Student savings diary

archwaysaver · 28 February 2018 at 1:03PM

I hope this is the right place to post this as I'm new to the forums.
I'm a part-time MA student (working part time) trying to save up for my next tuition payment, an "emergency cushion", and (stretch goal) enough to live abroad for a year, which is my dream.

My tuition payment is due in September 2018 and is £4,100. (already saved: £1,920)
My emergency cushion goal is £1,000. (already saved: £456)
And my year abroad savings goal is £15,000. (already saved: £1,300.44)

I live with my husband and we split grocery payments and other household payments, so I'm also obviously trying to keep those down as well.

March 2018 budget:

Groceries: £70 for two
Eating out: £25 (together), £25 (just me - including coffee!)
Drinks: £30 (together), £20 (just me)
Cosmetics: £10
Cinema/theatre: £20
'Fun' spending money: £10

(for my own reference, fixed monthly outgoings)
My part of rent/utilities: £722.17
Travelcard: £120
Phone: £10
Union dues: £18

Savings planned this month:
£300 - tuition
£100 - emergency fund
£50 - year abroad

Mostly I'm focusing on keeping outgoings down...hoping to pull off a lot of no spend days!

archwaysaver · 28 February 2018 at 1:44PM

Posting a weekly meal plan for my own reference. We get a £7 veg box every week - I haven't included that in the monthly food budget, just realised that may be a bit misleading!

This month especially I'll be aiming to clear out the ends of boxes/bags of dry goods before buying any more. We have a couple bags of yellow split peas and lentils knocking around, and millet and couscous.

Wednesday: Aubergine lentil stew - no new spend
Thursday: Potato and kale salad with chilli - no new spend
Friday: Kidney bean and barley stew with spring greens - no new spend
Saturday: Aubergine dal - no new spend
Sunday: veg roast (lunch); batch cook a few curries for weekday lunches (dinner) - may have to buy some oil

savingwannabe · 28 February 2018 at 4:13PM

Welcome to the forum archwaysaver :j:beer:. You sound like a very healthy eater. Well done you.

Good luck in your MA. Have you thought of applying for scholarships at your university as that may help with funding? It's good to have lots of savings pots.

archwaysaver · 28 February 2018 at 4:24PM

Thank you! :beer: It seems like a really friendly place and I'm especially looking forward to accountability buddies...every time I set myself goals I always end up slipping a little so hoping that checking in in public will help!

We're both vegetarians so that helps with food, haha. I looked a bit into scholarships when I started but unfortunately my undergraduate marks weren't very good (I got into the MA from work experience) so I don't qualify for most of them. I'll have another look though!

savingwannabe · 28 February 2018 at 4:37PM

I keep wanting to be a vegetarian as it's so healthy but I am tooo lazy.

This forum is like confessional at church - we all admit when we have been naughty but it helps me to mostly stay on track. Plus everyone is really nice.

archwaysaver · 2 March 2018 at 10:55PM

Slight setback today as I received a £100 late filing notice from HMRC. I didn't realise I still had to notify them even though I didn't have to file a tax return

(I registered as self-employed when I was thinking about going freelance, but decided to stay with my part-time PAYE job.) Obviously I'm appealing but it will be a knock if it does go through.

I'm trying to focus on the positive...I have enough saved up to be able to pay it if needed, I'm not at risk of being thrown out on the street, and it's only a blow to my savings goals not to my grocery needs or anything like that. Still...

Good things today: no spend day, made a nice quick stir fry out of leftover veg in the fridge and soba noodles that have been in the cabinet for ages. Trying to use up what we have in the kitchen before buying new things!

archwaysaver · 7 March 2018 at 10:03AM

Great news - called up HMRC and explained the situation and they cancelled the penalty! The woman at the other end was really helpful. Really pleased, I was dreading a long drag-out fight! :j

atrixa · 7 March 2018 at 10:46PM

I love it when you get helpful customer service like that! I always end up stressed out thinking about what I'm going to say to them.

archwaysaver · 10 March 2018 at 5:00PM

Yeah, it can be really stressful as you always expect they're going to be difficult! I was so pleased, sometimes it really does just take picking up the phone.

archwaysaver · 13 March 2018 at 12:22PM

Having a slightly disheartening day. We're already over the grocery budget for the month - I probably set it too low but it's disheartening to miss it so early in the month. On top of that, I tried switching energy providers to save money, but somehow we have to pay £77 to our previous supplier as our account's in debit (?), and also they charged us for a month at the same time that the new supplier charged us, so it seems like we're ending up paying £200 more than we would have if we'd stayed? I think they've got the numbers wrong (they said we're using much more than I think we did, although it was over winter so who knows) but I'm new to trying to save money this way and feel like I tried to help out and instead just made it much worse.

I'm reminding myself that we have a roof over our heads and don't have massive debt which puts us well in the long run, but just having a low day today.

savingwannabe · 13 March 2018 at 7:09PM

I felt like this when I switched but it will be cheaper eventually I hope. Hang in there.

Student savings diary

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