So I've started saving...again.

A question about : So I've started saving...again.

Having been a reader on this forum for a while I thought it would be useful for me to start a 'savings diary'. I've always been a keen saver and previously saved a lot from my last job which I worked at from when I was 18. My boyfriend and I started living together last year at his nans, and obviously were able to save quite a bit as we had low rent, and not many outgoings. Our plan was to save for a deposit for a mortgage. We'd saved over Ј10000 and after doing research we found out it would be impossible to buy anytime soon as my boyfriend is self employed and only has been for a year. We then decided to rent, and to be honest - most of our savings has gone. We had to pay Ј2000 admin fees and a deposit as well as buy a lot for our new house (which was not a lot thanks to friends and family as well as freegle), and our outgoings are now Ј1300 a month. After a few knock backs and expenses we have decided to start saving from 2014 and have set ourselves a pretty high target of Ј20000 by the end of 2015. I want to start preparing for our 'mission' now, by researching how we can save the most amount in such a short space of time. We still have around Ј5000 in savings which is a start, but with so many outgoings it's not going to be as easy as it has been in the past few years. I have been reading everyones tips but it would be lovely to hear any advice on how we can go about this.

Here we go...

x

Best answers:

• Snap, I'm starting a fresh from 2014 after a fee blips. Can't wait to get it all going. I opened a new current account, will be using the save the change service with tsb and lock some money away in a fixed isa so I can't spend it.
  Just make sure your boyfriend is on board, and once the Xmas period is over, you get saving like mad. That is a big target to save!
  Good luck
• Luckily he's on board too so we should be able to support each other. It's quite tough to plan as I work on contracted hours yet my overtime changes monthly so I never know my exact earnings, and my boyfriend is self employed and again, won't know his exact earnings each month.
  So far my plan is to put any overtime I earn into a savings account (will join one with best interest) I plan to start putting items on ebay weekly, and once our internet is up and running properly, crack on with surveys etc.
  As for cutting back, I'm going to review all of our bills and see if we can get a reduction on any of them. I'm going to cut back on my driving (boyfriend has to drive for work) and I'm going to walk to work no matter how I feel or how dark it is, and I'm going to cut right down on our food shop which I personally think is currently way too high for just two people.
  Just need to have a cheap-ish Christmas and we'll be on our way too.
  Can anyone think of anything else?
  Good luck with your saving too!
• Hi J1992,
  Good luck on your quest to save. I am also ramping up my saving and especially for the next 2 months want to live on absolutely as little as possible.
  You mention surveys, I am with valued opinions and have had a lot of surveys to do in last couple of weeks, so may be worth signing up with them? Have now got into the habit of checking my emails as soon as I get to work every morning to be sure to do any surveys as soon as they are available. They now offer sainsburys vouchers when you get to Ј10 which is great because you can use them for food without dipping into your usual household budget.
  Also may be worth writing down the contents of your freezer and cupboards and see how many days you can feed yourself without any food shopping or just buying odds and ends to make the other items stretch.
  Good luck on your journey.
• Good luck! Look forward to seeing your results.