Newbie needing guidance...

Cesary_2

Hi guys

I am a newbie to all this and TBH am a little bit lost looking through all the different threads!! I am in awe of some of you guys though
I am hoping you all can give me some help, advice, tips and guidance.....anything to help me save/earn as much money over next 12months.
I am not so much a DebtFreeWannabe - so sorry for posting in here but didn't know where else to post and I think the principles are probably the same

My fiance and I are currently saving towards our wedding & honeymoon and I am trying to look at ways of making and saving as much money as possible over this next year (especially so we have plenty of spending money for honeymoon then some left over for safety when we get home )

We set ourselves a target of £6k but I am hoping that perhaps with a bit of hard work we could maybe reach £8k or maybe even £9k :fingerscrossed:...... We have got £1900 and are £300 above target so far but we have got 2 car services, an MOT and 2 lots of car tax in the next 2 months which worries me

What I have done so far.....
* I have just switched energy suppliers from NPower to E.on which will save me £13 a mnth approx and we get Tesco Clubcard points - and I got £55 cashback through Quidco. (also awaiting £90 c/back from March for my home insurance)
* I have signed up to YouGov, Ciao and Pureprofile for both me and my OH (does it matter we have the same address?) - Are there more I should be signing up to? How can I make these survey sites really worth it?
* I have just started meal planning before I go food shopping so that I stick to my list when I go to the supermarket. Week 1 so far has been a success - I spent £30, alot of weeks my total would be around £50 because of impulse buying.
* I'd like to introduce cash budget for me and my OH but he is not keen at all....I am going to trial it from 1st June and see how we go I think.....
* Changed my Broadband from AOL to Sky so reduced my outgoings there by £14.99 a month.

Debts we have....
(1) Mortgage which is fixed until March next year. We took it out last year over 30 years but hope to be able to reduce the term when we look for a new deal at end of year.
(2) Finance on one of our cars which has another 2 years to go...we pay £120 a month towards that & I have wondered whether we could refinance it onto a better deal which lasts less time but the early repayment charges shown on the paperwork are incredible!! But also if I am trying to save for the wedding/honeymoon putting up the payments wouldnt really help me would it??
(3) Paying OHs parents back money he owed them - finishes in Oct. Standing Order we pay to them of £110 a month we will transfer to go into the savings.
(4) Bought a TV on Argos card before Christmas. £700 is due to be paid in August - this will come out the savings and be paid off straight away.

Other than that I am stuck :huh: - I don't know how to save more money from our outgoings or earn more money.....we have both obtained payrises this year. I have considered a part-time bar job as well as my full-time job but I used to do this a few years back and know how knackered it made me.....hence me looking for ways of earning extra cash easily or by doing things on net at home.

Any help greatly appreciated cos I am feeling like a little lost sheep at the mo!!

TIA
xxx

timnicebutdim_2

Seems like you are on the right track with your thinking and being savvy, such as using quidco, meal planning etc.

What may help is if you do a statement of affairs, i.e. all your monthly income vs all your montly outgoings so people can suggest ideas of reducing expenditure on each item, as there may be ways of saving money that you haven't thought of.

If you also budget everything each month either using a budget planner or spreadsheet you will see exactly how much 'cash' you spend on things outside your normal budget and this to me sounds like the area where you would probably notice the most.

As for extra income check out the 'up my income' board:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=145

And with regards to surveys it's ok but it's just pocket money, i do 2-3 surverys a week whilst at work and get about £30 every 3 months. So in terms of time it doesn't pay that much per hour.

Anyway sure there will be plenty of helpful people along soon.

learning_to_drive

Mystery shopping?

A great thread over on "up your income!" that tells you who to sign up with etc.

Please drop me a PM if you want any guidance, it's a good thing to get going is mystery shopping but it takes time to build up a reputation as being a good shopper.

All about filling in reports, doing assignments when you say you are going to etc, I have my own guiding principles and they have stood me in good stead so far, also be careful not to overstretch yourself by doing too much, the shops are easy enough but the reports can be epic sometimes!

Broadly speaking I do work for one main company, then bits for others, the main one I do, I tend to get good assignments and enjoy doing them, but it's hard work to build up that reliability with the company.

I dont do too many for others as all the systems are different and sometimes you can over commit.