Please tell me how to get a grip on my spending!

[Run1000km2021]

My husband and I have reasonable incomes yet there never seems anything left at the end of the month!

For years we had massive childcare bills but this is the first year we are not spending £1000+ each month on childcare so I want to start saving.

We don’t live an extravagant life style and beyond the mortgage we don’t have any debts, but the money just seems to vanish every month!

I want to start logging what we spend but I don’t have the time to spend hours in spreadsheets. Is there a handy app I can link to my bank account so I can first of all see where all the money goes? Then I can decide how we can cut down and save.

Or is it worth getting a financial advisor? I often feel I don’t even really understand my pension (whether there will be enough?!) or if there’s obvious ways in which I could save money and I’m not realising.

Tips from money savvy people are welcome😊

I do not know about apps because I do not use them, but if you still have the same income i woukd just divert what you used to pay in childcare (or most of it) to a savings account.

I used to pay circa £600 a month in train commuting fares. When that stopped i diverted £4oo into savings (mortgage paying off) and £200 into a savings account designed to give us some holidays and luxuries. If you do an auto divert the you do not notice and it adds up fast.

Oh that’s a good idea @GoOutsideAndPlay

budget planner

This budget planner is excellent for getting a control on your spending, and working out what you actually spend. It makes you think about the unexpected expenditure and hidden costs.

I use Monzo for my budgeting. I’ve worked out how much I have to spend each month, then I transfer that weekly to my Monzo bank account. Monzo automatically categorises any spending so it’s easy to see where the money has gone, and sorting money weekly makes it easier to track. If there’s no money left then I don’t spend it (though at the end of every week I sweep what’s left into another ‘pot’ on Monzo so can always transfer some back from there).

Can you immediately move the £1000 into savings as soon as you get paid? If you're used to spending it on childcare then try and forget you now have this extra money. We paid our mortgage off last year and the first month we didn't have it as an expense, we transferred £1000 into our savings and have done so ever since.

Is this an option for you? Or save part of it if you still need some of this money for childcare?

When I had to get a grip of my finances I kept a list of every single thing I bought for a month.

It showed me where my money was going and was an eye opener.

If you can’t be bothered to do this what I also did when I needed to save quickly was to give myself a Miscellaneous spend budget of £100 a month.
I took this out in cash and then only allowed myself to spend that in a month other than the usual bills and petrol which came out of my account. Everything left was saved.

It is best to transfer to savings at the start of the month so you could transfer out a set amount at the start of the month.
Give yourself a small cash amount as miscellaneous spend and then at the end of month transfer out everything left in the account after bills.

Also look at how often you’re doing top up shops and buying a load more stuff you didnt 100% need when you only went in for milk

@MrsJBaptiste

Can you immediately move the £1000 into savings as soon as you get paid? If you're used to spending it on childcare then try and forget you now have this extra money. We paid our mortgage off last year and the first month we didn't have it as an expense, we transferred £1000 into our savings and have done so ever since.

Is this an option for you? Or save part of it if you still need some of this money for childcare?

My Dps did exactly this and by the time they had retired they had 2 properties paid off whic boosted their pensions and gave them an excellent quality if life.

Also, DMum stopped smoking when I was 24 (on my birthday!) and she calculated how much she was spending on cigarettes and diverted those funds into a savings account. Foir the first few years she used it to buy jewellery and to upgrade holidays. Last year I worked out how much we were spending on booze (nearly £4 k a year between us!!!!) and we immediately halved it and now DH has stopped alltogether and i am going to as well. It;s money literally pissed away.

We’re saving our ‘mortgage money’ for the kids’ Uni fees although I have said we’ll dip into it if we want e.g. the bathroom or kitchen doing.

Who do you bank with?
My Banking app has a handy ‘spending’ feature where it breaks down onto a bar chart where the majority of your money is going broken down into categories like ‘eat out’ ‘bills’ ‘retail’ ect.

Here some examples of what my app does.
I’ve just noticed it’s been upgraded to help budget too. I may use this feature myself!

That looks great @TerrifiedOfTrying4No2! I’m with coop and ideally I don’t want to change bank...

Ah if they don’t already have a similar feature perhaps it’s something they’ll look to introduce in the future!

I have Monzo account and 2 normal current accounts which are on my online banking app. I transfer out money from my current account at the beginning of each month for holidays, car, birthdays, Christmas, kids clubs, house repairs and savings. In one of my current accounts is everyday spending and the other one is for bills. I check my accounts everyday so I know what is coming in and out. Building up pots has meant we are never really surprised with expensive out-goings. I have been doing this a year and it is the first time I have felt in control and not had to use an overdraft.