manage my finances

I’m feeling pretty good about this goal, but there is still room for improvement.

• I saved my target amount every month bar one, and that month I paid my car insurance and service. I also saved any surplus at the end of the month. So, including interest, I boosted my savings by £5,800 in 2008.
• I tracked my spending from Feb – mid Sep, then started up again in Dec and am still going. The break was because I lost track on holiday, then got out of the habit. I want to keep this up as it forces me to think about what I spend, but I probably don’t need to be quite so obsessive about it.

• Continue to save at least £500 per month
• Create a budget (that was the original purpose of tracking my spending) and stick to it
• I’ve had an ISA with Abbey – I just checked the interest rate on-line and found out that it’s only 0.56%. My e-savings account makes more than that even after tax. As soon as the Interest is paid in March I will close the account and invest it somewhere better (presuming that any bank is paying interest by then).
• Consider whether to transfer most of the money in my e-savings account to an account with a higher rate.
• Find out what options are open to me for of mortgages and how much deposit I realistically need

something up with the exhaust – another £100 to pay . . .

I’ve had a really heavy couple of months financially with car and dental costs. And I have a bad tendency to think “what the heck, I’ve already overspent, what difference will another £X make”. So, this month I need to get back on track. I’ve just cleared the credit card bill which had my car insurance on it. So when next month’s pay hits the bank I can get back to my saving plan. I need to finally work out a budget too. I’ve been tracking my spending, now it’s time to do something with the information.

I’ve had a really heavy couple of months financially with car and dental costs. And I have a bad tendency to think “what the heck, I’ve already overspent, what difference will another £X make”. So, this month I need to get back on track. I’ve just cleared the credit card bill which had my car insurance on it. So when next month’s pay hits the bank I can get back to my saving plan. I need to finally work out a budget too. I’ve been tracking my spending, now it’s time to do something with the information.

. . . is going to take a battering this month. I guess that is why I am trying to do this. So that in future I have my money sorted an can deal with these things. I just hate having to pay for dull stuff – another trip to the dentist, car service, MOT and insurance. Oh well, still watching the pennies – so lets hope I can get through the month without having to dip back into savings to much.

I’ve realised that I am due some money back from my employer for travel expenses, which should be about equal to my overspend I think. So I’m not feeling so bad about March. Though of course I would have better still if there had been some to spare at the end of the month.
I got my car insurance renewal today and it’s £506. Much more than I expected. I will have to shop around for a better quote. It’s certainly going to have an impact on the amount I save next month.
Need to start thinking about other bits of money I have and if I could be investing it more wisely.

Haven’t done so well this month. I clear my credit card every month so maybe it was last months spending catching up as I didn’t think I’d spent that much. I’ve transferred the little surplus that I had left over from the last two months back into my current account. My plan is that on pay day that money will go back into savings along with my regular saving amount. Still haven’t had my car serviced, and my car insurance is up in April, so there is some big expenses ahead. Also, I really want to get away on holiday, for a couple of weeks. Not sure how this is going to pan out money wise. I’m so pleased with what I have saved since I set my mind to it. I don’t want it all to go to pot for the sake of a holiday. I suppose I just need to plan and budget for that. Still writing down every penny that I spend.

. . . with a little money left in my current account and my savings untouched. So I put the extra into savings and feel good. March should be ok, but I have car insurance to pay in April and I want to have a holiday soon so I need to take that into consideration.

I’ve had an expensive weekend – but not one I would have wanted to miss out on. I hope I can make it to the end of the month without going into savings. Ideally I’d like to add a bit to them again – even if it’s just and extra £50.
I’m still being strict about writing down all my spending. It’s good to have a record of it.

I’m being being pretty strict about writing down every penny I spend – it’s scary stuff, seeing it all added up on a spreadsheet. I need to keep it going for a few more weeks at least to get a proper picture, then start setting a budget that I’m going to stick to.

I did have some surplus at the end of January so I added it to my savings. That felt good – until recently I’ve been eating into savings at the end of most months, paying back at the start of the next etc. Just managing to keep my saving stable – never growing them.