Day-to-day moneysaving.....

sophiesmum_2

Post and read the "what small dfw thing have you done today" thread:rolleyes:
All the little things you do each day will soon add up and help to get you in the right mindset for moneysaving:D

PandaPants_2

Call me stupid, but what does DFW stand for??

sophiesmum_2

Debt free wannabe - and I'm not calling you stupid:D

Mudbath

For me it's the spending diary that makes me realise where my money disappears to. I never buy anything straight away now. I give myself a cooling off period. If it's meant to be and I really want it I go back the next day and if it's still there then I can have it. Normally i've realised I don't actually want it. Good luck paying off your debts.

PandaPants_2

sophiesmum wrote: »

Debt free wannabe - and I'm not calling you stupid:D

Trust me, you dont need to! :rotfl:

I realised as soon as i pressed "submit reply"!!

mhe

A spending diary whilst initially depressing does hammer home where you waste money. Up until then you think you dont spend anything. Martins demotivator on the website shows you how that chocolate bar or coffee or magazine etc adds up over the year to some horrific amount.
After being on maternity leave my OD was up to £900. I never seemed able to pay it off - then I had this brainwave - Id reduce it by £50 each pay day (thats twice a month for me and OH as we get paid on different dates) It seems stupid saying it now but by knocking off that £50 I had to watch what I spent as it had gone. Another thing I have tried is rationing what I spend. So if fro eg i only want to spend 100 this month on food then i put 100 in an envelope and i have to take that to the shops. When its gone its gone. This helps me to ration a bit more as when i used my card it didnt seem to matter how much i was spending. U could try this for petrol etc. Maybe you could try doing a statement of affairs so we can see how much is coming in and going out. See one of the stickys for advice on your SOA.

Curious_Moose

1) Don't buy crap that you don't need
2) Don't buy shampoo, soap, shower gel, toothpaste, washing up liquid etc unless they are on 2-for-1 offer. They all will be sooner or later.
3) Cherry pick the best offers from supermarkets.
4) See 1)

determined_new_ms

Hi pandapant, what a cool name you have, I'm jealous...

These are the things I am doing to save money (alot are tips from MS forums, if not all!)

1. Joined the grocery challenge - it has helped me be focused
2. Write at the top of my day page in diary how much I have to spend, when I spend some reduce that figure (similar to the evelop idea but money can be like water in my hands)
3. Joined the "what small DFW thing will you do today" thread, it is really fun and can get you on track. Most of my friends are in different situs from me so good to have support of people who understand
4. I also joined a thread which you set out a budget for the week (it was sun 20/1-fri 25/1), I'm very competitive (with myself in this) so now I have set it there's no going back! - if anyone knows where I can find this thread please tell me I think it was moozies challenge but not sure and am sad I've lost it
5. I have also been keeping a spending diary but i woud say 4 & 3 have been more helpful for me

Good luck!

always_amazed

hey;
you do have a really cool name!
I too would advise said spending diary. I'm not in a huge amount of debt; have relatively low outgoings; but am always skint by week three of the month.

What I'm starting to see is that it's all very well and good buying the cheapest of everything, but if I don't NEED it it's no use really. Like the other day I spent £4.50 on Cds in a charity shop. I did that because I thought they were cheap, and when I got home I thought, hang on a tick, I bet I could have borrowed these CDs from a mate.

I realised a while back that the reason most of my mates have so much 'spare cash' for odds and sodds like clothes and make up etc is because they are getting in debt to buy that lifestyle, even when they are earning loads. Things are so expensive these days.

MissEyre

I've stopped comparing my lifestyle to my friends-although on the outside, we are in very similar situations, the money side of things can be hugely different (eg. we both have mortgages and similar size houses does not mean we are paying similar sums each month towards our mortgages-esp. if his parents have given him his inheritance (about fifty grand) to start him off on the housing ladder!) Realising this has made me see why he can afford to go out more than me.

I also bulk buy stuff like long life milk and always have some bread and butter in the freezer-this stops me from going to the shops every five minutes, and also means I won't starve if the money runs out before the end of month (although this is happening less and less frequently, the more I post on MSE!)

I don't get on with a spending diary as I just don't fill it in, but I know it is a great tool for loads of people on here.

Good luck x