Silly spending

[NotSoThinLizzy]

Why cant I make £100 last a week? Paid my Bills of £57 bought a dress from charity shop for £7. All other bills paid and plenty of food plus have other money just in case. Just seems every week I'm spending £100 and nothing to show for it. The £57 bill was a one off so next week I shouldn't have to spend anything at all but it just seems I'm leaking money.

@BuzzShitbagBobbly For me, the difference with Monzo is that it is completely separate from my main bank account so the money for frivolous spending is in one place and I can see when it’s gone. I appreciate that’s not going to work for everyone!

I had that and started writing down anything I spen1. Even the £1 track on iTunes. It's eyeopening, to say the least. I've done it every month this year, and I'm determined to spend less in the last five months of the year than I have done in the first seven!

Good luck.

£1 on itunes ..... sorry, spotify is £10 a month

record EVERYTHING and then think whether its needed or wanted

@BuzzShitbagBobbly good to know re Amex. Will check it out.

I guess the point is that anything that making spending 'real' (whether it's cash, notebooks or different accounts) helps keep awareness of spending front of mind. This kind of approach has helped me make better decisions and crawl out of debt.

OP even if you do it for a month, it's a huge eye opening help.

Fair enough @AllTheCakes
It's definitely horses for courses and anything that helps people get control over their own finances is a good thing!

@ListeningQuietly that sounds depressing

Well I suppose if you find writing stuff down depressing or tedious then transferring your spending money to a Monzo or Starling account (both a piece of piss to open via the app although the video selfie security check is a bit weird) and using it for as many purchases as possible then you will have an automatic record of where your money went, which will be helpful if you're a 'i don't know where all my money goes' type.

Its not at all depressing.
First buy what you need
then if you have money left over buy what you want
its a simple way to live within your means

Agree with taking water bottles / treats / packed lunches. To some extent, treats can be a "when we get home we can have some ..." if you can plan for this. My parents always used to keep a box of picnic stuff in the car - if we were ever out/ on holiday and wanted icecream, a carton of icecream would be bought and shared for much less than the cost of individual cones. Not so practical when using public transport though. With regards to lunches though - if you need to buy a lunch out, a supermarket purchase of rolls / pack of ham or sliced cheese / small bag of lettuce probably comes to less than sandwiches.

I need somewhere to post. I hope you don't mind. I found this thread while looking for a support thread for getting my spending under control. Several years back I nipped it in the bud. I'd been feeling confident with just allowing myself to shop in the christmas sales and around my birthday. I thought I was doing well. I noticed I was shopping more this year though, never really stopped between christmas and birthday, etc., but I thought I was sending most things back.

I just went through my bank account from Jan 1 to today and I'm astounded and disappointed at how much I've spent. I work hard to save up for early retirement (ages away but I'm doing that at least and it feels good) and the amount I've spent so far this year on myself (on just clothes and shoes) is actually what I'm aiming to have as my monthly allowance after retirement. I feel disgusted that I've slipped back.

I wanted somewhere to post as MN helped me hugely before. This is silly spending but not the topic area you are all discussing!