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Why am I such a wankpuffin with money?

82 replies

Kellysrs · 12/07/2023 16:03

Is it just me, or is anyone else completely frigging useless with their money!

i’m 39 and reasonably educated with a good job. Other areas of my life are well managed but I’m just so incredibly shit with money. when I get paid I go into this fucking ridiculous “ I’m rich” mindset.

i get paid in 14 days and have £460 left in my account. Don’t get me wrong, £460 is fine as my bills are all paid, however I should have a lot more than that

does anyone else just continually fuck up with money like this?

OP posts:
MrsElsa · 17/07/2023 19:03

Me I'm a 37 yo wankpuffin. I've taken to telling myself every home made lunch is a life saving superpower because I am SO SICK of being in debt.

Hedjwitch · 17/07/2023 19:03

I couldnt get the hang of YNAB at all. If you're going to spend,switch to a Chase card which gives you a small percentage on every transaction,and puts round up into a savj gs account with 5% interest. It also gives you a breakdown of your spending patterns. Much easier than YNAB

Hugasauras · 17/07/2023 19:04

Lougle · 17/07/2023 18:52

Yes. You may eventually get to the point where November's money is allocated to January's or even February's bills...it doesn't matter as long as you have enough in your budget to cover your expenses.

If you're not quite sure what to allocate money to but want to build a buffer, you can add a category such as 'unspecified savings' and put any bits and bobs in there. It doesn't have to be precisely ear marked.

I put amounts in my category names. E.g. 'Car tax £20 per month'. I also put the dates of direct debits in the names, and because we get money twice a month, I split my direct debits into two categories: 'Direct Debits - first half of month' and 'Direct Debits - second half of month', with all the direct debits listed in date order within each category. That way, as soon as money comes in, I can select the category and auto assign the money to it.

Brilliant, thanks!

Lougle · 17/07/2023 19:04

Hedjwitch · 17/07/2023 19:03

I couldnt get the hang of YNAB at all. If you're going to spend,switch to a Chase card which gives you a small percentage on every transaction,and puts round up into a savj gs account with 5% interest. It also gives you a breakdown of your spending patterns. Much easier than YNAB

That's great if you want to track past purchases. YNAB is about controlling future purchases.

Hugasauras · 17/07/2023 19:05

And yes we get money twice a month too - I get paid on 14th and DH at the end of month, plus I do some self-employed work so sometimes have extra money coming in. I've struggled with working out how to budget properly but I think this will help a lot.

NoSquirrels · 17/07/2023 19:10

WeAreBorg · 17/07/2023 18:59

Agree with paying yourself first.

Simply puffin £1000 or whatever by direct debit on payday into a nice high interest account, then freely wank away the rest of it with financial abandon. Increase the puffin amount by e.g. 5% per year. Continue wanking as usual.

Enjoying this use of puffin immensely!

NoSquirrels · 17/07/2023 19:12

Hugasauras · 17/07/2023 19:05

And yes we get money twice a month too - I get paid on 14th and DH at the end of month, plus I do some self-employed work so sometimes have extra money coming in. I've struggled with working out how to budget properly but I think this will help a lot.

YNAB is absolutely brilliant for ‘lumpy’ income because the rule is so simple - what does this money need to do now before I get paid again?

Sometimes it just needs to sit in sinking funds and savings, sometimes it needs to pay an unexpected bill/unplanned for fun thing. But it’s easy to make those decisions when you are forced to choose.

Lougle · 17/07/2023 19:12

Hugasauras · 17/07/2023 19:05

And yes we get money twice a month too - I get paid on 14th and DH at the end of month, plus I do some self-employed work so sometimes have extra money coming in. I've struggled with working out how to budget properly but I think this will help a lot.

We get DH's wages at the end of the month and universal credit mid-month. I have to be conscious of the fact that DH's wages don't cover all of our direct debits for the month (because they're all scheduled at the beginning of the month), so I have to make sure that I budget forward some of the UC for the next month. I split my direct debits into to two categories, one for the DDs that will be paid for by DH's wages and one for DDs that are paid for once our UC comes in.

BarbaraofSeville · 17/07/2023 19:32

BlastedSkreet · 17/07/2023 16:44

Is YNAB worth 12.99 a month?

I'd say no.

It does nothing you can't do yourself for free. But it seems to make the act of spending money so tedious that you probably won't bother. Maybe that's how it works?

Instead of paying £12.99 a month, you could arrange your money into pots/accounts.

You can have as many of these you like, but you need some for:

direct debits for monthly bills
annual/irregular things like Christmas, insurance, car repairs etc
emergency fund/large purchases, that sort of thing
holidays, split all these how you like depending on priorities/spare money

Do not spend from the above. They don't exist - if you need to spend on these things, it either happens by DD or you can spend if you need MOT etc.

Have an account for food/travel, only buy food and petrol from this account.

Have standing orders feed all the above accounts on payday. Once all the above accounts/pots are set up, apart from making sure the SO goes in, they don't need much input.

If you need help deciding amounts, that's what Moneysaving Expert is for. Start here:

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

Then we get to the money you're allowed to spend on whatever you like. Feed it monthly into your spending account once you've sorted the above. When the money runs out, stop spending until next month. If it runs out too fast, you need to work out how to make more money, cut some of your other costs, or decide which of your vices you do and don't like and prioritise. If you don't spend it all one month, you have more to spend next month.

BatheInTheLight · 17/07/2023 19:35

I just have a payment to my savings account which is made every pay day (€500 a month). This money pays for one-off large expenses.... Think car insurance, holidays, new domestic appliances. So that they don't interrupt your day to day spending.

I also have €100 a week into a 'bills' account for gas, electric, broadband, phones, so when I get these bills, I just move the same amount back into my regular account.

I hate unnecessary spending so spending £150+ a year on YNAB or whatever is called, would be a big no go... The things I COULD have done with that money 😆

Lougle · 17/07/2023 19:40

BlastedSkreet · 17/07/2023 16:44

Is YNAB worth 12.99 a month?

It's only about £75 per year if you pay annually. I pay about £68 because I'm a legacy user from the YNAB 4 days. It's well worth it in my view.

BlastedSkreet · 17/07/2023 21:16

Yeah I have tried different accounts etc but I can see this system working better for me. I am going to try it for three months and see where I am!

Gremlins101 · 17/07/2023 23:04

Oh, me too. And my husband. We have no hope.

But the word wankpuffin is marvellous 😀

Gremlins101 · 17/07/2023 23:13

After having kids i set up a standing order to my savings account and a standing order to our joint account.

That leaves me with about a third of my wages as fun money (that includes my car costs though). Its tough, but I had to do something as I was also 36 without a penny of savings. Husband is doing the same . Hoping to not have to train our children in the art of pickpocketing to get them through college.

PurpleBugz · 17/07/2023 23:27

I used to be but then I git sick and properly poor. Then I got through that and became a single parent and back to poor. Now I'm so scared to spend money I take weeks to decide to pay out on big things and I hoard food excessively having needed food bank at one point. I think I was the only one of my friends and family who was able to cope with the initial panic buying of Covid because I always have enough to get through 2-3 months of no money

Happierwithouthim · 18/07/2023 11:45

Lougle · 17/07/2023 18:52

Yes. You may eventually get to the point where November's money is allocated to January's or even February's bills...it doesn't matter as long as you have enough in your budget to cover your expenses.

If you're not quite sure what to allocate money to but want to build a buffer, you can add a category such as 'unspecified savings' and put any bits and bobs in there. It doesn't have to be precisely ear marked.

I put amounts in my category names. E.g. 'Car tax £20 per month'. I also put the dates of direct debits in the names, and because we get money twice a month, I split my direct debits into two categories: 'Direct Debits - first half of month' and 'Direct Debits - second half of month', with all the direct debits listed in date order within each category. That way, as soon as money comes in, I can select the category and auto assign the money to it.

I'm also a legacy user like @Lougle so get YNAB at a reduced price, every year on renewal date I question whether I need it or could do this myself, but it's convenient and I can search any payment I've made over the years to see what something cost me. I can run reports to make adjustments to how I budget my money for next year. I get paid weekly which isn't how YNAB is set up but it means I get to make decisions up to 9 times a month about where my money goes, weekly wages, weekly maintenance payments and child benefit.

I also have a revolut account and every week this year I transferred money to my revolut account using category holidays, when holidays came then this money was free to be spent off YNAB and I'd some to spare Grin
I was a disaster with money until a few years ago.

Lougle · 18/07/2023 12:09

@Happierwithouthim I think that's the beauty of YNAB, isn't it? It's silently holding you accountable, so instead of thinking 'oh I got paid £200 this week, what shall I buy?' you think 'hmm....in two weeks time, £150 will come out of my account, so if I don't put some by now, I won't have enough.'

I put the money away each month for YNAB, so that I don't have to worry when the bill rolls in. I definitely save more than the £6 per month it costs me.

Munches · 18/07/2023 12:13

Worldgonecrazy · 17/07/2023 17:32

If you have autism I can recommend spreadsheets. I have a wonderful spreadsheet which will tell me how much money will be in my account on any given date over the next 5 years. It makes me very happy to see if I spend £x I will have £y on 26 September 2026😎

This sounds great. Please can I have info on Theo?

Munches · 18/07/2023 12:13
  • This even… I know of no Theo … never mind info on him!! 🤣
JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 18/07/2023 12:21

Open a second account. Set up a standing order that pays you a set amount per week as spending money into that account. Put the cards for your main account in the freezer so the only money that goes out is for bills and the standing order.

AddictedtoCrunchies · 18/07/2023 12:24

BlastedSkreet · 17/07/2023 17:55

So in YNAB, you assign the money to ‘envelopes’ in the app, and then it sits in your account until you spend it? So say I assign 150 per month to save for Christmas in YNAB, what actually happens is I don’t spend it on anything else? So it sits in my account? And I look at YNAB instead of my bank account to work out whether and what to spend my money on?

Have I understood that right?

Yes thats exactly right. You know how much you can spend on groceries because you'll have £x in your grocery pot. Etc. So your actual bank balance could be £800 but if you've only got £20 in your fuel pot that's all you can spend.

I've been using it since December and it's life changing. By the end of this year I will have fully funded all my one off spends for next year. Season ticket, green bin, car ins, house ins, Christmas, birthdays etc. I will then use 2024 to monthly fund the one off spends for 2025.

AddictedtoCrunchies · 18/07/2023 12:31

Sorry I got excited and replied to your post without checking no one else had!!

I stand by it though. I have a category for YNAB and I put money aside each month to pay it. I cant see me going back to my spreadsheet now as this is so easy.

It did take me a while to get my head round it and I prefer the desktop to the app. But I love it ❤️

Lougle · 18/07/2023 12:32

AddictedtoCrunchies · 18/07/2023 12:31

Sorry I got excited and replied to your post without checking no one else had!!

I stand by it though. I have a category for YNAB and I put money aside each month to pay it. I cant see me going back to my spreadsheet now as this is so easy.

It did take me a while to get my head round it and I prefer the desktop to the app. But I love it ❤️

YNAB is exciting 😁

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 18/07/2023 12:36

Everything is so so so expensive now and eve thing you do on your phone gives data to advertisers that know just how to get you to spend!

You'll have to be drastically strong to break this habit but the first step is realising!

Happierwithouthim · 18/07/2023 12:39

Lougle · 18/07/2023 12:09

@Happierwithouthim I think that's the beauty of YNAB, isn't it? It's silently holding you accountable, so instead of thinking 'oh I got paid £200 this week, what shall I buy?' you think 'hmm....in two weeks time, £150 will come out of my account, so if I don't put some by now, I won't have enough.'

I put the money away each month for YNAB, so that I don't have to worry when the bill rolls in. I definitely save more than the £6 per month it costs me.

Ironically its the one annual expense I haven't allowed for the last few years but I'm filling it as a sinking fund this year, that and house insurance for some reason! This year has gotten away from me, I moved into my house two years ago so I'd to get to know my expenses all over again, printed out my reports in Jan and still didn't review them. Mrs Hawkins House does an annual review, similar idea Mrs Hawkins House website

Home - Mrs Hawkins House

No Spend Year 2017, no spend year 2023, no spend weekly review, no spend tips and tricks, low cost meal planning.

https://mrshawkinshouse.com/