Struggling with money

[speedy]

Today I noticed it's yet another week where the money's running tight and came to wonder how everyone else survives
I work 5 days a week and I take a lot of over time shifts as well but yet every month seems to be such a damn struggle my car is off the the road and my bike costs me next to nothing in fuel, infact less then puplic transport would cost being that I work nights and would have to get a number of busses home. I haven't been on holiday in a few years, infact the closes I've come is 8 days in hospital when my kidney decided to swell up I don't have fancy things and realistically for my age I don't think my wages are too bad, it baffles me that I seem to be living week to week no matter what I buy meat in bulk to save a bit but still same damn issue. How is it I see people driving around in nice financed cars with expencive clothes etc etc.. What am I doing wrong
Surely some one on here has managed to fight their way out of a similar situation and has some advice because this is really getting a bit tedious
Is there any simple ways to drop expenses down/ bring income up? Is my only option to double shift? Does this shit get any better as you get on a bit?
Thanks for any help/ advice

[........................]

First thing to do is download a personal finance spreadsheet and put all of your incoming and outgoing money into it.

This will enable you to have an objective look at how your money is being spent.

[groovylee]

^^ what he said.

it is amazing what you discover when you write everything down. if you have any debts, see if there are any ways to cut them down a bit (consolidation to one loan etc). i just did this with some fair size credit card bils -i put them all in one fixed term loan. it is high payments for now, but it wil be gone fairly quickly, and then it will have cost me a lot less in interest.

when you have listed all of your incomings and outgoings, see what can be cut down/removed. create yourself a plan, and then stick to it. things like setting yourself a limit on 'luxuries' (going out, beer, computer games etc. also thing about setting a limit on your spending over and above the essentials - i have a set amount of money i can spend each week on 'stuff'. if i dont spend that much, i have more for the next week, if i over spend, i have less for the next week.

all of this doesnt take much thinking about once you have got it set up.

and it doesnt get better - you get married and have kids, then it gets worse

if you have a trustworthy mate who you dont mind sharing your finacial info with, perhaps get them to cast an objective eye over it all for you?

good luck mate.


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Past - 1988 honda revere 600, 1996 kawasaki gpz500s, 1999 Yamaha R6

Current - 2002 Aprilia RSV1000R & 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R

[RhynoCZ]

Two words, unnecessary expenses.

If you smoke, stop. If you drink, stop. If you've got hyper fast internet, get something slower. If you've got expensive tv/phone provider, look somewhere else. And so on.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Clutchy]

How much are you on a year?


Do you have kids?


Do you have your own place?


Do you rent or have a mortgage?


How much do you spend on food per month?

What is your hobby and how much do you spend per month on it?


Put all of these on a spreadsheet and minus all utilities,tv license, council tax and work out what is needed and what is not.
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Malaguti F12 Phantom-Dead, Suzuki AY50- Dead, NRG power DD LQ, CBR125.
*33 BHP restriction up on 10/12/14* Current bikes/car: SV 650 S/ MKIV GOLF
Guide to pass your test with no lessons!

[instigator]

[TheArchitect]

I was in your position. Got made redundant 4 weeks before my wedding. Wedding went ahead as planned with all the trimmings as had paid upfront for it all but was left with sizeable credit card bills and a small loan to pay off.

To get through this we cancelled our honeymoon and I managed to get another job within weeks (with a pay cut) and both the missus and I just knuckled down for a year and spent very little. Sold our cars, negotiated cheaper rent with the landlord for a short period, cancelled the sky packages, and just generally became more smart with the money.

Within 14 months we were back in the black in terms of income versus outgoings. We've now got quite used to the frugal lifestyle and can put money aside for savings and the annual holiday. That said, I now have two little nippers so expenses are rising again but it's still manageable.

My advice to you would be as above; just note down what it is you are spending all you money on and either stop spending where not necessary or find cheaper alternatives.

A second income might also help on the short term (if not viable on the long term) just to get you back in control on the numbers. I buy, repair and sell busted computers and laptops. Easily pull out couple hundred a month and I can do it in my spare time so doesn't affect family or day job.

Good luck mate. I know it's a shite feeling when you're constantly scraping to make it through the month. It will get better, but you have to put some effort in and maybe even make a drastic lifestyle change.
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GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
MT09 - Almost stolen

[recman]

[Poseidon]

[Copycat73]

[Rogerborg]

You can't always get what you want.

But if you try some time

You might find

You get what you need.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Tungtvann]

Earn more or spend less.

[Dalemac]

[tbourner]

This is a good one to start with:

https://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

It needs to be ACCURATE though, do NOT guess!! You'd be amazed at how much you actually spend on coffees at work or the odd magazine or whatever your vice is.
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Trev, now a biker?
Looking for first big bike.

[Suntan Sid]

[willis1337]

Some good advice in a few of the posts above.

Count the pennies, *everytime* you spend money ask, "do I REALLY need this", if you are spending get the cheapest / best deal EVERYTIME. THe following may help you eek out a bit more cash:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/make-money

That site has alot of other good ideas / savings / deals etc. I appreciate that some people seem to have money but you'd be surprised if you knew the debt they are in, much of the time they are just keeping up a facade. The really rich ones don't always flaunt it. Keep at it, eventually it'll get easier.
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Current bike: KTM SD1290GT
Previous bike: BMW K1300S

[Baffler186]

It all comes down to the small things. My contribution to the mortgage and bills is 40% of my monthly wage. The other 60% gets pissed up the wall in some way. If I'm not careful I'll spend £40/month on buying lunch at work, another £40 on booze, 40 on takeaways, 40 on (1) meal out a month. it all adds up.

Depending on what area you live in, I'd assume that your rent is very high compared to your income. Or you are squibbling it away on biscuits. Whatever, the spread sheets won't lie if you do it right
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Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[JP7]

You don't go into any detail about your finances, such as whether you own/rent a property or live at home. But here are a few tips that I use on my own finances.

There are ways in which you can simplify your finances a bit. One of my favourite tricks is to make sure that all my direct debits go out on the same day. Once all those have gone out, I have a better idea of how much money I have left for the rest of the month, which helps me budget. Also have a look to see what each direct debit is for. You'll easily identify anything you don't need and can cancel it. Many people are paying direct debits for insurances on mobile phones or appliances that they no longer own, or antivirus products for computers they haven't got, for example.

If you've got utilities such as electricity/gas/water and you pay these by direct debit, stick in some updated meter readings and see whether you're in credit. If you're in credit, ring the providers, claim the credit back and reduce your direct debit. Utility companies are very happy to keep your credit in their own bank accounts and keep overcharging. To my knowledge, only one of them pays any interest on credit balances.

While you're at it, review any utilities to make sure you're on the cheapest deal. Moneysupermarket / Uswitch / Energyhelpline are all good at helping you find the best deal. Don't pay too much.

If you've got a mobile phone contract, Sky TV, broadband, anything like that, consider cancelling anything that isn't essential. Or at the very least, ring the companies and tell them you want to cancel. You'll be amazed at their "please don't go" deals.

Do you use credit cards/overdrafts or other borrowings? If so, you're probably being charged interest. Consider a credit card balance transfer if you have a balance on a card. If you have an overdraft, don't go outside the agreed limit or you'll get "informal overdraft" fees, which can cost you fortunes. First Direct offer a £500 overdraft as standard with their bank account, of which the first £250 is free. (And they give you £100 for switching).

If you buy anything online, buy it through Quidco. They pay genuine cashback. I've had over £1000 out of them now, a recent highlight being £85 cashback on a £75 insurance policy. The extra bit of money coming in now and then is a great help.

I buy some of my clothes off eBay. Some people wouldn't do it, but it doesn't bother me. I've bought £50 jeans for a fiver, from someone who tried them on for a minute and realised they didn't fit.

As others have said, review every penny you spend each month, and what you spend it on. If you're spending a fiver each day buying sandwiches for lunch, make them at home instead. It's very easy to take £20 or £30 out of a cash machine and watch it disappear on stuff.

Hope some of that helps, as I say a lot of it is based on assumptions about your finances, but feel free to post some more info about your expenses if you want more details.

[Rogerborg]

[tbourner]

[speedy]

Thanks for all the help and advice so far
If it helps any my basic take home is 370 a week I rent a room in a 3 bed flat for 500 a month then council tax and bills come on top I need a phone for work so I have a sim only contract at 15 per month and a gym membership at 10 per month (it's where I get stress and aggression out) I live in my overdraft and have a 250 per month loan repayment which is nearly done then I have to pay off the credit card, hoping sale of my car sorts that and my deposit on a cheaper home closer to work to cut fuel costs had a look at meter readings compared to estimations turns out southern electric owe me money and I owe British gas money
I'm definately going to draw up a spread sheet so I can start to budget my money better and will give quitting fags a go to make an extra saving.
Hopefully I get get shot of the loan and credit debt ASAP and that should see me finally able to save a decent chunk plus with quitting the fags that should be a nice chunk as well
I don't really drink much any more due to my kidney I was strongly advised against alcohol and tablets to save any unnecessary strain on it.
Again thanks for all the advice hopefully once I know how much I have to spend a month I can control it better and keep some sort of tabs on where I'm cocking up

[Pete.]

So after rent you have a grand to cover a single man's costs. That's not difficult except a quarter of that is gone on your loan plus you have CC interest and the usual utilities. My council tax, water rates, gas and electric come to just under £400 but that's for a large family house, so I'm guessing £250 loan and £250 bills for you. You mention smokes - 1 pack a day is over £200 a month. There's £700 of your grand gone right there.

It does get easier as you get older - unless you start a family that is. Pay is usually linked to ability, longevity and seniority and you should gain on all of them with years. I can well remember getting through the week on a sack of spuds and a tray of eggs when I was younger.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[drbaig]

Straight away I can tell you are wasting 10 per month on gym. Go for a run, go to a park, do body lifts. 120 quid a year saved there. I did that after I looked at my statements a few years back paying 15pm. You don't need weights for aggression, try HIIT.

You're basically on a graduate wage. If i was earning that much I would definitely not be struggling for money. Not that I do now but I am a stingy bastard when it comes to spending. 19k a year is a reasonable wage. I save for months if i want to buy something even though i can just go and buy it because I have money in the account.

I don't drink, don't smoke and rarely eat outside as I am very fussy about what I eat. Do not even buy drinks as I prefer water or carry a water bottle with me. That saves money. Ride a bicycle mostly, saves on tax, insurance and petrol. I developed these habits at uni as I didn't have a lot of money so I had to be stringent with the cash.

There are plenty good suggestions in this thread. Apply some of them to your financial shortfalls and I am sure you will find extra cash that you are burning for no reason whatsoever. Good Luck
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yzf 600r

[Omega]

It sounds like you've been living a typical credit lifestyle. Once you've got the loan and overdraft paid off you'll be fine unless you start borrowing again.

You justify the gym as if it's something you're entitled to and a necessity rather than a luxury. I'm not saying don't spend money on it, just appreciate it for what it is. Taking things like that for granted quickly adds up to a big spend per month on "necessities".

You're on a good wage IMO and doing well mate. The finances will get a lot better very quickly with a little work .

[1cyl]

1. Stay completely out of debt, except for a small affordable mortgage/rent.
2. Get a wife or housemate with a job and similar financial ethics, making life under a roof more economical and efficient.
3. Don't buy clothes ever. Rely purely on birthday and Xmas.
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