I've always been someone who's very conscious of money, from as soon as I earned my first pay cheque I've been obsessed with saving, sounds weird but I've just always loved knowing I've had good control over my money. I also like knowing that if I decided to book a holiday tomorrow I'd have the money to afford it right away.
I've noticed however not everyone is like this with their money, and some are not sure of the best way to keep track of it and how much they actually spend on things each month.
I'm going to share with you my 5 Beginners tips for keeping track of your money, and how to budget - I will be doing a few blog posts related to money so keep an eye out for them!
1. Work out your fixed expenses
Write down every fixed expense / bill you know you will have in the month, e.g rent, electricity, WiFi, fuel, etc. If your not sure try to track for a month the things you repeatedly spend money on.
Why do this? - Once you work out how much of your money is needed for bills it's much easier to understand what you can afford to save and a lot easier to be in control of your money.
2. Shop around for the best account
Currently, I am with Santanders 123 Student Account for me at this time it's the best account about.
I have a free overdraft until I graduate and I earn up to 3% on over £300 (£2000 max) in my account, not to mention it's one of the best rates about at the moment.
I have a few accounts one is a fixed term saving account were I debit money monthly and don't touch it for a year meaning I earn a higher percent of interest.
Why do this? - Your money's being maximised and not just sitting there! While I know not everyone may be able to leave money and not touch it look around for the best account to suit you and your needs you'll be surprised what you find.
3. Get a "Help to buy ISA"
YES YES YES - You may be thinking why bother?
Firstly you can put up to £200 a month you into the account and you aren't penalised for taking money out and you also earn 2.5%AER (per annum) on what you've saved. Ok so buying a house might be Miles away for you but it's a decent account to separate savings into and when the time does come the government will give you 25% of what you've saved - free money? Yes please...
Why do this? - Help to buy ISA's are now closing on 30th NOV so it's better to have one than not and who knows if you decide to buy a house in the future the government will give you 25% of what's been saved, The most you can pay in is £12,000, which will give you a government contribution of £3,000 - that could be £15000 towards a deposit - see what I mean?
4. Download Monzo
While it can be any online bank I've found Monzo to be the best and most flexible.
What I like most is the overview - with my Santander Accounts I see my total money, within this I may have bills and savings but they're all together so it's hard to differentiate between. With Monzo I create pots for different things e.g rent, phone bill, electricity etc. each month I get paid I automatically take out all my bills and put it into Monzo e.g £31 goes into my phone bill pot therefore the money left in my Santander Account I know I can spend on whatever I want and won't be short at the end of the month to pay bills. It also forces you to think about what you actually spend your money on and to plan for the month
Another and the initial reason why I got Monzo is for travel it is a super secure way of taking money on holidays, it uses Master Card exchange rates which are the best you can typically get and there's 0% commission meaning you get the best rate possible. You can add money to the card whenever you want and take it off as well.
There are no issues with buying currencies and having the dilemma of selling back your leftover cash for a crappy exchange rate as all money on the card is in £ and converted automatically wherever you are in the world!
Additionally, a major bonus is the instant freeze button meaning if you lose your card you can freeze it within seconds on your phone app so no one can use it unlawfully.
5. Use cash back apps
I will do another blog post regarding making money on the side etc but I'm quickly going to include one in this post.
Start using cash back apps!! These are super easy ways to get discounts, you basically search the online retailer and use the cashback link to open the website and buy your goods through it, it takes seconds and is constantly giving you money back. It may seem small, if like me you don't realise how much you actually buy online it soon adds up.
Why do this? - You should be seeing a trend by now - basically, you want your money to work for you and get you that little bit further, by using a cash back app your always getting money back therefore always benefiting
As I said above I was I'll be doing a few more posts regarding money and finances so stay tuned - please also share any money tips you have as I'm always intrigued to hear what others do!
Alison x