Economy drive

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Lily
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Economy drive

Post by Lily »

I had a bit of a revelation late last year that other people don't live like I do. I'm not going to bore with all the ins and outs of it but I should be able to sort my relatively small debt out within a few months if I am sensible. This would be life-changing and I really think I can do it if I set my mind to it!

Is anyone else trying to live thriftily? If so can we share ideas/things we're doing and will each other on a bit?

So far I have:
- made a trip to Aldi (further away) to buy groceries rather than going to Waitrose which is just down the road
- sent back/cancelled sales purchases I didn't need
- decided to renew my passport next month when I get paid rather than put it on my credit card (hopefully it won't take a billion years)

I was going to go to the cinema this weekend as it's a rare quiet one, but I realised I can't actually afford that so instead I will spend it with books, TV and the gym.
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nineseven
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Re: Economy drive

Post by nineseven »

Now I'm dying to know the ins and outs of it :))

Having got into debt in my 20s when I was on a very low income, I am now quite thrifty on most things but will spend more on good quality items that will last a long time. I save hard and keep a daily spreadsheet of my income and outgoings (possibly slightly more necessary for a self-employed person) :l: I'm currently in another decluttering/eBaying phase ahead of (hopefully) moving house.

Just chuck everything you can at the debt, Lily - even spare pennies count. Is it on a credit card?
Mayday
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Mayday »

Good luck, Lily.

I am permanently on economy drive, mainly just down to being tight.

Kon-mari a few years ago really helped me to stop buying. I very rarely buy clothes and when I do they are supermarket or charity shops.

I always shop at lidl and aldi. I genuinely believe the saving over the years contributed to being able to afford to buy our house.

I'm constantly ebaying/decluttering too. I tend to buy a lot second hand too. I worked out how much I had spent to furnish our house a while back, and it came to a ridiculously small amount when you consider what I had bought.
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Lily
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Lily »

They're really not interesting :lol: Basically I find that I have got used to living off credit cards, throwing loads of money at them when I get paid, then having no money so I live off them again. I've got into the habit of worrying about money All The Time but I don't seem to think "well I can't afford this that or the other", I just spend little amounts which add up - a cinema ticket here, a Lush bath bomb there, blah blah - rather than ridiculously massive amounts although I do splash out sometimes too. I really spend when I am miserable too, especially online as I get a kick out of things arriving. It's absurd. I was discussing it with a friend and she said that she has never had a credit card in her life. It got really bad just before Christmas when I was working all day, then going to my second job, then going to the gym, then going home and working at my third job until stupid o'clock and I still wind up a week after payday a weasel's willy length away from my (deliberately small) overdraft limit. I don't want to live like this anymore, and I don't have to. I am not on a bad wage and my rent is reasonable.

I had some savings but they have all gone on therapy. I don't think I will ever be able to afford a house, and I've never really thought about it because if I did buy it would have to be somewhere cheap and manky where I would be miserable. But I want a cushion of savings behind me when things go wrong. I want to work less and enjoy life more!

I am very lucky to be getting a couple of small bonuses (bonii?) coming up which I will throw at my credit card. This will leave me with about £2k to clear which should be fine as long as I am careful with my spending. I get quite panicked when I get any money coming in, all breathless and frightened. :ella: So I'm working on that mindset too.

Jet very kindly did me a spreadsheet which is very detailed and gives me control over my spending - but just inputting everything doesn't magically create more savings! So I have to learn from that, too.

Nine, you sound very disciplined; did you have a road to Damascus moment or was it just a gradual process? Both you and Mayday must get real satisfaction from being able to afford a property. I want that sort of satisfaction - I am aiming for a savings account and when I am debt-free I will get a small gecko tattoo with Dexter's colours on it, somewhere only I can see it, to remind me to keep myself debt-free.

Is Kon-Mari the lady who tells you about things which spark joy? I read her but I can't remember much more about it than she said you should be kind to your socks.
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Froozy
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Froozy »

Do you have a good budget planner, Lily? I find I'm much more organised if I know how much and when my direct debits are going out, and that I'm putting money aside for eg car tax during the year so it doesn't come as a shock once a year. I've got one I can send you if you think it would help/apologies if that's teaching you to suck eggs :)). Then I put £x into a separate account each month and that's my spending money. I have been getting a bit carried away with my credit card recently though and using that instead (I tell myself the JL vouchers I get are worth it, but I think I need to have a proper think about it) so I need to sort that side of things out.

Does your local cinema do a membership thing for cheaper tickets? We've got a Showcase locally and the tickets are less once you've signed up (for free).
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Skips
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Skips »

I had to get the car on finance and due to an error I made my credit rating has taken a battering and it's on quite a high interest rate. Like you I want to clear this as quickly as I can (although for me it will be years rather than months).

I have a spreadsheet for my bills and those come out of a separate account. I also have accounts for food, fuel and holidays which I put the same amount into every month. I could stop the holidays for a bit but I find they keep me sane. J and I have a four year plan where we would like to clear the debt and save up and move (probably closer to Gloucester if we can afford it). We've started shopping in Lidl and I've noticed the difference in our food costs so we'll try to continue that and meal planning has helped. I should try to sell more things on Ebay but I've never really had much luck with - I don't seem to make much in relation to the effort I have to put in, but I guess that's not really the point.
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nineseven
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Re: Economy drive

Post by nineseven »

Lily wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 11:22 am Nine, you sound very disciplined; did you have a road to Damascus moment or was it just a gradual process? Both you and Mayday must get real satisfaction from being able to afford a property. I want that sort of satisfaction - I am aiming for a savings account and when I am debt-free I will get a small gecko tattoo with Dexter's colours on it, somewhere only I can see it, to remind me to keep myself debt-free.
I managed to clear the last of my debts in one fell swoop when I got my mortgage*, and then vowed never to get into debt again. I use credit cards all the time as they are useful and I get cashback or points, but they are paid off in full every single month, without exception.

Lily, I'd suggest making a plan to get that £2k paid off so you know when you can achieve it. Is it on one card? Is it 0%?

*I was very fortunate and my parents helped me buy a place when I was quite young, so it's not down to my amazing money management :)) I have since learned how to save though and put as much away as possible. I'm also quite interested in finding good deals on savings accounts etc. After I've moved and my finances are a bit more settled I'm going to look at investing etc.
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Mayday »

Lily wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 11:22 am Is Kon-Mari the lady who tells you about things which spark joy? I read her but I can't remember much more about it than she said you should be kind to your socks.
Yes. There is more to it than that but I ignore most of it anyway so :lol:. Before I would go into a shop, think ooh that's nice because it is cheap. Maybe it would be in the sale. Maybe it was a bit tight, or the shoulder didn't quite sit right, or the colour didn't really suit me, but I'd buy it anyway because I liked it etc. Kon mari has just helped me be a bit choosier, and think do I REALLY need this? And does it "spark joy" (sorry, I hate that phrase and think it's so wanky but in terms of buying clothes, for me absolutely works). And I find it so much easier having a smaller wardrobe.
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Re: Economy drive

Post by smalex »

I'm not saying this to needle you, Lily, but didn't you once clear all your debts? I hope you can get to that point again.

I'm probably far less careful and restrained than I used to be, but, I got a mortgage alone on a fairly low salary at 23, then eventually accidentally (courtesy of negative equity) ended up with a considerable debt, then had a baby on a stat mat pay (while still paying off the debt), then started a business (while still paying off the debt). So its safe to say I learnt to live on a limited income quite successfully :)) . I always took savings out at the beginning of the month (at times, these were pitiful amounts- £20/50), and always go through my accounts at the end of the month, being honest about what has been spent and how that is paid for. I used to rigorously meal plan, including roughly working out the cost of the weeks shop, removing or subbing items if I was going to over spend. We've definitely used Lidl/Aldi to help reduce grocery spending. We were also realistic about costs which would inevitably come up, even if they weren't set amounts. So every month we (still) put money aside into different accounts for Christmas, repairs to the car , repairs to the house, annual memberships for things, etc, so that when the car needs to be MOT'd, there isn't a panic about how to pay for it.

And every so often we'd go through everything we were committed to, looking for new energy suppliers, or questioning if we really needed a Graze box anymore (a good example of something we allowed ourselves as a treat, found fun for a while, but eventually decided we couldn't justify the cost of it) etc. At the time S had a gym membership (only a council gym, at a discount through his then employer) but gave it up and we saved the money instead, using it to fund him going to the gym on a PAYG basis- but we *always* did better out of that.

It is hard always concentrating so as not to overspend, but I think being honest and inventive is really useful.
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Lily
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Lily »

I hadn't cleared them, but I dramatically reduced them, you're right. I paid off £17k. I had about £1k left over, and it's stabilised to be about £3k for several years now - last year was expensive hence it's gone up to £4k. I just want rid of the whole bloody lot. I just hadn't adjusted my mindset.

I try to save a bit for car, etc. which I give to my brother to hold onto as I don't trust myself to have savings I can dip into. But now my car has just been given an overhaul I am not saving anything; I just want to throw everything at my cards. But maybe I should be saving something say £50 a month?

Something I really want is to get my teeth done (which sparked this really although I had realised I needed to sort myself out earlier). I get a bit of money from my granny and I can put some of that down as a deposit then pay off the rest at about £170 a month which should be easily done if these cards are cleared. With that inheritance I should have a couple of grand in savings then, as well, which I can build on.

Nine - it's spread over a couple of cards and only one is 0%. I'm waiting for my first bonus to come in so I can do some shifting around. Froozy, I have the John Lewis card too and I've figured out that the amount of interest on purchases you don't pay off isn't worth the bloody vouchers! It took a while though.

Meal planning is something I need to do. I do spend more on groceries than I need to but I prefer getting meat from a butcher (for example). However I can stop thinking "Bugger, I need a lemon" and getting one from the local organic shop when I'm passing. :ella: Planning would help A LOT. I used to have regular manicures & pedicures as they were halfprice on a Monday, but now they're full price and I have still been having them! So I have cancelled the last two appointments to save money.

I would be interested in a budget spreadsheet Froozy if you don't mind? My brother did do one for me when I got this new job and he's offered to help me again but I feel a bit ashamed of myself if I'm honest. (Well, very ashamed.)

Skips - I've found selling on Facebook groups to be better than eBay recently as you tend to get what you want for an item and much less of the hassle!

I am trying to look at sale purchases I would make as "If I don't buy it now, I will be able to afford it at full price if I want to in a few months."
"You first have to find out who you are. Then you have to be it like mad."

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Squirrel
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Squirrel »

There is a load of advice on budgeting and money management on Reddit, they have sections on budgeting, paying off debt etc.
https://ukpersonal.finance/?utm_source= ... ame=iossmf

https://ukpersonal.finance/budgeting/?u ... ame=iossmf

They have a flow chart as well:
https://flowchart.ukpersonal.finance/
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nineseven
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Re: Economy drive

Post by nineseven »

I'd be cautious about saving while you've got debt, unless the interest you get on your savings is better than the interest you're paying on the cards. For the teeth, I'd avoid getting them on credit unless it's 0%. Why not save up to pay for them in cash once you've cleared your debts? I only buy stuff on credit if it costs me nothing or, better, if I make money out of it.

The Money Saving Expert forum is very good for advice on moving everything to 0% or snowballing your debts, ie paying off the highest interest ones first.
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Lily
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Lily »

Thank you Squizz. I will look at those.

With savings I just thought I ought to have some, somewhere, for some reason. :waveshandvaguely:

The teeth would be 0% finance which appears to be the way everyone pays for things like that; I wouldn't consider it otherwise. I could save up but it'll take FOREVER and my teeth are getting me down but I do need to learn to save for things so I will think about it some more.
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Topcat »

I've not really been in a position to start to save in the past couple of years due to rebuilding so can't offer much assistance there, but I would always say that FB Marketplace is a better place to sell than Ebay is these days.

Much easier, and it is also easier to tell people to do one if they are taking the piss.
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nineseven
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Re: Economy drive

Post by nineseven »

0% is OK - then you can save the money for the teeth in a savings account with interest.

Martin Lewis on savings and debt: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savin ... off-debts/
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Wiggle »

If you do want to save then you could do what I do. From my banking app I check regularly and save my change into another account. Basically I round down the balance to a whole pound and move the rest. It's builds up nicely for small treats.
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Re: Economy drive

Post by smalex »

I do see the argument for not saving while you are paying debt with interest on it, but I know I've personally always slept a little easier knowing I could get my hands on some cash at very little notice in an emergency. Probably a few hundred pounds would cover it for most people though.
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Skips
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Skips »

I would also look at setting yourself a reasonable budget to live on. You said that you throw everything at the cards and then have nothing to live on, but you would better setting a realistic amount to live on and if there is anything leftover putting it on the card. Your plan has to be something you can sustain for whatever period of time it takes to clear it down.
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Leap
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Leap »

I agree with smal - I remember doing a thorough read of Martin Lewis and built a lot of my good habits on the back of advice I found there, but I made an active choice to keep my relatively small savings in place and not pay off the equivalent from my credit card because I just felt better about having emergency cash over relying on credit.

I do think bringing together all cards into one is probably best, not least because they can be hard to keep track of them/easy to forget (or ‘forget’ :experience: ) the ones you’d rather not look at. Plus it really burns me when I see interest being charged, it makes me kick myself so that would be (and has been in the past) the place I focus all my efforts.

I am definitely on an economy drive too, my stat mat pay has kicked in now, and I won’t be paid at all for 3 months after that stops. We’ve made changes already with this in mind of course, but it will still be an adjustment, I’m sure.
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Froozy
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Re: Economy drive

Post by Froozy »

Lily wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:58 pmI would be interested in a budget spreadsheet Froozy if you don't mind?
Of course. Send me your email address and I'll send it over.

Instead of looking at all leftover money as savings and therefore fair game, can you think of some of it as a pot of investment money to cover annual costs, and keep it in a separate account to any other savings?

I'd also seriously consider putting all your credit cards in a drawer until they're paid off and then continue to pay off any you keep every month. Possibly by transferring spending money from your current account every time you make a purchase so you know exactly what you have spent/available at every point.
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