I have started working after being a student for three years and am in a worse position now than i was then!!

Just want to know if its just me ? What can i do to stop it ?

I'm feeling really miserable about it at the mo and could do with knowing i'm not the only one :help:

Originally posted by Lee1979
I have started working after being a student for three years and am in a worse position now than i was then!!

Just want to know if its just me ? What can i do to stop it ?

I'm feeling really miserable about it at the mo and could do with knowing i'm not the only one :help:

It does get better - hang in there! :P

K x

cos we pay for sky movies and sports at our house not jsut the basics?????

lee- i think its you getting paid weekly that does it!!!

"Why am I always skint?"
Well, you spend more than you earn ;) Its basic maths really :P

On a serious note, make a balance book so you know EXACTLY whats coming in, and EXACTLY what goes out and on what.

This way you can see it all on paper and think "wow, im spending alot on [stuff a] when I should be using it on [stuff b] or saving it!

because u have mortgage or rent, insurances, water, gas, council tax (spit spit), electric, licenses etc etc ... being grown up sucks i know. move home!

i know. get paid monthly now though! sky sports and movies is only a little bit extra between us three though (thats when we pay it!)

was thinking someone out there maybe able to offer real practical advice about how to live life i.e still be able to go out occasionally and still be able to pay bills and rent etc.

Originally posted by NatalieSheff
because u have mortgage or rent, insurances, water, gas, council tax (spit spit), electric, licenses etc etc ... being grown up sucks i know. move home!

In other words, "Join The Club".

Because it's easy to look at your bank balance and see for example £60 spare, think 'Cool, I've got plenty to spend on this and that' and then go out and spend. After a couple of trips to the cash point and a couple of nights out/take-aways you then realise that it's very VERY easy to spend and even easier to lose track.

Get a copy of Microsoft Money if ya can and keep track of everything. It'll help you plan and it does help, although I still come unstuck sometimes.

house parties instead of clubbin, pubbin. shop at cheaper shops and in bulk. visit parents and raid cupboards hehe. i direct debit £50 month to savings account so i dont miss it (yeah right!)
summer nearly here, when u can have bbqs and get friends to bring a bottle and u do food. take it all in turns, you still get the fun of seeing ur friends and getting drunk!

Originally posted by Lee1979
i know. get paid monthly now though! sky sports and movies is only a little bit extra between us three though (thats when we pay it!)

was thinking someone out there maybe able to offer real practical advice about how to live life i.e still be able to go out occasionally and still be able to pay bills and rent etc.

Trouble is, everything is "just a little bit extra", and all those little bits add up. Its poo, because you don't want to live like a student anymore, but you sort of have to. Just try and do things a bit cheaper generally - don't go for meals out, take it in turns to cook before you go out (and that way you save on drinks too), go to the cinema with a friend who is on Orange on a wednesday, and ask yourself if you REALLY need something whenever you are in a shop. It will get better. The other thing is try and get a bit of a "buffer" in your bank account, or some savings. Constantly living on the edge of your overdraft is very stressful, especially at the end of the month. Also, that way, if there is something you really, really want or need, you can. It's miserable when its february and your only decent work shoes have a hole in them but there's still two weeks till payday. Believe me, I know.

The other practical things you can do are have a weekly budget and try and stick to it. When I am feeling broke, I always start adding thigs up over a year. For example, spend 40p per day buying chrisps/choc/drink from the rollrunner and that's about £100 a year. Do that with a few things and then you will see where it's all going.

It will get better though!

Have a look on The Motley Fool website.

they have a section on living below your means.

And getting paid weekly screws up your cashflow because the rest of the world wants it's money on a monthly basis and there are always gaps!

Joe

Hi Lee,

Would recommend a look at some of the message boards on www.fool.co.uk, particularly the living by your means and dealing with debt boards.

Lots of people in similar circs. with lots of useful ideas and a source of real support.

Before you start draw up a statement of your financial affairs, what you earn, where everything goes and what you owe to help set some objectives.

Good luck.

it takes a while to get ahead of all the bills.

even if you don't want to go to the trouble of ms money or tracking every bit of spending. Create a basic budget in excel, list all your fixed outgoings, your fixed income etc... then see what is left. Try to estimate a spending budget for everything else and try to stick to it each month, that way you can see whether you're spending less than you earn and plan any larger purchases to fit in with what you can afford.

The only way I managed to do this was to stick evrything on direct debit (Everything. Rent, TV licence, insurance, water, mobile, power)

Add it all up, add £50. Subtract from your take home pay, gives your "everything else money". Take a quarter of that out in cash on Monday, no other withdrawls.

No credit cards, no cash cards, no cheques. If you run out of cash you've run out of money.

Took me 3 years before I actually did that and stuck to it.

When I was a student I'd spend some time looking through those dreadfull women's magazines like 'take a break' & 'womans realm'.
Me & my mate had spotted that they often had as much as £5 total of money off vouchers printed inside each issue.
The cover price was about 75p.
So we'd buy 3 or 4 copies & cut out all the coupons.
Our local supermarket would take these coupons off your grocery bill even if you hadn't bought the product - As Long As They Actually Stocked It.... :heyhey:
We saved loads of money off our shopping bills.
The supermarket had a limit of £3worth of coupons in any one transaction.
So we'd go round several times :thumbsup: :D .
It saved us loads over the 3 years. And we could have stuff that otherwise would be out of budget.

Supermarkets will still do this. Just ask the checkout lady :wink:

I was feeling really p***ed off with it all yesterday and want to say thanks so much for all your help. I have taken all ideas on board and will hopefully get sorted soon.

Thanks to all !! :clap:

I used to think "why am I skint all the time", then I stopped going out every night and stopped smoking, that seems to have sorted it out.