Really bad managing money

scarymoon1

I have a problem managing money and I'm wondering would there be such a thing of a money managing course or something?! I'm always broke at the end of the month!!! For example after all my bills are paid from my wages like car, house, loans, tax - everything, I'm left with €300 net to spend for the week but I can't seem to manage on it! I'm a single person with no children! I'm so bad - does anyone have any advice how I can save a bit? I don't even buy that much stuff or go out that much! Help

It can be really difficult to cut down on spending if you don't really see what you're spending it on.

Get a piece of paper and put it in your wallet. After you buy something (anything, even if it's a 60c pack of chewing gum) write it down and at the end of a week (or however long you have the patience to keep doing it) take a look at what proportions of your money are being spent where.

Once you know where the major pitfalls are, you can start looking for ways to reduce spending. I'm terrible for buying snacks when I'm out and about, or getting takeaways even though I've already bought the ingredients for my intended healthy dinner. So I've had to become careful about buying food. This is everything from buying smarter (value deals etc.), to popping a snack in my bag before I leave the house, to bringing lunch to work, to just taking a minute to really think before I buy - "Do I actually need this?".

In addition to spending less on the things that aren't necessary, you could also set up a direct debit savings account with your bank. This means that there will be less money in your current account to spend. Less money in the account means less thoughtless spending, because you've less to work with. It also takes the hassle away from having to go to a post office or credit union to maintain a savings account. As well as that, a direct debit means the money will never touch your purse, and so you wont accidentally spend it.

scarymoon1

true-or-false wrote: »

It can be really difficult to cut down on spending if you don't really see what you're spending it on.

Get a piece of paper and put it in your wallet. After you buy something (anything, even if it's a 60c pack of chewing gum) write it down and at the end of a week (or however long you have the patience to keep doing it) take a look at what proportions of your money are being spent where.

Once you know where the major pitfalls are, you can start looking for ways to reduce spending. I'm terrible for buying snacks when I'm out and about, or getting takeaways even though I've already bought the ingredients for my intended healthy dinner. So I've had to become careful about buying food. This is everything from buying smarter (value deals etc.), to popping a snack in my bag before I leave the house, to bringing lunch to work, to just taking a minute to really think before I buy - "Do I actually need this?".

In addition to spending less on the things that aren't necessary, you could also set up a direct debit savings account with your bank. This means that there will be less money in your current account to spend. Less money in the account means less thoughtless spending, because you've less to work with. It also takes the hassle away from having to go to a post office or credit union to maintain a savings account. As well as that, a direct debit means the money will never touch your purse, and so you wont accidentally spend it.

Thanks for all this advise. Your right I have no idea what I'm spending my money on - at one point I even thought the bank were taking money from me wrongly lol!!! I buy everything with laser so that's how I don't know what I'm spending on!! I was thinking if I withdrew say €200 cash at the start of the week and said right that's it for the week! And then I'd have €100 to save too. That might work???

Faith

Hang on, you spend €300 a week and you don't know what you spend it on? Or a month?

If it's per week that you're spending that amount, then you really, really need to track what you're spending it on. €300 would do me and my partner for a month for food, bills and maybe some petrol. If it's per week, that's €42.85 per day that you're spending.

You're obviously buying a tonne of things without even being aware of it, which is a really dangerous habit to get into. I'd set myself a spending limit of €100 per week and transfer the other €200 into a savings account so I couldn't get at it. Like true-or-false said, write down absolutely everything you buy. If you can, make up an Excel spreadsheet and enter everything at the end of the day too.

There are a range of apps available for smartphones than can help with budgeting too - just google 'budgeting apps' for articles about the best ones.

scarymoon1

Faith wrote: »

Hang on, you spend €300 a week and you don't know what you spend it on? Or a month?

If it's per week that you're spending that amount, then you really, really need to track what you're spending it on. €300 would do me and my partner for a month for food, bills and maybe some petrol. If it's per week, that's €42.85 per day that you're spending.

You're obviously buying a tonne of things without even being aware of it, which is a really dangerous habit to get into. I'd set myself a spending limit of €100 per week and transfer the other €200 into a savings account so I couldn't get at it. Like true-or-false said, write down absolutely everything you buy. If you can, make up an Excel spreadsheet and enter everything at the end of the day too.

There are a range of apps available for smartphones than can help with budgeting too - just google 'budgeting apps' for articles about the best ones.

Yes it's €300 a week. Like I buy my lunch every day, say €10 as the rest is just change, my dinner on the way home prob another €10, the rest prob goes on just 'stuff' clothes, make up, petrol, taxis, drink, beauticians. Just every day living. But I do need to cop on and keep track - writing down stuff is a start anyways.

GreeBo

+1 on setting up a DD to a savings account.
You cant spend it if you dont have access to it.
Dont try to save by not spending, just remove the cash from your current account.

Stavro Mueller

I used to be like you - if I'm honest I still can be in moments of weakness :pac: Here's what I did to improve things for myself

• I set up a savings account. Then I set up a standing order to transfer a set amount of money out of my current account into it once a month. At the start it did take a bit of getting used to but I'm delighted with myself now and wish I'd done it earlier. This has worked so well that when I needed to change the car a couple of years ago I was able to pay for it without needing a loan.

• I kept receipts and wrote down everything I was spending money on. In my case a lot of my wages was going on food and snacks. You'd be surprised how all those deli rolls, coffees, snacks, newspapers, books etc. mount up to in a month.

• I did a rough calculation of how much money I'd ne
  ed during the week and withdrew that amount from the ATM. I was never brave enough to leave the ATM card at home but I did feel pleased with myself if I managed to get to the end of the week without having had to resort to using my debit card

• Back to the food thing, it's well worth cooking your own meals from scratch. Takeaways and ready meals are costly if you have them a lot. If you take the time to cook up something from scratch, you could get two or maybe three proper meals from it. Better still, after day 1 all you need to do is put it into the microwave. The same applies to work - bring in your own lunch rather than go out to the shop. I still like to get out to the shop at lunchtime to get out of the office and stretch my legs. These days it's just to buy a bread roll - I've got my own soup or sandwich filling in the fridge in work.

Oh, and maybe it might be useful for you to try out the Budgeting Tool on MABS website https://www.mabs.ie/budgeting-tool/

Faith

scarymoon1 wrote: »

Yes it's €300 a week. Like I buy my lunch every day, say €10 as the rest is just change, my dinner on the way home prob another €10, the rest prob goes on just 'stuff' clothes, make up, petrol, taxis, drink, beauticians. Just every day living. But I do need to cop on and keep track - writing down stuff is a start anyways.

Learn to cook would be a good place to start. You'd immediately save €20 a day, or over €7,000 per year assuming you buy your meals every day.

Merkin

You sound exactly like me, Im an absolute nightmare with money, it just burns a hole in my pocket. So I've no advice hon but if you do uncover the secret to good money management then keep me posted please!

scarymoon1

Thanks all for replies. Il do what ye said. €300 a week X 52 weeks = €15,600 a year on 'stuff'!!! So bad I have a DD set up with AIB to save €100 a month but I kept dipping into it as I've online banking.Might look into one where I can't get to the money so easily.

Stavro Mueller

I'd up that €100 DD too and turn it into some real savings. At the start bump it up to maybe €300 or €500 and see how you get on with that. Do some quick maths...if you only save €100 per month that's €1,200 plus interest in a year's time. If you save €500 it'll be €6,000... Maybe if you think about your life a bit further down the road it might help focus you a bit. In my case I got to a stage of life where I knew I'd be looking for a mortgage. The thoughts of some sanctimonious oik in a bank looking at my bank statements certainly concentrated my mind!

mrsdewinter

I can't say that I'm amazing at handling money but I've improved over the years, and even have some savings now.
To be honest, when I was younger, I couldn't see the point of putting money aside - I felt like the figure on my pay packet was a spending target I had to aim for. But eventually I realised that by putting a few quid away, I was paying myself. It was money that wasn't going to restaurateurs, or the local shop, or beaty therapists - it was money I could use for my f-off fund - that is, I'd be able to fall back on it if work became completely unbearable. Now it's my 'Oh, s***' fund. With a car that is now 13 years old, I may need it soon.
On a practical level, I'd suggest taking €150 out of the bank on a Saturday, and seeing if you canlive off that until the following Saturday.
Good luck!

Mint Aero

scarymoon1 wrote: »

Yes it's €300 a week. Like I buy my lunch every day, say €10 as the rest is just change, my dinner on the way home prob another €10, the rest prob goes on just 'stuff' clothes, make up, petrol, taxis, drink, beauticians. Just every day living. But I do need to cop on and keep track - writing down stuff is a start anyways.

Just from this. I'm a single bloke and my weekly food spend is 35 euro sometimes a bit more but I tend to stick to 35. You're spending at least 100 on just eating out. I'm gonna assume you've food in the fridge too?

Taxis and drink sound like another huge chunk per week? Are you a smoker?

I'd say if you got on top of these alone you'd be doing good with savings

Ah_Yeah

€300 a week is madness.I live what I would consider a fairly lavish lifestyle - I do something every weekend, have new clothes, etc., and I still come in under €200 a week. Some weeks that's down to €50-€100 a week as it's unnecessary to buy that much "stuff" every week.

What you described is not 'just everyday living'.

Start by planning your meals for the week, and not eating out. And try leaving the card at home for a change.

Pawwed Rig

scarymoon1 wrote: »

Yes it's €300 a week. Like I buy my lunch every day, say €10 as the rest is just change, my dinner on the way home prob another €10, the rest prob goes on just 'stuff' clothes, make up, petrol, taxis, drink, beauticians. Just every day living. But I do need to cop on and keep track - writing down stuff is a start anyways.

You can easily get lunch for €5 a day if you don't eat in restaurants, just get a sandwich or a salad. Cooking dinner later would save you a bit aswell.

You say 'just everyday living'. How often do you need to buy clothes? I might buy clothes once or twice a year max. Why are you getting taxis and uying petrol? If you can drive then drive. I rarely if ever get taxis as they are extortionate and should only be used for emmergencies.
Beauticians? Can you not do it yourself?

It really sounds like you are living the consumerist lifestyle where you do nothing for yourself preferring to pay someone to do simple jobs for you.

Writing stuff down might help but I can see where your money is going from that list.
How active/expensive is your social life?

Brego888

I seem to have these conversations with my female colleagues all the time. And I'll be criticised for the gender generalisation here but in my experience women are so much worse at budgeting than men! Something also evident in the replies to this thread. Nearly all my ex girlfriends were the same too.
I truly could never understand why they or my female colleagues never have money left at the end of the money while all my male friends and myself have plenty and are saving away happily!
I generalise I know but that's my experience and I'm sure plenty of men have no concept of money either.

OP I'd definitely advice sitting down and writing out all your outgoings, everything. What's compulsory what's not. How necessary are regular clothes and cosmetics. Why can't you cook your own food and maybe bring it to work. Save more so you don't have access to it.
These are simple simple things but you'll need to be determined to tighten your belt a bit because you've become accustomed to spending everything you have.
Set limits and try to break the habits.

scarymoon1

Well I know this bit is extravagant but the last 2 weeks I've been working in the city centre so I've been getting taxis. Next week though il be working outside dublin so I can drive. As for petrol work pay expenses so I shouldn't even be spending much on petrol. I wouldn't buy much clothes. As for the beauticians - I can't do that myself - it wouldn't be as good as the beauticians do it. My social life isn't that active. I honostly don't know how I spend so much. Oh my violin lessons cost €50 an hour which I sometimes get once every 2 weeks. I also get a massage once a month - €60. That still shouldn't add up to €300 weekly though. Il need to keep track and not just spend when I feel like it or see something I like

homemadecider

Your spending on food alone is bonkers. Why don't you sit down at the weekend and plan out your food for the next week - use this plan to make a shopping list for everything you will need. Then buy only what's on the list.

My OH and I do this every week and for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday we spend about €75 per week between us.

I would only go out for lunch during a workday if it was a special occasion or if someone was leaving the office etc.

Also re: taxis in in Dublin - why didn't you use public transport?

scarymoon1

homemadecider wrote: »

Your spending on food alone is bonkers. Why don't you sit down at the weekend and plan out your food for the next week - use this plan to make a shopping list for everything you will need. Then buy only what's on the list.

My OH and I do this every week and for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday we spend about €75 per week between us.

I would only go out for lunch during a workday if it was a special occasion or if someone was leaving the office etc.

Also re: taxis in in Dublin - why didn't you use public transport?

I've to go out for lunch again today with colleagues so I can't really say no. It's just for these 2 weeks I've used taxis, the train goes too early!

homemadecider

scarymoon1 wrote: »

I've to go out for lunch again today with colleagues so I can't really say no. It's just for these 2 weeks I've used taxis, the train goes too early!

Sounds like you have an excuse for everything so!

Penny Tration

Not to be smart, but get the earlier train. Do the math, I'd imagine you'll save at least eighty euro doing that. Go for a coffee if you're too early for work, it'll still save you more than if you get taxis.

Say you can't go for lunch. Unless it's a leaving do or something else, you don't 'have' to go. Say you're on a diet so are bringing your own lunch. Or tell the teuth - you're spending too much on lunches.

Cook dinner, rather than spend a tenner on it.

Watch YouTube videos to learn to do what you pay a beautician to do.

Honestly, i wouldn't be able to spend three hundred a week if I tried. I earn around 300 per week. I pay rent, food and bills, have a night out if I want one, buy clothes when I need them and live quite well. I don't honestly know how you can spend 300 on what is basically unnecessary crap.

Pawwed Rig

scarymoon1 wrote: »

the train goes too early!

You are paying for convenience in your life. This is what is costing you so much money.
If you are serious about managing money there has been good advice given on this thread but you have rejected it all other than writing down your expenditure.

If you really want to address your spending*
Use cheaper forms of transport.
Cut down on eating out.
Cut out designer labels.
Buy a cheaper car.
Buy cheaper make up.
Give up the massages.
Look for cheaper violin lessons.
Noone needs to goto a beautician regularly. Cut that out.
Count how many pairs of shoes you have v how many you actually need (I would say 5). If you have too many do not buy anymore.
Cook.
Rent a cheaper flat.
Assess your direct debits. What can you do without.
Buy a cheaper phone and sign up to the cheapest deal. Stick to the limits imposed.
Do not buy coffees during the day. Bring a jar of instant with you and use hot water provided.
Don't buy handbags.


*note some assumptions on lifestyle made so not all will be relevant in your case.

ivytwine

Then get the early train? If it was too late then I could see how you would get a taxi.

Also the DART isn't the only option in Dublin. I'm the first to give out about Dublin Bus but in all fairness they run pretty much everywhere and they start at 6am-6.30am.

I think OP you are more disorganised than bad with money, you are living from day to day without any planning. It's almost if you are living on a holiday mindset, ie, when you're on holiday you have to buy food everyday and pay for taxis etc. But in daily life, you can't do that.

I am not the best with money either but I have reformed majorly in the last two or three years- I have had to! Only on a part-time wage in Dublin which is zero craic as you can imagine.

So yes. It seems to me you are cutting your cloth to suit. Think of the lovely feeling you get when you still see a note in your purse that means you don't need to go to the ATM for another day or two. As my mother used to say to me whenever we went anywhere for the day "You don't need to spend EVERYTHING in your purse you know!"

Setting up a DD to a savings ac is an excellent idea, I have done this before and when you don't see it, you really don't miss it.

Don't use cards, way too easy to spend. I wouldn't go to the extreme of going cutting them up or leaving them at home even. (I did this on a night out once, and of course it was the one night a lift fell through and I had to borrow money for a taxi :rolleyes:). Instead take out cash and promise yourself you will not go out to the ATM again.

Buy a Leap Card and book your trains online as far in advance as possible.

Learn to cook from scratch and believe me, it's neither hard nor time consuming. The other week I made carbonara for probably under €3 (I had rashers and eggs in the fridge so used them up). It took me 15 minutes! I'd pay €10-€12 for that in town... Also the more you cook the better and faster you get.

If you have to get taxis on a regular basis, use the Hailo app or get in touch with a local company instead of hailing them off the street. Also, an interesting tip I heard from a taxi driver- don't go on the motorway. It may be quicker but ups the fare as it's a greater distance.

Use online shopping such as Tesco.ie. I find I don't impulse buy as much online as the products aren't in front of me. Also on Tesco, Lidl and Aldi etc- have a look at their own brands. Case in point- Tesco herbs and spices are around 89c, you would pay €2.50 for the Schwartz brand. There is absolutely no difference in these- how could there be, they're spices!

I wouldn't say cancel your lunches or violin lessons or even beauticians. You have a large amount of disposable income leftover each week, you are entitled to spend this in a way you choose (I also disagree with saying regular trips to the beauticians should go, if you feel more comfortable with a professional approach, then go for it). These things aren't the problem- in fact you know exactly what you've spent on these and have a tangible result from that expenditure. However, it's the little things that are draining your money away. Cut out store-bought coffee and drinks, and bottled water- refill from the tap or buy a filter.

A friend used to do the 'second look' system with clothes. You see something you like, instead of trying it on and buying it straight away you go around the rest of the shop or the shopping centre and you come back to the store you have seen the thing you want. On second glance, do you really want it?

It works for most things. I was a divil for magazines but on second look I usually don't really want them.

Hope some of this helps.

Ah_Yeah

I would echo what one of the other posters said here - you have a reason for everything. If you keep reasoning away your spend, then of course you're not going to cut down on your spending. And yes, what you just outlined would easily add up to €300 a week - I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually more.

- Cut out the taxis - suck it up and get the train or cycle.
- Stop going out for lunch every day of the week and then it's OK to go for lunch with your colleagues every now and again
- Keep going to the beauticians - but why so much? I do everything after I get paid, and because I do it all at once I get a discount. No one should need to go to the beauticians more than once a month.
- Dye your hair at home and use student hairdressers

Your money is going on impulse buys - are you counting trips to the shop, "little things" that you buy? I found when I assessed my cash flow that the "little bits" I bought e.g. coffee and a bar of chocolate with my petrol at the petrol station, or a lipgloss when I went to tesco, were the big things that added up! That laser/debit card is a killer, you need to start paying with cash.

Also, nights out will burn you big time. Try to cut back on those and find other avenues and things to do at the weekend. It's so easy to drop €100 in a night if not more.

My suggestion would be to get receipts for everything you buy for a month. Sit down and go back over them at the end of the month, you will be shocked.

And increasing your savings is actually a huge incentive to continue to save. I increased my savings to €200 a month, and I recently rang my credit union to get the balance - I got such a shock when they told me how much money I had in savings, I was so happy that I had saved that much! So I've increased my savings again, and I've realised that with no effort on my part other than changing the value of a standing order, I have saved a load - and it's made me more frugal as I just want to keep saving for my new car!

You are well able to spend less if you give up some unnecessary luxuries and stop thinking that you "need" these things to get by. You won't even notice the difference when you change, bar your pocket being fuller.

scarymoon1

I don't have excuses for everything - I did HAVE to go out for lunch today - but I only got a sandwich which cost me €5. I didn't buy a drink, had water instead. There's free tea / coffee in work so il drink that. I won't be using taxis next week - il be driving. So far today I've only spent €11.50 so not too bad.

homemadecider

scarymoon1 wrote: »

I don't have excuses for everything - I did HAVE to go out for lunch today - but I only got a sandwich which cost me €5. I didn't buy a drink, had water instead. There's free tea / coffee in work so il drink that. I won't be using taxis next week - il be driving. So far today I've only spent €11.50 so not too bad.

What was the other €6.50 today?

scarymoon1

homemadecider wrote: »

What was the other €6.50 today?

Taxi to work

scarymoon1

Ok I just did a spreadsheet of every bill, food, lunch, petrol, dinner, toll, phone, tax and I should have €600 a month extra left!
! WTF!! I think someone is stealing my money!!!

reap-a-rat

I think it's been mentioned already but have €100 or €150 a week go into a savings account. That'll leave you with €200 or €150 a week for spending on whatever you spend your money on (somehow) - if you only have that you can only spend that. €300 is a ridiculous amount to be spending each week, and you're excusing that behaviour by saying you HAVE to go for lunch, or the train goes to early or whatever. If you get taxis everywhere, eat every meal out and pay people to do things that you can easily do yourself if you take the time to learn how, then of course you'll be broke!

I'm a terrible budgeter and I'll splurge every now and again, but since I've started earning money (albeit, very little as I'm only part time for now) I've never once been stuck for money; in fact I've almost always had at least a month's wage a back up should I need it. Over a normal week I'd usually only spend money maybe 2 days. Of course I'm tempted to never cook but if I buy meat and veg for the week on a Sunday, I'd feel bad letting it pass it's best before date and throwing it away, so I will use it up.

You seriously need to rethink your spending, and maybe calling MABS would be a good start.

iusedtoknow

Well to mix up the gender bias...I'm a guy and used to be awful with money. Seriously, as someone else said, it was like a spending target to reach rather than something to last. Once my rent and bills were paid, i was spending and not saving.

However, I learned very quickly how to do it. I didn't change one thing for a month and noted EVERYTHING i spent, down to the coins i used in the vending machines at work. I was horrified.

The next month I made SOME changes, not all at once, as it can be terrifying and you'll think "**** that" and go back to your old ways. It took about 3 months, but within those 3 months I went from having no money saved to 800 sitting in my savings account

You already seem to know where your money is going, so start making some changes.

• Pay yourself first. Work out at every paycheck how much you need to cover your basics. Rent, food, loan payments, savings. etc and then give yourself an allowance per week and stick too it. I put savings in there, as you should treat saving as a basic need, rather than a "nice to have someday" thing. Even if you start small with 100 a month, you'll feel great knowing it's there. Set it as a direct debit and remove it from online banking. If you start small, you won't notice it and month by month you can increase the amount.
• Taxis instead of trains? Madness. I'd rather the train, listen to a podcast instead of the ramblings of a taxi driver and a walk to the office than a door to door.
• Lunches out TBH can be unavoidable in certain company cultures, and if it is only 2 weeks, but if that was permanent , you'd need another solution as 7 a day is 35 a week, which 140 a month...
• Start cooking. Even if it's as basic as some chicken, garlic , pasta and a jar of pesto, it can cover you for 2 days. I started cooking on a sunday to cover my meals for at least 4 days. There is a lot you can do at once, let cool and freeze to nuke through the week, with only having to do rice or pasta or potato when you get home.

There are a lot of personal finance website, some more catered to the american market, but they can give you some great tips on budgeting etc.
Lifehacker has a whole section on it.

seosamh1980

Write it all down. Don't just keep saying "I don't know what I spend it on". Keep ALL receipts, get a diary, write it down day by day.

I spend about €75-150 a week, that includes food, petrol, almost weekly massages for an injury (€45-50 each time), phone credit, cinema, dinner or lunch out maybe once every two weeks, night out, etc. I get paid on a Friday, take out my rent money and put it aside, buy food, put aside money for massage or whatever else I know I need, then the rest I can spend. Most weeks I'd save €50 if I'm not getting a massage.

If I spent €300 a week after bills...actually I don't think I could maintain that spending every week. Cook some feckin meals, stop getting taxis to work, are you spending €13 a day on taxis so, to and from work? Madness.

Edit: Look at MABS website.

Xidu

Write down everything you spend everyday, put them all in a excel sheet. After a month, you will find out how much you spend on each category. And anaylise which part is the one you can actually do some control. For example eating outside too much...

Then you can budget for next month and stick on with your budget by writing down everything you spend everyday.

homemadecider

scarymoon1 wrote: »

Ok I just did a spreadsheet of every bill, food, lunch, petrol, dinner, toll, phone, tax and I should have €600 a month extra left!
! WTF!! I think someone is stealing my money!!!

Doubt it. You forgot your violin lessons, beautician appointments, massages, not to mention any time you buy a cup of coffee or a sandwich or a chocolate bar or a bottle of wine or a pint etc. If you use laser for everything then you have an easily accessible record of all your spending via online banking.

Xidu

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/653009/290445.jpg

Here's a excel sheet I created myself to control my spending yearly.

Jenneke87

It comes down to self control I think. I tend to overspend when compensating for periods of time when I couldn't and really have to tell myself:"You don't need this." Also, cooking and buying food wisely will help and I find looking for good deals for stuff I need kinda fun, it secretly makes me proud to see how much I've saved If you haven't done so(guilty of not reading the whole thread) set up a savings account with a standard order each month. I do so and it gives a certain kind of peace of mind knowing that should something happen I won't be in financial trouble.

Having €300 to spend each week is something most people can only dream of so make good use of it and save as much as you can. You will thank yourself for it at some point in the future.

ivytwine

I also doubt someone is stealing your money from what you describe.

The tools are there to help you mind your money, you've got great advice here, MABS, and (I don't know what bank you are) Bank of Ireland's online service has every transaction you've made just a click away.

If you haven't set up online banking, do so. It's a brilliant way of keeping track of your expenditure.

The way you are carrying on you are a skimmer's dream to be frank. You could conceivably coast along for weeks without noticing your money's going down a black hole.

The only way to combat this is to sit down with your bank statements, and every receipt and note made of expenditure over the last week. See what your money's going on and why.

The old saying's true- Look after the pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves.

Semele

Excellent advice already given, but I just want to say again that the thing that turned my spending habits around was realising how much I spent on the little impulse decisions. I would often be tidying round and would find a Boots bag under papers with a lip gloss or nail polish that I'd bought and immediately forgot about. I would have nipped in for a sandwich and grabbed that in the queue. In my head later then, I'd try to remember my outgoings (for a vague, rubbishy attempt at budgeting!) and would remember the sandwich I'd gone in for yet completely forget the item that cost more and that I apparently didn't even want, given that I forgot to ever use it!

It's an awful habit to get into- I think in my case I'd worked for peanuts for so long that once I got a decent job I had an attitude of treating myself a bit. There was nothing wrong with that at first, but what actually disgusts me now is how quickly these "treats" stopped being special. I didn't get any pleasure from them because it had become a mindless habit of consumption.

Once I started realising this (only about 6 months ago tbh) I actually felt repelled at the way I'd been acting. It's the mindlessness consumerism of it all that I object to, not the amount I was spending per se. Now I make a point of not spending on all and any rubbish that catches my eye, but I haven't changed my quality of life and when I treat myself it's to something I know that I want and that I'll get genuine pleasure from. I'd actually say my quality of life and the quality of what I buy is improving and yet I'm saving money.

There are some great blogs out there on thoughtful/ethical consumerism and minimalism that I find really inspiring. It's a habit you need to get into and it involves a change in values.

PS- I'm still not great at it! Last week I was in Asda, trying to shop to a budget. I spent about ten minutes dithering between cans of tomatoes in order to work out the best deal, walked away delighted with myself at my 20p saving (beating the system, I was!)...and promptly impulse-picked-up a £7 soap dish that I forgot about till I unpacked the bags at home! I have 4 soapdishes and only 2 sinks...:o

GreeBo

scarymoon1 wrote: »

Taxi to work

For 6.50 you cant have been going too far....sounds pretty walkable?

Ah_Yeah

GreeBo wrote: »

For 6.50 you cant have been going too far....sounds pretty walkable?

I was about to say the same thing - my house is a 20 minute walk from work, and it costs a tenner in rush hour traffic to get there in a cab. Sounds like laziness to me.

emuhead

Maybe kick start saving by buying prize bonds, which are not as accessible as your online savings account? You have to wait a certain period to cash them in and it might stop impulsive dips into your savings. Once you've a stash built up you could phase in using your online bank account for savings.

ivytwine

Also on the cooking from scratch thing- no need to buy fancy recipe books, lots of excellent recipes available for free online or in your Saturday supplement. A recipe I saw in the Star years ago is now one of my speciality desserts

Check out this lady's blog too. She's obviously on a far tighter budget but her recipes are really great and her article about what to have in stock in the house is also excellent.

http://agirlcalledjack.com/

bmwguy

Just reading through this and it reminds me so much of myself. If anything I am approx 50 a week worse than you. I have a mortgage and live alone so everyone assumes things are very tight for me and I am happy to let them think that. In reality things aren't tight, I have at least 350 a week left after bills are paid but I manage to spend it. I just kind of do whatever I want. I cannot get my head around squirelling away although I do pay into a private pension, mainly due to the tax benefits, not any thinking about the future or anything like that. One response here said it is down to disorganization on your part, I would tend to agree, I am the same. Take today for example I arrived home from work to an empty fridge so instead of a 3 minute drive to local supermarket I rang a Chinese for 10 Euro. I just can't plan for shopping. Tomorrow morning I am going to sit down and try to plan where I will be for the week and what I will need to eat and base a shopping trip on it. There are obviously other areas I need to save too but that's a start I reckon I can pull a few quid back on every week. I'm going to re-read this thread but keep suggestions coming. I am never broke but I know deep down I am probably spending an entire families budget for many (I earn approx 3k a month after tax) on myself which is wrong. OP I wish you luck!

scarymoon1

bmwguy wrote: »

Just reading through this and it reminds me so much of myself. If anything I am approx 50 a week worse than you. I have a mortgage and live alone so everyone assumes things are very tight for me and I am happy to let them think that. In reality things aren't tight, I have at least 350 a week left after bills are paid but I manage to spend it. I just kind of do whatever I want. I cannot get my head around squirelling away although I do pay into a private pension, mainly due to the tax benefits, not any thinking about the future or anything like that. One response here said it is down to disorganization on your part, I would tend to agree, I am the same. Take today for example I arrived home from work to an empty fridge so instead of a 3 minute drive to local supermarket I rang a Chinese for 10 Euro. I just can't plan for shopping. Tomorrow morning I am going to sit down and try to plan w
here I will be for the week and what I will need to eat and base a shopping trip on it. There are obviously other areas I need to save too but that's a start I reckon I can pull a few quid back on every week. I'm going to re-read this thread but keep suggestions coming. I am never broke but I know deep down I am probably spending an entire families budget for many (I earn approx 3k a month after tax) on myself which is wrong. OP I wish you luck!

I'm not alone! I agree with the disorganisation and laziness. I didn't want to get the train as it was too early ( too early out of bed ) so I drove and parked in fairview in dublin then got the taxi into work from
Fairview. I'm too lazy to cook after work so just call into M and S to get something. I've my spreadsheet done so il stick to making my lunch next week and cooking at night. I did used to bring my lunch to work before but got fed up of it and stopped. The last time I bought clothes was actually about 2 weeks ago so that's good too! Plus I've just noticed I'm paying €700 car insurance with Zurich and no nonsense gave me a quote for about €400 today so that will save €300! I never bothered checking the renewal price before

bmwguy

scarymoon1 wrote: »

I'm not alone! I agree with the disorganisation and laziness. I didn't want to get the train as it was too early ( too early out of bed ) so I drove and parked in fairview in dublin then got the taxi into work from
Fairview. I'm too lazy to cook after work so just call into M and S to get something. I've my spreadsheet done so il stick to making my lunch next week and cooking at night. I did used to bring my lunch to work before but got fed up of it and stopped. The last time I bought clothes was actually about 2 weeks ago so that's good too! Plus I've just noticed I'm paying €700 car insurance with Zurich and no nonsense gave me a quote for about €400 today so that will save €300! I never bothered checking the renewal price before

No you definitely aren't alone! Let's create a support group! In many ways I am very thrifty there are some things I hate paying for and do it as little as possible. Taxis are one thing, I will often walk to the pub if I am going out (approx 45 minutes) to save on the fare but it's also because I might be ready early and have an hour to kill and I quite like the walk sometimes. Other times I will drive and do the walk the next day to collect the car. That said I have an expensive car to run, but I do like that car. I am quite good at the likes of getting good deals on car insurance etc. It is the day to day things and impulse buys that get me. If it's getting near payday (i get paid monthly) and I have a good few quid left I will think nothing of buying a big luxury item or going away on a weekend, it's like I need to create space in the bank account to accommodate the new salary! I used to joke about this in my 20s but I am early 30s now and trying to change. I currently have 3 long weekends away booked for later in the year and will book a holiday soon. All this said though, I do enjoy my money and have my house done as I want it I actually got a new kitchen floor yesterday! I am glad I am not miserly with money though and I really do enjoy spending on nice things. At the moment I have 1200 disposable to do me for 20 days and it's in the back of my mind that it might not be enough which is crazy. Just thinking about it now I don't actually know how I spend so much so will try to keep track of it through a spreadsheet. Currently single so no harm but the thoughts of sometime in the future of having to adjust my ways to raise children is kind of spurring me on to make adjustments now.

Stavro Mueller

If you get better at shopping sensibly and pre-planning meals you'll be making a big step in the right direction. Start by doing a big shop in Aldi or Lidl and stock your cupboards and fridge well. If you're clever about what you cook you might get two or even three days out of one cooking session. If you've a freezer in your house, freeze up some meals and have them ready to nuke in the microwave on those evenings where the last thing you want to do is cook. Having meals ready to go also means you're less likely to go into shops on your way home and fritter away your money. I bet that when you run into M&S to grab something for dinner, you often pick up other things too.

meoklmrk91

My personal recommendation, start using cash, it is far too easy not to think about it when it's on a card because you can't see your money disappearing. Sit down and come up with some sort of idea of what you need for walking around money, basically an allowance that you give yourself each week after all the bills are paid, take the money out of the bank and make a resolution that this is your money for the week and you're not allowed to take out anymore until next week.

You need to start cooking, all those dinners and lunches out are killing you, if you stop spending all that money on meals out then you will realise how much money you have been wasting. I used to be a fecker for going to the shop and getting drinks, deli food, snacks etc. I copped on and can't believe the amount of money you waste by doing that on a daily basis. I rarely eat out and always bring a packed lunch with me.

I'm actually in total disbelief at how much you spend :eek:

I'd advise to cut out the coffees/lunches/ready meals first - I find they are the biggest drain on finances and you don't even really appreciate them if you're having them every day. It's also crazy to get a taxi when you could get a bus or walk.

I don't agree about the beauty treatments - they are one of the last things I'd cut down on because they just make me feel so much better about myself. I get my eyebrows threaded every 2 weeks (they are insanely thick and grow back so fast), a facial every 2 weeks (have major problem skin) and fairly regular massages (back issues). A lot of people would find this really extravagant, but it's really important for me and I'm willing to forego deli lunches, coffees, drinking, etc to be able to afford it.

I think you need to decide what you genuinely appreciate and are happy to continue buying, and stop buying all the stuff you buy just for the sake of it. Others have advised to use cash, personally I prefer debit cards because I can go through it at the end of each month and see exactly what I've spent and where I spent it - far easier than trying to keep receipts for everything.

LegacyUser

Semele wrote: »

Excellent advice already given, but I just want to say again that the thing that turned my spending habits around was realising how much I spent on the little impulse decisions. I would often be tidying round and would find a Boots bag under papers with a lip gloss or nail polish that I'd bought and immediately forgot about. I would have nipped in for a sandwich and grabbed that in the queue. In my head later then, I'd try to remember my outgoings (for a vague, rubbishy attempt at budgeting!) and would remember the sandwich I'd gone in for yet completely forget the item that cost more and that I apparently didn't even want, given that I forgot to ever use it!

It's an awful habit to get into- I think in my case I'd worked for peanuts for so long that once I got a decent job I had an attitude of treating myself a bit. There was nothing wrong with that at first, but what actually disgusts me now is how quickly these "treats" stopped being special. I didn't get any pleasure from them because it had become a mindless habit of consumption.

Once I started realising this (only about 6 months ago tbh) I actually felt repelled at the way I'd been acting. It's the mindlessness consumerism of it all that I object to, not the amount I was spending per se. Now I make a point of not spending on all and any rubbish that catches my eye, but I haven't changed my quality of life and when I treat myself it's to something I know that I want and that I'll get genuine pleasure from. I'd actually say my quality of life and the quality of what I buy is improving and yet I'm saving money.

There are some great blogs out there on thoughtful/ethical consumerism and minimalism that I find really inspiring. It's a habit you need to get into and it involves a change in values.

PS- I'm still not great at it! Last week I was in Asda, trying to shop to a budget. I spent about ten minutes dithering between cans of tomatoes in order to work out the best deal, walked away delighted with myself at my 20p saving (beating the system, I was!)...and promptly impulse-picked-up a £7 soap dish that I forgot about till I unpacked the bags at home! I have 4 soapdishes and only 2 sinks...:o

Can you link us to one or two of those inspiring blogs?

Thanks

ams

http://www.theminimalists.com/ is a good place to start!

Semele

big_spender wrote: »

Can you link us to one or two of those inspiring blogs?

Thanks

http://the-nife.blogspot.co.uk
This is my current favourite as I love the beautiful writing style and the personality of the girl who writes it- it started more fashion based and then became broader in scope.

http://www.twolessthings.co.uk
One of the rarer UK based bloggers, focusing on slowly cutting down. I don't feel this blogger fits with my personal style, but the tips on getting started are good.

http://emptyemptor.com
This one is more about consumer psychology. Interesting and very well researched but not so practical or personal.

http://www.missminimalist.com
This is one of the "classics" and one of the first blogs I found. She has some cheap kindle books too, which are great for tips on cutting down and learning new habits. She's turned into a proper hard line minimalist though and as I've learned more I've moved away from her blog a bit. Kali, from the first blog I linked to, has a great post called "Why I am not a minimalist", that sums up my feelings on what I'd like to aim for.

http://into-mind.com
I can't recommend this one enough for anyone interested in finding a signature look! Also a beautiful looking blog, every post is a pleasure! It's more pure fashion than minimalism, but reading things like this has helped me refine my likes, so I find I shop less randomly and am less inclined to buy the things that for various reasons end up never being worn! Clothes were my biggest expense before but I have almost no desire to just shop randomly now- I only browse if I've got a specific thing in mind.

I found more and more blogs through each other, as the minimalist blogging community seems quite small. I used to read loads but then pared it down to the bloggers who I felt fitted my style and aims.

Happy reading!