To ask you how to save money

[rainbows93]

I am absolutely terrible with money, I will admit it.

If I have it, I'll spend it but I'm ready to get myself out of debt and start being sensible.

Any tips, tricks etc on how to save money would be great, any apps you use etc.

Thank you

Well done Berty . It’s not about the money for me so much as the financial security. I can still remember worrying about money when I was much younger . It’s not a good feeling .

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, tips and tricks!

I smoke but don't enjoy it anymore, I buy my cigarettes in advance when I get paid and have a quit date of 27/07 when I run out so that will save me roughly £150 a month straight away.

I am terrible and will buy drinks, choc and crisps throughout the day for my office job. I'm also going on a diet so need to cut this out too!

DH has sky and Netflix but we use those and enjoy them so we won't be cutting those out, we changed energy suppliers earlier on in the year as we had a better deal pop up.

DH is great with money and is sensible and saves, it's me who is the problem. Since I lost my parents, I went a little off the rails with spending, getting clothes etc makes me feel temporarily happy.

But DH and I would love a baby within the next few years, that's why smoking and bad diet is going and why I want to clear my debt.

I've just switched to a sim only deal so that saves £40 a month.

We have a separate account that we transfer money for bills into and then DH and I have our own accounts.

I don't earn a lot, DH is the high earner. I earn £18,000 a year.

I know this wouldn't typically be advised, but I think in relationships, people should play to their strengths. If your DH is great with money then get him handling all the money.

Give him control of the joint account/your salary.

He can transfer every Monday an agreed amount for your fritter money. He can also plan in transfers for whatever you usually book in (I'm thinking hair appointments that sort of thing).

Even if you just do it for 6months to break your bad habits and then reassess at the end.

I've gone over my payments coming out of my account the last few days since seeing this thread. I've cancelled:
amazon prime at £7.99 p/m
Now tv kids at £3.99 pm
Now tv entertainment £8.99pm (I've kept film as we do use that a lot)
And I've used money saved over lockdown/topped up with some eBay sales to pay off a credit card balance that was costing me £30 pm and also paid off some retail finance that was £50 pm. I feel so much lighter and less stressed.

I've had a massive de-clutter for eBay and I made a decent amount, even the small £2 items here and there add up! Just make sure you look at your weights and don't under charge for postage as you can easily lose your profit

I've also downloaded the Plum app. It's got £8.09 in it so far

In the nicest possible way, I think you are setting yourself up to fail here.

You are planning to give up smoking, 'just like that'; go on a diet ; cut out a serious daily snack habit; and stop buying yourself treats all at the same time ????

If you are superwoman, you might be able to do all that, but I'm guessing if you were superwoman, you wouldn't need to do all that.

I think you need to set realistic goals, and then you will be encouraged as you achieve them. 'Completely change my life all at once' doesn't sound very realistic to me.

I came on to say the same as the first reply you got - transfer a chunk of money into savings on the day it comes into your account. I also agree with the pp (and agree it won't be popular on MN) but play to your strengths. If your OH is good with money, then let him manage that side of your life. Look at your goals - what debt do you need to pay off? What savings are realistic ? etc. But do include some treat money for each of you.

My savings account is with a different bank. I transfer regular amounts but never know how much is in there unless I log in to the different banking app.

Out of sight, out of mind works really well for me.

1. Put money into savings as soon as you are paid. Aim for 10% of your take home,.
2. Pick a coin(s) and save them in a jar/money box. I empty my purse of £2 and 50p coins regularly. It all goes in the bank a couple of times a year.
3. Sweep upwards - get your receipts and pay to the nearest £5/10 upwards into a savings account. So if you send £43.50 on your shopping, you put £1.50 or £6.50 into savings.
4. ‘Tie -up’ money in savings bonds etc for longer periods making it harder to get at and spend.
5. Find a job on the side a few hours a week - save all the money you earn.

Automatic deductions to retirement and savings account. Take them out on payday or even have your employer split your pay between your main and savings accounts If they will do that for you.

We bank with Lloyd's and have a number of small accounts attached to our current account (holidays, car, groceries etc)

I get paid at the end of the month and all our bills go out on the first, as well as a number of standing orders to our small accounts. DH gets paid weekly and similarly a number of standing orders are paid out immediately. This means that there's frequently only a few £'s in our current account unless I transfer money across, which cuts down on excess spending.

Once you start doing it, it's fairly addictive mind!

4) ‘Tie -up’ money in savings bonds etc for longer periods making it harder to get at and spend.

This is good advice, but interest rates are incredibly low. Think about ‘tying money up’ in your mortgage, if you have one, by overpaying, and your pension.

I agree with pp who says you’re trying to do everything at once! Be gentle on yourself. Yes, you should give up smoking. But instead of giving up treats, why not buy a few multipacks of something like popcorn or some nice dark chocolate so you are still saving money, you still get treats (which you should have imo!) and you’re being a little healthier.

Since splitting with my ex I’ve become a fiend at saving money.
Meal planning is one of biggest savers - it means we don’t waste food & I don’t have to nip to the shops for ingredients (which as we all know ends up with random other crap in the trolley). I always take all the food I need with me on work days and never buy anything when I’m there. Takeaways are limited to once a month - we really look forward to it then.

I only buy the clothes I need - just got into a mindset of not being frivolous until I have a big enough pot saved up.

You have to decide what’s more important to you - is it random purchases or is it knowing that you’ve got money saved in the bank. For me it was def the second one

When I get paid I pay myself first. Then our joint account. Then I have what’s left to play with.

My savings are split into two accounts - one woth Hsbc (my “normal” account) which are currently earning a pittance in interest and the other with lloyds where the rate is much better providing I only make one withdrawal a year. I put my “big” savings here - for my pension payment.

In your situation I wouldn’t be trying to stop and change everything right away pick one thing and go with it. So if you’ve set a goal to stop smoking then do that first. Enjoy the £150 savings a month.

Another vote for Plum. We have saved hundreds in a short time. It's brilliant. Also use a cash back website, I use Quidco. Stuff you're buying anyway and you get cash for doing it trough the website. No strings attached. Depending on the retailer the rates can be really good. Again I've had a lot of money through it. You can keep it in there or transfer it to your bank.

In your situation I’d do the following -

Give up smoking
Cut down on the drinks or give them up.
Look at your finances and see how much you can transfer every month into a savings account. Set up your own.
Take some snacks in from home. Buy them as part of your supermarket shop. Buy some baked crisps, ryvita snacks or popcorn so a bit less calories than crisps.

Buy some multi packs of choc/biscuits and take one.
Buy multipacks of drinks if you can’t give them up yet.
Take your own lunch.
Try a no shopping month for clothes or give yourself a budget.

My 10 top tips are:-

1. Packed lunch and coffee flask for work
2. Batch cooking - reducing meat portion size and bulking up with soaked and cooked dry beans, peas chickpeas and lentils
3. Bulk buying and meal planning
4. No buses or taxis unless absolutely necessary
5. Selling stuff rather than giving to charity
6. Re-gifting unwanted presents
7. Donating time as a volunteer instead of money to charities
8. Growing own fruit and veg
9. small business / part time extra income source

10. Treats/new clothing/extras come from limited monthly allowance

Another massive money saver for us, both DS and DH have a massively sweet tooth and biscuits and chocolate formed a large bulk of my weekly shop. I bought a large plastic box and once a month I hit Home Bargains to fill it up, the understanding being that when it's gone, it's gone. This has saved a small fortune!

I also buy catering size boxes of toilet roll, dishwasher tablets, washing powder etc and decant into smaller tubs for daily use. If you can afford the initial outlay these are a real money saver too.

Thank you everyone for your great advice.

I've downloaded Plum and started a "save the change" on my Lloyd's so any change from card payments will go straight into it.

I've also switched to sim only because my phone is still in good condition which saves £30 a month.

Leave your wallet at home as much as possible.

Uninstall Apple Pay/Android Pay so you don't use your phone to pay instead.