How do you budget?

[Bluefrontdoor]

Hi all I was hoping to pick your brains.
So I have been using a budgeting app which works but I'm struggling with how to build up the money saved. As an example this month has had 3 birthdays totalling about £250 after presents meals out etc. Obviously I can take this out the savings but ideally I want to stop that happening but as I don't have the savings built up in a birthday pot (as it's month 1) what do I do? Am I better having a pot for birthday/xmas/cars and using savings to put a kitty in, then removing that when there is enough saved? Like a petty cash? Or do you just try to juggle these from monthly budgets? If so How?
This was a bad month to start but October isn't much better, then half term and xmas shopping arghhhh. I'm just sick of using savings and not putting back, how do you all do it??

Great thread idea. I like to have a 'never touch' account and sub divide the other expenses.

We have a special savings account to dip into for costs that are random but expected, b'days, xmas etc. We add to this every month as a normal budgeted expense. If the money isn't there we don't spend it.

Ok, so we’ve just gone from being £300 in our overdraft every month to saving £200 a month and not going into our overdraft at all.
At the start of the month I work out that we have say £1500 of bills via direct debit.
We want to save £200 and this leaves us with £800 a month spare for example.
We have a book and write down any purchases that need to be made that month,
Eg. £20 sisters birthday
£50 new rug
£30 birthday meal out
£100 school residential.
If it’s not on the list at the start of the month then we say it will have to go on next months list. Obv there are some surprises like if something breaks, but this comes out of savings.
Then we work out how much money we have left for the month, so say £600. We then draw the weekly money out in cash each Friday. So £150 a week.
This is for food, petrol, treats and anything else we’d like that week. When it’s gone (usually by Tuesday!!!) then it’s gone for the week.
This is the ONLY way we have managed to curb our spending and save money as we are not buying things without thinking and not using debit cards at all.

I think I’d set out what I think I will spend on presents say over a year so know that I’m putting eg £30 a month to cover presents, let it go overdrawn this month and put £30 in next month and it’ll catch up with itself.

Build it up over the course of a year - over the next 12 months keep a note of it all, then add it up, divide by 12 and set that aside, either in its own account or as part of larger savings (but keep a tab on it). Some months you won't spend anything from it so it will accumulate, then it will all be wiped out, but you'll have the money there and with the rolling system (maybe adjusted every year) you won't then have to dip into your savings with the risk of not putting it back.
It's a long-term thing though, doesn't help you in the short term.

Thanks for the replies some good ideas here.
We do have a no touch account that stuff accumulates in and direct debits come out from so perhaps that should get divided better as an idea.
We have been good at using the app but it needs adjusting on certain things, but that will come in time. I suppose it's always hard as the accumulation of pots hasn't happened yet. I hate looking at it daily but I know I need too I just need to get the husband and his eBay buying and Amazon buying habit on board

@Bluefrontdoor which app do you use please?

I use the goodbudget one, find it easy enough, you just set it with envelopes so I have groceries, petrol, me for personal spends e.g. nails, top, husband for Amazon and eBay 🤣 kids for clothes or spends or random school money, think you an have 10 so I will do more eventually to break a few things up e.g. eating out pot you can set the amount you want in it and then each month 're set it

Interesting. Really need to get to grips with our budget.

I used Toshl to set up accounts and budgeting and put down everything I spent.

I think it's useful to have a goal of some kind - particularly if one half of a couple is a fritterer....so they can see the money building up. You both need to be on board though. It can get quite addictive...

If you are spending a massive £80 + on birthdays, then that definitely needs to be in your budget to begin with.

As well as the normal monthly bills (utilities, phones, Water, Council tax, insurances) and you petrol, other travel, food, etc. You need to add up what you spend over the year, on irregular or annual things such as
Car repairs
Car depreciation
Car Tax
Car Ins
TV Licence
Boiler service etc.etc.

then:
presents (birthday / Christmas / collections at work / weddings etc)
clothes
hair / makeup / treatments
holidays
'Going out' - be that a meal with dh or with friends or family treat days out or cinema
Other 'treats' you like

then 'long term savings'
and 'emergency fund savings' - replacing a fridge or oven

then 'maintaining the property' costs .... decrating a room each year, plus saving for that day when you need roof repairs or the boiler needs replacing.

Add up the year's total, add on 15 - 20% for what you forgot, then divide by 12.

@backforgood yes it was a particularly bad month it was h birthday plus a few big ones so more spent/Go to party/meal so was a bit crazy this month, I'd like to budget it like you say but ideally need to have done the from October iyswim, but as Sept is month one I already feel I'm failing due to this

I think it's just that you're in month 1 though, so your plans will mean in 12m time you wouldn't be dipping into long term savings for gift costs - you'll be taking the money saved in the gift pot instead. I looked at what's left after core / unchangeable costs, compared against usual spending levels, and set myself category budgets aiming to undercut those levels a bit. For things like Christmas, car services, dental, etc I have a DD that goes out straight after payday into a separate ac. It's obviously going to take some time for that to build up, but it will get there.