(no subject)

[nny]

The last way I phrased this was entirely too self-pitying to tally with my actual mood. What I meant to say was:

I spend my time like I spend my money, and I plan incredibly poorly for both. Does anyone have any suggestions for ways/tools/books to help me improve?

♥

Comments

[siegeofangels]

Money management tools/help:

I use mint.com for tracking my budget. It might only be US/Canada, but there is probably a similar budgeting website that you could use. I like that it lets me set budgets that roll over, so I can put, say, $100/month toward gifts, and even though I don't spend that much every month, it builds up so by the time Christmas rolls around I have actual savings for that.

Are you looking for more day-to-day budgeting, or long-term stuff? I'm trying to remember if I had any systems while I was in school that involved anything other than flailing.

I liked Smart Women Finish Rich, by David Bach, but again, it's pretty US-centric, and also may be more focused on long-term planning than short-term.

Is there anything in particular you're trying to do, money-wise?

[nny]

Short term, I'm trying to survive the year; my loan doesn't cover an awful lot, frankly, and I have two jobs so far and am going to apply for a third but I'm still stressed as hell about it. I think mostly what I need to do is plan menus at the start of the week, because most of my money seems to go on convenience food from being in the computer room all day. But I also want to have some savings longer term, because having nothing to fall back on is kinda a knife-edge of terror constantly. XD

Thank you!

[siegeofangels]

Planning meals will probably go a long way toward saving money! The annoying thing is that the planning/shopping/cooking takes more TIME which I know is also in short supply, but it is doable. Do you need ideas for cooking/menu planning?

Something that might be an okay middle ground if planning menus isn't working right away is buying your convenience foods but buying them in bulk instead of from a vending machine or whatever. If you find yourself buying, like, vending machine granola bars a lot, you don't have to go straight to making your own granola, you can maybe see if you can buy a case of granola bars so they're cheaper per unit.

As far as saving money, try to do the thing where you take savings out of your income FIRST, and then make a budget of the remaining money. If you can get a separate savings account so you don't really *see* your savings in your regular bank account, it might cut down on, "Oh, yay, I have fifty pounds left--OH CRAP." And maybe easing into savings will help, like you can save an additional 10 pounds/month every couple of months or something.

Mostly what I am trying to get at is take little steps at first so you don't try to do a zillion things at once and set yourself up for a breakdown. And have a budget line for a treats.

Good luck! <3

[soupytwist]

I love the idea of buying stuff in bulk if you can. Especially when time is scarce, £10 on a big box of something you will actually eat might save you £30 on buying the same amount individually...and is definitely better than buying a lot of ingredients that then go off because you don't use them.

[soupytwist]

It is so tough, bb. For me the only way to do it was to just keep looking at my bank account - like, even when it was really bad because I KNEW I had less than £10 left in my overdraft, what made it worse was not actually keeping proper track of what was coming in and out. I was just too overwhelmed by the scary knowledge that more was going out than coming in. So confronting that fear head on was what made change possible.

It sounds like you are well on your way to doing that and have a decent idea where all your money is going. I've seen some good suggestions posted, so some more: I assume you don't have much freezer space, but stuff like noodles or whatever that will last and can be made quickly and easily might also be an option if you have any microwave or cooking facility when you're working. I don't think you do soft drinks, but if you're buying expensive juices or teas or whatever while out, those add up quickly too and are pretty easily to make up yourself for much cheaper. Especially if you have a thermos! Ooh, soup can be in a thermos too. Um, that sounds like I think you don't know that - sorry! - but I know it's the sort of thing I would not have thought of.

Can you figure out a reasonable amount to spend on food for a week/fortnight/whatever and then keep that seperate, so when it's spent you know it's spent?