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Money matters

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How to organise re budgets & saving

5 replies

groundedagain · 16/06/2021 08:01

I want to save more but to do that I need to budget accordingly.
I'm not particularly disciplined so know I need to take the money "out" straight after pay day. I want the money to be accessible because I'm not yet sure what a realistic budget is for me if that makes sense. I do have some money in PB but consider them long term savings & want to keep them separate.

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LubaLuca · 16/06/2021 08:04

www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/budget-planning/#planner

Money Saving Expert is always a good starting place when you want to make a financial decision.

Do you have the maximum allowance of Premium Bonds?

groundedagain · 16/06/2021 08:18

No, about 20k

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BarbaraofSeville · 16/06/2021 08:51

Second the MSE recommendation. Go through the budgeting stuff and also get the weekly email for ongoing hints and tips about all aspects of making your money go further.

My main tip would be to appreciate the value of lots of little savings adding up and compounding.

The individual savings might seem small but they really add up over time.

A £3 daily coffee might not seem a particularly extravagent expenditure, but if you do it every working day, that's £60 a month or about £700 a year, which would pay for a holiday.

Reducing your bills cost (shop around for gas, electricity, broadband, mobile phone) could easily knock £50-100 a month off the costs).

Look at what you buy in the supermarket and always buy your regular non perishables on special offer, not as and when you need them, always keep a small stock. Either buy in Aldi, Lidl or Home Bargains etc or on offer for toiletries, cleaning products, canned food etc and you can effectively half the price of these items.

All the above adds up massively and becomes second nature after a while. There's probably about £2-3k pa in savings just on those three simple things, that many people don't bother with, but that's £2-3k extra you can put in savings, or have available to spend, with little impact on lifestyle.

shivawn · 16/06/2021 16:54

I just give myself a set amount of money to spend each week and try to stick to that. I would never stick to anything too regimented or bare bones because I need a bit of freedom in my budget to have a bit of a social life and treat myself and friends a bit without feeling like I'm having to watch every penny. Depends on your lifestyle and priorities, what sort of budget system works for you.

Add up all your fixed outgoings and see if there's any savings to be made there. Then see what's left over and try to make a realistic savings goal, it might take a while to figure out what's doable to you.

groundedagain · 16/06/2021 16:56

Thanks for the tips and I will look at MSE

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