Budgeting Tips Please - Third Baby Due

[KD85]

So I am pregnant with number 3 and also have a 4 and 3 year old. I realise that we are terrible with our money! We are not great at budgeting or saving and this will most definitely need to change now that we are to acquire an extra mouth to feed/life to nurture and no additional income. Can you please hit me with your top 3 money tips.

Thanks so much!

Know where your money is going.

Pore over the last month's spending from your bank account(s) and write it all down so it is clear where it is going.
Then think about all the things that aren't monthly (maybe insurances, TV license, Christmas / Birthday presents / clothes / haircuts / MOT or season ticket / etc).
If you use cash, try and keep track of that for a week or two.

Once you see where it is going, then it is easier to see where you might be able to cut down.

On pay day, have a standing order to a separate savings account (I know interest is rubbish at the moment, but just a separate account) even if it is quite a small amount. If you aren't broke at the end of that month, you've started a savings pot. If you do need to take it out again, you are making a conscious decision to do so, and need to justify to yourself the purchase is worth it.

Look for best price for your insurances 3 weeks or up to 30 days before it is due - you get far better quotes.

Always worth trawling through comparison sites to check you are getting best deal on all your bills - gas and electric less so in the current climate when they are saying not to change, but generally a good tip in life.

When you go to buy something..... ask yourself if you need it or just 'want it'. If it is in the 'want' category, spend an hour on-line or trawling the shops and markets to see if you can get it cheaper...... then wait 24hours and decide if you still feel it is worth that miuch money

Set yourself targets for saving - whether that is just to treat yourself to a takeaway or something or bigger, more ambitious goals.

In food or toiletries shopping, try replacing what you buy with a cheaper version (shop's own or the 'basic / save' brand) - some things you won't like, but you'll be surprised how many are really nice. Or, if you shop in Coop or Waitrose, try Sainsburys or Morrisons or Tesco, or, if you shop there, try Lidl or Aldi

Look at Moneysupermarket for advice before making any big purchase, and indeed there are forums there for learning how to save money to the nth degree.

The biggest thing I did to help budget is an excel sheet or a google.docs sheet.

Which, doesn't help if you can't use Excel or google docs..

Copy and paste a month of bank transactions into the sheet.
Seperate them into Direct.Debits, food and everything else..
The everything else should include things like popping Gregg's, or Netflix or Spotify subscriptions etc.

What you need is basically 3 columns.
Essentials for life (pretty much the same.for everyone) - food, housing, heat, light, council tax, insurance. Etc. Cheapen these of you can, but you can't get rid.
Necessities for living (cause staring at 4 walls is miserable) - TV license, Netflix, internet, mobile. Cheapen these of you can and contemplate getting rid (do you need Netflix, Amazon prime, Disney+ every month or can you rotate them and have each a month at a time when there's something you want to see? Do you need the £50 phone or will £10 pay-go do? Is Spotify really worth it? So on and so on)
Everything else - treats, cakes, Gregg's, Starbucks, Costa, popping Lidl on way home and buying bits you don't need from the aisles of wonder..

When you start talking up all the unnecessary stuff, you might shock yourself at how much those little £3 here and there come out to in a month. I had a habit of "Nipping the shop".. I'll just pop up Lidl for a loaf.. come back with a loaf, biscuits, chocolate.. instead of £1 for bread, I've spent £3.50 on crap. Now I get bread and freeze it on big shop.

But I'm wafflong, just an idea for you.