Any cash stuffers here?

[bingoringo4]

I started last month and it's going really well.

Are there others on here that do it?

I used to do it years and years ago when I first got married , before DD and things .Meh I was just paying the bills .

I don't, but I'd be interested to know how you do it, is it just for things like food shopping and petrol, presumably you pay most of your bills direct debit or online banking?

I've seen American YouTubers who allocate cash for rent, water bills etc. then have to go to the bank to pay it in before the bill comes out.

Seems a lot of effort, I just keep a budget spreadsheet on my phone.

Does it work well for you?

Yes so when I'm paid I leave in the money for direct debits and leave in a little buffer for online payments and then I take the rest out in cash. I'm on a budget journey atm so I divide that cash into four and that is what I have to buy food shopping, Diesel and gas and electric (I have pre payment metres) the cash I have left over at the end of the week I use to go into my saving challenges. And then I start a new week with the next weeks budget money. I've saved nearly £200 in just a few weeks. I love it it makes me so happy lol. I didn't have a penny saved before doing this and using cash helps me to keep track of my spending instead of keep tapping away on my card.

I’m glad it works for you, but I’d be too worried about it getting stolen or it going missing. I like the ‘pay yourself first’ approach, but each to their own!

I work my budget in a similar way but I just don't take the cash out, I allocate money for set things on a spreadsheet.

I'd like to reduce my discretionary spending but I don't think I could commit to this approach.

@AutumnBride the main reason I do this is because money feels more real if it's in my hand. Numbers on a screen doesn't feel like money to me and I just tap away with no thought what so ever. My whole attitude to money has changed now and I shop better. I was going to tesco and just chucking stuff in the trolly and not giving it a thought until it got to the next week and I was having to borrow money for food. I watch what I'm picking up now and I don't spend frivolously, I want there to be money in my purse by the end of the week to put into my challenges.

I might give this method a try. I already save money each money but I get what you mean, it is toooooooo damn easy to spend on card. How much as %age of your income do you allocate yourself each week?

Ah, typo. I save money each month*

I do a version of this. Divide all bills by 4 since I'm paid weekly and then I leave money in the bank for bills, then withdraw the rest for shopping , petrol ect and savings then go into a credit union account which can't be accessed online. I find separating it all out definitely helps to manage money better so that it's not all sat in the bank and tempting me to overspend 😅

I leave just enough money for direct debits in the account my salary goes into and transfer the rest into a separate current account. That's the money I then put into my monthly budget.

So I know exactly how much I have to spend for the month, on food, petrol etc.. once all regular commitments are taken care of.

@Volbeat I budget £240 a week. That's to feed a family 5 (3 adults 2 children) I was spending close to £200 a week before I started this, now it's coming in around £120. Electric and gas and diesel.

I receive pip aswell separately and with that I bulk buy cleaning products, toilet rolls, shampoo, conditioner etc so that I don't have to buy them in my weekly shop.

That's what I was doing overspending. I used to think my account had been hacked because I couldn't have possibly spent that much in one day 🤦🏻‍♀️ separating it helps so much.

Yours sounds practically the same but you have a lot more self control 😂 if it's in my bank I'm going on a huge spending spree 🤦🏻‍♀️

@bingoringo4 I still overspend some months. I'm planning to keep a log of all spending in April to give me a better idea where all my money is going.

I'm literally planning to start this tomorrow!

I use YNAB which is a virtual cash stuffing system. I couldn't be bothered with making piles of cash. The key, though, is finding what works for you.

I do! I started in January. I was sick of getting towards the end of the month and being absolutely skint!
I do a mix, so have 'pots' in my Monzo account for birthdays and Christmas and a few other things that I pay into monthly.
I leave my direct debit things in my main account such as mortgage, bills etc. Then I physically draw out the months money for things like food, petrol, miscellaneous. The months money goes into one folder and then I carry each weeks money in a cash wallet in my purse. Whatever is left at the end of the week goes into my penny savings challenge. Then I get my next weeks out of the folder and start again.
I love it. My money is lasting the month because I'm accounting for nearly every penny. Plus I'm already saving for Christmas!

I just use a spreadsheet and have all my monthly payments logged in one section, then update the variable spending section when I spend anything. I know to the penny how much I've got left for the rest of the month.

I do too much online to need actual cash.

I love this. I'm going to start doing similar.

A cashless society is worrying.

It isn't for me but it sounds like it's working really well for you, £200 already is fantastic, well done!

@strawberry2017 how exciting! Good luck.

@Happyinheels that's exactly what I do apart from the pots. Just because leaving money in my account tempts me to use it. I have a binder which has wallets for Xmas, birthdays, kids clothes, car, holiday, myself, household, emergency. I have challenges that I pay into aswell like £1 and the penny saver. It's changed my whole mindset.

Glad it works for some people but I CBA faffing about with cash TBH.

We pay bills and food from the joint account and pay money straight in when we get paid from our own accounts as a standing order and into a savings account. Then anything left in our own accounts is discretionary spending, but I also plan what major things are likely to come up that month - car, birthdays, going out, holidays etc. I can create spaces in my bank account to set aside money for those if I need to.

@EatSprayGlove thank you, I'd have saved another £300 if id not borrowed it off my mum in January. That's what kickstarted me doing this, January was the worst off I've ever been in my life and I needed to make a change. Next months saving should be a lot better.

@shearwater2 people think it's a lot of faff but it really isn't. One trip a month to the bank/post office and job done.

I pay everything IRL in cash, but I don't think I'm a cash stuffer based on this thread (since you didn't provide a definition in the OP). For me, it's liking cash and wanting to contribute to keeping it a payment option - I despise the creeping card-only.