[Terence]

Hello. I can't give out my real name, so you can call me Newton. I'm a 19-year-old boy with several chronic illnesses/disabilities, and I have a very bad spending habit and, I fear, a nascent hoarding problem. I sorely need to break away from my "spending addiction" and get in control of my finances before I end up under power of attorney! :vs_blush: I'd very much like to move out soon and I'd need to live within my means if I were to.

I feel I'm financially doomed, as I've been declined for a loan by Wonga and Sunny, declined for a credit card by Tesco and Luma, and it seems every day I get a letter from my bank chastising me for an unplanned overdraft or a bounced payment. I'm somewhat despairing over my finances.

I'm an artist, musician, writer (all very much amateur!), and record collector. I must find ways to make my hobbies use up less money.

That's all for me.

 

[nodmicks]

While your living at home is a prime time to save that cash. I think cutting back a bit you will be surprised what you can do. First of all keep track of every thing you spend as a start. Do you know how to budget yet? YNAB is an excellent budget program and it is free to try. Mint is another that is free to use.

 

[Terence]

While your living at home is a prime time to save that cash. I think cutting back a bit you will be surprised what you can do. First of all keep track of every thing you spend as a start. Do you know how to budget yet? YNAB is an excellent budget program and it is free to try. Mint is another that is free to use.

Thank you, Nodmicks. I've looked at YNAB before but it's just too expensive. I've just started to track things on pen and paper. I've got a "to do" A4 notebook that has the same sort of lines as ledger paper and I'm colour coding the category of purchase/expenditure.

 

[ilovechocolate]

Recording every expenditure for at least a month (several is better) will help you pinpoint what is necessary and what can be cut. Start by listing the "fixed" expenses, the ones that are month-to-month, such as rent, utilities, CC payments, insurance premiums, etc. See what's left. Be realistic about what's left.

Do you have access to a public library? There are many books available about starting to take control of your finances, making hobbies profitable, etc.

You're wise to realize at age 19 that it's time to deal with money in a mature way.

 

[ilovechocolate]

Another idea: blogging about your issues. I know less than nothing about how to get started but there's lots of information on the Internet about it.

Churches sometimes offer courses about financial issues, like the Dave Ramsay program.

 

[pinetree]

Hi and Welcome!

 

[Terence]

Recording every expenditure for at least a month (several is better) will help you pinpoint what is necessary and what can be cut. Start by listing the "fixed" expenses, the ones that are month-to-month, such as rent, utilities, CC payments, insurance premiums, etc. See what's left. Be realistic about what's left.

Do you have access to a public library? There are many books available about starting to take control of your finances, making hobbies profitable, etc.

You're wise to realize at age 19 that it's time to deal with money in a mature way.

I have online banking, so recording my expenditures is fairly easy. My only fixed expenditures at the moment are my cut of my father's rent (£360/mo) and food/drink (around £60/mo). Apart from that I just spend a stupid amount of money on my hobbies! Five days into August and it's already over £500 gone.

There's a public library just down the road. Are there any books you'd recommend I look out for?

Re: blogging - I think I'll try that one.

 

[Terence]

Here be the blog:
https://aintgotnomoney.wordpress.com/

 

[ilovechocolate]

Books---Your Money or Your Life
----The Tightwad Gazette (all volumes are good)
----anything by Dave Ramsey, Mary Hunt, Suzy Orman

You can also Google "frugal living websites," "money management websites," stuff like that.

Do you cook? Shopping/cooking/eating at home is much cheaper than going out. Can't cook? If you can read, you can cook. Again, the library has lots of basic cookbooks.

Wait-----you've already spent HOW much on your hobbies this month???? Find cheaper/no-cost hobbies. Get involved with online forums like here at Frugal Village. Read through posts that apply to you. This site has many members who have made remarkable (although not necessarily easy) changes to lifestyles that have allowed them to live much more happily due to fewer worries about money.

 

[ilovechocolate]

I Pick Up Pennies

Surviving and Thriving|Life is short. But it's also wide.

This is a mother-daughter duo who both have been in extremely dire financial straits. The daughter is disabled due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I believe.

There's a lot more out there in cyberspace.

 

[Terence]

Thank you, all! I'm improving a bit. Today I only spent £10.10.

 

[old guy]

I'm an artist, musician, writer (all very much amateur!), and record collector. I must find ways to make my hobbies use up less money.

Rather than applying your energy (and money) to the trendy things that sound like good hobbies, maybe you could focus on a marketable skill that you are good at. You are obviously educated - you are able to express yourself well, good word choices, solid sentence structure, syntax, etc. (BTW, I had to look up 'nascent'). There are lots of professions for writers. Newspaper 'copy', proof writer, editor. Technical writers - at the company that I worked for, engineers wrote drafts of their designs/sketches - the tech writers arranged it, fixed the 'person', tense, edited it, located illustrations at proper intervals, put it in magazine-style column format - many of those jobs paid in the $80,000 to $100,000 range. Also, are you bilingual, trilingual? - you might build that into a translator/transcriber job.

declined for a loan by Wonga and Sunny

One of these, maybe both, have been banned from doing business - many countries are coming down hard on these PayDay-Type lenders. Fortunately you didn't get sucked into them.