Savings tips?!

[aspiringnurse]

Hi,

Me and my partner are currently saving for a house (living with parents and one year old little boy), what are your tips on saving?

We do currently have a few things we are paying off such as Very debt, credit card etc... apart from this what are your best budgeting and savings tips?

We both have a weekly budget through Monzo accounts which also have a save the change function.

Any tips or advice on saving money? Especially with a baby everything just seems to dissolve money instantly

Have you drawn up a budget? You have to know what is coming in and going out, set a realistic budget and stick to it. At 1 your baby is not a money pit unless you make it so by buying everything else - notwithstanding childcare costs which can of course be an arm and a leg every month!

To save most effectively you would transfer a set amount to savings as soon as you get paid. You could choose to pay off debt before saving, but you might equally find it more motivating to save and pay off debt at the same time as you have the goal of saving for a house deposit.

If you lost your income and expenditure here I’m sure people will help you out.

I'm unsure what you mean by a very and credit card debt? I only ever put on my credit card what I know I have in my account. I have a direct debit so each month it gets paid off completely with no additional fees or interest. I agree that writing up a budget would help you look at the bigger picture. What do you pay in rent to the parents? Does it include water, electric, council tax etc. You should be able to save whilst living there?

I would throw everything at paying off debt first, then turn that discipline into building savings as soon as the debt is paid off.

Childcare aside, a baby should be pretty cheap - they don't really care about stuff and are just as happy with second hand clothing etc

Totally agree with @NeverTwerkNaked . Forget saving if you have debt on things like a credit card and paying high levels of interest in. Ensure the norm is living debt free apart from mortgage and student tuition fees which there is little point paying off and saving. When you do reach the point when you can buy a house don't be tempted to do stuff to it using loans or credit cards

I'm afraid though that having children first and saving for a house second will mean that money does just keep vaporising as that is what happens. It doesn't get any better either from my experience.

I had my son then saved for a house. It is possible. It did take huge discipline though. Everything he had was 2nd hand and I bought nothing for myself for ages. He and I have such happy memories of those years. And the discipline has stuck with me and I am horrified at what I used to spend money on in my early twenties!

Look at Money saving expert website, it’s v v good. You both need to be on same page re saving.

Track alll your spending for a while. Every coffee, lunch, choc bar...

Eating at home, no takeaways, taking lunch to work and meal planning all help. But second hand clothes for the baby and you.

Always pay off debts (other than mortgage) in full before saving

DH and I have have saved a significant amount in 4/5!months, whilst paying out mortgage and bills. We do earn well but not ‘that’ well- we’ve been very strict.

Best advice:
-Make a comprehensive spreadsheet taking incoming/outgoing/one off predicted spends and regular monthly living costs into account.
-Be totally realistic with figures.
-Move the ‘savings’ money over at the start of the month to remove temptation to spend it. Keep it in a totally separate account.

• Shop at multiple supermarkets for the best deals and try to batch cook with reduced items.

-Any extra money goes in the savings pot! Christmas/birthday...etc no ‘I’m just gonna treat myself with the £100 my DM gave me’- treat yourself to affording a house 👍🏻 -Take packed lunches! (Pretty much everywhere) a cheese sandwich costs about 25p to make and buying lunch/food at least 10x that!

Most importantly, recognise it as a short term situation to achieve a goal and not your forever lifestyle.

You say you have got a budget which is a great start. Have you been through it really carefully to think of areas where you can save money? Even ones which may seem like necessities at first. If you are living rent free or reduced rent with your parents you really should be able to save (once your debts are paid off). Then monitor the areas where you go over budget each month, and try to figure out why. Putting in the time to do this should stop your feeling that the money is 'disappearing'.