In order to seriously save money in 2016 I want to make sure we save as much as possible. We are going to need to find a savings account into which we can pour this vast fund.
- Try to use cash more. It's easier to limit spending like that. Plastic is too easy to whip out
- Start with an allowance for the week and try to reduce over the year. €100 to start to divide between Ben and Fona.
- Some things should not be limited - petrol, bills (electricity, water, insurance, rent), school stuff, detergents, etc.
- Business account spending should be limited as well, otherwise there's no point
- Start the year with a reasonable allowance - we need time to work out how to limit - and reduce as the year goes by
- We could do a once a month "treat" - going to the cinema, restaurant, etc. - to relieve the monotony. Seeing aside €100 is a good start
- The computer gets priority in case of breakage, but no upgrades
- Downloading films, books, music, etc. as a replacement for spending money on them is not a good way to go
- Finn still gets his €2 per week pocket money (goes up to €3 on his birthday)
- Get cash out once a week.
We're coming up to our third week of doing so and have been only spending cash in the supermarket. I will need to get petrol for my scooter tomorrow so that will be on a card, but other than that our plastic has taken a rest. Obviously it's early days yet, but we're feeling positive about it right now. I am testing a web application called "Why-nab" - YNAB or You Need a Budget - after being recommended it by a friend and while it feels a little foreign to start with, it has already made me look at the direct debits we have going out of our bank account every month.
Anyway, this is just a starter. I'm sure that it will be updated soon...
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