How do I save money??!!

[ReginaaPhalange]

As the title suggests, I'm mid 30s with zero savings of my own. My DH has some savings which if either of us needed access to merge ch funds, we would be ok for a small amount.

I want to start saving my own money! We have a joint account where bills and salaries are paid and each month we take a fixed sum each and transfer it into our accounts. DH earns considerably more than me but takes the same amount of fixed money as me each month.

He can save. I can't! I buy clothes and make up just for the sake of it cause the money is there!

What are your best tried and tested ways to save? I have started the "round up" option on my bank so it rounds up my transaction to the nearest pound and puts that into a separate pot.

I want savings cause we are TTC and I want to save for maternity leave etc

@BelleBlueBell I know that's the issue - if a actually doing it 🤣🤣 but yes, I'm going to make the effort to stop the unnecessary spending!

Have a look online (YouTube and Ted talks are good) about people doing a "no spend year". It doesn't need to be a year, but you could set yourself a challenge like just a month where e.g. you only buy food shopping, NECESSARY toiletries like soap or deodorant if you've got none left in the house, and birthday gifts and nothing else.

Stop browsing in shops. Stop browsing online. Don't go down aisles of supermarkets when you don't need anything from them (e.g. wine, sweets, etc. - anything not on your shopping list). If you see or think of anything you think you need, save it and revisit after your month is up to see if you still think you need it (I have a "shopping wishlist" bookmarks folder on my phone for that).

If you think you need new clothes, pull out every item of clothing you own onto your bed and I'll bet you realise you have more than enough already. Take the opportunity to do some Marie Kondo decluttering of the stuff you've bought but never wear. Same with make up, hair products, etc. If there is a genuine gap in your wardrobe of something you definitely need, have a good think about it and write yourself a specific shopping list based on what you'll get the most wear out of and will go with the rest of your clothes e.g. shorts = navy, 100% cotton shorts, roughly X inches in length, with pockets. When your month is up (which hopefully has changed your mindset a bit) you can shop for them but don't settle for anything that doesn't meet all the criteria and look flattering, otherwise you'll find yourself in the same position looking for a replacement and you'll have wasted money. Ideally look at Ebay, Vinted and charity shops first to see if you can save a bit of money (and the environment!) getting it second hand.

Also, remove your saved card details from all your online shops so you have to put in slightly more effort (and therefore think again) before buying anything!

Good luck!

@BlueShrew thanks for the tips - away to look at YT now.

Ive actually spent the day clearing out and you're right - the amount of stuff I have is unreal and I definitely do not need to buy any clothes anytime soon!

[quote ReginaaPhalange]@BelleBlueBell honestly? Absolute shite! Make up, clothes, takeaways and now dinners out.... [/quote]
He can save. I can't! I buy clothes and make up just for the sake of it cause the money is there

Do you spend a lot of time browsing websites? Try doing something else instead?

I'm a saver and DP is a spender. He seems to spend ages looking at websites (bike stuff, tools, clothes etc) whereas it would never occur to me to do that unless there was something that I needed and then it just seems a boring chore that I have to do rather than something to do for pleasure.

We've had the same amount of spending money for about 12 years and I've saved over £30k just because I spend far less than he does.

While that seems like an astonishing amount, if you break it down, it's about £50/60 a week.

@BarbaraofSeville yeah I do that a lot - in particular with make up sites lol!

I know what I need to do, so I now need to put this into practice. I have a goal in mind to keep me motivated - I want to treat myself to a designer handbag but will only do so when I have a certain amount (and still have money left over to cover for maternity leave if and when the time comes)

Would any of the clothes, or make up if not yet opened be worth selling?

There's eBay or a load of second hand selling sites, can't remember what they're called but I've read a few times that selling second hand clothes is popular and lucrative amongst 'young people'.

Oh and don't view the new baby if you have one as a shopping opportunity. Babies actually need very little, so be wary of the urge to buy lots of cute outfits and the most expensive pram you can find.

I use Plum the saving app honestly it's life changing

Yeah, Ebay and Vinted (possibly Depop depending on brands/style) will be good for selling clothes, shoes, bags, etc. that you don't need, and put the money straight into your savings.

I use Chip. I'm totally addicted to it, love watching my savings grow. I transfer a set amount when I get paid and then the ai saves what I can afford every 4 days from my main current account. We have a separate bills account and it doesn't see the money in there. The chip+1 account pays 1.25% bonus on the first £10000

I save in a 90 day access account so I put into it on payday and can't actually get to it without giving 90 days notice, works a treat!

Just a wee update that I've really held back on spending, not buying anything unnecessary and I've already got a wee savings pot of £25 🤣 but I've only bought the food shop this week. Wanted a Costa the other day but I resisted and put the money it would have cost into my savings pot!

Well done! Are you trying to do a "no buy" month?

@BlueShrew yep! Unless it's absolutely necessary! Haven't bought a takeaway this week either! Small steps

I don’t know if it’s a credible strategy or not but I have amounts whizzing off to so many different savings pots all the time by direct debit that my money never stands still long enough to spend it! I always “feel skint” because there’s never much in my current account - but I actually save over half my salary this way.

I would strongly suggest having a joint savings account that you pay into equally for things future baby will need. I don’t think it’s the woman’s job to save up for and buy the pram/carseat/whatever and it’s good to establish this principle before you start TTC

@BeastOfBODMAS no no it's not like that. We would have joint spends for baby etc and dh earns more so we have talked that he would obviously pay more, but I want the extra savings for my own reassurance if maternity leave ever happened for me

Unsubscribe from any mailing lists that send you special "offers", like save 20% when you spend blah, blah etc. It removes temptation and after a while you won't be tempted to browse online as much.

And pay yourself first each month by fixing a set amount to go straight into your savings before it's frittered away.

@ReginaaPhalange that is good to hear, as long as you are saving individually for your fun money and nice-to-haves on maternity.

I do like your strategy of every time you think about buying something and decide not to, put the money into savings instead.

We’ve done the M&S meal deals a few times as a cheaper alternative to takeaway, still feels like a treat as we don’t normally shop there and it’s a night off cooking!

I pay into a work place pension

As soon as I get paid, I pay into some regular savings

I never auto renew any insurances, but shop around on comparison sites

I use cash back on items purchased & some utility bills

I don't buy clothes very often. When the lock down eased, I bought 2 new bargain pairs of shoes from a charity shop for £6 each, they still had the labels on

I don't wear make up

I was coming on to recommend Chip - it really works and builds up so quickly! I thought I was already saving/squirelling what I could but it's amazed me how much I've got in there already. And at 1.25% it's a decent savings rate too.

I've had a look at chip - I'm a bit sceptical! Is it actually worth it?

Chip allow Max £10k on 1.25% so £125 per year less the chip fee. It is a loss leader to get business. Not sure about fscs protection, do check.

My work has links with credit unions which can take directly from your wages, I get paid weekly so I have it set out that £10 a week comes out. It's not a lot but it adds up. With my last employer I was in the share save scheme. I find if it comes out before going to you the it's easier to save.

Don't round up the pennies, round down the pounds. If my account ends in an odd £ then I shift into savings the amount it takes to round down to the nearest £10.

E.g. if I had £437.82 in my account then I would move £7.82 into savings.

I also shift over to savings however much I have left in my account at the end of the month. Some months it's nothing, others it's £50 and very occasionally can be £100.

This is on top of a regular £50 I put in to savings.

@DanielODonkey this is the exact approach I have going on just now! I always want my account to sit at a round £X00.00