hols and fancy face stuff when I have the money sitting in my account; self employed so cash flow can vary. I then put it on a credit card, clearing in full before the due date. The savings is for subbing DD and stocking up pantry a few times a year plus genuine emergencies...not 'isn't that a lovely frock emergency'. Clearing 140k of debt was a huge life lesson but gosh did I need it. I'm grateful it happened when it did. Onwards

Makingabobor2

@Sun_Addict …..ooh you must live near me, we aren't far from Fosse Park. Now maybe I saw you shopping or in the same cafes back in the years before our LBM. I have to admit that I now HATE shopping with a passion and only go of really, really HAVE to, and then all I do is complain how expensive things are

Makingabobor2

Loving this discussion on savings pots and spending. So many ideas.