How exactly do you all do it?

MATH

Womble. Keep us posted on how you get on:D

squeaky

jaybee wrote:

I still worry, and it's still a struggle sometimes but, hey, I even nearly enjoying it!!! (Masochist!!!)

LOL. I'm nearly even impressed by you dragging yourself out of the quagmire that debt can be.

I never realised how MUCH I worried about money and how badly I was sleeping until AFTER I got my head above water financially. I suddenly realised that life was a whole lot less stressful.

I'm NEVER going there again. Ever

Womble_2-2

I've got my cash out for the coming week and I'm determined not to use the C/C. I've got 2 weeks before going to Africa for 2 weeks, to get a grip on the money. (I know, not very MSE, but am climbing Kilimanjaro for charity).
I've tried the 3 purse trick, but then I used to borrow from each one and then use the CC when I'd spent all 3 purses. I know it isn't rocket science and I'll find a method that works for me soon.

I'm doing the 'pots' bank accounts for large and/or regular expenditure, like Xmas, Holidays, the Car, Rainy days etc, (actually I've got 8 accounts) and they work really well, but it's the day to day grocery shopping and just "stuff" that I'm rubbish with. I'm definately going to join the August Challenges.

culpepper

I do cash mostly.
What can really bump up the cost is non food items.When your at the shop just buy food.Toothpaste/brushes/soap etc is cheaper bought elsewhere.Also sauces in bottles just to cook one meal with are a huge money sponge.
I buy as basic as possible so that I know everything we are eating (fewer additives etc) and it is quite liberating when your MIL looks in your cupboard and says that its virtually empty but you can look in and say,no there are the makings of 4 more evening meals plus a weeks worth of bread making ingredients.
We manage on £50 per week for 2 adults and 2 big teens including cleaning ,pocket money,gardening stuff and clothes

larmy16

One thing I do which can help, is to keep a spare £10 so if there is a really good offer, especially for long term products, like toilet paper, fabric conditioner, or hair stuff, I am able to purchase it there and then and save money for the future.

At least we rarely run out of these items!

debtworrier

Having read everyone else's tips on this thread, I just wanted to share the budgeting system I've been using. It's worked really well for me.

On payday (monthly) first I list all of the essential payments that *have* to be paid, e.g. Rent/mortgage, Council tax, gas & electricity*, the credit card++.

I divide the remainder up to get my weekly allowance.

I divide the weekly allowance by 7 and round it down to a "square" number (i.e. a multiple of £5). I know that I'm not going to remember or be bothered to handle it right down to the last penny, so for example instead of a daily allowance of say, £6.30, I'd decide on a fiver a day for every day except Thursday (my usual weekly shopping day) when the allowance would be £10. I write this out as a little list/calender, e.g. Mon 3rd £5, Tue 4th £5, Wed 5th £5, Thu 6th £10 ... etc.

I have one of those old fashioned money boxes with different compartments, each with its own coin slot. My box has 5 compartments, but I only use three, they're labelled "Weekly allowance", "uncommitted funds" and "project."

Each week I take my weekly allowance out of my bank account and put it in the weekly allowance compartment. When I pay myself each day, I cross out the day and the amount on my little handwritten list so that I know when I've paid myself and when I haven't without having to add everything up again.

My rules are:
I don't have to pay myself if I don't want/need to.
At any time I can pay myself up to today.
I may NOT pay myself in advance.
I may spend the money in my purse on anything I please, with no guilt. (It has to cover food, utilities, clothing, social and cleaning stuff. But if I want to run crazed and spend it all on chocolate, that's okay.)

I use the "uncommitted funds" box as a place to put any money that I don't want to carry around in my purse.

I move money (usually from "uncommitted" rather than directly from my purse) to the project box when I'm fairly sure I can spare it. I find that having earmarked the money, I get quite grumpy if I have to use it for something else, as I did the other week when I suddenly had to find money for rat poison! I bank the project money at the end of the month so that it starts earning interest. (Current project is saving up for a chest of drawers.)

I've found that by having a daily allowance I don't feel that I'm completely broke, and I'm also not constantly saying "no, you can't afford it" to myself . Saying instead "I'll be able to buy it on Wednesday (or whenever)" feels a lot more positive. Also, of course, by the time Wednesday rolls around, I may decide I don't want whatever it is anyway.

It can be a bit of a nuisance on occaision when the money won't quite stretch and I have to go back somewhere a second time, but it's really important. I've found that keeping strictly to the agreement about not spending "tomorrow's" money means I can enjoy the "no guilt" part of the agreement when I do treat myself to something extravagant.

Well, not exactly financial rocket science, but I hope someone else will find it useful.

---

Notes:
++ I make all my internet purchases on one credit card: the net only "knows" about one card, in order to minimise the damage should I get hacked, and I get free insurance for expensive items. I pay it off completely every month. My personal rule for the credit card is: my credit limit is whatever is in my savings account, not what the company says it is.


*When I paid my utilities on a quarterly basis, I found it helpful to have a separate (savings) account which I paid a set amount into every month by standing order. Then when the bill arrived I paid it out of the savings account. Just like having DD only I got the interest, not the gas company! I jiggered it a bit so that I paid the same throughout the year, paying more than I needed in the summer to subsidise the cold winter months. Since moving I'm now on prepay gas and electric meters installed by the previous tenant.

earwig

i use to be like you the way i stoped was to not take cash out with me if i didnt need to buy any thing and relised when my money was gone i couldnt use anyone elses ie the banks overdraft

to always have somthing quick and easy in the frezzer for my lazzy days and to pay my bills before i spend anything else

i still have lots to learn like the shopping i cant get mine under 90 per week for four when others on here do it for 40 per week for four but i am getting there its a lifestyle you are change and it has to be done one thing at a time good luck

jennyjelly

Everything that can be done by direct debit is sorted, I know my total DD bill each month and make sure there is enough in the bank to cover it.

Almost everything else goes on my Tesco credit card so although I never ever shop in Tescos (don't like their tactics and don't think they are as cheap as they claim to be anyway!) I still get clubcard points which I either spend on clubcard deals or sell on ebay if there's nothing I currently need.

I don't want to pay interest so I have a DD set up to pay this off in full every month, and we have a bigger overdraft facility than we actually need (or ever use) to make sure this will never bounce.

Meal planning is essential, and I also go with the 'per meal' costing idea - there are 4 of us and I aim to NEVER spend more than a fiver on our main meal - if I go over one day we have beans on toast the next day to make up.

I've also learned to stick to my shopping list which has virtually stopped me overbuying on impulse and having to chuck things away. My fridge and freezer are now stuffed with batch meals rather than BOGOFs I don't need. Of course I do buy BOGOFs if it's stuff I need anyway, and I LOVE the reduced counters - I'll be flexible on my meal plans depending on what I find there.

Hope some of this might be helpful.

rach

i worked out my incoming net salary each month, then subtracted all the direct debits (electric, water, council tax etc). i then worked out monthly payments for the stuff i need less often (eg home insurance annually). i have ING accounts for all of these, and also a car one that i put my mileage money from work plus another amount each month (that covers anything to do with the car - tax, insurance, MOT, service, repairs), and a holiday one that i put a chunk into each month.

after that i had about £350 a month left, so worked out £60 for petrol, £100 for food (though i am paring this down). i then take £50 a week from my current account and that is my spending money. i do this each friday. i do use my debit card at the supermarket, but i add up what i spend and don't go over. i only ever use credit card online now.

hope that helps a bit. budgeting has changed my life, i actually think less about money now than i used to! if the money's there i can eat out / hvae a coffee out/ whatever, if i've spent it on something over the weekend and my purse is bare i just make myself wait til the next week!!