Saving/ not wasting money. Tips

[NeedToStopSpendingOnCrap]

We are semi low earners. However on paper we should be able to save a couple hundred a month. But each month we spend it.
We don't eat out/ coffees out etc.
I honestly don't know where the money goes.
Shop Lidl , Aldi and Tesco.

Have started drawing a set amount of cash weekly for top up bits / kids activities etc so once its gone that's it. No using card to go over budget.

Shopping pay by card as that can vary weekly. Some weeks mega cheap others need more.

Any tips. Like a save the change type account or anything

have a look at Kakeibo - a book describing a Japanese budgeting technique. It's very straightforward and helps structure your monthly spending so you can see what's useful and what's wasteful...

As a low earner with a growing family I have found it really helpful.

Thank you. Will do that now.

If you save money with a voucher/cashback/BOGOF or whatever, put the amount saved aside. Either in cash or transfer it to a savings pot if you are a card user. These little amounts accumulate if you let them and you will have a tangible amount of money for all those micro-savings.

Don't suppose either of you have a Sharesave option at work? That works really well, as you never see the money - just goes directly into the account. Failing that, a direct debit from your account into savings on payday?

First step is you really need to know where it's going. Track every bit of household spend.

I think you'll find it's the stuff you spend over the whole year that isn't accounted for - like birthday presents, Christmas, car tax...you need to have a budget for each of those that covers the year and you put £30 a month or whatever into that pot. Some months it won't be spent, some months you'll spend triple that...but it will be in the pot to spend. And a pot for savings too...

I found using Toshl to track my spending helped.... there's lots of other apps availalble.

moneysavingexpert.com website has some excellent advice for stopping unnecessary spending....and on budgeting generally.

But you need to track your spending over a year - get your bank statements out and work out where it is going.

Cashback cards like chase, cashback websites, order food from 1 place online. Tesco clubcard points. Meal plan.

Think 'do I need or want ' this when buying stuff.

Find your local food share.

Ask for a pay rise.

Sell stuff you no longer need.

This, you need to work out how much you spend on everything for a year. MSE has a good starting point I think. I use Excel for mine, and have categories for EVERYTHING.

Then, once you have your detailed budget, you know how much you need to save every month towards these more as hoc expenses, and how much really is 'left over'.

It's also a good idea to build up an emergency fund.

^ad hoc

This is where use of cards beats cash as you can analyse your spending over the past year to see where your money went.

But annual and irregular expenses like car insurance, Christmas, white goods replacement etc could average out at more than your £200 pm surplus if you've not already accounted for them.

But look at the Moneysavingexpert budgeting advice. It lists every imaginable category so you can go through these and decide which are unavoidable and how to best use your surplus on spending or saving. Plus hints on how to get things like mobile phones and broadband for less so your money goes further.

Buy milk in 4 pt containers. Decant the milk into 1pt containers as soon as you get home, and freeze three of them. It reduces cost from 90p /pt to 36p /pt.

I do the same with bread & meat. Buy a large loaf and freeze half. Buy large packs of chicken thighs etc and split.

I shop once a week. I typically make vegetable soup or veggie chilli once a week to use up any slightly less fresh veggies. Waste nothing.

Cook from scratch. Avoid brands.

I grow salad and tomatoes, french beans, cucumbers, courgettes in pots every summer in a tiny space. I have an apple tree that produces enough cooking apples to last us a year. I slice and freeze in the autumn. I bottle blackberries in syrup each autumn. 3p a jar, and eat with creme fraiche during the winter/spring. It takes remarkably little time.

I make jam from rhubarb, greengages and damson - all grow wild where I live. Works out at 12p a pot. Then I trade for fresh eggs with a neighbour.

DS & I eat very well, lots of fruit & veg, meat & fish on less than £60 a week. I enjoy providing ds with the best and most varied diet I can. His friends love coming to tea. 🙂

Buy milk in 4 pt containers. Decant the milk into 1pt containers as soon as you get home, and freeze three of them. It reduces cost from 90p /pt to 36p /pt

We just leave it in the fridge as its used up way faster than it going off.

Perhaps we should work on using less milk...

Make a note of everything you spend money on, so it's clear where the extra money is going.

I'm sure you already do it, but try and reduce heating even only by .5c, shorter showers, buy shops own not brand and keep on eye out for offers on things you actually use. If you use a couple of supermarkets, get to know the prices of your regular goods and which one you can buy them cheaper in. Shop around for insurance when it's due. Only use car if somewhere isn't within walking distance. Don't buy clothes until current ones really need replacing. If you're really wanting to look after the pennies, cut ends off things like tubes of toothpaste when you think they're empty - you'll easily get another couple of cleans out of them.

Keep a detailed record of every penny that you spend. Do this for a month or six weeks. This will help you discover where your money is going, then you can plan where and how to make savings.

Open a savings account, set up a standing order to transfer an amount into it on or just after payday every month. Don't be over ambitious with the amount, as this will just add stress to your finances.

It's often advised that you should have enough savings to see you through six months, in case should you be hit by some disaster or accident. That might seem an unachievable goal, so perhaps set a savings target of enough to see you through a month or three months.

A couple of ideas that might help cut your spending...
Always keep some long life milk and/or milk and bread in the freezer, so you don't have to dash to the shop if you run out. Those shop dashes always result in spending more than you expected.
Try to build up a bit of a kitchen store cupboard, so you can always put together a simple meal, again to avoid the dash to the shops.

Pay yourself first. On payday move the money to a savings account.