Why is it so hard to save. I need advice!

[IAmNotPatientOrPregnant]

I've never been great with money. As a kid, as soon as I got it I'd spend it. Mum always told me to out it aside and wait for more so I could buy something better. That was never the case.

I've got to be honest. I'm really really shit with money, an absolute lost cause. I have a credit card that I lost, they stopped taking the direct debit and I didnt bother sorting it out as I dont know any of my details for it. My phone bill is always a late payment.
It's because when I get paid, I spend more than I should and leave myself short and not able to pay my direct debits.

I have a mortgage and a car on finance through my DP as I have such a bad credit score I couldn't get a car myself.

Things like this I pay on the day I get paid without fail. I always pay everything I owe to DP for the house and car and then the rest I just waste.

I'm not gonna huge salary, I'm 22, just found out were pregnant and I really need to get my act together now.

Has anyone got any tips on how I can stop spending and start saving?

What are you spending it on?

The simplest ways are to write down everything that you spend in a notebook (don’t go and buy a new one 😁) and see if you can see where it’s going and shock yourself into changing your behaviour.

@savoycabbage food is a massive one. I always buy 'luxury dinner' when I just get paid e.g steaks, expensive fish, loads of berries for afterwards.
I was a smoker too, before I found out I was pregnant, so i was spending nearly £10 every day or two on fags. That's obviously stopped now.

We bought a house last year and were slowly but surely getting it more homely, so I constantly spending money on 'nice house things'

I dont even have that much money left over when all my debt and bills are paid. I still manage to blow it. :(

Start off with writing down how much you get paid and then what needs to go out.
Things like your phone bill should just be a direct debit a day or two after you get paid.

Then see how much you’ve got left.
Get a direct debit to transfer some of it straight into a savings account then only spend the money you’ve got left.
Start looking at how you can budget for food too. You can make really nice meals for cheaply. Buy some luxury items but budget for it.

For DD1 we set her up a system when she started earning whereby some money was automatically transferred to savings the day after pay day. What's not there she can't spend.
Then we set her up a secondary account where she transfers money for bills that aren't monthly, eg car insurance, holidays, Christmas.
What's left is what she has available to spend that month on petrol, clothes, entertainment etc.

Of course it is easier for her as her bills are low as she's still with us.

Could you try a 'no spend' month with no extras/treats/luxuries and see how much extra you have left?

First contact your credit card company and report your card as lost. Get a statement from them if you don't have one. Set up a standing order for whatever is the minimum due right now so that you pay that amount every month. Dont ever just let them take minimum every time or you will pay off debt forever.

Next as others said make a list of everything that gets paid out. Dont forget to include things that only get paid yearly maybe insurance or car service etc.

Basically work out where you are overpaying. Always make sure e.g. with insurance you look for a new deal and dont renew a contract

Stopping smoking will save you a lot of money so well done! Try to keep it up once the baby arrives because it will make a huge difference to your life.
For food shopping, I write a list and shop online so it's easier to ignore offers etc. Try to shop for at least 5 days by making the first 3 meals meat and fish and the last 2 meals veg or freezer food. Look on the bbc good food website for cheap recipe ideas.

In terms of house stuff etc, never buy anything the first time you see it. Always go home and see whether you can find a cheaper alternative online. Again, this stops impulse buys like candles.

£150 / month (!) saved on smoking can go into a 'baby fund' maybe, and by month 7 you'll have minimum £750 put aside for baby bits. (5 more months x £150).

Do you have any unnecessary contracts eg Sky, Netflix, Phone that you can cancel?
Can any Direct Debits be moved to be soon after pay day so the money goes out before it is spent?

Write down everything you spend money on and look where you can save, put the information on a spread sheet.

You need at least one new bank account, Nationwide currently have one that pays 5% interest if you put a certain amount in. Have your salary go into that account and all your direct debits come out of it. Cut up the bank card for this account so you can't use it.

Once you know the total of your direct debits and standing orders subtract that from your salary, this is your spending and saving money, you need to decide how to split it, 50/50 is a starting point.

You now need a second current account and a savings account, the savings one should be one that it is difficult but not impossible to access, so one where you can only make a few withdrawals or an old fashioned account with a passbook so you have to go into a branch to access money.

Set up standing orders into your spending account and your savings account.Think about the spending account being credited every week on a set day rather than monthly.

You only ever take the debit card from your spending account with you, you know how much you have per week.

If you have debts then talk to one of the debt management charities.

Get over to money saving expert website.

I am the opposite to you and was saving my wages from age 13, just a little. It’s a mind set and people fall along the line somewhere. Think of the bad example you will set to your child. DS is a saver and careful he picked up on the way we deal with finances. Look at it in the very long term.

Thank you all for the tips and suggestions. Gonna kick my (poor) arse into gear starting now!

Realistically you can't start saving until you have addressed the credit card debt.
Speak to your credit card company first. They won't know you're in trouble unless you tell them.
Try and arrange for interest to be frozen and set up a standing order to pay out of your current account on payday. Try and aim for a payment above the minimum.
Alternatively move the balance to an 0% interest card and do the same.
Once you have paid off the credit card then start saving. Use the amount that you were using as credit card repayments as the amount that you save each month.
The other thing is to look at your finances as a job. Shop around for the best deals for utilities, mortgages, and insurances. Overhaul these deals every year.
Check that you are getting all your benefit entitlements.
Buy secondhand-its more environmentally friendly.
Get into the mindset of knowing the difference between WANT and NEED.