Does anyone else hate payday?

[cjt110]

I know it sounds random but I hate it. It gives me anxiety and makes me feel like it's a bloody military manouvere. Moving money to different accounts for things. Remembering if I have used my DD card in the last few days to account for it. Budgeting for the month ahead. And I always fall on my arse a few days before payday.

How do you all manage? I used to be great with finances but then it's all just gone a bit shit.

I hate it just in case the amount is wrong. They've fucked it up a few times and it's very frustrating knowing you are owed more but have to fight to get it!

I'm old enough to remember the joys of getting a pay packet on a friday. Life was less complicated then, no banks involved, no standing orders, money transfers etc, and you actually felt like you had something to show for it at the end of the week. How we all loved friday pay day.

Yes!! I get this!
My husband is paid weekly, and his wages go directly through the business, which go from business account, certain percentage is put away for tax and general money to be kept in the business, then I set about paying our bills weekly. I dread the time it takes me to figure it all out.

Another vote for YNAB here, and I’m a tightarse accountant

My husband has a packed lunch which we buy in the shopping. I tend to not like sandwiches so will buy as/when - a soup mix to make up, or like today, some jacket potatoes and beans for the next few days. As such, it comes out of my money. PLus, I get my petrol money paid for out of the salary - my husband pays for his out of his spends. So it evens out I suppose.

I need to be more frugal for lunches and treats here and there.

I'll have a look at YNAB Nora

YNAB - Its an American thing. Is that the right one?

I like payday. All the bills come out (rent, utilities, credit card, mobile) and then we can see whether are left with and budget.

I like to know all my bills are paid and we are secure to use the money for other things (nothing extravagant and we do save too) it's quite cleansing.

Try YNAB. It will change everything for you. They usually offer a 34 day free trial, but if you go via Investor Junkie they have a promo for a 2 month free trial of YNAB, no strings attached - no credit card details, no personal details, just email and password to set up the account, then after 2 months, if you want to continue, you sign up for a paid account.

As an aside, YNAB offer a year's free subscription to students, so any students just need to send proof of student card to them and they get a license code.

It really is fantastic. It's an envelope budgeting tool, so you can assign your money to different categories of spending when you get it, even though the money is all in one account. You can see how a particular category of spending (e.g. Starbucks) is mounting up through the month and just how much of your money is taken up by it. It helps you to strategise with your money.

We use a credit card (always paid off in full) for regular spending instead of debit card which means I only need to review our account once per month and decide how much to put in savings.

We still budget for what we are spending on the credit card if that makes sense? We are both frugal enough to live within our means so although it works for us I can see it wouldn't work for all couples.

I think you are making this over complicated - set up direct debits and lessen the complexity with accounts

I love payday and moving money around and shit - I'm actually quite addicted to it, it's like a massive game to me.

Every month I see our savings rise that little bit more, the credit card come down that little bit more and I can update my geeky word document / budget with the latest situation. I really wish I'd gone into finance rather than nursing - I'd be ace at it!

OK. So have signed up to YNAB.... It looks so alien..!

Then I spent a few days around her. She can't not buy things. Won't take a packed lunch and think that days out have to involve spending out.

This - the reason a lot of people can't save is because they literally can't see the ways they're haemorraging money.

You don't need to bring sandwiches for lunch - just make dinner in bigger portions and bring the leftovers. Stop going to Starbucks for coffee and meeting friends for dinner - meet them in the park instead.
Never pay full-price for beauty salons or days out - go on Groupon. Go on holiday off-season if possible. Shop in charity shops. Don't buy rounds of drinks.

I'm on a graduate salary and save half of it (and I rent!) whereas my boyfriend was ending each month in an overdraft, on the same salary. Literally because he was doing stupid stuff like getting Nando's delivery every Friday and buying rounds for all his mates.

Definitely a YNAB advocate here, since I gave it 100% in April 2016 I haven't be overdrawn or missed a direct debit since.

I still have debt and focus on bringing that down rather than having lots of savings but it is life changing.

I'm confused as to what's so complicated. You keep contradicting yourself. One minute you say you are practically living hand to mouth, no spare cash. Then you talk about savings?

It's easy. We have a spreadsheet. We know what comes in and out. We update it when : DD for electricity etc goes up. Or when Ds2 stated playing football, I added in his DD for £20.

Get the bank app. I can review, and change dd's, and transfer to the ds's savings easily.

Oblomov17 It's more the spending money that we have a month. We have joint savings yes, but I have none of my own. I spend each penny I have and want to learn how not to.

I have the banking app for my bank. Doesnt help when you pay by DD for things as they don't always come out straight away.

I'm currently feeling like that, I got paid yesterday and it feels like already most of my pay has gone!
I am saving for a house and have a credit card that's on track to be paid off before Christmas. Luckily it's my birthday next week so I'll have some money to splurge!

Stop [ ] meeting friends for dinner - meet them in the park instead

That sounds fun. Leaving work in the dark. Going and sitting on a park bench in the dark cold and rain...

I think "allocating" personal spending money can be a bad thing to do.

For many it will simply burn a hole in the pocket.

It's easy to fall into the trap of feeling that the £100 or £50 or £200 a month must be spent, and it can get frittered away on coffees, cosmetics , stuff we don't really need.

We only buy things we need and it comes from one account.

Some months we spend very little on personal things, other months OH may need a new suit or shoes, and that's fine.
Other months I may want a new winter coat or a manicure before a special occassion and that's fine too.

Mostly though we tend not to by "stuff".

Years ago, when I started a new job and wanted to get on top of my budgeting, I worked out my budget for each week then I'd withdraw the money and put it in an envelope in my bag. I'd leave my debit card at home and only work from the budgeted money in my bag. It worked really well. Quite often I'd get to the end of the month and have at least two envelopes with money left in them.
YNAB sounds like a similar idea but with virtual envelopes

That sounds fun. Leaving work in the dark. Going and sitting on a park bench in the dark cold and rain...

I meant in the summer months. In the winter, you can just meet for a tea/coffee. Or invite friends to your house instead of having to always go out to a place.

Also, I never go to people's leaving lunches at work. Why fritter away £15 on some randomer from downstairs....

For many it will simply burn a hole in the pocket. Yes. I agree. This is what it does to me.

This month will be tougher for us. A nursery bill we had not paid, the payments for husband's car start to come out too. So it will make us look more at our finances so that will hopefully help.

Can someone talk me though this YNAB... It doesnt make any sense when I look at it? I need to put in my spends for the month then budget for things and I cant seem to find the correct options!!

I literally live by the month now. We're ok for money. We honestly are but I have no savings. Or any buffer fund to fall back on. I live month to month and spend every penny.

Yes i expect a lot of the population live like this nowadays.

Still a well enforced Excel spreadsheet can work rather well but the main problem is spending and what on.

In the local rag was a mum moaning that she had to go to a food bank as she was short. Possessed a very niace top of he range iPhone, how much are they a month 50 "ish" quid;?.

YNAB is all very well if you actually have any self-discipline. In reality, you just need to spend less and you don’t need an app or program to tell you that.

If all your bills are paid, you are fed/clean/warm/housed/clothed, you are not skint. Skint is scrabbling down the back of the sofa for “50p” to put in the meter.

There seems to be an obsession on MN for “treats” . It’s not a bloody treat if you are buying it —multiple times— every day. You don’t need treats for goodness sake, you are a grown woman. I honestly don’t understand what is so complicated about not spending every spare penny on shite instead of putting it into savings. Not having a £3 coffee every day = £15 a week in savings. That’s £780 a year, which is a heck of a chunk of a holiday. Add in a few quid a day on lunch and you are over £1000. I don’t think it needs a particularly analytical brain to see that these so called “treats” are literally pissing money into the wind.