As Destiny's Child once said... Bills, bills, bills

  

  

The harsh reality of moving out is paying for your household bills. Watching your disposable income go from that of a reckless spending, maybe paying for your mobile phone, or car insurance to watching it disappear as soon as your wages go into your bank. It can be a sad moment. And paying for that by yourself takes an even bigger toll. But like I said in previous blogs, I was willing to make that sacrifice so I could live alone.  

 

So what bills do you need to pay?  

 

It is always wise to make a list of exactly what you need to pay every month so you know what will be coming out your account and therefore work out how much disposable income you have leftover. 

 

This is what my list looks like for my fixed bills… 

 

• Rent  

• Car insurance  

• Car tax  

• WIFI 

• Mobile phone  

• TV license  

• Gas and electricity  

 

The best thing you can do is set up a direct debit for all these bills, so you know 100% that they are being paid. The last thing you need is to be in debt or being chased for not paying any bills.  

 

Then there are variable costs I have to pay but will vary month to month. It is so important to include this in your budget so you don’t forget about them. It is very easy to do this.  

 

Below is what my list would look like… 

 

• Petrol  

• Food shop  

• Cosmetics or toiletries  

• Savings 

 

 

 Hints, tips and tricks to budgeting and organising your finances 

 

Below is a list of hacks I use to keep on top of my spending. 

 

Direct debits: 

 

1. 1)Make sure to set up direct debits for all your fixed costs to ensure they are being paid on time and no one will be chasing you for money or you become in debt.  

2. 2)Set up two different bank accounts. My main account my wages get paid into is the account I use for my bills. This money I DO NOT touch. It is purely for my direct debits. Once I have budgeted and left all the money in the account for my bills, I transfer over the rest of wages and student loans to another bank account for all my disposable income. I love the account Monzo. It is all online banking, and I can use to round up my change so I’m saving as well as create pots so I can budget my disposable income.  

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3. 3)Schedule your direct debits to come out a week after payday. This means you can guarantee you have money in your account, and you won’t go into your overdraft or payments will bounce.  

 

Spending in general:  

 

Now I am partial to spending money; quite frankly I love it. But knowing I have bills to pay, does make me more responsible with my money. One motto I always say to myself, and I tell everyone about… 

 

“If I can’t buy it twice, I shouldn’t buy it”  

 

This basically means that by not being able to buy it twice, I can’t afford to buy it or I’ll be struggling at the end of the month. Now sometimes I do ignore this, but the majority of the time I do follow this. This stops me spending recklessly and ensures that I am not struggling. But like I said sometimes I ignore this.