How do you save on monthly outgoings?

I'm considering the car option. I'm 22 and have a 2.0l 16v petrol engined car. It sinks between £30 and £40 a week.

Only problem is, I'm not in a position to buy another car and for the amount i'd get for my current car, I doubt i'd get a decent enough deisel car.

Getting rid of my current car would save me loadsa money but I do need another one to replace it with.
 
dirtydog said:
Btw Acid don't you drive some sort of gas guzzling American classic car? I imagine that is quite expensive to run?
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It's still under a very slow home restoration, so at the minute doesn't sink much money, well pretty much nothing. other than some grinder discs and gas bottles for the welder. Metal I just find old filing cabinets in skips ect and cut them up for sheet metal.

Edinho said:
Well I would rather be saving for a house than drinking it all away. If your social circle cant understand that maybe find some who can. Do you really want to look back in 20 years time wishing you hadnt spent it on beer?
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I'm going to cut it down by a big margin, I'm not looking to save up a huge deposit and I'm not looking for a good house 70-90k mortgage will do me(run-down or small flats in not so good areas). I just need to find a few hundred extra a month. I'm pretty sure it's doable, without drastically changing my way of life.
 
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AcidHell2 said:
It's still under a very slow home restoration, so at the minute doesn't sink much money, well pretty much nothing. other than some grinder discs and gas bottles for the welder. Metal I just find old filing cabinets in skips ect and cut them up for sheet metal.
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Besides, if it's something you love, don't give it up! :D If it's something that you really enjoy, it should be the last thing you give up.

Little things add up, like going to the supermarkets when they're reducing stuff, making big batches of food and bunging some in the fridge or freezing what you dont eat etc.

The Ikea lamp I have in the corner of this room has an 11W energy-efficient blub which is gives about the same light as the 3 x 40W lamp in the ceiling. Gotta be a few quid a year in that, probably enough to pay for the bulb at least, right?

Switch the lights off when you leave the room, work out the most energy/cost efficient way of cooking for you etc.

Depending on your central heating/water heating, if it's an option, tweak it until you have it on for the minimum of time to give you what you need. The house I'm renting is really well insulated and the water tank is too, in winter the central heating and water heater were on for a total of two hours a day, the minimum the dial out allow. Now it's just the water heater on. Always toasty (sometimes too warm!).
 
I find the sundry expenses are as much or more as the things on direct debit (your 'bills).

Watch what you spend on food, lunch, snacks and of course beer - couple with a few adjustments to bills you just don't need and you should see a good amount in your bank account at the end of each month.

Recommend you setup a savings account and move the spare change over at the end of each month - keeps you honest then :)
 
we tend to stock up on BOGOF offers and half price offers in supermarkets when they are on, i.e, they change every 2 weeks or so and that can save you a lot on your food shopping, i.e say the tomato ketchup is bogof, we'll buy 6 or so to keep us going a few months until we find another offer, same with lager, Asda had the 2 for 16 or 3 for 22 on the 18 packs of fosters/carlsberg etc, i bought about 24 lots over the period of the offer (half of that went on sunday :eek: (christening party for our son and we provided alcohol) :(
 
You could save about £11 a month by not buying a tv licence. Your telly will still work without one ;)
 
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lowrider007 said:
every small thing will in the end add up, be it cheaper food brands, cheaper tolitries, cheaper clothes etc you can save allot but don't just cut back on one thing and think 'ahh well i've cut back on that so I'll leave the cable TV on', that won't work, you have to go the whole nine yards
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While it's true that there every small thing does add up, I disagree with this philosophy. My view is that you get diminishing returns the more you save, i.e. cutting out most of the big expenditures will save you maybe 80% as much as cost-cutting on EVERYTHING, yet the impact on your quality of life will be much less.

For example we could save money by going around unplugging everything at the mains when it's not in use, never using the lights except at nighttime etc but that would become a right chore. Likewise with food I would rather spend a bit extra and get food I genuinely enjoy in one shop rather than going for El Cheapo option from multiple stores i.e. mix'n'matching the prices. I could walk to the train station every day instead of getting a bus but it would be mean leaving earlier, getting home later and be rather unpleasant if the weather is bad. I value my time at more than the money to be saved anyway.
 
Firstly, create a spreadsheet of all your monthly outgoings (and this includes everything from £10 lotto sydicates to £6 window cleaner - every last thing should be included - no matter how small - you are only kidding yourself if you think £10 a month is nothing to worry about. If you have 10 x £10 items a month thats over £1000 a year)

Total up the column.

Then focus on items you can change (the ones you can do without, or really want to change) and set yourself a target to reduce the item each month.

For me, I had a target for 2007 of saving £400+ (approx £40 a month)

I have so far saved £320 (in 6 months). So will probably save about £600 this year instead.

I cancelled my phone contract - Now PAYG.
Switched my ISP contract.
My electric monthly bill has reduced by £8 a month (by installing nearly all LED / 240V bulbs and watching what I use)
I stopped using Car washes at £3 every 2 weeks (and now wash it myself)
I save £20 a year on my phone bill (as I get free calls at night with the ISP)
& I have started using my work reductions at shops / restaurants etc.
I have also made a point in not parking in Pay Car Parks (and now walk a bit)
which has saved me a fortune.

I have a list of 100 money saving points if you want them all.... Hopefully will be reducing my bills by £800 next year, as I have a number of plans about to go.
 
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divosuk said:
I have a list of 100 money saving points if you want them all.... .
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That would be very interesting, There hasn't been any obscure ones in this thread yet :p...

Also other than rightmove, is there any other decent sites for looking for properties?

Trying to get a good idea of what is and isn't affordable.
 
Dreadi said:
Seriously, before i got into the current state of mind im in i would never go out in town and drink. Now, situations change and im spending £100 a weekend on getting trashed so it seriously is a good way to save. I know its anti social and all but maybe drink cans at home before going out, i may have to start doing this myself...
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Nothing wrong with having friends round with a film/some music and some tinnies... can be a good laugh
 
AcidHell2 said:
That would be very interesting, There hasn't been any obscure ones in this thread yet :p...

Also other than rightmove, is there any other decent sites for looking for properties?

Trying to get a good idea of what is and isn't affordable.
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I like propertyfinder.co.uk
 
AcidHell2 said:
That would be very interesting, There hasn't been any obscure ones in this thread yet :p...

Also other than rightmove, is there any other decent sites for looking for properties?

Trying to get a good idea of what is and isn't affordable.
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The only real way to get a house is to go round town in person and badger each individual estate agent. You need to keep phoning them up and view properties, even if you aren't interested in them. That way, when your ideal property comes along, they will think of you first and you'll be top of the list to view it and you'll probably buy it before it's even made its way to the website.
 
divosuk said:
I have a list of 100 money saving points if you want them all.... Hopefully will be reducing my bills by £800 next year, as I have a number of plans about to go.
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Is that an open offer? I'll always be glad of more good advice. :D
 
Scam said:
I rang T-Mobile today and got my price plan cut from ~£30 to £15. Next on my list is my £25/month contacts-by-post from D&A. I figure i dont wear them enough to warrant fortnightlies, so i might see if i can change to dailies.
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I get my contacts online - £27 FOR 6 MONTHS monthlies, wear em for 2 months at least so £27 for 12 months at least
 
comparison sites to get all the fixed costs down (just got my full breakdown cover for free on car insurance plus £150less than direct line)
Then always shop for food on a full stomach and do it in one large shop, if you go every day tend to buy crap imho
 
The way i saved up some money was by.

Taking my pay and firstly subtracting all fixed outgoings. Say $600
Then i decided how much i wanted to save. say £400

If i were to get paid say £1700
that means i have £700 left.
Then to stop myself overspending i made split that into weekly amounts i.e£140 per week. Then i made up some tables counting down from 140 to 0 in 10's and everytime i spent a tenner i crossed one off. I found that this way i stopped spending all my money on things i did'nt really need but still had plenty of food and drink. Plus most of the time this way i ended up spending less than my weekly budget and saved up more than i had first hoped.
 
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