Money- how do you save yours?
With so many gorgeous things to buy in the shops right now, saving money is probably the last thing on your mind (most of the time I know this is true for me) but for those of you who are good and save, how do you do it?
Personally, I’ve tried several methods…
– A money box in my room (gets raided for spare change frequently)
– Saving coppers and changing them at the bank when I have a substantial amount (works, but it is SLOW)
– Savings accounts (which frequently get raided because I just have to have something)
– A separate purse where I put cash on pay day, saving for my next trip in to town…(works well, as I do tend to forget it’s there until next pay day)
I remember opening my first bank account as a child, back in the day where you could open an account with 50p and were sent merrily on your way with a plastic case full of colouring pens and other related paraphernalia. And the excitement, as a prospective student of the freebies on offer when you opened a student account; I never did become a uni student and those offers seem to have long since vanished!
If you do have a savings account, what kind have you found to be the best? Really, mine is just a standard bank account complete with debit card. I take out the cash I need for the month on payday and try not to spend on my card unless I really want something, but recently I’ve gone shopping mad and the plastic is coming out a bit too often for my liking!
Also, are you a budgeter? I confess to OCD, especially around money and budgets and look in my desk drawer you’ll see page after page of budget related scribbling and a proper little book full of incomings via outgoings.
I guess this has been my secret to success. I don’t believe in spending what I don’t have and although it seems like I shop a lot, it is all within what I can afford and I go through phases where I don’t buy anything at all. I’m guilty of saying “I’m broke” or “I want it but can’t afford it”…because say it often enough and I start to believe it!
I’d love your feedback on your attitude to money, and how you save, if you do at all.
Or, in this economic climate do you see it pointless to save with so little return?
a good post 🙂 and nice to see a young person being money minded (not meaning to sound patronising!)
I have a standing order go into an ISA savings account, to get the money out I have to write a letter and wait 7 days for them to transfer the cash, only happens if I REALLY need the money.
Also have an on line savings account that I can get at any time, but any money left over at the end of the month goes in there.
I do like having a bit ‘put by’ so try not to dip into it too often.
Have a great weekend xxx
Good subject 🙂
For some reason I’ve always been a good saver. What I do at the moment is have two bank accounts, one standard current with debit card, and another ‘savings’ account that I can only access through the internet. My allowance (yeah I’m 20 and still get an allowance, no shame!) and when I’m working, my wages, all go into the current account, my phone bills etc come out of the current account, and obviously when I pay with card it comes out there too. I make sure I always have a certain amount in there at one time, but when I reach a certain amount over my minimum, I automatically transfer it straight into the savings account. And then I can’t spend it :-).
Also, if I’m going for a weekend/week away or a week I know I’m going to be spending more money than usual, I take out a certain amount of cash at the beginning and don’t let myself use my card for the rest of the week – I have to stick to the cash I took out.
Sorry for such a long answer!
xxx
I’ve just opened an ISA to try and stash some money away. But it’s so easy to just take it out again.
I’d suggest getting a tin can money box. I’ve got one that I put my £1 coins and 50ps in if I’ve got any left at the end of the day, and cause it’s a tin can, you can’t open it apart from with a can opener, so you can’t “sneakily” take any money out. Mine’s about half full, so by the time I’ve filled it to the top there should be quite a lot of money in there.
Great post!
I spent many years being (stressfully) unemployed, so obviously that’s meant having to be careful with my spending, and I admit I’m quite thrifty. I guess this is also why I do a lot of my shopping at discount stores or charity shops.
I have a weekly budget, which is a habit I’ve started since I was in Uni a few years ago. The budget amount varies, depending on whether I have a job at that time or not. It’s not always easy to stick to, but I find it really helpful in keeping track of where my money goes.
I have a normal savings account. I also have a term deposit account that gives me a good interest, which I hardly touch and is basically there for “rainy” days.
I have a money box I save my change in but I very rarely have any change to put in it so it never really works for me.
What really helped me to save was making a list of my monthly purchases and seeing where my money was going, a lot of it was being wasted on clothes and stuff I didn’t need. What I did was budget myself for the bare essentials (food, transport, bills etc.) and if I did have any left over after the month put that amount in a money box or savings account or ISA to save and keep for treats.
eBay is also a good way to make money everytime I have auctions on there I put the money I make there straight into savings.
I like to set myself a goal of saving like £100 a month to go towards something special like a holiday and I think of that goal everytime I go shopping and it’s motivation not to spend my money so frivilously on things I don’t need.
I’m kinda OCD when it comes to saving now but I don’t think it’s such a bad thing as it’s working and my money is going a longer way than it did a couple years ago xoxo
Here is US we have one, five, ten, and twenty dollar bills. I save fives. When I get one in change, I don’t spend it. It’s quicker than coins and when I have a hundred dollars it goes into savings.
I’d like to say that I save…but in all honesty I don’t. My problem is there is always something I want and will buy.
Need to sort it out though….
Love Jojo xx
I also have an ISA – I have a £10 a month standing order that goes in there and whenever I find myself with some extra cash from overtime leftover student loan I transfer it in a lump sum. It’s worth much less in interest now than it was when I started it but even so, I get a little back each year. Even though it’s easy enough to transfer out again because I have online banking, I find I don’t because once you start saving it’s really nice to see the money mounting up, and because I don’t have a card for the account I CAN’T access it that way.
I also underestimate my budget like you so that I start saying ‘I can’t afford that’ long before I actually can’t as much as possible so I never really impulse buy or end up with things Iabsolutelyhavetohaveright now but don’t really need!
Beth @ Baking and Brogues
xx
Hmm, I try to set some aside in a separate account as soon as my salary is credited into my banking account. I think it works most of the time:)
Good luck saving!
xx
i’ve been thinking about savings lately too, i opened an e-isa and set up a direct debit to take out money every pay day.. so far i haven’t touched anything that i’ve put in, mainly because i’m trying to save to quit my job and find a new one! so i’m sure that will change soon. i’m terrible with shopping though, if i want something i tend to just buy it and not worry about it until later. i always use my card too which means i lose track of how much i’ve spent.. ahh! xo
saving stresses me out too much trying to stick to a student budget.
Helen, X
http://areyoudressingupordressingdown.blogspot.com
Right now I transfer my student loan, bursary and (interest free) overdraft into a high(ish) interest account so my current account is
-1800ish most of the time. I then transfer money I need back every month. Bit annoying but worth a couple of mins a month for the £95 interest I got last yr 🙂
I have £40 a wk after rent/bills/food and it works out fine. I have a nerdy spreadsheet to record it on. It’s colour coded and everything 😛
I think the best way to save is to make it part of your usual budget & set up barriers between money in & money out. I like my online account – it’s a bit more difficult to spend from and the interest feels like I’ve won a prize!
Great post idea! I’m trying to save as much as possible at the moment- I have an e-ISA with Natwest and transfer money over as soon as I get paid. Any extra at the end of the month is put in there too. My boyf is also saving and he has a direct debit set up so it automatically goes in.
I’ve stopped spending so much on little bits like lunches at work and found that’s made quite a difference!x
This is a great subject for a post. I think we fashion bloggers are all too guilty of showing off our latest purchases, which can give a false sense of how much we really spend. I know I’m much more likely to blog about the newest item in my wardrobe than something from years ago, even f I still wear it loads.
It’s great to see a post like this putting it more into perspective.
I have a piggy bank that all my spare change goes to and I also have one of those lockable cash boxes where I put the odd note every now and then. I hide it in my room so it’s out of sight and out of mind.
Great post 🙂
I try not to shop on the high street and instead try charity shops and ebay. I end up with far more items for my money. I try to put thing into perspective by calculating how long I have to work for the cost of each product. I’ve never been in the red and would be scared stiff to do so. It does concern me how much money some fashion bloggers must be spending on their wardrobes.
http://cgdn.blogspot.com/
I do have some money put aside in an ISA (not that I get much back in interest!) which is untouchable, but other than that I’ve found it hard to save much for a while, though I probably could if I needed to.
I am a total budgetter though – I have those ‘piggy banks’ in my current account where I can squirrel money away every month and it’s great to know that on months where a few things are due like car tax and Christmas, I have the money put aside to pay for them 🙂
It’s probably no surprise but I rarely buy on the high street, and usually if I do it’s when things are in sale.
If I was plenty rich, of course I would like to splurge once in a while, but for me it’s all Charity Shops, eBay and carboots. To find something for a fraction of the price is very satisfying xx
Great post! I am a total budgeter! I have my own excel spreadsheet in which I track all my expenses!
great post! I put a set amount of money each month into a savings account, and don’t touch it. Started over 3 years ago, must have a lot of money in there now!!
xx
love this post!
I try not to spend my money unless it is something that I know I will regret not buying – this goes not only for clothes but for food, traveling, and experiences. If i know that I am going to walk away and feel regretful about it later, I will indulge and then save on something else.
Eternally yours,
Stephanie
I do all my banking online and I’ve got a current acount and an online save one. When I get paid I try to put the majority of my wages in my savings and only transfer for it across when I have direct debits about to be paid out. Stops me from spending too much online and if I’m out I know I won’t be able to use my card.
This was a lot easier to do when I was getting paid monthly, I get paid weekly now so it’s a bit harder to save.
It’s depressing 🙁
Bhav x
you know, for saying how much of a shopping lover i am, i have managed to save up quite a little nest egg for myself.
i have two bank accounts; a current account where i have my debit card and that is where all my day-to-day money goes in and out from. then i have an internet based isa savings account which is linked to my current account where i can transfer money whenever i want.
when i reach a certain amount in my current account i transfer the excess to my isa account and leave it there. the only time i ever make withdrawals is for big purchases such as holidays. this works fine for me. i don’t limit myself to a budget each week/month, i’m through with feeling guilty for spending money i’ve earned on things that make me happy (clothes :P).
i make sure i’ve accounted for any direct debits such as phone bills, car payments, magazine subscriptions, health insurance, etc. then the rest i enjoy myself with. that way i’m not tempting myself to spend my savings because i’m not making myself feel bad.
i work, i regularly sell unwanted clothes, books, cd’s, dvd’s, etc on ebay and amazon which is great for earning a little extra cash as well as de-cluttering. i don’t go mad on what i buy, i don’t buy silly things, i don’t drink to great excess or smoke, so why shouldn’t i buy clothes?!
we punish ourselves so often for relishing the little joys in life and i’m done with doing that. having a lot of savings isn’t going to make us happy – we’ll only feel all the more guilty when we finally spend it 🙂
Even though I don’t have a job, I mentally pay myself on the last Friday of every month (or therabouts) with whatever my student loan has left. I have a weekly budget I try and stick too though my shopping sprees tend to blur it slightly! I have separate accounts for bills, Uni and camera savings and then the dreaded overdraft account which I will need military precision to pay off. I have a lot of internet savings accounts as they tend to have the best rates.
usually i keep all the loose change into my starbuck glass bottle (also raided for change at times lol)
put my notes in a different compartment in my wallet
purposely leaving half my money in the closet
and set a budget for shop only 😀
but i tend to over spentt 🙁
i’m terrible at saving, I just spend up to whatever i earn :0 but i also don’t have a lot of debt and we have a tiny mortgage & no children 🙂
I have one of those pottery money pots that you have to smash to get the money out there’s not much in it tho!
You can set up an e savings account, which means its harder to get to, no debit card, you need to go on line and transfer it to another account, then spend it from there, they seem like a good idea x
Good for you, darling!
I am horrible at saving money. I think I have about $5 in my savings account right now…
xoxox,
CC
I am woeful at saving money, but I’m trying to change that! I have a fixed interest rate savings account with HSBC that I can’t draw out of for a year – I pay £25 a month into it and when it matures after 12 months I get 8% interest, which is pretty good. I’ll use the money to pay off some debt.
I have a manageable amount of debt but I’m not proud of it and I’m slowly paying it off. I’ve always been a bit crap with my money and only now am I realising how much this needs to change!
Love your methods and may steal a few! x
I love your idea of drawing out cash so as not to spend willy nilly- will definitely be trying that one!
Personally i have two accounts, one is an every day account for my student loan, wages etc. The other is my savings account which I add to as and when I can- it’s where all my big purchases [car,camera blah blah] etc come from 😀 x
I have a standard savings account. I think everyone should have one. It is an account that accumulates interest and should NOt be touched unless an absolute emergency. 🙂
At the start of the month, rent goes out of my account and I transfer £90 to the car savings account and £40 to the presents savings account. Then I live off the rest of my wages and transfer what’s left at the end of the month into my ISA or a savings account once the ISA is full up. That money doesn’t get touched.
It’s not quite as feckless as it sounds – I am fairly careful with my dosh so it’s never less than £200 a month into savings. My outgoings vary a lot from month to month depending on what I’ve been up to in terms of visits and trips so I find it doesn’t work well for me to transfer a set amount at the start of the month.
Back in my day I was such a BAD saver. Ever since Ben and I bought our first home, we had to take control and start being smart with our money. Like you, I am a MAD budgeter. I have to be because Ben would just all the money is his account if I didn’t budget. I have several accounts where I don’t have a key card but a pass book. SO I have to physically have to go into the branch and get money out and sign for it. I have separate accounts for bills, car expenses, wedding etc. It took me a while to work it out, but I have down pact now!
This is such a great post too!
Hey Laura, sorry for not commenting for so long! Congrats on becoming an Aussie Angel by the way 🙂 When it comes to saving, I tend to stick to your methods as well as these –
1. Only taking out money that I really need, so say £10.00 for food etc.
2. Putting substantial amounts into a savings account like you do
3. Budgeting…boring but it does work!
And I think it’s good to save but normally I end up spending what I’ve saved before I actually need it, so it’s a bit of a vicious circle. This was a really good post though. xxx
Great post Laura.
My hubby is the one thats good with money. We transfer a large chunk of money into a high interest savings account as soon as we are paid. We always have ISAs each which we put a little bit into every month.
x
i absolutely awful with money! since coming to uni and having to budget i’m slightly better but i always slip up with clothes! saving is a bit of an alien idea to me D: x
I’ve tried saving up on copperse, but I have no patience (and the 2ps vanish quickly when I got to the seaside!).
I’m an awful budgeter! I have 2 accounts within my account though. So one I can access through my card, but the other one is slightly harder to spend from and has great interest on it as well.
It is the only aspect of my otherwise slightly chaotic life which I am rather OCD about. I’ve got Excell spread sheets for two of my accounts (Current and RBS Royalties Gold), I’ve got online banking for all my accounts (I’ve got 4, well 3 and a bond) and keep an eagle eye on where my money’s going etc.
Basically the spreadsheets are a godsend because I can just type in £40 coming out my account today for, say, cash and it immediately calculates how much money I’ll then have for the rest of the month etc. May sound stupidly simple but it’s great because I’ve put in where and when all my direct debits come out so I can work out whether a purchase will send me into saving raiding later in the month or not – just by the click of a few buttons.
<3 being organised on this front.
I have little rules, for example one account is my day to day account (Current) and one is for my rent etc (RG). I don’t take the RG card with me when I go out, so despite there being more money in it I can’t spend any. My savings account has a card I can use in the bank but that doesn’t leave the house either.
However, I realise this might not work for others because I *rarely* buy anything online (apart from train tickets) so I’m never really tempted to use anything other than my current account.
When I stop being a student I’m going to investigate tax free ways of saving (ISA’s all the way) along with my bond etc.
If you’re a fan of money pots I’d suggest one that you have to break to get the money out of – makes it damn near impossible to raid it for spare change. I went through a phase of never spending any £2 coins I got in change, choosing to save them instead. Most I saved was something like £120 :).
Haha just re-read the bit about “being broke”. I say this often. Well I say I’m skint often but it’s just a different word for the same thing. Thing is, I’m not skint. I just don’t have money to spare in the same way – does that make sense? If I were really skint I wouldn’t have savings I could access to bail me out of any potential trouble. I try not to allow my current account to reach a state where at £30-£40 only. I like to be I know when cash is coming and going so payments never bounce.
As for saving with little return – I don’t see it as pointless at all. I want to be a home owner one day and that will require me to have a substantial deposit, something that won’t just appear as if by magic overnight. I also don’t want to have to rely (though I’m aware it’s there for this very reason) on my inheritance. I want to earn my house, not just have it given to me because someone else worked hard and made money.
Anyhoo. Excuse the massively verbose reply … love a bit of money chat. I just wish “our generation” was a bit more money savvy … and didn’t rely on overdrafts etcetera to exist. There are times in life it’s unavoidable but I think that once you’re past those stages it should be possible to budget so that an overdraft can be paid off.
/rant
Good post Laura!
I’ve always been rubbish at saving money, i just find it so hard not to spend! I am better these days as i make sure i budget so that we can pay the bills and can still have a life but it doesn’t leave much left over for saving. Seb however has his trust fund and we save all our loose change for him and it gets put into an account which gets transferred into his trust fund for when he is older.
i’m so disorganised when it comes to money..i should definitely be better with it, but am getting there..now that i have paiud off an overdraft, i’ll keep on payin the same amount, but into an ISA to save!
Realistically, i just don’t save, I try but I always, always fail. It’s quite stressful trying to save on a student budget anyway, cuz excepting my office job in the holidays I don’t earn anything.
Hoping to do better when uni ends in June! Xx