Becoming short of cash before payday

[Buttonmoons]

Is it just me, or does anyone else become short of money half way through the minth. My bills are paid and the fridge, freezer and cupboards are quite full, but it’s 2 weeks till payday and I’ve got £400 left. I really need to budget better!

That amount to some people is an absolute fortune.....you aren't skint

I’m not, but it’s not a huge sum either and I should have much more

Short of cash 😂

Your well stocked with food, your bills are all paid, and you've got £400

You realise that's £200 a week to spend on...what? What does it need to cover?

Well if you should have more then you need to review your outgoings.

Totally. I’m going to look for an app that can help me go this

Anything over 25pence a week to live on and you’ll get flamed op.

Op, you’re in for a bashing here, what else do you need to pay for before you get paid.

how much do you need until payday?

@Buttonmoons a pen and paper work just as well

£200 a week????? you've paid all your bills. Are you going to spend that much a week? Jeez.. read the ROOM

It is a huge sum!!

what have you spent it on?

To be fair I get it @Buttonmoons when you are used to having more and then you suddenly find yourself having less it can be hard to work with but if bills are paid and you have food etc then there’s no need to worry, just lay low and take it easy over the next week or so. You’ll get used to it.

I’m six months into Dave Ramsey, with the aim
to get out of debt.

It means I have a budget (for the first time in my life) and pay the amount that SHOULD be excess off on my debt on payday so I can’t run out.

I have gone over my budget this month (nothing bonkers, but life is expensive, I’m certainly on a beans on toast budget anyway) so I technically have minus -£23 until next week.

I had to cancel plans this weekend because I just couldn’t afford it, and as a professional woman who shouldn’t be so broke that was embarrassing. Before Dave Ramsey I would’ve just slapped it all on the credit card though with no fucks given.

£400 seems like loads, but it’s all relative. Get on to Dave Ramsey anyway.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5205744-running-out-of-cash-before-payday why two threads op?

Look at your expenditure especially just after payday - I found we were treating ourselves too much

The room is normally on 3 figure salaries. So in mn terms she’s skint.

No one is on a three figure salary. Not unless they only work 1 hour a week

We are late 50s now with no mortgage so do keep in credit but in our 20s we were always overdrawn by the 10th of every month. We had a £300 overdraft through the 90s.

We never completed a month in credit until we were in our late 40s!!

But it wasn't so much poor budgeting as lack of cash. Once we had paid mortgage and essential bills in our 20s we were left with £40 for food and petrol for the month.

We lived on kwik saves 2p baked beans, 37p for 6 eggs and 97p frozen chips.

Anything at all left (from our overdraft!) at the end of the month and me a dh shared one mars bar! We had all our outgoings written on the inside of a kitchen cupboard door.

Never took credit cards but - as you might imagine- we were both rake thin!!

In the 90s, interest rates on mortgages were up at 15%. So, now with this COL crisis, i'd guess people are struggling in a similar way.

* just looked up £300 in 1990 is £854 in today's money.*

I think look at your total annual spending rather than month to month if you can (I completely appreciate this is not realistic for some at the moment).

So if your annual car service is likely £600, you need to allocate £50 per month to that pot across the year, not fall massively short in the month it's due and then spend on treats because you're feeling flush during other months. Same with a pot for Christmas and birthdays and hypothetical dentist visits etc.

I think there is a tool on the Martin Lewis site.

Agree. Sounds like you are being too casual with spending. Make a budget and stick to it but most would be happy in your circumstances.

Apologies. 6 figure 😣