Household finances voyeurism

[Archie_tect]

Ah Rocky, no wonder your suit was cheap... Saville Row is a dodgy back street in Newcastle.

 

[AndyRM]

@User14044's tailor:

 

[screenman]

I somehow manage to live on less than £70 a week even though I earn £300ish a week now.
I live with mum still and don't plan on moving out for a few years yet.
£35 a week board. £25 a week for food and other essentials and £10 petrol.
Porridge every morning for breakfast, Ham sandwich everyday for lunch with a bottle of water that gets refilled every day, then usually homemade chips or mashed potatoe with whatever I got from the reduced section and froze the week before.
Im the cheapest bugger youll ever meet. I refuse to spend money unless I absolutely HAVE to. I don't see it as a bad thing but a lot of people who know me think im stupid... ill be the one laughing though because if I do this for the next 5 years ill have between £50k-£60k in the bank if ive done my sums right.

Do not go into business, because you are rubbish at working out costs.

 

[screenman]

I draw £500++ out every week and we spend it all and more.

 

[Mrs M]

We are careful but spend on things that we like.
Food bill needs cutting down as that's a bit much with too much waste.
Biggest expense is Mr M's car which is leased.
Will work out cheaper than buying nice cars, doing low mileage, keeping them in good condition then selling them for a huge loss.

 

[brand]

The pensioner ain't quite a pensioner as he retired early. More importantly he is either terribly bored or he is addicted to going to the supermarket. Nearly everyday. Surely once a week is all you need to get your grocery in? Or is it me who has the odd shopping behaviour. Once every 2 weeks just about does me.

 

[brand]

it taught us that you can get stuff a lot cheaper when you know where to look.

I am still working at getting it for nothing or minus. A days walking in the countryside. Paid £30 and about 4 pheasants. Made a mistake there should have had a lot more (they were available) was given a recipe for pheasant curry, it was so so good. Next year 10 after each shoot.

Sainsbury's which clearly has staggeringly incompetent staff, so we get everything a third off.

Unbelievably I used to get shopping for nothing. The tills used to work like this on buy one get one free. £1 + a £1 - a £1 = Buy one get one free. If they reduced it to 50p it worked like this 0.50 + 0.50 - a £1 = nothing and yes quite often a negative figure. I always made sure I had a positive figure at the checkout but as usual some prick went to the newspapers... there is always one.

Neither of us have overdrafts, credit cards or anything like that. We want something, we save

I am afraid I go the other way and always use credit cards. I take out zero interest credit cards and everything I spend on them I put into savings accounts. I have a permanent 3.75% a 5% and a 6%. I owe £5300 and have nearly £6000 in savings accounts to pay them. I used to invest in funding circle with the zero interest CC. I also move an old dormant bank account between banks picking up between a £100 and £150 every time I do it. Of course my favourite foraging. Next years firewood is all ready undercover and ready to burn.

 

[brand]

if I do this for the next 5 years ill have between £50k-£60k in the bank

Well done, I like it but what are you saving the money for. A house?

 

[Brains]

I somehow manage to live on less than £70 a week even though I earn £300ish a week now.
I live with mum still and don't plan on moving out for a few years yet.
£35 a week board. £25 a week for food and other essentials and £10 petrol.
Porridge every morning for breakfast, Ham sandwich everyday for lunch with a bottle of water that gets refilled every day, then usually homemade chips or mashed potatoe with whatever I got from the reduced section and froze the week before.
Im the cheapest bugger youll ever meet. I refuse to spend money unless I absolutely HAVE to. I don't see it as a bad thing but a lot of people who know me think im stupid... ill be the one laughing though because if I do this for the next 5 years ill have between £50k-£60k in the bank if ive done my sums right.

This does not count.
You are living with your mum.
Therefore she is paying for the roof over your head
Which if you are under 23 is not totally unreasonable.

 

[DCLane]

Our income changed this month; SWMBO has been made redundant from the NHS. Whilst she was part-time it's going to make a difference.

In terms of expenditure we're probably at the high end; 2 kids, 2 cars, mortgage. However, no overdraft and the credit cards are paid off in full each month.

Some things have had to change; my youngest takes himself to/from school instead of after-school childcare now he's 10 and the milkman's been stopped. We've never had Sky/pay-TV but are over-paying the mortgage to pay it off in the next 5 years.

 

[Turbo Rider]

[QUOTE 3595377, member: 9609"]what savings accounts are you getting 5 & 6 percent on or even 3¾% on ?

I got a good deal on a mobile phone a few weeks back, Sainsburies had a basic for £9 they also had an offer of 10p a litre of your next fuel fill if you buy a mobile phone - filling the van and a 5 gallon drum with diesel I managed 82 litres - which effectively made the mobile phone 80p (i have enough diesel to keep is going until about july[/QUOTE]

He could get 3.5% on fixed term bonds, but it's a long old tie in and that's pre tax....may have held them for 5 years already though and be taking slow withdrawals...stocks and shares perhaps...gambling? Loan sharking?

 

[brand]

[QUOTE 3595377, member: 9609"]what savings accounts are you getting 5 & 6 percent on or even 3¾% on ?
[/QUOTE]
I did a real change of banks to First Direct (bank at HSBC) making my Santander a dormant bank account. Every year (up to now) they do a regular saver account at 6%. Save between £25 (maybe £50) and £300. What you don't manage one month you can add on in later months. Ends every year and then you start a new one.
Opened a TSB bank account not required to have any Direct Debit or Standing Orders. Must pay in £500 a month. I take out the £500 and pay it back in again. 5% on the first £2000.
Many years ago Yorkshire Buildings Society decided to do a regular savers account minimum £25 (I think) maximum £500 a month. Very unusual no end date. Over the years they have dropped the interest rate to a quarter per cent but there is a 3.5% bonus. £20,000 maximum. Only allowed to take money out once a year. I kept this account running, even when I could have got better interest rates elsewhere because economic history has shown that economic revolutions always have very low inflation. We are in the computer revolution.

 

[brand]

milkman's been stopped

I would never go that far....that big lump of cream on the top. Just had it on my breakfast.

 

[brand]

He could get 3.5% on fixed term bonds, but it's a long old tie in and that's pre tax....may have held them for 5 years already though and be taking slow withdrawals...stocks and shares perhaps...gambling? Loan sharking?

How wrong can you get?
I have put my Credit card money in Funding Circle one year for about a year but the ability to sell loans easy and at a profit is over. Mainly because the government is funding the last 10% of most loans. IE supply and demand.

 

[Turbo Rider]

How wrong can you get?
I have put my Credit card money in Funding Circle one year but the ability to sell loans easy and at a profit is over. Mainly because the government is funding the last 10% of most loans. IE supply and demand.

Not wrong. I was just addressing how you could earn those interest amounts and all are true. Personally, I'd go for long term bonds but with inflation so high at the moment, you'd barely scrape even. Beat GILTS by a mile though and these days governments are at risk of default, just like any other business. Only reason I didnt mention funding circles is the risk associated from outset. You invest your money at an agreed rate of interest, say 10% for the sake of argument and then, suppposing the debts go bad and your returns equal, fo the sake of argument 5%, you will still get taxed as though you earn 10%. This changes in April though, so basically nullifies the tax argument, but funding circles are far from safe investments and you also don't receive an income until your money is loaned out, so in theory, you could end up with your money back or less than your money back with no interest...risky business...