To ask what your attitude to money is?

[elderflowerlemonade]

Are you a saver or a spender? Are you good with money or living from one pay day to the next?

I'm a bit rubbish with finances while DH is very good.

I used to be awful in my early to mid 20s. With the exception of getting on the property ladder I blew everything I earned on stuff and lived month-to-month. Then my brother account at the time put an excel cash flow budget spreadsheet together for me . It changed the way I spent, saved and now invest. I am 39 and I still use one today. I suspect if I didn't have my spreadsheet I would just blow it. DH on the other hand has always good with money.

Accountant.

Doing up houses very expensively then moving within two years was the pattern.

Just about to move again (after 11 years this time - record) and I'm leaving curtains etc, with no charge. We're talking good stuff.

I just can't bring myself to ask for money for stuff. I just can't be bothered.

I let STBXH rip me off, really, when he left. He pays for nothing towards the kids.

Other than that, clothes. Clothes, clothes, clothes. A LOT of clothes.

Books, iTunes, shoes, bags. Just...stuff.

Expensive food.

I'm not in debt. But I've let so much slip through my fingers, it's shocking.

Doing up houses very expensively then moving within two years was the pattern.

Just about to move again (after 11 years this time - record) and I'm leaving curtains etc, with no charge. We're talking good stuff.

I just can't bring myself to ask for money for stuff. I just can't be bothered.

I let STBXH rip me off, really, when he left. He pays for nothing towards the kids.

Other than that, clothes. Clothes, clothes, clothes. A LOT of clothes.

Books, iTunes, shoes, bags. Just...stuff.

Expensive food.

I'm not in debt. But I've let so much slip through my fingers, it's shocking.

Doing up houses very expensively then moving within two years was the pattern.

Just about to move again (after 11 years this time - record) and I'm leaving curtains etc, with no charge. We're talking good stuff.

I just can't bring myself to ask for money for stuff. I just can't be bothered.

I let STBXH rip me off, really, when he left. He pays for nothing towards the kids.

Other than that, clothes. Clothes, clothes, clothes. A LOT of clothes.

Books, iTunes, shoes, bags. Just...stuff.

Expensive food.

I'm not in debt. But I've let so much slip through my fingers, it's shocking.

Sorry for multiple posts

I became "good with money" when I started earning more... Pretty easy to save when you have a decent disposable income.

Having said that many friends who earn more spend proportionally more. DH and I are both a bit tight, I love charity shops and DH loves supermarket reduced section.

We are pretty good with money, DH saves in a work shares fund each month and also pays any bonuses into his pension fund. On payday we have money going into separate savings "jars" in our bank account for holidays, household maintenance, Christmas and a slush fund which we can borrow from. If anything is left in the current account at the end of the month that goes into the slush fund too.
DD is going for a part time job and I've already told her to save 1/3 of what she earns.

I've always been good with money. I think I must be the only person of my generation that I've ever met who doesn't have credit card debt.

With the exception of my student credit card (which only had a £300 limit) I've only ever got a credit card to buy something on 0% finance and paid it off before the interest kicked in. DH was shite with money when we met, he was the sort of person who put the cash card in the ATM and prayed that money came out. I taught him how to manage money, set him up a spreadsheet, encouraged him to save etc etc.

Now the only debt we have is the mortgage, we save each month both from the family pot and personal spends.

BUT I'm trying to loosen up a little to be honest. We aren't rich but comfortable and try to stop my automatic reaction being 'I'm not paying that much for that' to everything. Life is really too short. We both have pensions but with the working age going up and up, I don't think we need to plan in the same way as we might have a few years ago when we expected to retire at 60/65 and possibly live another 30 years.

It's easy to be "good with money" when you have some left over to save.

When your outgoings are basically the same as your income, you don't have the choice as to whether you're a saver or a spender - you just get through each month as best you can.

I budget well - payday is on Tuesday and I have £60 left til then, so we're not going to go hungry - but there isn't anything spare to either save or fritter away.

Problems arise when there's an unexpected expense (car going wrong, for example) which is when the credit card has to come into action.

We are, however, very happy!

Still paying off the 6k debt I had from uni, by shifting around 0% credit cards. Down to about 2k left now and no new debt added (other then mortgage). Once that's gone I'm pretty good. I end up with about a tenner left before payday but plan to start saving what I was paying the debt off with each month.

We run 2 cars but they are both cash purchases. I generally believe now in saving up to buy things rather than sticking them on credit and paying them off. I find that psychologically easier to do.

running I think that if you only have enough to cover the outgoings and manage not to slip into debt then that makes you much better with money than someone who can afford to save!

We live within our means. No overdrafts or credit cards. But what we do have we aren't really sensible with :)

Well - starting from today I am going to be trying really hard to be sensible with money, not to fritter.

So any tips - chuck them this way!

Going to start with going into the bank and find out exactly what comes out every month and when

Elderflower - my tip is to put everything "spare" in a savings account at the beginning of the month, as soon as you get paid. That's what I do if I earn any extra cash through ad-hoc extra work, or if I get a cheque for my birthday etc.

You're much less likely to spend it if it's not in your current account. Yes, you can transfer it back if you need to, but it's less tempting.

As a very vague rule of thumb, our income is around 1600 a month. Mortgage 600, bills 500 and 125 a week for supermarket/petrol/bus fares/clothes/any days out/anything extra.

Anything I earn in addition to that (very rare, but occasionally it does happen!) goes straight into savings, which are going to be my mat leave pot.

I spend and save. I save into a pension and my company share save scheme. I transfer an amount into the joint account to pay the bills.

What's left is mine and I spend it.

A few people have said transfer something into a savings account as soon as you get paid. I do that too. Sometimes if I am having an expensive month I end up "borrowing" from it in the days before payday and then put extra in the next month. The savings account is my holiday fund.

Running, I'd love to but I get paid in dribbles and drabbles which does make budgeting as such hard! That's why I often look online, see I have £200 and 'ooh money!' then it's gone which obviously needs to stop!

You need to know dates and amounts for everything that comes in and goes out.

Budget for food and travel expenses.

At the start of each pay period (week or month) write down anything else that comes up that needs paying for (a night out you have committed to, MOT etc) and allocate an amount to it.

You will have a realistic sense of how much you have left to play with.

Try and save a little out of this, even £10 a month will add up over time if that's all you can afford.

Check your account regularly and ensure it tallys with your own spreadsheet or whatever method you use to keep track. I check at least weekly.
Anything Left over a few days before payday gets saved.

Some people also find it useful to give themselves an 'allowance' in cash. Once it's gone it's gone and there can be no forgotten about card purchases which haven't been budgeted for. Even a couple of coffees bought on your debit card can mess up your budget if things are tight.

Write down everything you spend.

I am rubbish. I love money, it makes me excited and if I have it, I spend it- but have got much much better now married/with DS and stupidly high mortgage. DH is complete opposite, real saver and very careful but also super stressed about it as he grew up without anything.

I don't like to dip into savings (not that we have much) but will go overdrawn pretty much every month on silly impulse spends in shops e.g. £60 in H&M- £50 on new clothes for DS…but then I am savvy with selling on eBay & doing food shop online with vouchers etc. to try and make it back…

Writing down what you spend for a month really makes you think. Make a note of everything and you may see some patterns emerge e.g. I got into a habit of buying a drink and something to eat on my commute home even though I would be eating 45 mins later when I got in. I realised it was a way of me marking the end of the working day rather than a real need to eat. I've now stopped it.

I split annual expenses like insurance into 12 (or however many months left before its due) and put that amount away each month. This has multiple benefits as you don't have to find large lumps of cash and paying annually is often a bit cheaper than paying monthly so you save on the cost and whilst saving up you are earning interest on your savings.

Make sure you allow for some fun money if you are budgeting. Most of us are doing this long term e.g. to pay off a mortgage so you can't like frugally all the time. It's really satisfying knowing you can choose to go out without having to worry about the cost implications because the money is already saved and allocated.

I have a conservative attitude to money and need to have lots of savings to feel secure. When I was growing up, my family were middle class and secure financially but my father was the sole breadwinner and my siblings had a lot of university costs which my father ended up re-mortgaging the house to pay and he had no pension. My mother made me aware of this and consequently I felt insecure financially growing up and swore to avoid being in that situation by getting a good job and putting money aside.

Dh and I could probably live a more lavish lifestyle but we invest a significant amount each month in pensions and savings. Our holidays are simple but we would rather take the hit in that area than to be without a financial safety net or retirement savings.

When I get a lump sum, my instinct is not spend but to squirrel it away.

live frugally not like frugally

We're a bit of both.

I also crawled my way out of a debt hole and vowed never to go there again!

Putting anything under £5 in a big bottle almost every day helps loads. Come annual holiday it always pays for one of the flights and gives me a ridiculous thrill.

I'm off work recovering from an op at he moment and am mighty glad that we have buffer savings as I'm only on SSP.