I'm new to all this budgeting lark!

[pitstopbunny]

I have finally decided at the age of 39 to try and get myself sorted financially!

I do not have any huge outstanding debts thankfully but I also have no savings. What would you recommend in helping me cut back on outgoings & start saving. I'm single & do not have a social life so cannot make any cuts there, but any ideas from cutting back on electric usage to shopping costs!

Many thanks, Sally Ann

[disneysteve]

Welcome! If you would list your current spending and expenses, we'd be able to help point out places to cut back.

[pitstopbunny]

Electric £45 a month
Water £30 a month
Council tax £6 a month
AOL £20 a month
Telephone £16 a month
Petrol £20 a month
Food £150 a month (including dog food)
My rent is covered by hosuing benefit

My income is £360 a month

[Daylily]

Hi Pitstopbunny. I was in Southampton in December. I was flying from Paris to Exeter during that terrible fog just before Christmas. We were rerouted to Southampton and then had to take a 3+ hour coach ride to Exeter. Doh!

In your budget listing, you did not mention any insurance premiums. Do you pay car insurance or rental insurance? What about life insurance premiums?

Do you have a specific savings goal in mind? Are you trying to save for retirement, for example? If so, it would help to know the value of any pension that you might receive in XX years time.

[pitstopbunny]

My father pays for my car insurance & house insuarnce. I do not have life assurance, there's not mucj point because I have no one to leave it to if anything should happen to me.

I would just like to have some savings so that one day I could afford to go on holiday!

[cptacek]

Wow, with only $360 a month, that is only $4320 a year. In my personal opinion, you need to make more money. Other than the internet, it looks to me like you can't cut back on much. You just don't have much to begin with.

[pitstopbunny]

Unfortunately I cannot make any more, I have been signed off sick for over 2 years now & cannot work, this income is my sickness benefit. I think what I am really looking for is some practical tips on how to cut back on things like my electric usage, better food planning.

[LuxLiving]

Well pitstopbunny - if you decide you CAN't then that will be your reality - obviously You Can type and have access to a computer, if I were you I'd look into starting your own small business...something like buying one item and listing it on ebay for a profit, taking that money and plowing it into another item or two and get your own money train started OR start your own internet business of some type OR write for publication, surely there is some small thing YOU CAN do...knit caps and sell them or babysit or transcription for a doctor's office or some such thing. IF you think You Can, then you'll find a way to increase your income. I think You Can Do It!! Find contrary1's blog and read up - she's the master of making cash from little or nothing and expanding her streams of income!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by pitstopbunny

Unfortunately I cannot make any more

I think what I am really looking for is some practical tips on how to cut back on things like my electric usage, better food planning.

Wow. $4,320/year is nothing. I earn more than that in 3 weeks. I honestly can't comprehend how you are getting by, though you did say your rent is covered and your father pays some of your expenses, but still, that is so little money that I'm not sure there is much cutting you can do that would make much of a difference.

You list expenses of $287/month. That leaves just $73 extra, and I'm sure there are costs that you didn't list, like car maintenance, clothing and other incidentals.

Without knowing more about your disability, I'd have to agree with LuxLiving. You need to increase your income. You have internet access. That opens up a variety of possibilities like ebay or online surveys, for example. You have a car which I would think would open up many other opportunites depending on your physical abilities.

As for cutting expenses, food is probably the one area to focus on. Be sure you are buying only necessary foods, no junk. Do as much cooking from scratch as possible and avoid buying prepared and convenience foods. Do you have anywhere to grow some of your own veggies? Make more meatless meals. Stick to store brand items whenever you can. Buy in bulk when you can to take advantage of good sales.

Good luck to you.

[Aleta]

You could also start looking for a different internet provider. We can get internet service here for $9.99 a month. Your fixed expenses would be hard to cut back on. The areas that you can cut would be food, electricity, water, long-distance telephone bills, and gas for the car. There are a number of articles on this forum that can list shortcuts that our members have used. In the search area, type in electricity savings or whatver you're interested in finding out. Maybe you could think about sharing your place with another person and that would cut your expenses some.

[My English Castle]

remember--Pitstopbunny is tlaking pounds not dollars.
I seem to remember that Southampton has a good farmer's market and I'd try vegetarian for a while too. Do you truly need a car?
That's always a big chunk of change?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by My English Castle

remember--Pitstopbunny is tlaking pounds not dollars.

How much is 4,320 pounds in US dollars?

[My English Castle]

double it!

[PrincessPerky]

Can't is a dirty word, now you might find you try one thing and fail (or have already tried and failed) but that doesn't mean there is nothing you can do, just that one thing didn't work out the way you tried it.

So go try another....

[Cassandra]

I know that AOL you can now set up to be free, at least here in the US. If you can't get AOL for free where you are, get a cheaper internet provider.

To get free AOL: go to AOL.com - Welcome to AOL and click on "GEt Free AOL Mail" right beneath the search bar.

Cassandra

[My English Castle]

I assume you get all the "free" money--the grocery points from tesco and the boots points? Sometimes with the tesco points you can get a decent holiday for not too much. Convince your family to give you theirs!

If you're walking your dog, can you walk someone else's as well?

Can you help serve meals or do something at a charity site, work in the shop for a discount or serve meals for free ones?

I'd start with a goal of saving 15 pounds a month or so--and stash it somewhere safe.

Your water bill looks a bit high--Do you have a low water use toilet? If not, sometimes you can fill a milk jug with water to lessen the amount that sits (and then flushes) from the tank.

How about doing some babysitting?

Good luck!

[Aleta]

Cassandra: I think in order to get AOL free, you have to have another internet provider.

[disneysteve]

Are there reward-type credit cards in England? If so, you could get a cashback card and use it to pay most of your bills to trim the real cost a bit. From your list (if you were in the US), you could pay your phone, gas, food, auto insurance and AOL. Even if you only get 1% back, that's 1% less you'd be spending.

[Ima saver]

I keep my hot water heater turned off all day long. I turn it on to take a shower or run the dishwasher. I wash all clothes in cold. that helps with the electric bill a lot.

[Aleta]

When I leave out for the day, I turn my AC up so it won't run while I'm out. I also keep my miniblinds closed to the side that has the most sun during the day. I like Ima, turn my water heater off from a switch that was put on their by our power company.