Day-to-day moneysaving.....

belfastgirl23

I find the most helpful thing for me is to get rid of the spare cash at the start of the month. Draw up a budget for whatever your basic expenses are. Put aside a 10% contingency into a savings account for the first couple of months just in case. And then use the rest of the cash to pay off debt. It takes discipline but it does focus your mind on the fact that you have x to do until payday. This month I managed on £200 for all non direct debit spends - this is really good for me.

The spending diary is the other huge eye opener. It still sort of amazes me that I used to go into town and buy say a book at half price, a newspaper, some makeup and bath stuff, a couple of coffees and maybe some lunch oh and a couple of pairs of tights or whatever ....spending maybe £50 on nothing!! I was doing this nearly every weekend out of habit, just going in and pottering around...may as well have put a hole in my purse

always_amazed

Me too. Since I've been going over old bank statements I'v seen how these 'little things' can all add up.
I realise when I'm debt free can go back to that; but I'm beginning to realise how your money can work for you if you jut hang onto it. Slowly.

moneydesperate_x

I take lunch to work with me every day (OH makes it for me!) this has saved me £10 a week!
I dont take any cards with me to work as I work close to town and cant trust myself, instead i have £10 in my purse (I find real money harder to hand over!) and so far its lasted me two weeks and I still have it!
I dont get on with a spending diary as I forget to write in it! I know its good though so i will keep trying.
Ive learnt to say 'I cant afford it' which at one time I would never say, instead i would put it on the credit card.
Also as 'MissEyre' said, I too have learnt that my life/money is mine and I cant keep up with other people and its not healthy for me to try anyway!

Buzzbox

always_amazed wrote: »

Me too. Since I've been going over old bank statements I'v seen how these 'little things' can all add up.
I realise when I'm debt free can go back to that; but I'm beginning to realise how your money can work for you if you jut hang onto it. Slowly.

Looking at old statements can be quite depressing... I did that the other day, got a nice shock, I spent most of my money on pointless things!

belfastgirl23

PS you don't have to do a spending diary longer term. I try to make a point of doing it one month a year just to see where I'm slipping again, or if I think I'm overspending I'll do it for a little bit just to remind myself. But it is a good thing to do at least for a couple of weeks at the start just to help you see your own patterns. It is very easy to go into denial about your boots habit till you tot up all your spending in a month which forces you to inventory your groaning cupboards....I only recently finished all my bath stuff and I hadn't bought any for a year but we all have different weak points. You need to identify yours.