Student Saving

Smegasaurus · 7 September 2020 at 10:11AM

Hi Everyone,
I'm a bit of a long time lurker and very little poster but I thought that I would start a diary to track my savings. I've not long left full time (well paid!) employment to go back to being a student. I now get a stipend for the next 3 years. I've always been a saver not a spender but 5 years in a fairly well paid job have left some bad habits of some unnecessary spending which I really want to kick. I'm hoping that at the end of these 3 years I'll be back earning decent money and able to buy a place.
I've worked to get my bills down to as low as possible and my fixed costs (rent+ bills) comes to £480/month. I'm in the process of switching energy companies so I'm hoping that will go down about £30 once that's all gone through. That leaves me with just over 1k a month for everything else which is plenty - I just need to stop the impulse buying!! I'm hoping that having this will keep me accountable and I can see the total adding up.

Current savings total: 24,473.08
H2B: 12,897.48
Marcus 1: 6,200.60 (1,650 of this earmarked for a big holiday next year so not counting in total)
Marcus 2: 7,000
Premium bonds: 25
(only just started with the premium bonds - interests rates are so poor!)

Irenadler · 7 September 2020 at 12:02PM

Hello Smegasaurus
Just have to say it, What the smeg?! Yes, I like Red Dwarf....

Your savings are impressive, well done, I think you already have it well under control...

savingwannabe · 7 September 2020 at 6:12PM

Welcome Smeg, I agree with Reny (Irene) well done on planning it all so well. I do wish you well in your studies and am looking forward to the diary. Wishing you a wonderful year.

Smegasaurus · 10 September 2020 at 11:12AM

It's a bit frustrating because I should be in a position to buy with this as a deposit but having just slashed my income I've also slashed what I could get mortgage wise too. Never mind! I'll be in a stronger position at the end of my studies so it will be worth it. Short term pain long term gain - at least this is what I'm telling myself.
£5.28 interest on marcus 1 also sent £225 across to premium bonds
I've bitten the bullet and started thinking if you don't ask you don't get. On that mark I've managed to get a refund on some professional fees (hopefully around £200) and put myself forward to write an article for a professional magazine, pays £150 per article and hopefully should lead to a bit more work. Now I've just got to do the writing!

Thanks SW and Irenadler for checking in!

Skint_yet_Again · 12 September 2020 at 6:01AM

Hi Smeg it’s a brave move to give up a well paid job and go back to studying. I wish you well and am sure it will be worth it in the long run. Three years is nothing in the grand scheme of things and it sounds like you will manage on a budget.

Let us know how you get on with the premium bonds

Smegasaurus · 21 September 2020 at 10:55AM

Thanks for checking in @Skint_yet_Again.
I've sold 4 old text books yesterday and made £50 so I've transferred that straight over to PBs. No idea if that's a good idea and I've never been very lucky and with the new cuts coming I'm not likely to win much but savings rates are so dire everywhere!

Irenadler · 21 September 2020 at 2:26PM

That's such a good idea, and a decent sale price...

savingwannabe · 4 October 2020 at 5:50PM

I have made a fair bit selling bits it always helps. Hang in there Smeg.

Smegasaurus · 19 October 2020 at 10:26AM

A very challenging few weeks. My dog has been unwell which meant £1k came out of savings. The bill came to over this but I'm hoping the monthly budget will deal with the rest and still be ok. It highlighted the importance of having that emergency fund available and I felt happy that at least I had it, it didn't have to go on a cc or anything. I grew up in a low income family so I know that kind of unexpected bill can cause serious issues. I am feeling very lucky to be financially secure enough that it didn't, especially with the current economic climate.

Back on the savings track -
Current savings total: 24,117.57
H2B: 13,108.05
Marcus 1: 209.52
Marcus 2: 7,000
Premium bonds: 5,450
(1,650 of this earmarked for a big holiday next year so not counting in total)

So despite a big bill I am only ~ -£300 down on the beginning of Sept. There's hopefully another £400ish left over from this month to save but I'm gunna wait until a bit closer to the end of the month to move it. I've also taken on a small part time job for the uni linked to my course, only a couple of hours a week but should bring in a bit of extra cash.