Last week the government’s Budget dominated the headlines without really doing much to help the finances of everyday folk like you and me. So the UK Money Bloggers chose something useful as the theme for this week’s #MondayMoneyUK – budgeting.
Our host was From Pennies to Pounds‘ Francesca. You can listen to Francesca discussing the highlights on Share Radio this Tuesday at 11am, or keep reading for the best tweets.
The best of our budgeting basics Twitter chat
Q1
Q1. Do you have a budget? How do you budget? #MondayMoneyUK
— FromPenniestoPounds (@FromPenniesto) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto We have for bills, emergencies, savings & a loose 1 for food shopping. I’ll go over for long term savings! #MondayMoneyUK
— Katy (@Katykicker) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto I don’t have a budget as I generally know what I’m spending & when i’m spending it #MondayMoneyUK
— Money for Monday (@MoneyforMonday) March 13, 2017
A1. We do – a budget isn’t “how little can I spend on X” but rather “X costs £Y, so we need £Y every month” #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/lOl2gAl2hF
— Emma Drew (@emmadrewinfo) March 13, 2017
.@FromPenniesto A1 Believe it or not I don’t have a budget. Instead I keep an income & spending diary and monitor that #MondayMoneyUK
— Faith Archer (@MuchMore_Less) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto I have a very detailed budget in a spreadsheet. It gives me target income each month to cover my expenses. #mondaymoneyuk
— Mrs Mummypenny (@MrsMummypennyUK) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto A1 I’ve a list of monthly expenses that don’t change much (mortgage, bills) & then amount spare to save/spend #MondayMoneyUK
— Andy Webb CleverCash (@AndyCleverCash) March 13, 2017
A1. We put our budget spreadsheet on iCloud too so it is easy to access it #MondayMoneyUK @FromPenniesto
— Sarah Hughes (@aMundaneSarah) March 13, 2017
A1, budget for everything. No unplanned spending. I move money to savings on payday. We save more than we spend. #MondayMoneyUK
— Frugal Queen (@queen_frugal) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto budget for main expenses and Christmas/birthdays/holidays etc. My day to day spending isn’t allocated as such #mondaymoneyuk
— Your money, sorted (@YourMoneyCoachx) March 13, 2017
@EmmaaJaanee Internet banking is my saviour!! What did we do without it?! #MondayMoneyUK
— FromPenniestoPounds (@FromPenniesto) March 13, 2017
Q2
Q2. Why do you have a budget? General finances or for a goal? #MondayMoneyUK
— FromPenniestoPounds (@FromPenniesto) March 13, 2017
A2. Being self-employed means I need to know that I need £x to survive every month. I have 2 figures, surviving & saving #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/BEbhnURmQU
— Emma Drew (@emmadrewinfo) March 13, 2017
1. To save for the things that are important
2. Make sure I can cover necessities
3. Any excuse for a spreadsheet#MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/rDr7uaBZyI— Tortoise Happy (@tortoise_happy) March 13, 2017
Both. Setting aside the money in a separate purse helps me not overspend – the difference goes in savings #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/YT6iUUIfTe
— Savvy in Somerset (@SavvyinSomerset) March 13, 2017
A2 we budget so we can retire with property investments, a good pension, savings and to live debt free and without wasting #MondayMoneyUK
— Frugal Queen (@queen_frugal) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto because if I didn’t I would be stuffed! I need to watch every penny as well as building a contingency fund #mondaymoneyuk
— ShoestringCottage (@shoestringjane) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto I try and have good habits so that saving for bigger things in future feels “easier”… car etc. #MondayMoneyUK
— TheFrugalTeen (@TheFrugalTeen) March 13, 2017
Q3
Q3. What’s most difficult when budgeting? Are there things you forget to budget for?#MondayMoneyUK
— FromPenniestoPounds (@FromPenniesto) March 13, 2017
A3. I always forget to budget for out of the blue things, like the car breaking #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/vsO2ZnWXFW
— Sarah Hughes (@aMundaneSarah) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto one-off things such as the dentist, pharmacy etc 🙁 #MondayMoneyUK
— CORA HARRISON (@CoraHarrison15) March 13, 2017
@MoneyCorgi @UKMoneybloggers Really really easy to overspend on food. I try and shop with a list #MondayMoneyUK
— Tortoise Happy (@tortoise_happy) March 13, 2017
@tortoise_happy @MoneyCorgi @UKMoneybloggers I def find this too… also find it’s never good to do a food shop when hungry! #MondayMoneyUK
— Em (@EmmaaJaanee) March 13, 2017
I think our budget for personal spending could be much better, it’s hard when can afford it and we work hard though #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/AhiCWgWk8v
— Savvy in Somerset (@SavvyinSomerset) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto #mondaymoneyuk trickiest was probably getting started and being honest with yourself about how much you can afford.
— MoneyCorgi (@MoneyCorgi) March 13, 2017
Can be tempting to have big ‘misc’ category. Can work but doesn’t offer insight into spending habits @FromPenniesto #MondayMoneyUK
— Adam@ Magical Penny (@magicalpenny) March 13, 2017
It’s got to be repairs – they’re impossible to forecast. With everything else, clothes, food etc you can go on past spending #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/UCrbyAZepy
— Hannah Brice (@HannahLisaBrice) March 13, 2017
Q4
Q4. How often would you recommend to review your budget? Are there ways to make it easier? #mondaymoneyuk
— FromPenniestoPounds (@FromPenniesto) March 13, 2017
Check your categories at least weekly. I shade them in my excel sheet! @FromPenniesto #MondayMoneyUK
— Adam@ Magical Penny (@magicalpenny) March 13, 2017
If you feel it’s not working perhaps? I think you can be too strict which leads to impulse overspending #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/K0QdYBHGXB
— Savvy in Somerset (@SavvyinSomerset) March 13, 2017
You should review your budget every quarter. Your priorities and activities change, as do your spending habits. #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/eUfaYj5oqN
— Hannah Brice (@HannahLisaBrice) March 13, 2017
.@FromPenniesto A4 Maybe once a month? Ensures I understand why we spent what we did (unusual expenses? particularly frugal?) #MondayMoneyUK
— Faith Archer (@MuchMore_Less) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto Q4. We take a decent look at bank balances & savings once a month. Adapt regular outgoings when they change. #MondayMoneyUK
— Andy Webb CleverCash (@AndyCleverCash) March 13, 2017
Check you’re in line monthly. Review to see if changes needed 6 monthly or if circumstances change #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/K2PiMNDHX3
— Tortoise Happy (@tortoise_happy) March 13, 2017
#MondayMoneyUK review budgets monthly. Make a date in the diary ! No excuses. #money #budgeting
— Kalpana Fitzpatrick (@KalpanaFitz) March 13, 2017
Q5
Last question you lovely lot…
Q5. What have you gained from having a budget? #MondayMoneyUK— FromPenniestoPounds (@FromPenniesto) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto knowledge about how much money I was wasting without realising #mondaymoneyuk
— MoneyCorgi (@MoneyCorgi) March 13, 2017
@FromPenniesto A budget was the first step towards me becoming financially comfortable. #mondaymoneyuk
— MoneyCorgi (@MoneyCorgi) March 13, 2017
A5. Much more peace of mind from being more in control. I know other people would struggle on my income. I mostly manage! #MondayMoneyUK
— ShoestringCottage (@shoestringjane) March 13, 2017
.@FromPenniesto A5 Monitoring our spending enables us to live on a lot less, without cash disappearing into a black hole. #MondayMoneyUK
— Faith Archer (@MuchMore_Less) March 13, 2017
A5. CONTROL. I know where we stand, I know where we can splurge and when we need to cut back. I also see where we can save #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/qsoeN0yt3R
— Emma Drew (@emmadrewinfo) March 13, 2017
We had a really tight food budget all of last year & saved about £1500. took way more notice of what I was buying #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/HyRcFOGFEC
— Savvy in Somerset (@SavvyinSomerset) March 13, 2017
Last year I was redundant for nearly 8 months. 7 years of budgetting and saving meant we could survive on 1 income #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/zRx6ufnR1j
— Tortoise Happy (@tortoise_happy) March 13, 2017
A5 A budget can give you freedom. Freedom to beat debt. Freedom to stop worrying. Freedom to do the things you wnt +much more #MondayMoneyUK https://t.co/gReTWf16Md
— Andy Webb CleverCash (@AndyCleverCash) March 13, 2017