| Spendaholic on a Budget |
Okay, I'd spent a long time fooling myself. It was time to admit to myself that the money was going out a lot faster than it was coming in. It was time to do something about it. This is what happened when I started to look at my finances in detail. I can't promise that it's life changing. I was never in debt and I have a husband who helps pay the mortgage, but it has helped me look at my money in a new way. 1. I put together a financial spreadsheet After years of feeling a shiver down my spine whenever anyone mentioned Excel, I decided to set up a spreadsheet that would track my expenses and incomings. I was shocked at the amount of direct debits and standing orders that just left my accoung every month without me even thinking about it. These included: Hosting payments for website. (vital of course or you wouldn't be reading this) Gym membership. (important for my sanity and fitness) Mobile phone, home phone and broadband (one home, two adults, three kids, need I say more?) Pension (broing, but important) Savings (the smallest amount!) Love Film (gotta have some fun, right?) I must admit that I didn't make massive cuts but it did help me understand how much I have to earn each month in order to meet my basic needs. 2. Found cheaper Things to Do From more family walks to Poker nights with friends (withour succumbing to those online casino sites), I looked at ways to have fun and spend as little as possible. One good thing about this recession is that most people are in the same boat and were happy to embrace a cheap night out. 3. Cut down on rubbish Yeah I know. This is the boring one. Or at least, I thought it was. When I realised how much I was spending on things like magazines that wouldn't take me more than an hour to read, I pulled right back. That goes for coffees, lunches out and stuff like that. Of course they're treats, and I still like having them, but doing and having less of them means that when I do have my cappuccino with my friends, or get the latest copy of Red, I enjoy it so much more. 4. Reviewed Everything I spent That's it - car and home insurance, energy suppliers, mortgage company, mobile phone provider - everything I could think of. Some of them we just couldn't change - my husband was changing jobs so it wasn't a good time to change mortgage companies as he was still on the probation period. But I did manage to make a substantial saving by changing from British Gas to Atlantic, and moving from pay as you go on my phone to a contract with T-Mobile. Initially it seemed dearer, but I then moved to using my mobile for almost every call and so saved money in the end. |
| Posted: 14/10/2009 11:16:14 Last Updated: 14/10/2009 12:06:04 |
Chick Lit > Money Chicks :: Spendaholic on a Budget