The Student Life
The latest budget snapshot is above. Nothing to write home about, however on pay day I took out £100 in cash for food shopping, reduced from £125. The rest will pay the rent, bills and loans.
I did manage to make an extra £345 eBay cash and put into the kitty then took out £230 to finally pay my mate back. Then take him off my debt. GET IN. That’s one debt gone.
Leaving £115 in the kitty. I may go out and celebrate.
A few months back my money was out of control and I didn’t track any spending so here is my new monthly budget in a beautiful Excel Spreadsheet. I’ve just managed to balance the books thanks to selling some stuff on eBay.
You’ll notice there is no budget for fun anymore. 🙁 I seriously need to get a handle on my cash situation.
I have included the overdraft, my mate and Mum and Dad under debts but can’t reduce these debts until I have brought the credit card payments down. It’s a good thing friends and family don’t charge interest.
Eating out costs a bomb. Not that I know the price of explosives or suggest you eat highly volatile chemicals for lunch. The fact is food on the move is expensive and adds to your monthly costs. So I’ve challenged myself to keep lunch and snack money to a minimum and cut down on coffee break costs.
I can take a packed lunch to work. I’ve being doing it for just under 3 weeks. If you are on a budget taking sandwiches, pasta, homemade curry and other food from home is a cash saver. At first I felt silly and embarrassed but now I know it’s part of my budget plan.
I’m just not sure if I can reduce my coffee intake. I certainly need my coffee fix to get me going. Can I give up the daytime snacking, prepare an edible meal for dinner and stop drinking takeout coffee for a whole month? It’s a tall order so let’s find out.
I also attempting to reduce my sugar and ditch my unhealthy habits like too many biscuits, fizzy drinks and even cutting back on beer. Will it be possible? Let’s find out.
Are you willing to try it yourself? Add a comment below.
Although I think my job is secure and I have a little savings to cope with any minor emergency I can’t help feeling that my finances are a little fragile and feeble. Debt is putting a strain on my finances and eating away at my money.
For me it seems the only way to help get your finances back on track is to stop using credit. The goal is to strengthen your wealth by paying off debt. For me that means paying off over £65,000 in debts.
This is a big financial goal and the only way paying this off is going to happen is to repair bad spending habits and come up with a debt repayment plan. The strategy going forward will be to learn budgeting skills, cut costs and sort out my financial disorganisation.
First I’ll pay off my credit cards, then my loans and finally deal with family debts. It’s going to take some major changes and commitment but until the debt is paid off it’s harder to build any wealth because you money disappears in interest payments.
Debt weakens your financial strength and eats away your money. A solid foundation for getting richer means paying off your debts as quickly as you can. To ensure financial success you must kill your debt and bad financial habits. Doing this will maximise your income. What are your financial goals? Are you sick of all the debt you’re in?
Budgeting is my main focus at the moment. I worked out I’ve been overspending by around £184 a month. When I don’t have any money left over I’ve been using credit cards and my overdraft to finance a bad lifestyle.
It’s time to get a grab on my debts. It’s time to hold myself accountable to my money problems.
My total monthly debt payments are: £682 per month. This expense is shockingly higher than my rent at £575.
Other monthly expenses spread include:
Food spending at around: £150
Energy Bills: £95
Water: £42
Council Tax: £66
Insurance: £135
Petrol: £70
Internet/TV/Phone: £110
Mobile: £35
In most cases, people have no idea where their money is really going and once they see it on paper it surprises them to learn their spending habits.
The simple effective solution? Reduce my expenses. Cutting back my expenses will begin to tackle my debt.
Right now looking at my income, expenses and cash flow it not pleasant reading. My personal finance is damaged. In light of this I’ve decided to face facts and go from money spending to money making.
Is it a crime to be poor? I’m totally sick of struggling in life trying to juggle my finances and job. I’m reforming my finances like a fat cat banker. So my new strategy is to get control of my budget, earn more money to finally pay off all my debt.