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10 replies

Eeve · 12/01/2022 22:18

DH and I need a budget. We have a (very) healthy income (but large-ish mortgage in London!), but we should be able to save. I know we could sit down and do it ourselves but we don't get round to it. It would be so helpful to have someone sit down with us and help us make a plan.

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PurpleThursdays · 12/01/2022 22:21

You can get apps on your phone that will help you budget. There is a handy "statement of affairs" on the money saving expert website too. You need to be brutally honest about your income and expenditure. But it helps you see where your money is going.

NoSquirrels · 12/01/2022 22:28

You just need an IFA, surely? Long-term, medium-term and short-term goals. Sitting down with a financial adviser you’re paying a fee to advise on your saving and investment goals will focus your minds on your monthly/annual budget.

Eeve · 12/01/2022 22:42

@NoSquirrels - would an IFA sit down with us and go through bank statements etc? I think it's that kinds of thing we need to do!

But thank you for the suggestion, I will certainly start looking in that direction!

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LizzieMacQueen · 12/01/2022 22:49

You could hire an accountant to give you an audit, prepare a set of household accounts and give you pointers going forward.

Eeve · 12/01/2022 22:53

@LizzieMacQueen thank you! I actually have an accountant for my business affairs - he already knows I'm a bit daft when it come to financial stuff so I will also give him an email!

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Warblerinwinter · 13/01/2022 09:26

Surely you don’t need to pay a FA to set yourselves a budget?
You’re still going to have to sit down with FA so they could understand the entries on your bank statements. And part of being able to keep to a budget is both having a common understanding of what you spend right now vs what you agree to spend in future

You just need to set a weekend aside. Once you’ve done once it will take less than a day once per year to review and reset for the next year.

You can download your statements into a single running excel sheet. You can then set up filters to filter by your main payee types to find your total spends by say council tax, food shops, energy, phone etc. you can add a column and designate a category code to lump a number of different payees together under a single type of spend/category ( eg clothes from a number of different shops)

Decide on some categories you want to identify your spending on eg food, entertainment, bills, gifting, housing cost etc…focus on trying to identify and split necessities from “wants” or whims. That way you can identify more easily where you could spend. Come up with list first based on just last 2 months statements. Then do calculations of what you spent in each category over last 12 months using excel . Make sure all your spends and income on your statements are included in the categories you’ve chosen.

If you’re good with excel, or willing to learn, you can use this to track yourselves against budget each month or quarter and check and adjust your spends where necessary. You can easily create a annual budgeted total for each category and a predicted total using your actual spend to date.

Just need to get some basic excel skills in use- surely most folks have this today if they’re under 70 !

titchy · 13/01/2022 09:35

Well there's your problem! You want to delegate understanding and responsibility for personal spending to someone else rather than do it yourself!

If you want to develop a sensible approach to money you need to take your head out of the sand and spend a weekend going through your own bank statements!

Or were you envisaging having to ask an IFA/accountant every time you wanted a Pret lunch?

nannynick · 13/01/2022 09:45

A money coach may be what you are looking for, someone to sit with you both and go through things.

BarbaraofSeville · 13/01/2022 14:25

The long version of what you need to do is here:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

Don't worry about all the talk about debt, it's relevant to everyone.

Also

ukpersonal.finance/flowchart/

You could also just split your money up on payday, put some in savings (short and long term), some into an account to pay the bills, and then spend the rest. Maybe split this into essentials, food and travel and nice to haves, takeaways, clothes for adults, days out etc.

Only spend from the spending accounts and don't touch the savings accounts unless you need to buy something that's extra to the day to day spending, eg car replacement.

But you really need to review your budget to see what can go in each category. Also look at your last few months spending to see what you're spending your money on and for areas to save.

seekingasimplelife · 16/01/2022 17:12

You don't need an IFA- they are in the business of selling you financial products for a fee or commission. You might benefit from one in the future if you find you have large sums to invest, but it doesn't seem you are at that stage yet.

It is quite straightforward to work out your own financial plan.
If you can't face it, you could try a session with a Financial Planner. Unlike an IFA, they do not recommend financial products, but will systematically work through all the steps of financial planning with you, and help you design your own.

Do you belong to a professional organisation such as a union as part of your job? They often offer free financial planning sessions.

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