![]() Also do this for any subscriptions you’re mid-contract with. If you do go onto a new contract, set a phone or physical diary alert for one month before that contract ends. Can you go to a cheaper gym? Get a sim-only phone contract? Switch to a one screen at a time Netflix account and bin off the leeches? Can any of these be reduced? Switching energy suppliers is so easy, and you’re almost guaranteed to make a saving if you’re out of contract. Now, the ones you can’t cancel, either you need it to live, rent, broadband, blah blah blah, or it’s something you can’t do without and you think is worth the cost, (Netflix for example). Try and notify the company that you’re cancelling as well. Highlight the items on the spreadsheet that are monthly Direct Debits or standing orders, and of the ones that aren’t debt payments, are there any you can get rid of? Uncancelled free trials, that sort of thing? Cancel them. I’ve made the spreadsheet show you what percentage of your income you’re spending on various categories, and the results can be scary. HOWEVER, short term pain, long term gain. If you’ll do anything to avoid seeing your balance at a cash machine, you might not like the results. Photo by lucas mendes on Unsplash Cut, cut, cut If you pay some bills annually, like car insurance, divide them by twelve and write them in. Do this for each account, until the spreadsheet is full. You then need to go through and enter every time money left your account in that month into categories given in the spreadsheet. Then pick a “typical” financial month (i.e, not one you went on holiday or bought a car). Open a browser tab for every bank and credit card you have, plus PayPal, and log into your accounts. Easy enough! Now, open your laptop and get yourself a drink, because you’re about to see the shocking truth about where your money is actually going. To get started, follow the instructions to get the expenses spreadsheet on your own device. Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash The painful part – my free expenses spreadsheet Also, I didn’t live a miserly life and I never had to sit and tally up what I spent on £12 mojitos in Soho the previous night, promise. However, so many of my expenses are one-offs, or short term things, it just isn’t practical for me.īut if I told you there’s a different way to do things that involves about an hour’s work now, and the rest can all be automated, does that sound better?Ĭool! I can prove this works because I saved up more than £30,000 over four years while renting in London. If your life is exactly the same every single month, old-school having an old-school budget is great. I find it stressful, counterproductive and mostly, a lot of WORK. ![]() Tracking every penny, giving every pound a job – it’s not for me. Some of the links in this post might be affiliate links, if you use them (which you don't have to) I'll receive a percentage of the money you spent. ![]()
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