to ask how you budget/manage your money

[Purplesquare]

-nc but am a regular-

Tomorrow is payday. And Before the money hits my bank I want to get advice on budgeting. DH and I get paid at slight different times but on the whole, we take money required for direct debits from our individual bank accounts, plus an agreed amount each to spend as we wish throughout the month, aswell as bits that are needed such as milk, bread etc. Any money above this is put into our joint account which is used for food shopping, extra bills and savings etc.

For the last few months, I always end up skint by the end of the month. So today, I have no money. Have had no cash since Monday.

So, what is the best way to budget? I'm an impulse buyer. I will think "Oh, it's just a few pounds" and before I know it I've gone in for something for a few pounds and have spent £10 or so.

I have the Tesco delivery saver and agree it's worth every penny. Can also use it for free deliveries of clothes from Tesco direct if we need things eg new t-shirts or PJs for DS. I avoid the shops A LOT and that saves so many impulse spends. I also have less food waste as I meal plan then only order what I know we need.

Work out what you have left after bills etc and then divide that by the number of weeks or days till you get paid again. Then you'll know how much you can spend and just stick to it. Save a few day's money for something bigger.

Keep notes in an envelope in your purse. Not much. £20 say. Write everything you buy- every single thing- on the envelope as you go. When you need to top up the envelope, look at what you spent it on. Try and make the envelope last as long as possible.

Get a bus fare card so you don't need cash for that, or have a debit/credit card that you keep in the car and only use for fuel.

Do your big shop separately, online or in a supermarket. Allow yourself a treat for you, one for someone else.

Challenge yourself to go a day without buying anything except essentials. Then another. Can you last a week?

I use a website called 'every dollar'

It's amazing!

It's free, it's so easy to use - the only problem is that is American so you have to budget in dollars and it's a bit American in terminology but you can make your own categories.

Basically you put your income in the top and then all your categories in the bottom and budget an amount for each. For example food is a big category and you can have a subcategories inside like 'week shop' 'treats' 'dog food'.

For each category you have a budget line and then a how much spent line. So you can keep track.

It's makes you a pretty pie chart based on your top categories so you can see really easily where your money is going. I update it throughout the week and it really helps visualise everything!

I think I have explained that badly, but go on that website and have a go! It takes a while to start up but is honestly amazing once you get going!

I have 2 accounts. I get paid into one of them and then transfer enough money to cover all bills (paid by direct debit) & childcare (paid in cash but same amount each month) & everyday food (£300 ish) into the other account.
Whatever is left in the other account is 'spending money' eg if the kids need new clothes, or we want to eat out, birthday presents etc.
Anything left in that account at the end of the month goes into savings. I aim to save at least half the money each month, it doesn't always work out that way, but usually manage it.
I get text updates each week on a Friday from both accounts, and also a text notification if either account drops below £100 so I know when I need to stop spending on anything other than essentials.

I use cash envelopes like Toby. When the money is gone, it's gone! Makes you much more focused on what you are spending.

I meal plan so I'm not buying "wasted" food.

I write down everything I spend so I can track where it's all gone wrong.

I'm still in loads of debt though, and fall down very often.

I'm trying to save money at the moment and I use a Monzo card for all of my general spending plus food.
It works like a pre paid debit card and is linked to your phone with an app. I top it up from my current account each month on payday with my my spending money (£550 ish). As soon as I spend anything or take money out of the cashpoint it shows in the app exactly what you've spent and what you've then got leftover for the month. It does this immediately so it's not like checking your bank balance when you have to wait a few days for transactions to show up and you aren't 100% sure what your balance actually is.
You can set targets for groceries, eating out, general spending etc. and it will tell you when you've nearly spent your quota for the month.

It's really helped me be much more mindful about my spending. I will think twice about buying a treat or clothes I don't really need!

Thank you all for suggestions. I really appreciate it. It really has given me some good ideas on how to go about the month ahead.

I know I have my husband's birthday to factor in this month, plus some mothers day gifts and perhaps a day out with DS over easter.

All money into joint acct from where all bills are paid. With my personal spending money, I had the same issue of running out. I do different things pp have mentioned. Dividing my 'pocket money' into number of weeks. Setting aside money for big ticket items like my contact lenses, haircut, a new top or a trip out. Also I save a small portion. I've limited how much I put on my credit card otherwise I cleaned myself out when payment goes out.

I've limited purchasing "treats" to a budgeted part it supermarket shop and weekends. No sweets, cake, ice cream purchases in the week.

Read the budgeting section of moneysavingexpert and sign up to its weekly email.

Read the email every week and after a while you will have learnt budgeting and being good with money.

I have the same problem with impulsive spending and yes it's the small spends that all add up. I'm a sucker for seeing things for my girls when I'm out and wanting to treat them and my Amazon account is just too easy to order crap when you don't even have to type in your cvc card number to place an order.

I work for a supermarket with a large clothing department which doesn't help the impulse buys either but I just became fed up never having the savings to put away for a family holiday then realising its my careless spending that's hindering me.

I've only been making changes for the last few weeks but things that are helping me is sticking to one online shop delivery per week if I need bread/milk tops up, just taking the exact cash need to the shop and leaving cards at home. I've deleted all my stored cards on Amazon so I can't just order on a whim ( I'm hoping by the time I have to go and get my card i'll have have gone off the idea!). I've stopped taking my cards to work, and before for things like world book day, red nose day etc I'd have bought a brand new outfit for my eldest dd but I made myself look through her wardrobe first and found a red top she can wear tomorrow for red nose day. It's really small things but I'm hoping these will soon become habit.

ladyratterley I will perhaps look into that. I lose track of my money because I go and spend it, forget to write it down then wonder where the £20 I am down has been spent and what on.

If money is short why buy the husband a present? Why do mother's day ( we don't buy anything for that for example)?

I thikn it's a personality thing. I've always liked maths. I look at my bank account on line every morning first thing. I do income charts, lists, accounts, have financial goals and have since my teens and picked work which was high paid deliberately (am a business lawyer). Not everyone is made the same way. I am not very keen on spending money although I'll spend it on school fees, holidays, a nice house.

What I do is try not to spend unless I need to. We have agreements in the family for example only to buy presents for children under 18 - no adults. I regularly look at what is being spent and see what can be cut such as pointless service contracts or things that are no longer needed.

I have often had additional income sources for work done at weekends even when I had small babies - needs must etc and that might be a solution for you.

Money isnt short EnormousTiger It's my spending habit thats the issue.

enormoustiger what sort of weekend work did you do?

And OP maybe it's like telling a smoker to just stop smoking or an alcoholic to not drink..... but seriously stop spending! Ask you DH to pick up milk and avoid the shops entirely. Do it for one month like the pp said. You'd be amazed what's left. I did similar for a few months when I wasn't saving enough and my savings soon bounced back up. If you want it, give yourself a cooling off period before buying.

Delete Amazon app. Ask DH to change password for one month.

icy121 Yes, I do think it's easier said than done. I'm fed up of feeling broke all the time and having naff all to show for it.

Purplesquare

I get pleasure from getting other people things that will make them happy

This is me down to a T every time I go to the shop or fill my car with petrol etc I get a 'treat' for my partner and yes he likes it but he definitely wouldn't care less if I didn't so I'm going to join u on this plus we are moving house next month so saving any extra will be great!

P, I see. In that case it's the psychological issue that some people over spend and others don't. Charles Dickens was right
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and six pence, result happiness."

Weekend work? Legal writing. Marking A level and other law exam papers. My children's father taught the piano at weekends and played the organ at churches. I did some paid choral singing as I am semi professional in terms of competence and training, but it sounds like here the issue is not earnings but spending more than is coming in.

People in that category might want to draw out cash for the week and only spend in cash. It is not easy at all. I will take pleasure in taking a bottle of tap water on a trip or taking a meal from home for a flight and love the idea of getting from here to say the USA without spending a penny other than the flight cost. Other people will see the chance to buy duty free at the airport as part of their pleasure. We are all different.

I'm a bit of a fritterer too. I do similar to you in that I have two bank accounts, one is my account that my salary goes into and the other is the old joint account. A proportion of my salary, plus child benefit and maintenance goes into this to cover all household and DS-related expenses, so I know the important stuff is covered each month. Then whatever is left in my account is for my personal expenses and supposedly saving..but it's not easy!
I agree that removing temptation is the best thing to do. I forbid myself from going into any clothes shops during January as I knew I would be too tempted by sales bargains that I didn't really need. I think you also need to allow yourself a few treats though. Every payday, I give myself £10 to fritter on whatever I want...bits of makeup, smellies, new book etc. So if I spot something during the month that I want, I know I can have it on payday. Quite often I decide I don't want it anymore after waiting...

Also, if you are trying to save, set up a DD right after you get paid. Don't do what I used to do and wait until the end of the month to see what is left over as chances are there won't be anything! Even a small amount going into a savings account each month will make a difference.

Have a look at YNAB (you need a budget). It's an online envelope budgeting system, only lets you budget money you have. It has a mobile app so you can record spends as you go and see how much is left in any given category for the month.

You need to keep a budget, one of what you estimate you will spend, and one that reconciles that against what you actually spent. The wife and I spend about 30 minutes each month doing this and putting it all into a spreadsheet. While we are doing it we talk about upcoming expenses such as holidays or repair bills and also long term goals.

If you have disposable income, it means you have a lot of options on how to spend and save it. Would you rather lots of small purchases, or would you prefer that cycling holiday in the south of France?

littlemissM92 May we buddy up on this?

IToldYouIWasFreaky Some good suggestions here. I almost sit on the eve of each payday thinking "Yes I get paid tomorrow, what can I spend?"

Wreckingball25 I will look at that.

When we did a money course we got the cash in an envelope suggestion.

They suggested at the beginning of the month enough money into a joint or current account To cover bills e.g. Mortgage/rent, utilities, council tax, car expenses etc.

From the rest work out savings goals e.g. X amount per month for Christmas, x amount to pay for car MOT. Basically breaking down the big yearly expenses into manageable chunks. Transfer that into savings account. You access this as those events occur.

Finally have cash in envelopes for weekly expenses. They suggested weekly food budget in one set of envelopes, travel
Budget in envelopes and any splurge money separate.

Spending cash makes you more aware of what you spend. If you want to know
More specifics it's the CAP money system. You can google it. They run free courses on it in churches.

Basically if you want to stop have al your spends in cash, keep your card at home and just take out what you need that day e.g. Enough cash for transport, lunch and a pint
Of milk.

I'd write down everything you soend money on for a month- every little thing. Split it into sections such as necessary bills, food, treats, etc. Then at the end of the month you can identify exactly what the moneys all going on, and decide a way to cut back. For example if it is all on food, decide on an amount you are happy to spend a week- and stick to it. If the money is often being spent on treats such as magazines, books, dvds, clothes etc., again you can decide an amount per month yu are happy to spend and don't go over.