BudgetDrive

BudgetDrive is all about understanding the best ways to save and budget.

Firstly It’s not easy. There are a number of sites that talk about different ways to save money. But it’s like dieting and becoming healthier – that is, easy to say, harder to do.

Today we live in an ‘instant coffee’ world whereby many people want everything yesterday and want the latest things every year.

Managing your money is all about creating new habits. They say to kill one habit you need to start another and stick to it for at least 21 days. Most people start to budget when they have to rather than proactively planning.

Managing your money is quite simple – you have money coming in and money going out. You can borrow money easily and lenders will tempt you with special offers. The UK has the highest personal indebtedness in the world because we always want ‘a newer model’ now and we can buy it on credit. Money management can also fail if we are not happy with our lives; if we have had a hard month at work and we think blow it, I will buy a new dress, shirt,shoes, or go out on the town. It’s a short term comfort blanket to appease your feelings but the next month you’re fretting because you don’t have enough cash to pay for everything.

Click on a heading below and see a summary, and if you're interested you can GO and read more about it!

Here are some initial thoughts about budgeting. GO!

Here are some facts and stats  about budgeting. GO!

This is a whole system for sorting out your financial plan.  GO!

Here are some hints and tips for doing your budget. GO!

One of the main reasons budgets fail is that people impulse purchase. See why. GO!

See some ideas on how to avoid making impulse purchases. GO!

See how you can make money by selling stuff you no longer need. GO!

Make sure you switch suppliers to take advantage of best prices. GO!

See how to format a budget. GO!

If you’re a visitor to our site you can join and download information, assess your own health and create your own action plans, and even contribute to our site.  GO!

We have a couple of videos and testimonials. GO!

See what you can do next. GO!

We have some additional information on this subject. GO!

Some Initial Thoughts

finances on laptop

Creating and managing a budget isn’t easy - it’s an art

Learning to budget is not just about saving on the weekly shop but your whole finances

Forming a budget is the first step when building a solid financial foundation. The goals of a personal budget are as follows:
- Quickly show your “before expenses” and “after expenses” estimated balance
- Track paid vs pending expenses
- Track upcoming expenses (forecasting)
- Track the amount of money going to each expense - Identify and develop trends to optimize your budget

Keeping the budget simple and building upon it is a great way to get started.

impulse purchases

More than 1 in 5 (22.9%) say they make impulsive purchases every week

How to stop impulse buying

Avoid temptation. The best way to stop an impulse purchase? ...
Stop and consider. ...
Create and stick to a budget. ...
Think about your motivations to make an impulse purchase. ...
Limit your cash and credit. ...
Stay off social media. ...
Remind yourself of your goals.

This is a HUGE subject which we’ve broken down into sections which you can visit 

Facts About Budgets

average
£ 1

weekly grocery bill for a family of 4 in the UK is £99 up from £89 Source ONS

People with a budget
67%

67% of people have a budget – 33% don’t maintain a budget. Source ONS

average family spend
£ 50 a year

Average family spend is £451 a year ordering in takeaway food; source familymatters.co.uk

Nail care
people 67%

 (67%) buy nail care products on a monthly basis. Average person spends £450 a year and has 24 nail manicures

on alcohol
£ 1 a year

annual, average household spends £915 on alcohol. £18 a week

Subscriptions
19.5%

The average household imagines they’re spending £29  on subscription fees per month, which is only 19.5% of the average £149 per month they are actually spending.  Source idea home.

on looks
£ 100 a year

The average person in the UK is spending almost £4,500 on their looks throughout the year. Source TotallyMoney.com
Leeds average £7,000. London average £6,300 annually.

Food and drink
19%

In 2019 UK households spent 16% of their budgets on food and non-alcoholic drinks. Another 3% of budgets went to alcohol. Source: ONS

financial plan

Map out your financial plan

We have done our own 10 step financial planning template you can look at and download. It doesn’t just consider how to do a budget, but gives some tips on how to decide what’s important to you and how to balance the short term immediate issues with looking to the future.

Following this will give you ideas on how to prioritise your spending.

It's not trite stuff about spreadsheets - it considers what's most important to you. We guarantee that following these 10 steps is a realistic way to approach your budgeting and financial life.

See the plan below, with the 10 steps set out under five headings.

50:30:20 rule for budgeting

Tips for doing your budget

There are loads of tips online for doing your family budget – we’ve come up with our favourites in this list:.

We can recommend the 50/30/20 rule, which breaks down your after-tax monthly income into three budget categories:

1. Needs These are expenses that you must pay in order to live and work, such as a mortgage or rent and groceries. They should account for about 50% of your spending.
2. Wants These are expenses that don’t qualify as needs and don’t include your savings and payments toward debt. If you can live and make money without it, it’s probably a want. This should be 30% of your spending. Wants vary widely according to who you are and your situation, so someone's needs are someone else's wants. .For example, if you go to the gym as part of your training for your career as an athlete the costs are needs, but if it's to keep trim it’s a want.
3. Savings and debt repayment This category includes expenses that help your future self and should account for 20% of your income. Use this category for building an emergency fund and setting aside money for retirement.As for debts, focus first on high priority debt you may have, such as high-interest credit card or other loans (see DebtDrive). This category could also include payments beyond the minimum balances on lower-rate debts, like a mortgage. (See DebtDrive to see the difference between good and bad debt.)

top 5 impulse buys

What are the main reasons we impulse buy?

Enjoyment, we tend to pick up things that make us happy.
Loss aversion.
Spending on children who you feel may deserve a treat.
Short term injection of pleasure when feeling depressed.
Thinking you've spotted a bargain.
The need to stockpile.

Simple tips help you avoid impulse buying instore and online

Time Out! Come across something that you would like to buy?
Shop with a list
Don't buy for the wrong reasons.
Use cash instead of credit card. Don't shop when upset.
Give yourself a no-spending challenge
Don’t Shop when hungry or drunk
Spend within budget.
Avoid online spending whilst intoxicated, you will always regret it.
Unsubscribe from retail newsletters, mailers and special deals
Think about the last purchase you regret

Try selling some of your old junk

You would be amazed at what people sell on Ebay and Gumtree. Preloved, Facebook market. Our lofts, garages, wardrobes are full of things we can sell to make money.

A surprising number of common household waste items are being sold online. The most valuable individual items we've seen are empty perfume bottles, with some selling for as much as £37 each, though about £2-£5 is more typical.
switching bills

Become a switcherholic

Less than 50% of people change house, car, contents, credit cards, mobile and internet contracts every year. Most people do not get into the habit of switching their may suppliers every year. Statistically people switch every 3 to 4 years because they cannot be bothered..

One of the main reasons for not switching is because it is seen as a chore with 43 per cent of over 24-year-olds saying it is a hassle – a figure which rises to 55 per cent amongst 18 to 24-year-olds. This is money.com

Budget format

You Drive the way to do your budget! Here you can download paper forms which you can print and fill in, download spreadsheets you can fill in and keep, or do them online – again you’ll find the links here.

To go to the Money Helper (formerly Money Advice Service) Budget Planner, click the button below. For the others, go to ‘More Info’ below.

For visitors

Why don't you join us?

You can register to join us as a member, when you’ll be able to download our stuff and comment, or as a YouDriver when you’ll also be able to check your health and set up your own action plans to make some improvements.  If you’ve already registered, sign in below. Or let us know what you think.

Budgeting

This video from Martin Lewis explains what’s needed to do a budget in real terms – allows you to set up a budget. Note you can download the Excel spreadsheet used at the bottom of this page!!

Budgeting for Beginners

This video from Elena Taber describes her favourite apps and tips in a modern view of budgeting,

Budgeting for Beginners
“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Writer, scientist and founding father of the US
“A bargain ain’t a bargain unless it’s something you need."
sidney carroll picture
Sidney Carroll
American film and television screenwriter

Next Steps

It doesn’t matter what stage  you’re at – it’s important to be the best you can be.  At the end of the day it’s about taking personal responsibility – You Drive!

It’s really your choice. You can find out more information about the subject, or see other institutions that can help by going to Support. There you will find organisations, training, coaching, self-help courses and other items to support your personal change. We have also started developing a panel of experts to provide info, advice, help and support. 

Get Support

There are times when you need some help to meet your aims –  a helping hand. That might be  an organisation that can provide you with some help,  some specialised information or support, or just getting some background reading material.

You can see these by clicking the Support button here.  Some products or services contain affiliate links and we may receive a commission for purchases made through these links

Experts

We are compiling a list of experts who can provide advice, help or specialised services.  You will be able to access these experts from anywhere on our site you see our ‘Experts’ symbol.  Click the green E to see what our Experts list will look like, with a couple of imaginary ‘experts’ added!

More Information

Scroll down to see more information on this Drive. 

If you register you can also download reports, white papers, quizzes and other collaterals.  We will never ask you for any financial information, and we’ll only send you the information you want. You can register for our site either above or in the footer below.  You can provide your own questions and experiences in order to help other members.  We only moderate for spam and inflammatory language – see our moderation policy.

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More information

How to budget and manage your money

Financial Planning Book for Beginners. How to Save Money Faster, Pay Off Debt and Control Your Finances: 1 (Smart Personal Money Management Series Book)

Do you want to learn how to manage your money better?


Go to Amazon

Perpetually broke – living beyond your income

What they didn’t teach you in School, how to Manage your Money, Pay off Debts, get a Money Makeover and … Prosperity by 40 (Personal Finance Wizard)

Do you want to discover devastatingly effective secrets for MONEY MANAGEMENT, basic PERSONAL FINANCE and HOW TO BUDGET?


Go to Amazon

The RICH Method

The definitive guide to getting money and success. Reduce your expenses, clear your debts, learn to save and invest, and reach your financial freedom

Have you ever wondered what rich people did to get where they are?


Go to Amazon

Grandpa’s Fortune Fables

Fun stories to teach kids about money

The Money Book That Adults Wish They Had Read As A Child.


Go to Amazon

This free 10 week plan from Money Helper helps you build confidence to manage your money.

Use the Money Helper budget planner to plan your budget

StepChange the leading debt charity have a section on budgeting – why it’s important, how to make an income and expenditure statement if you need one and how to manage your budget.

If you want an app to help you budget, see the list of the 6 best personal finance apps of 2022 at Investopedia

There’s a template for budgeting from StepChange, the Debt Charity – in Excel so you can enter your own numbers

There’s a template for budgeting from StepChange, the Debt Charity – in PDF format so you can print and enter your own numbers manually

There’s a template for budgeting from MoneySavingInspiration in Excel

There’s a template in Excel you can use from  MoneySavingExpert for setting up your budget

YouDriveHealth

At YouDriveHealth we can provide you with information, tools, calculators and also support for may aspects of health – physical, financial and mental.  If you register by entering your email address then when you sign in you can comment and contribute.

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Website : YouDriveHealth Limited

Stuff sold

You need to scroll down to see all the info in this popup – sorry for going on so much!

Rubbish sales on eBay

 

AVG PRICE PER ITEM (1)

MAX PRICE WE FOUND

NO. OF BUNDLES SOLD IN LAST THREE MONTHS

Football programmes

£3.65

£26.95

168,930

Coat hangers

88p

£6.39

2,931

Jam jars

92p

£5

431

Empty perfume bottles

£3.77

£10.50

3,366

Shirt buttons

44p

£5.13

39

Wine corks

9p

20p

383

Pine cones

23p

£2.50

188

Champagne corks

10p

50p

163

Glass coffee jars

£10.34

£39.04

247

Toilet roll tubes

6p

12p

139

Newspaper supplements

£8.35

£26

282

Glass ramekins

40p

£1.17

166

Can ring pulls

2p

4p

107

Plastic milk bottle tops

4p

11p

88

Wool odds and ends

£1.98 (per 100g)

£5.50 (per 100g)

26

Kitchen roll tubes

12p

28p

32

(1) Based on MSE analysis of last 25 sales, in June 2021.

To close this box and go back click the X at the top or just click outside the box

Grandpa’s Fortune Fables

Fun stories to teach kids about money

The Money Book That Adults Wish They Had Read As A Child.


Go to Amazon

The RICH Method

The definitive guide to getting money and success. Reduce your expenses, clear your debts, learn to save and invest, and reach your financial freedom

Have you ever wondered what rich people did to get where they are?


Go to Amazon

Perpetually broke – living beyond your income

What they didn’t teach you in School, how to Manage your Money, Pay off Debts, get a Money Makeover and … Prosperity by 40 (Personal Finance Wizard)

Do you want to discover devastatingly effective secrets for MONEY MANAGEMENT, basic PERSONAL FINANCE and HOW TO BUDGET?


Go to Amazon

How to budget and manage your money

Financial Planning Book for Beginners. How to Save Money Faster, Pay Off Debt and Control Your Finances: 1 (Smart Personal Money Management Series Book)

Do you want to learn how to manage your money better?


Go to Amazon

Stuff you might want regarding budgeting

Now you’ve read about budgets you might want to make a bit of a statement.  Have a look at some stuff below we think has some humour value!  We may make pennies on commission, but that’s not the point really.  Click on the image to see more details.

Financially Independent Mug

 

Go to Amazon

Out of Debt Mug

Go to Amazon

No Debt Related Debtless Design Tee-Shirt

Go to Amazon

I Can’t I’m On A Budget Tee-Shirt

Go to Amazon

Cry later Impulsive Buyer T-Shirt

Go to Amazon

A Butterfly Life: 4 Keys to More Happiness, Better Health and Letting Your True Self Shine

Times of change can be a challenge, no doubt! Whether it’s a relationship breakup, job loss, or being diagnosed with a serious health issue. Or you may WANT things to be different, but it feels a little scary or overwhelming. The butterfly reminds us change can be beautiful, even necessary, in order to realize our full potential and live our best life.