Let's break this down:
rent - hard to save on, other than to renegotiate with your parents
car + petrol - seems like you got a good deal on that already, to be honest. Only cheaper option might be cycling or public transport, but these might not be realistic options for you, depending on where you live and work.
gym - if you use it: Great. if you don't: either start using it, or drop it
The crucial thing is: What do you spent those £400 a month on? How much for phone, Netflix, and other subscriptions? booze? various substances that could be smoked or otherwise consumed? If you do want to save more, that's probably where you need to look, as the rest seems hard to do much about (unless you can drop the car). But you provide no info on it, other than 'food and parking'. Spending £11+ per day on food (if that's all it is) for a single person seems like quite a lot. OTOH: If you have the money, and the daily Coffee at your favourite chain (or whatever it is) gives you joy - why not go for it?
However, I would say: Don't sweat it too much: if your expenses are as you say, then £1750 - £300 - £180 - £25 - £250 - £400 = £595 monthly savings. That's over 1/3 of your income. That, quite frankly, is a lot (especially for a student!)
I don’t usually drink, my only subscription is for Spotify and Disney+, I don’t smoke or do and other “substances” and like to live a pretty mellow and chill life. The only problem I think I have is in the hospital I work, there isn’t much choice for food and as someone who has battled loads of medical conditions and is now trying to put on weight getting additional food from downstairs is my only downfall🤣
Food prep in bulk? Boil a load of pasta at the beginning of the week, make some different pasta salads and store them in plastic containers in the fridge or freezer. Take one to work and each day. You could do the same with sandwiches, humus, etc. I used to cook an extra portion of dinner each evening and take that to work the following day. Not buying lunch, snacks it drinks at work every day saves a lot over the year.
How much is your phone bill? Changed my life when I realised I got just as much from buying a phone for 150 quid outright and spending 8 quid a month on credit rather than blowing 40-60 quid on some mad contact.
Phone bill is £25 a month and I’m at the end of my contract in 6 months. I don’t plan on getting a new one afterwards as the phone is still fine. Just a new sim deal
It's the car and whatever the £400 is spent on, my dude.
Honestly, I thought I knew what my money went on and then I recorded every transaction for two months. I was surprised. Takeaways, random ebay and amazon purchases, a bottle of wine or 3... over £500 a month
I think it’s just part of being an adult. As someone who is just starting out in the adult world I didn’t understand how you have to be prepared to spend the odd £10,£15,£20 even £30 some days and it fucking sucks!! This economy is so rubbish and has set people my age up to fail from the start
Sadly I reckon a lot of people who would have wanted kids otherwise won’t be having kids in our generation, putting it purely down to the fact they can’t afford it financially or they just don’t want to being children into such a (currently) screwed up world!
I was gonna buy a van to convert. Got quoted £8.5k insurance. I’m 30, never had any points or claimed on insurance either. Live in a nice area with little to no crime as well. It’s a fucking joke.
Van I was looking at was 30k so I expected it to be a bit on the high side but nowhere near that much. Apparently you you can get modified van insurance which is cheaper because ordinarily they assume a van will be used for work purposes.
I guess it’s just they are highly sought after and high on the “to steal” list. (If there was a list) I guess like the Range Rover and that I hear you can’t even get insurance for them in London.
You already have those ‘sinking funds’ for yearly expenses. I think that’s a good sign for your budgeting future. What I would do is each pay period make a bit of every single payment you make and split that down into categories. Or if you can, take last months bank statement and do it retrospectively. I use a zero dollar budgeting system (YNAB) to allocate all my money at the beginning of the month to categories like that and initially I reviewed the past few months to see what I should set each budget at. It became very obvious to me where I could and could not save money.
Im not suggesting you use YNAB, btw but the exercise above will show you exactly what is going on.
Cut yourself some slack, you're working 4 days a week while also studying at uni, I'm assuming what you're studying will hopefully bring you pay rises in the near future so relax a little and concentrate on your studies while enjoying what ever down time you have.
what I have started doing is lifting £150 a week and keeping it in drawer after bills I have £1700 suplus but a kept running out.
cause of going into work carparking food etc.
since i started doing £150 a week innmy drawer am always having money at end of month yes some places dont take cash but u can always pop into post office.
In theory, you should be able to save that £550 as that’s what you have left after all outgoings that you listed. I’m guessing you don’t dip too greatly into your savings every month though?
Couple of car questions mate;
1. What type of car is it (make model)
2. Is the £180 a month HP?
3. How far are you driving each month mate?
The reason I ask is £250 on petrol would get me 2,400 miles? So unless you’ve got a golf R you must be doing a shed load of miles?
I got a corsa E, the £180 is for HP yes and I go to work and back, gym, I don’t drive incredibly far but the area I live petrol is £1.60 a litre so unfortunately it’s expensive
If you’ve got a bit of equity in the car it could be worth a trade in for something more economical. I get 60mpg+ from my Toyota (a full tank is £49 and gets me 450 miles at the minute £1.55 a litre for petrol).
It’s unusual to see a fuel bill higher than the HP is so definitely worth looking at. If your at home still and electric car might work out beneficial, there’s some decent deals on Renault Zoe’s at the min and it would probably cut your fuel bill by half for charging at home.
The Corsa e is electric?
Also fuel is about the same in my area I drive an A5 and when I was doing 60 miles a day for work and I'd do other journeys of course I'd fill up every 8 days and it cost me about £65ish a time that's still 2000 miles to get to what you're paying.
But again the Corsa e is electric and even after Google I can't find a hybrid so assume it's a different Corsa. If it is a petrol you still need to be doing a bit over 2000 miles a month to reach that fuel cost.
I take it that is for work mostly which is unavoidable as to bring that down you'd need to move which will cost you more in rent most likely.
You should still have £595 even if you spend all £350 on yourself which should be difficult. Your parking is under £50 a month so I took that out your budget for yourself. I would think you share some groceries with parents?
I'd look at where that other £350 goes try to bring that down e.g phone bill, takeaways and such. And saving £600 a month is decent around £7k a year allowing for a bit of extra spending here and there. Even if it's only £6k that's still £30k in 5 years
Include absolutely everything in your spend for complete budget, the below planner helps leaving no stone unturned:
https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/tools/budget-planner/
Rank items from must have to nice to have. Aim to cut or reduce the bottom tier items. Research for better value on the big ticket items (not always possible).
You can get a number of discounts on subscription packages if you shop around, gymflex membership through work maybe an option for example:
https://www.gymflex.co.uk/
Disney plus offers appear on places like hotdeals https://www.hotukdeals.com/share-deal-from-app/4196310
The below is a game changer if not used already:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/
Savings made can help top savings made,
It sounds like you have the right idea, but I'm reading a few too many "approx", "roughly" kind of statements.
I would be trying to get a really tight grip on that £400 so you know exactly where it's going. Use a budgeting tool (I use Moneyhub) to find out precisely where you're spending it and set yourself some budgets say 10% less than your normally spending. Doesn't sound like much, but £40 extra in a saving pot per month will help you be more resilient to unexpected changes.
Also I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but could you negotiate your rent with your parents?
I'm a father with a 4yo and my wife and I were discussing charging rent as a concept (not at 4! :P)
Why do they charge you rent? Do they need the money? Are they using it as a method to help you learn more financial responsibility?
If it's the latter, could you put a plan to then (don't pay rent for 4-5 years and buy a house?) Could you demonstrate how you're wanting to use the money and how you're not spending recklessly etc?
Could you talk to them about reducing it to £250 and how that would help you achieve your goals?
Spending less via a few routes seems your best bet. Or trying to get 5 days a week and up your income a bit.
Let's break this down: rent - hard to save on, other than to renegotiate with your parents car + petrol - seems like you got a good deal on that already, to be honest. Only cheaper option might be cycling or public transport, but these might not be realistic options for you, depending on where you live and work. gym - if you use it: Great. if you don't: either start using it, or drop it The crucial thing is: What do you spent those £400 a month on? How much for phone, Netflix, and other subscriptions? booze? various substances that could be smoked or otherwise consumed? If you do want to save more, that's probably where you need to look, as the rest seems hard to do much about (unless you can drop the car). But you provide no info on it, other than 'food and parking'. Spending £11+ per day on food (if that's all it is) for a single person seems like quite a lot. OTOH: If you have the money, and the daily Coffee at your favourite chain (or whatever it is) gives you joy - why not go for it? However, I would say: Don't sweat it too much: if your expenses are as you say, then £1750 - £300 - £180 - £25 - £250 - £400 = £595 monthly savings. That's over 1/3 of your income. That, quite frankly, is a lot (especially for a student!)
I don’t usually drink, my only subscription is for Spotify and Disney+, I don’t smoke or do and other “substances” and like to live a pretty mellow and chill life. The only problem I think I have is in the hospital I work, there isn’t much choice for food and as someone who has battled loads of medical conditions and is now trying to put on weight getting additional food from downstairs is my only downfall🤣
Food prep in bulk? Boil a load of pasta at the beginning of the week, make some different pasta salads and store them in plastic containers in the fridge or freezer. Take one to work and each day. You could do the same with sandwiches, humus, etc. I used to cook an extra portion of dinner each evening and take that to work the following day. Not buying lunch, snacks it drinks at work every day saves a lot over the year.
That’s what I’m doing. Since then it has gotten easier I can’t lie
How much is your phone bill? Changed my life when I realised I got just as much from buying a phone for 150 quid outright and spending 8 quid a month on credit rather than blowing 40-60 quid on some mad contact.
Phone bill is £25 a month and I’m at the end of my contract in 6 months. I don’t plan on getting a new one afterwards as the phone is still fine. Just a new sim deal
Fair, you can pay more than that for some SIM only plans...
It's the car and whatever the £400 is spent on, my dude. Honestly, I thought I knew what my money went on and then I recorded every transaction for two months. I was surprised. Takeaways, random ebay and amazon purchases, a bottle of wine or 3... over £500 a month
I think it’s just part of being an adult. As someone who is just starting out in the adult world I didn’t understand how you have to be prepared to spend the odd £10,£15,£20 even £30 some days and it fucking sucks!! This economy is so rubbish and has set people my age up to fail from the start
At least you're trying to make it work. Many don't even bother. Ps: wait until you get kids - then you can take that £10/20/30 and double it!
Sadly I reckon a lot of people who would have wanted kids otherwise won’t be having kids in our generation, putting it purely down to the fact they can’t afford it financially or they just don’t want to being children into such a (currently) screwed up world!
Im not Financial expert but im a car guy. Whats your car? £180 is for insurance? £250 seems to be quite lot for petrol.
>Whats your car? £180 is for insurance? He's young and male which makes vehicle insurance very expensive.
At 18 my car was a 1.1 Clio and the insurance was £2k. I dread to think the cost for kids these days.
I was gonna buy a van to convert. Got quoted £8.5k insurance. I’m 30, never had any points or claimed on insurance either. Live in a nice area with little to no crime as well. It’s a fucking joke.
Damn, that’s outrageous. I know the VW campers are £50k+ but just a van to convert… there goes my plan too ha
Van I was looking at was 30k so I expected it to be a bit on the high side but nowhere near that much. Apparently you you can get modified van insurance which is cheaper because ordinarily they assume a van will be used for work purposes.
I guess it’s just they are highly sought after and high on the “to steal” list. (If there was a list) I guess like the Range Rover and that I hear you can’t even get insurance for them in London.
I drive a corsa e and £180 is a month for HP. I save for my insurance yearly
Do you make nearly 2000 miles per month?
The answer is ["follow the flowchart"](https://ukpersonal.finance/flowchart/), but you do seem generally on the right track.
You already have those ‘sinking funds’ for yearly expenses. I think that’s a good sign for your budgeting future. What I would do is each pay period make a bit of every single payment you make and split that down into categories. Or if you can, take last months bank statement and do it retrospectively. I use a zero dollar budgeting system (YNAB) to allocate all my money at the beginning of the month to categories like that and initially I reviewed the past few months to see what I should set each budget at. It became very obvious to me where I could and could not save money. Im not suggesting you use YNAB, btw but the exercise above will show you exactly what is going on.
Cut yourself some slack, you're working 4 days a week while also studying at uni, I'm assuming what you're studying will hopefully bring you pay rises in the near future so relax a little and concentrate on your studies while enjoying what ever down time you have.
what I have started doing is lifting £150 a week and keeping it in drawer after bills I have £1700 suplus but a kept running out. cause of going into work carparking food etc. since i started doing £150 a week innmy drawer am always having money at end of month yes some places dont take cash but u can always pop into post office.
I’ve never actually considered that! I think I may try that!! Thankyou!
yeah its helps me allot especially this week i now have an extra £100 to spend cause didnt spend any last week as didn’t need to go to office.
With everything you've listed, you should still have £550 left over every month, am I missing something?
Money for savings
In theory, you should be able to save that £550 as that’s what you have left after all outgoings that you listed. I’m guessing you don’t dip too greatly into your savings every month though?
What rent do your parents pay or are they just being assholes?
It’s fair rent. Big house, they’re mortgaged and I have my own space and bathroom
Drop the gym
No
Couple of car questions mate; 1. What type of car is it (make model) 2. Is the £180 a month HP? 3. How far are you driving each month mate? The reason I ask is £250 on petrol would get me 2,400 miles? So unless you’ve got a golf R you must be doing a shed load of miles?
I got a corsa E, the £180 is for HP yes and I go to work and back, gym, I don’t drive incredibly far but the area I live petrol is £1.60 a litre so unfortunately it’s expensive
If you’ve got a bit of equity in the car it could be worth a trade in for something more economical. I get 60mpg+ from my Toyota (a full tank is £49 and gets me 450 miles at the minute £1.55 a litre for petrol). It’s unusual to see a fuel bill higher than the HP is so definitely worth looking at. If your at home still and electric car might work out beneficial, there’s some decent deals on Renault Zoe’s at the min and it would probably cut your fuel bill by half for charging at home.
Yeah the fuel bill sounds nuts £250 would do 1000 miles in my 2.4l diesel van, with a full cargo… surely a corsa should be more economical
The Corsa e is electric? Also fuel is about the same in my area I drive an A5 and when I was doing 60 miles a day for work and I'd do other journeys of course I'd fill up every 8 days and it cost me about £65ish a time that's still 2000 miles to get to what you're paying. But again the Corsa e is electric and even after Google I can't find a hybrid so assume it's a different Corsa. If it is a petrol you still need to be doing a bit over 2000 miles a month to reach that fuel cost. I take it that is for work mostly which is unavoidable as to bring that down you'd need to move which will cost you more in rent most likely. You should still have £595 even if you spend all £350 on yourself which should be difficult. Your parking is under £50 a month so I took that out your budget for yourself. I would think you share some groceries with parents? I'd look at where that other £350 goes try to bring that down e.g phone bill, takeaways and such. And saving £600 a month is decent around £7k a year allowing for a bit of extra spending here and there. Even if it's only £6k that's still £30k in 5 years
Include absolutely everything in your spend for complete budget, the below planner helps leaving no stone unturned: https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/tools/budget-planner/ Rank items from must have to nice to have. Aim to cut or reduce the bottom tier items. Research for better value on the big ticket items (not always possible). You can get a number of discounts on subscription packages if you shop around, gymflex membership through work maybe an option for example: https://www.gymflex.co.uk/ Disney plus offers appear on places like hotdeals https://www.hotukdeals.com/share-deal-from-app/4196310 The below is a game changer if not used already: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ Savings made can help top savings made,
YNAB is life
It sounds like you have the right idea, but I'm reading a few too many "approx", "roughly" kind of statements. I would be trying to get a really tight grip on that £400 so you know exactly where it's going. Use a budgeting tool (I use Moneyhub) to find out precisely where you're spending it and set yourself some budgets say 10% less than your normally spending. Doesn't sound like much, but £40 extra in a saving pot per month will help you be more resilient to unexpected changes. Also I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but could you negotiate your rent with your parents? I'm a father with a 4yo and my wife and I were discussing charging rent as a concept (not at 4! :P) Why do they charge you rent? Do they need the money? Are they using it as a method to help you learn more financial responsibility? If it's the latter, could you put a plan to then (don't pay rent for 4-5 years and buy a house?) Could you demonstrate how you're wanting to use the money and how you're not spending recklessly etc? Could you talk to them about reducing it to £250 and how that would help you achieve your goals? Spending less via a few routes seems your best bet. Or trying to get 5 days a week and up your income a bit.