Help with budgeting

[mally2012]

I'm really silly with my money I spend on things I don't need and hardly have anything left to live on. Once I buy something I will try and justify buying it. I really want to get some suggestions on ways to budget money I'm currently student and I really want to budget money to the last penny.

[wiltsman]

There's a good section on budgeting on the Money Saving Expert site.

[jomifl]

When you get an urge to buy something, try to put buying it off for a week so as to give you time to do some research. After all if you need the damn thing you might as well find out if there are better ones for the same money or similar ones for less. If you are a woman and the said item is a pair of shoes or handbag which are absolutely essential then just spend!!!!

[kendra20]

hope this helps. first make a list of things you really need ie food, toiletries, etc. only take enough cash with you to buy these and nothing else. lock away credit, debit cards or better still cut them up and bin them.
put away money for bills rent, etc. keep out of the pub except for maybe 1 night a month for a treat, but only if you have stuck to your budget. pay bills first as a priority, buy food as cheaply as possible no take aways. stay away from shops except charity shops where you can pick up some nice clothes. and be strong say no no no i dont need it.
I have had to budget and live on little all my life, and now i can keep hubby myself and dog on £80 a week and run a car. main bills are paid out of hubbys pension and we live on mine. we dont owe anyone a penny and manage very well, hope this helps.

[Jennykenny]

And get a big jar/vase from a charity shop and dump all your loose change into it every night. You will be surprised at how quickly it mounts up. When you have £100.00 buy a premium bond, and keep doing this indefinitely. Who knows what you might win, but even if you don't, you have will have an emergency fund and a savings account.

[Kathyan]

Before I buy anything, I ask myself 'Do I really need this?'. 99% of the time the answer is 'no'.

[bednobs]

hiya, i was once at a conference and sat next to the finance director of our local PCT - he had a budget of about £700 million per year, so i thought he would be the best person to ask how to save money. He said that whether your budget is £7 or £700 million what you need to know is what you are spending your money on. Carry a small book with you and write down every time you spend money, whether it's 30 p on a newspaper or £2 on a coffee. Then you need to analyse where your money is going and identify savings. Me and Mrb are currently doing this and we have discovered he is spending LOADS in the canteen at work every week - a sandwich and a coffee per day comes to about a fiver whereas i could make an effort and buy a loaf and middles for less and have five lunches.

[boxtops]

Good idea, bednobs. We have a budget in that we write down each month how much all our bills are going to be, then if anything's left over we can spend it IF we want to. Mally you have to set money aside FIRST for the things you need to live on, not spend first, think afterwards.