How do I not live by paycheque to paycheque?

[FindingAWayy]

Very frustrated and annoyed I can’t do it by now (age 34) some simple guidance/ wisdom would be invaluable and very much appreciated - thank you so so much in advance my bigger goal is to learn how to manage a budget - I’ve got so overwhelmed I can’t think 😳

You need a budget app has been awesome for me. I would definitely recommend it.

I did the free one month trial and have now paid for a year.

I was finding myself overspending every month despite having a decent income. This month on payday I had 25% of our income left in our account so a big change in one month.

I did review all our DD’s and downgraded my phone, pet insurance and Sky which saved a bit but I think mostly it’s just having to account for every transaction i think which is making me think a lot more before I spend. Also made me more aware of DH’s regular top up shops etc which he has now cut down on.

Track your spending for a month and see where your money is going. When I did this I was certain I spent about £200 on food and it turned out to be closer to £400! I now budget £250 and consciously changed my shopping habits (there was a lot of just nipping to the expensive shop across the road going on!)

Once you've done that, make your budget. I just use a spreadsheet that has each item line by line and I allocate money each month as needed. Be realistic - if you spend £100 on coffee a month you're still going to want to buy a coffee but maybe not £100 per month...

If you don't have enough money to live and save, and you want to saveX then you need to look at either cutting your costs or increasing your income.

If you discover it's your frivolous habits that are eating up the money you could save, "paying yourself first" is good - set up a SO the day after pay day to your savings account and leave it there.

It takes some practice to get on top of this so don't bear yourself up when (and I say "when"...) you find you have messed up a bit - don't give up.

There are lots of budgeting people on YouTube too, watching some videos might help you get started and to realise lots and lots of people aren't very good at money either.

Same. Though it got too expensive and I now use Buckets. But so many apps and software out there (or a spreadsheet if you're into those) to help.
The main principle can be done with pen and paper though. Every penny earned it assigned a job. Plan for future/one off/annual expenses as well as monthly ones.

@RagzRebooted its costing about £12.50 a month at the moment which a small price to pay compared to how much it’s saved me. I couldn’t do the method with a pen, I need the system

I went to my bank, set up a meeting, and got them to open and label seven accounts for me. All accessible under my banking app.

I now can allocate my funds as they arrive. So a portion will go into my tax account, portion for house maintenance, portion for bills, car, food, general savings, birthdays and holidays whatever is left in my current account gets divided by 28 and that's the amount I have for spending per day.

It's the modern equivalent of my Nan having cash tins in her cupboard.

Do the free trial of you need a budget and then cancel- I don’t understand the logic of paying money to that as a means of getting out of debt.

I use Fudget app as an ongoing budget, it’s really excellent and every month just before payday I double check what needs to be paid and that includes the money put aside for holiday and Christmas and emergency fund- my income varies so I have to adjust payments to savings and obviously if there is a big spend that month it affects the figures.

I then use Monzo (Starling is good too) as I personally find it easier to budget when money is split into pots, I have one for petrol- which is also a savings pot for insurance/maintenance-then pots for food- nights out- beauty treatment and long term saving. I make new pots regularly- we have an expensive event this December so I have been saving all year.

I lived pay check to pay check for years but all the above has really helped

This is helpful, thank you for this. I'm a single Mum of one and I need to get a grip of my finances in 2023.

I've done the same, but prioritised pension contributions now that I'm a 40% tax payer. It works out as 67% 'uplift' via salary sacrifice.

I lived quite frugally for a long time out of necessity. I think most people would now consider me to be a 'high' earner (I'd argue I'm actually 'comfortable'), but I still spend sensibly and have zero debt apart from the mortgage.

You can live very frugally, but there are limits to what you can save if you don't earn much money.

Earning more money really is key.