Should itsthelittlethings spend less on coffee?

itsthelittlethings

A good end of the week. Just watching Newsnight and hoping I'll feel like going to bed soon. Good news about the couple released from prison in Afghanistan. A very interesting interview.

I managed to buy a pair of boots this morning which probably wasn't the wisest thing to do. I studied this week's unit after work which was on marketing. I found it really interesting and learnt a lot. Afterwards I went to Aldi and did the weekly shop.

I've done some tidying in my flat and feel ready for the weekend. I reorganised my to do list, putting half of it on my calendar and making the other half into a checklist divided by urgency as suggested by Copilot. Hopefully it'll be a good strategy for me.

Some sunshine apparently on the way this weekend. Bring it on, I say.

itsthelittlethings

Finances are rocky. I need a payrise, a quite significant one that's unlikely to happen. I need over 30k.

I studied my whole unit on Friday evening in Starbucks (£8, americano and something sweet that escapes me at the moment). It was on marketing - so interesting. Who would think there was so much to it. They almost presented it as a science and a necessary part of business instead of the disreputable and disgraced cousin of trade that it is. I find it very hard to resist marketing. It's almost as though someone says "please buy this", and I go ok. Just this morning I have bought a self help journal, two t-shirts and a gig ticket. I cut up my credit card immediately afterwards. I only got the card out as I was going out to lunch with a friend and paid for her. I would have needed to use it to pay for me. We had Hong Kong Street Food noodles and some spring rolls. It cost £18. I tapped the wrong card so I paid with my actual money and I think I've crept over my overdraft limit.

I made a very delicious potato curry last night. I have half left for today. 9 days to go. I have cabbage, mince and rice (3 days), baked sweet potato, chips, tuna pasta and butter pasta (if I can afford a pat of butter with the £2.50 I found in my incense bag). Butter costs about £2.95! For a milk product. Milk only costs 90p! I might as well just buy 4 pints of milk and shake it like an influencer. It makes no sense to me. I'm not going to do that.

MFWannabe

I may be very blunt here but stop thinking you need a pay rise to sort out finances

You have enough money; you spend too much

Friday: Bought a pair of boots

Sunday: £26 on lunch and coffee

This morning: Journal; gig ticket, shirts - £?

Then you say about butter; but on Friday said you’d done the weekly shop?

You need to change your mindset to really help yourself

Wanna_Bee_Free

Are you still able to cancel or return any of the purchases you regret? Can you resell the ticket?

I find it so easy to spend money I don't have. I have started a list called might want to buy and every time I feel the urge to buy I add it to the list. It really helps me when I review at the end of the month as almost all the stuff is things I no longer crave or want or need.

Well done for cutting up the card after your splurge. Can you sell anything on Vinted to cover the £18. Can you do some surveys? Can you explain to your friend and change it so you get her to pay for yesterday's lunch for both of you? How bad are your overdraft penalties? Good luck with it!

enthusiasticsaver

Can you maybe use cash rather than card to reset on impulsive spending? We all know how easy it is just to tap a card as it doesn’t seem like spending actual money. Maybe also look at no spend days. Can you send back the self help journals? I am a marketers nightmare and have become immune to them. In fact if anything spending thousands on advertising makes me think a big proportion of the cost of the item is down to Marketing costs and puts me off buying it.

Before I buy I think to myself

1 Do I want it or need it?
2 Do I have something else which will do same job or get it cheaper elsewhere?
3 Have I space for it and do I need to get rid of something I have to buy it?

That might help you. You are right in that if a payrise is not on the horizon you will need to stop unnecessary spending or the debt will rise.

Mands

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81886286#Comment_81886286

You are on something close to 23k now?

BUT you pay no rent. I assume you/family own the property you are in. I think you are south of England so rents aren't cheap. Would 1k/month be a fair estimate if you had to pay rent?

If we work back from that 23k you are on, take 1k in rent and gross it up that takes you up to a little over 40k. If your theoretical rent was only 500/month you would need just over 32k to be able to afford that.

Yes, your salary is low. But with no rent your disposable income is way higher than someone with rent to pay. Your salary is not the problem here, it's your spending habits.

In almost a year you've paid virtually nothing off your debts, and lurched through each month counting dow n the days to payday. That's a miserable way to live. And it doesn't need to be like this.

LzzyIsGod

Genuinely the very best thing I ever did was stop spending on credit cards - I do still have them but they do not leave the house and i ofren forget i even have them now. I think for you getting rid is a really good move and I say that from a place of kindness as I see much of myself in your posts at times.

The other thing I would suggest is properly meal plan. As in write down a menu for the week ahead and then write a shopping list to match the plan - this helps as you always have what you need in and stops the popping to the shop temptation. I feel I have failed if i have to top up my weekly shop 😂

[Deleted User]

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81744336#Comment_81744336

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81746617#Comment_81746617

Hi @itsthelittlethings

Did you get a new credit card since the one you cut up in November last year?!

There are lots of ideas and suggestions for you here - do you feel inspired and ready to take on a challenge???

In your other thread 'Goals, hopes and dreams' I think it was March 2025 when you paid off the last credit cards with savings and near on a year later you are in almost the same situation.

Grocery shopping and meal planning is one of the easiest ways to save money. Try not to do top up shops as it's easy to overspend.

Instead of spending on new boots, gig ticket, or anything else mid month, have a "pay day treat" instead and it will feel good because you had to work all month to buy/spend on whatever you wanted.

Did you try NSDs - whatever number of days you don't spend this month, aim to beat it next month and the next and so on. Each new month is a challenge to beat the last.

[Deleted User]

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81883912#Comment_81883912

Instead of spending extra money on butter, try making meals with what you have left in fridge, freezer and cupboards, before you next visit the supermarket. There are lots of ways to make sauces with store cupboard or fridge ingredients to go with pasta.

Can you return the boots and get a refund? If you can then think about using the money towards the overdraft.

I think it would help you to set goals and challenges but one at a time (as was previously suggested by another poster) and stick to, then build on. Channel your energy towards a purpose other than always spending.

Your priority really should be the credit cards and overdraft, before this debt becomes bigger and out of control. Personally I wouldn't be spending money on boots or gig tickets or paying £18 for lunch if I had credit card debt.

With some planning and discipline, you could easily clear the debt, then your challenge would be learning to live within your means.

I don't have a credit card or overdraft, I'm sometimes tempted to spend on things I don't need, but I wouldn't want to get into debt for it so I wait until payday or save up for what I want to spend on.

itsthelittlethings

I’m a bit tired. I need to do the washing up. One more day to the weekend which I’m looking forward to. A quiet one as it’s pre payday.

Work was a bit exhausting today. I’m going to the gym in a bit before bed at 9. I want to knit but I’m just having a bit of scrolling time.

I have had multiple no spend days but not for a good reason. I’m afraid I ordered some basics on my credit card for delivery at the weekend. I need normal food at work, I can’t go in with just tuna mayonnaise for lunch although I could probably get to payday without buying anything. Also I’ve decided not to open the parcels I impulse bought last week. I’m saving them to open on payday. On payday I always kind of think “is that it?”. By giving myself presents I’m hoping to reinforce the reward and make myself actually grateful for my job. It’s slightly convoluted logic but I think it might actually work. Last time I paid off everything I spent on credit card and a bit more it motivated me to stick at it. I’m calling it a payment holiday.

I’m going to open a regular saver and pay £200 in every month and also pay money off my credit card, probably £1-200. When I did this before I ended up with a load of money that I used to pay off debt. I then blew the surplus but I was happier while I was saving. If I can just do this again and either save the surplus or mindfully spend it, I think that would be a Great Leap Forward.