Im going to be very nosey - how do you manage your money?

oh ps another tip (this one comes from my mum!) Ive never needed a credit card but got one for the purposes of getting a credit history should I need it in the future. Its kept in a tupperware box full of frozen water in the bottom of the freezer.....by the time you've defrosted the bloody thing you'll have more likely decided you dont need what it is you were going to buy anyway!
 
I get paid on the 24th so any bills I have (luckily not many as I still live with my parents) go out on the 25 then I then put atleast £300 into savings and whatever is left I divide into the amount of weeks until my next pay day and then allow myself that much each week on a Friday :p I am very controlled for a 20yr old! lol :o Oh and I have a spreadsheet so I know where my money goes :o like others have said deffinatley get a credit card.... not only will you learn to spend only what you have but will improve your credit score
 
I have multiple credit cards to take advantage of the offers - my Asda one gives me 1p off every litre of fuel (saves me about £25 a year) and I have a Barclay Card that gives me back 1% of the first £100 I spend each month and 0.5% of the remainder. It doesn't sound much but it adds up over the months and I've never paid a penny interest in my life as clear the bill on them every month.

The only reason I have a horse, trailer, 4x4 etc now and am able to compete is because I started working at 16 and saved every penny I could, saved enough to pay for a nice car when I was 17, all my driving lessons etc, paid my way through seven years of uni and then bought a horse at 24 (with two years left to go in uni). I did for the last two years of uni dip into my student loan (which is a a stupidly low interest rate) but other than that am debt free and able to enjoy life.

Currently living with my Mum (at 26) as if I moved out would be very short of cash indeed. People think I'm mad but I enjoy life and we get on well. I do pay towards my keep but obviously it's a lot cheaper than renting. If you get on with your family then stay home as long as you can - money spent on rent is dead money whereas money spent on a mortgage isn't.

ETA I have multiple bank accounts and savings accounts (including an ISA for tax free interest). I chop and change which I use depending on what deal is running at the time. I always use my Lloyds Gold Account which I opened when they were running an offer several years ago - so long as I keep more than £xx in the account then I don't get charged for it and get freebies which include AA cover, travel insurance, mobile phone insurance etc. I change savings accounts depending on interest rates!
 
I get paid at the end of each month, so all my direct debits (mortgage, council tax, tv licence etc etc etc) go out on the 2nd - so there's always enough money to cover them. On the same day, I have a standing order to transfer £100 to a savings account. My livery gets paid on the same day I do, which covers livery, additional help, and hay. I then work out roughly what I'm going to need for diesel, food, bedding, small pet food etc. Then I allocate some spending money (important as OH has to pay for things for work, then claim back on expenses each month). If I think we'll have any left over, I do a manual transfer into my savings account. haha, no, it doesn't happen often! We have a significant overdraft, but each month, my aim is to not use it, it's just there as an emergency (the interest I pay on the overdraft is less than the interest earnt on my savings, so not really worth transferring money around!). We have had to use it though, it helps to cover unexpected costs like vets bills, replacing broken items, car repairs etc.

In addition, I write down every single transaction on a sheet, with a running balance. Yes, every single one. So I know exactly what I have left to spend - remember that internet banking, or cash point balance enquiries, don't take into account uncleared transactions. I also check my internet banking every day, make sure that everything's cleared as it should, that OH hasn't spent something and forgotten to tell me :rolleyes: and then I check that my balance adds up to their balance. It does.

At one point I was also typing up all my transactions onto a spreadsheet and colour coding them to see where we could save money. If things get tight again, that's what I'll do, but we seem to manage most months without struggling too horrendously.

I have 2 credit cards. I don't carry them with me, so not tempted to use them. They are my emergency cards - one has nearly £7k limit on it, so it would cover any horrendous bills (eg vets bills, new boiler etc). I haven't used them in over 3 years. We have no other debt (except mortgage).
 
I get wages paid direct to my current account monthly. Then a standing order goes into our joint account which covers mortgage, council tax, water etc etc.

Then a small amount goes direct debit into my savings (!) account.

Then I draw enough out for livery and shoes if farrier is due that month.

Then the rest (??????) I leave in the current account and spend at will. Well, do the food shopping with.

I have an overdraft on the current account which is in use by the end of the month but really needs to stop happening - recently bough first house so thats the reason really.

Ditto credit card, stopped using it and paying off an amount (as much as I can afford) each month til it GONE!

All credit to you for thinking in advance.
 
OK so heres me:-

I have written down on a spread sheet every single bill. Every time my pay goes in the bank a sum to cover the Bills plus more goes to a Bills Account.

I have two credit cards and only two which I pay off every month. One is used for Fuel and Groceries as it gives me 2% cashback the other gives me 1% cashback on eveything else.

Any online shopping I can do I check out the cost via Quidco so I can potentially get cashback on my card and Quidco and buy sale items.

The day I started work over 35 years ago my Dad advised the first thing I should do is open a savings account and set up a Standing Order. It doesnt matter how much you save it will just get you into that frame of thinking and this has stood me in good stead.

It is far far easier to not get into debt than to get out of it. Well done for thinking ahead.

When I was 19 I bought a coat with a credit card. It was in the sale and I paid it off monthly. Then I worked out that the interest on my card had made it a very expensive coat. I cut the card up and went without until my brain was clever enough to manage it properly I think it was nearly 10 years before I got one again.
 
I have a joint account with my husband and both my wages and his get paid into this account. All standing orders/direct debits come out of this account.
I don't have a credit card but hubby does as he puts all his work expenses on it and it get paid off every month.
We both have a debit card and cheque book for our account, but hubby mainly looks after the finances, and I never know how much we have in our account at any one time, apart from after pay day lol!
 
Firstly really well done you for asking this question. I am fully impressed and wished I had been as wise as you when I was younger (instead I was rather niave and foolish and fell into every trap going)!

I am not amazingly great with money but I try very hard to be. Here are some of the things I do to help:-

- I have a diary (electronic or paper) which I use every day so I put all my bills and outgoings in it so I know when they are due and can plan ahead for them.
- I have online banking - this is extremely handy as you can keep track very easily of your money and any direct debits etc and like someone else said you remind yourself of any "surprises" you forgot about (every 2 or 3 pounds adds up!)
- I get paid weekly so I have to "save" each week towards my monthly bills, hence I have envelopes which I label "coucil tax", "broadband", "horse feed", "farrier", "vet bills" etc etc and I put the relevant amount in each week so when the bill is due I have the money ready
- Each week I sit down the day before I get paid and calculate how much I have going out that week, any payments outstanding (e.g. debit card transactions) etc then I calculate how much I have left for food shopping, fuel, non essentials etc etc
- Draw out cash and use it rather than paying for things on your debit card where you possibly can, that way the "surprises" are limited or just don't happen and you are living in "real time" not 4-days-time-to-clear time!!
- I use the moneysavingexpert.com website and weekly email for lots of hints and tips on how to be good with £££

I would love to be good at saving money, but I am rubbish at it, I will say that I found it much easier when I had a career where I earned a lot more! But now I am a student there doesn't seem to be much spare!

Also two proverbs:-

The man who makes £100 pounds a week and spends £99 pounds is a very happy man. The man who makes £100 pounds a week and spends £101 pounds is miserable.

Keep track of the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves
.
Oooh make that three (not really a money one but my favourite of all time)..

The harder I work, the luckier I get!!!! :D
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top