Bank account savings 'pots'.

[ImFree2doasiwant]

I'm trying to sort out my finances, which are in a bit of a dire state. I think I'd really benefit from an account or facility where I can direct money each month for things like birthdays, holidays, car maintainance etc. At the moment I'm very much "spend as you go".

I need to reduce my overdraft as a priority, but once that's done, would like to plan a little bit ahead by saving for different things.

Any recommendations? I currently have a lloyds and a natwest account.

Any other tips for saving?

Most high street banks have the same features as Monzo but they are playing catch up with the features and their UI just isn't as slick.

I have a high street bank account where wages go in and DD go out. I then transfer money to my Monzo for day to day spending and i have a set amount go into savings/investments. I use my CC for online and big purchases for section 75 protection. At the end of the month the left over money either gets spent or also added to savings.

I don't have any debt to manage but this does allow me to be fully aware of where my money is going and keep track of everything.

'm nit sure whether to just deal with the overdraft and accept that it will fluctuate as these things come up

Definitely keep as much money as possible in your account that is sometimes overdrawn until you get on track. Otherwise you're just throwing money away on interest as well as all those drinks and snacks.

One way to help your cashflow and save overdraft costs would be to use credit cards for your day to day spending, perhaps one for essentials and one for discretionary spending and pay them off in full every month. This would leave money in your account for an extra month and keep you out of overdraft. But this would need you to not use your main account for anything except direct debits and standing orders.

It would also require you to completely change your mindset to spending.

Do you never look at the price of drinks and snacks in the petrol station and at attractions compared to the supermarket and think 'how fucking much' and not buy it for that reason? It's usually a complete rip off, 2, 3 or 4 times the price!

@BarbaraofSeville thank you, and yes I do think that, it's just a very bad habit. Without wanting to sound all "woe is me" I've had a really shitty time with separation, still not divorced (4 years on) 2 small children etc. I have the last 6 months acknowledged that I've been taking comfort in food and drink, and "treating" the DC too much. I'd packed weight on, but have lost 2 of the 3 stone I need to in the past 4 months.

I've had a few things financially, sone essential, some not, that have tipped me over from living within my means (just) to really struggling. It's a huge wake up call.

I like the idea of using the CC to prevent the overdraft fees, I will think about that and do sone calculations. This month, I just aim to really cut back on money going out. I've cancelled a few small payments (subscriptions) and am paring my grocery shopping back (I have plenty of food in and need to defrost the freezer). I've so sold a few things on Facebook and made nearly £100 back.

Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it.

You can do it op! Feels so good to be on top of it. I have a pot for January and one for summer too. I find im always looking for extra money then.

Monzo! You also get paid early with Monzo

I use Lloyds and I must say I'm really happy with them, I think the app is probably one of the better ones out there, certainly among the high street banks. I looked into Starling but couldn't find a good enough reason to switch over.

With Lloyds, I can:

Hold multiple accounts for various money pots.

Have the Save the Change facility from whichever accounts I want.

Cash in cheques via the app

Also:

The balances shown take into acct pending payments (really important)

As a club Lloyds member I have bonuses such as travel insurance, phone insurance, AA cover all covered - and a subscription to Country Living (there are other options!)

When I found out I had some dodgy activity on my acct through my Apple ID they were quick to respond and refund.

So in all I'm happy with them.

There's an app/website I use called Good budget, I use the free version which gives you up to 10 'monthly envelopes' and 10 'savjngs envelopes'. When I get paid, I "allocate" all my money across those envelopes so I can track where everything's going and know how much I have for each purpose. All my money is in one bank account, but I use GoodBudget almost daily. It has really helped me take charge of my budgeting (a skill that needs to be learnt and continually practised) and I love it!

We have half a dozen savings accounts and they're all named. We just put the money in them when we get paid and watch them grow. In tighter months it's just a tenner here and there and then if we get the chance, more money. It's all on one banking app.

We have Christmas, holiday, emergencies, general (were trying to build up a buffer of 3 months expenditure), extension, plus our birthday money accounts.

Couldn't be easier.

Nationwide- you can rename the savings accounts and create savings goals.

Favourable saving accounts. I have one that is 1% as long as you do not withdraw more than 3 times.

Starling are fantastic

Spending on credit cards to avoid using your overdraft is an incredibly bad idea. You should work as hard as you can to get out of your overdraft but do it by cutting back on spending and if you manage to cut a monthly bill down, put the extra you'll save towards your overdraft. You might be able to do that if you've got a good hold on what you spend and why but if you're someone who spends a lot on things they don't need that's a fast track to loads of debt you might not be able to get out of. I speak from experience!

@Needapoodle I almost put "but I don't think I'm 'there' yet" in my post about the CC, but thought it sounded a bit pathetic. I know what you are saying, and it's not something I'm going to jump into just now. Like you say, I need to get q hold on what I'm spending first.

You will feel so good once youve started this journey. I had that awful post separation time too. You can still give your kids loads of treats, they dont need to know that you are being frugal all of the time.

Im planning to stop the wasted £15 at McDonalds by baking jacket potatos and serving them after swimming with sliced rectangles of cheese in tinfoil. If i give me kids that they will be delighted and it exciting. I also think a flask of hot chocolate and a tin of squirty cream in the car is a fantastic treat but much less costly than stopping for drinks.

That wasn't meant to sound patronising. Just to say that all of those pennies add up. :)

Pennies do indeed add up, it's where 'look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves' comes from.

On an individual basis, you might think a £2 drink from a convenience store 'is only a couple of quid' but when you do it a lot, it's tens of pounds a month or hundreds of pounds a year.

You might only be paying a few quid a month on your overdraft charges, but over a year you might be paying £200 to borrow £500 for example.

And I stand by my suggestion of using a credit card instead of an overdraft (paid off in full every month). It's just a different payment tool, and one that's free, rather than one that costs a load in interest.

The OP says she wants to stop wasting money, and at the moment, it's likely she's wasting a lot of money on interest, as well as the things she's buying and doing.

OP, have you seen the MSE advice on how to stop spending?

www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/money-mantras/

If you online bank with Lloyd's you can have multiple accounts. And nominate one for an save the change where it rounds up your spends to a pound each day and puts that amount into the account..I have various short and longer term accounts all viewable on my Lloyds bank that I transfer money out of on payday to save for various things.

Another vote for Monzo..l it has helped my spending enormously

We use the savings pots from our usual bank as then all in one place and easy to move between and also set up standing orders. I see savings as an essential bill so use standing orders for those pots and don’t touch them and some I just move money to as and when if we are saving for something we want to purchase etc.

Op, if you set aside fun money for each weekend though, you have that x amount to spend on crap drinks if you want?

All our money is divided up and we have x amount to spend on whatever we want.
Rather than blindly spending... On crappie drinks then feeling guilt we simply know now exactly what we can spend.

@BarbaraofSeville I think the CC to avoid OD charges is great, and something I will do in a couple of months I think. I'm really worried about doing it badly and ending up worse off. I realise how pathetic that sounds. Abd I am definitely knocking the "just a couple if quid" stuff on the head. I did look at the other link earlier, and will check that one out too.

@coodawoodashooda we were doing a Friday McDs, have stopped that abd last week bought pizza bases and made our own pizza. The hot choc in the car is a great idea. I also used my insulated coffee cup for keeping icelollies frozen before, and will start doing that again. It's not patronising at all. I KNIW what I need to do, it's not always that easy to do though is it.

@Panickingpavlova I know what you mean but the reality us atm, I can't afford to be spending any unnecessary money.

Ive sold about £17 worth of things, so at about £100 for today. It's taken up a bit of time but still I'm pleased!

@coodawoodashooda

You will feel so good once youve started this journey. I had that awful post separation time too. You can still give your kids loads of treats, they dont need to know that you are being frugal all of the time.

This they dont need to know that you are being frugal is incredibly important IMO.

A treat is a treat to a child. We went today for icecreams, went to M&S and bought a four pack for £1.50. If I had gone to the (lovely) kiosk in the gardens it would have been £12. The kids never would think to ask for a more expensive icecream, we had the same lovely walk.

Mentally, that goes on my list as '£10.50 saved'.

I spend when I want to, and don;t spend when I want to. It is the control that I learnt when I changed my spending completely, I used to just go out and buy and then think 'ooops'.

I plan cheap treats, so I can get more treats out of my money. As a family we have a lot more fun now we are more careful about not wasting money.

I think there is a misconception that being careful with money makes life more boring, but that is certainly not how it has been for me.

I also think that a real treat for a child is a relaxed parent. You can't be relaxed if you are constantly stressing about finances. Can you phone the bank for advise? You dont have to figure it out on your own.

Advice not advise. Sorry.