Bad Money Matters :(

[FlookCrow]

I study full time and work around 5 days a week, yet I never ever have enough money and am always left scrabbling at the end/start of the month. I don't drink, don't spent unecessarily, and am really confused as to why this is the case when it seems to me that I spend most of my time either working, or sleeping!

Does anyone have a good website for budgeting or such like.. ?

www.moneysavingexpert.com is good to try.

Have you tried writing down everything you spend? A coffee here and there, lunch, travel etc all mount up.

"Writing down" is a good move. I'd recommend getting hold of a copy of Microsoft Money and keeping your finances up to date on that. (Many PCs have it already installed.) The act of noting down everything coming into and out of your account/s means you automatically spend less.

Another idea is to only work with cash. Decide how much you need to live on at the start of the week, withdraw that amount of cash from your account and then use it over the course of the week rather than cheques, debit or credit cards. Don't visit the cashpoint if it starts running low, but trim your spending accordingly. Spending cash is very tangible and you're more conscious of it leaving your wallet than other payment methods.