Not sure if this is the right category but I need help on managing my spending if poss please?

Jami74

When I started logging my spending it was the little things I hadn't realised added up to so much across the month. Things like parking, couple of quid each time, a small enough amount that I thought it could be ignored, until I started adding it up. Popping into the shop and coming out with more than just the two items I'd gone in for, a 'treat' each time. And the irregular costs that I had never counted before, someones birthday, some thank-you flowers, a couple of new tyres for the car, more petrol top-ups than I'd realised. 

Spreadsheets can be fairly straight forward just for putting amounts in columns and having it added up at the end, I tend to Google if I want to know how to do something. Or like others say, get a notepad and just write down all your spends as you go, put them in columns. I bet there'll be more in the dog column than you realise.

MrFrugalFever

Marinis said:

On paper after paying essential monthly bills such as energy, council tax, utilities etc I should be left with approx £750 per month to pay for food, petrol, savings etc yet at the end of every month I’m withdrawing the savings £100 to get me through to pay day. I live on my own, I don’t have rent or mortgage to pay, I’m 63.  don’t socialise, I don’t spend money on clothes, I have my hair done every 6-7 weeks at £75. My luxury in life are owning 2 dogs.  Can anyone please help me to get me on track. Should I be using separate cards/accounts to use like pots of money for the hairdresser, food, holidays ( I wish 🙏) . I’m prepared for some criticism here but please May it be constructive. Tia. 

Hi, 

There's some really great advice above! I'll offer up an extreme technique i've used.

You do not know exactly what you have left for the month after bills. Action number 1, know exactly what your bills cost you to the penny (with the exception to a variable bill which you will need to take a 'conservative best guess' or average over 12 months of). Then you will know how much you have left each month.

Give yourself a target of say £200pm max for food (inc dog food) and a target for fuel (how little can you use? £150? £100?). Put the rest in savings. Do not spend it unless it is an emergency. Consider it a No Spend Month.

Do this either this month or February. 

At the end of the month you'll know what you've not bought!

sausage_time

Nasqueron said:

Marinis said:

I’m not very savvy in doing spreadsheets or Soa’s unfortunately. Where do I find a blank SOA template please? 

Honestly, I work with them quite a bit and don't know much either, I detest Excel.

The basic stuff is really easy though, it just needs the confidence to approach it right

e.g. your current balance is in cell A1, you have a direct debit for car insurance and put the value in B2

Cell A2 therefore is =SUM(A1-B2) - probably there is a better/shorter way but that is how I do it - that gives you the total now of your new balance after the direct debit

You then have your pay come in thus cell A3 is =SUM(A2+B3) i.e. your new balance after pay

Once you have the hang of that, it's just a matter of listing all your income and outgoings and running them down as long as you can do and it'll show you where your costs are. Then you can add lines in every so often when you need an extra item like a one off cost

=SUM(A1-B2) is unnecessarily verbose.  =A1-B2 is more succinct and readable.

Nasqueron

sausage_time said:

Nasqueron said:

Marinis said:

I’m not very savvy in doing spreadsheets or Soa’s unfortunately. Where do I find a blank SOA template please? 

Honestly, I work with them quite a bit and don't know much either, I detest Excel.

The basic stuff is really easy though, it just needs the confidence to approach it right

e.g. your current balance is in cell A1, you have a direct debit for car insurance and put the value in B2

Cell A2 therefore is =SUM(A1-B2) - probably there is a better/shorter way but that is how I do it - that gives you the total now of your new balance after the direct debit

You then have your pay come in thus cell A3 is =SUM(A2+B3) i.e. your new balance after pay

Once you have the hang of that, it's just a matter of listing all your income and outgoings and running them down as long as you can do and it'll show you where your costs are. Then you can add lines in every so often when you need an extra item like a one off cost

=SUM(A1-B2) is unnecessarily verbose.  =A1-B2 is more succinct and readable.

See I knew someone helpful would show an improved way of doing it, thank you!

Katiehound

Check on dog food, worming tablets etc- you may find buying online will save money there. (certainly if you buy your wormers from a vet: 50% mark up)

hair? seems expensive. How much is a good cut? Experiment with a home hair dye- try a semi permanent first- it will fade over some weeks.

But of course you need to know where the money is disappearing. I suspect it is the £1 here, there and everywhere. I remember when I started my first Saturday job I couldn't understand why there was nothing left, perhaps I had lost it? No, frittered!

There are many threads on this forum that can help you save money in different categories-eg-  pet board, old style money saving etc. Folk are always very helpful with their suggestions

Whitterbod

Money helper has a online budget planner this may help 

 https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/budgeting/budget-planner