Saving for a place of my own: Starting over

thrifty-hayley · 24 May 2015 at 10:10PM

Hi, this isn't my first time writing a saving diary here. In 2013 I wrote here about my quest to save a deposit and move out of my parent's house. I worked hard and saved a nice little sum but then everything went a bit wrong. I had some medical issues (anxiety and panic attacks) which meant I had to leave my job. I didn't want to go on benefits, I live at home so didn't need the money for mortgage/rent etc. So I lived off my savings for the best part of a year while I got my health back on track, before starting work again part time. Naturally during this time I used up a large part of the money I had saved. A few weeks ago I started a full time job as a nanny. I used to be a self employed nanny before my health issues, now I am employed by the family I work for which is easier and means more peace of mind for me. I work long hours but that's meant that in the few weeks that I've been working I've built up my bank balance to almost what it was before I left work :j A great advantage of working long hours is that you don't have the time or energy to spend your wages!

So this is my second attempt and I'm determined to make the most of every pay cheque, scrimp, save and do all that I can to get that deposit! I am 24 and single so I know that I have a long way to go but I'm ready for the challenge! I have very few outgoings as I live at home, don't smoke, rarely drink, don't have a gym membership etc, so I'm struggling a bit as to how I can cut back further. Any ideas/advice are very welcome and if you are/have been in a similar situation I would love to hear from you! My next job is to look at savings accounts and decide how much I need/want to save.

Thanks for reading

Hayley

savingwannabe · 25 May 2015 at 7:31AM

Hello Welcome Back,
Another nice person is joining us!!!!:beer:
Some tips that worked for me:

I kept a spending diary and realised I was spending too much snacking at work. Now I ration myself to 10pounds a week.

I tried hard not to look at ebay (I can't believe how much I used o spend when I thought I was saving money) and now I just go on to sell.

Try to drop a brand for food and buy from a reasonably priced supermarket.

I have a bank account with Halifax not only did they give me £125 to set up but they give you £5 a month interest.

Keep posting on here. You will know from last time that this keeps you focussed. Well done and I hope you save loads!!!!!:j

thrifty-hayley · 25 May 2015 at 12:27PM

Hi savingwannabe :wave:

Thank you for the welcome and tips. Great minds think alike, I'm transferring to a Halifax account for the £125 and the £5pm interest. After that I'm looking at a Martin Lewis style savings fountain using the TSB (5% on up to £2000) and Tesco (3% on up to £3000 plus extra club card points)

Once I fill both those up, I'll look for another decent savings account but thats a long way off yet! I'll also be opening a help to buy ISA once they start in Autumn.

I don't generally use Ebay and my mam sorts the food shopping (I pay board towards it though and I recently introduced her to Lidl lol!) but I'll give the spending diary a go.

I take lunch to work, it isn't possible to pop out and buy lunch when you're a nanny, the children are always present so you don't get normal lunch breaks. I'm going to look at making my lunches healthier/more filling though.

I'll let you know how the spending diary goes

Hayley

BritishBibliophile · 25 May 2015 at 3:22PM

Hi Hayley!

Thought I'd pop by and return the visit you paid to my diary

I recently came to a decision about my latest ISA after creating a spreadsheet for all the different interest rates I was finding, was so much easier than having 8 different tabs open on Chrome XD

Good luck with the saving, with any luck we'll both have our own bricks and mortar places sooner rather than later! :dance:

thrifty-hayley · 25 May 2015 at 4:27PM

Thanks BB, great idea about the spreadsheet, I'll give it a try

savingwannabe · 26 May 2015 at 4:27PM

What a fab job, a nanny! You sound so moneysaving! V good. We have some really fab people on this forum. It is v inspiring.

enjoyyourshoes · 26 May 2015 at 4:52PM

Hi some general suggestions:-

1. have clear financial objective linked to your life objective, ensure its SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound) Your deposit desire has SM but no ART-so work on that and write it down and measure you progress against it

2.Start benefiting from compound interest (interest on interest) . Could look at regular savings accounts (HSBC advantage, First direct all 6%)

3. Look long term with stocks and shares ISA, use the money saved annually with the regular savers to fund these. As your deposit will take a number of years to accumulate you are in the right timescale for S&S.

4. meal plan+scratch cook+freeze (cook one day a week and freeze everything for the weeks menu (mains, dessert and luches) Try soup and salad for lunch that you have made yourself etc.

5.Dont pay for insurances monthly as they charge you credit interest, save and pay annually.

6. Aldi value brands, compare by weights, volumes of units not merely price and if its on offer

7. Shop as little as often, freeze bread, milk and regular items you run out of to avoid the need to mid week shop.

8. Measure your savings and enjoy the achievement against the targets you set in the SMART objectives

9. Change the paradigm from 'spending' to saving at every turn

thrifty-hayley · 26 May 2015 at 9:48PM

Thanks savingwannabe, its very tiring but I love it

Thank you enjoyyourshoes, I'll take all those tips on board!

Saving for a place of my own: Starting over

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free