My Financial Goals For 2019

At the start of every year I like to set myself targets and goals that I'd like to achieve in the coming year. Posting my goals on my blog will help me be accountable for my goals, therefore I'll be more likely to achieve them. (I hope).

Albeit, it's now the 7th of January - but we're still only 1 week into the year. It's never too late to set yourself goals!

The Skint Millennial's Goals for 2019

1. Save £6k into an Emergency Fund.
Having money stashed away for a rainy day is critical for me. I massively struggle with worrying and overthinking, and just knowing that I have that 'extra' bit of money stashed away for when an emergency happens helps me to keep a clearer mind.

I'm aiming to keep 6 months worth of expenses saved, in case I all of a sudden can't work, lose my job etc.

I currently have £1k in my Emergency fund. Saving to £6k will take a lot of work (I save money in other 'pots' too), so all side hustle money will need to go towards this too.

2. Start overpaying on my mortgage
In July this year I will of completed my first year living alone - in my first home. Hopefully by July I'll have everything I need furniture wise etc, so I can put more money into overpaying on my mortgage payments.

I'm unsure how much to aim for on my over payments, but even if I manage to pay an extra £100 between July-December I'll be pleased.

3. Have 4 'No Spend Days' A Month
I've never successfully completed a 'no spend day'...I always end up buying something. Whether it be a reduced loaf of bread after work, or my lunch in the canteen at work.

I'd like to aim to have at least one 'no spend day' a week (so aprox. 4 a month). If I can do more then I will - but in order to keep my goal attainable I'm just setting it to 4 a month for now!

4. Save During The Year for Christmas and Birthdays
I have no excuse, they're on the same dates every year!! Going forward, I've created a 'pot' on my Monzo bank account app for Celebration Funds. £10 a month from each paycheck will go into this pot, so throughout the year I'll of saved £130 (I'm paid 13x p/y). I don't buy gifts for many people, so this will be more than enough to last me a years worth of gift giving.

And they're my financial goals for 2019! On a personal level, I'd like to not be so hard on myself; and to not have such high standards for myself - as I only beat myself up when I don't attain them! Apart from that - I'd like to spend more time reading (I love reading) and actually learn how to cook. I can do the basics, but I'd love to batch cook meals weekly (to save both time and money!).

For my blog; I've only just returned to blogging so I haven't set myself massive goals for the coming year. But I do have a few thoughts; I'd love to continue to grow The Skint Millennial, reaching new readers every month. Hopefully this year will be the year I buy my own domain so I can appear all professional (ha!!).

What are some of your goals for this year?

Where Have I Been? The Skint Millennial in 2019

What's happened in 6 months? Well; when I last wrote a blog post I'd just moved into my first ever home! As most of you will know - moving house is a huge stress, and takes a lot of effort both mentally and physically.

Before I knew it, it'd been a month since I last updated my beloved The Skint Millennial blog. And then life just sort of...spiraled. Work takes over, decorating my house, buying furniture, getting a furry friend - the last 6 months has flown by!

Over the Christmas period I've had 2 weeks off work. 2 weeks to spend on myself, reflecting on 2018. All that I achieved, and what I'd like to achieve in 2019.

The Skint Millennial has always been in the back of my mind during the last 6 months. Do I write a blog post? Do I 'return'? Has anyone actually missed me?!

During my 6 month hiatus, I've actually gained over 300 Instagram followers, and my blog still gets a few daily visitors. So somebody somewhere is still reading!!!

To summarise; this post doesn't have much of a meaning. It's an opportunity for me to start a fresh, and hopefully renew The Skint Millennial. I'm going to make a conscious effort to make time each week for my blog, as I love blogging. During my hiatus I didn't make the time for it, but now I will dedicated a few hours when I can to help grow my blog - and also help others save/make money.

What can you expect from The Skint Millennial?

The Skint Millennial started as a place for me to document my journey as a first time buyer. I've now completed, and in a much better position to tell my story - and write about the true process of buying your first house (alone) in your early 20s.

The Skint Millennial will still be a blog orientated around both saving and making money. I love money, and talking about it makes me happy. I love helping others, whether it be recommending new methods of tracking your spending, or explaining what the Help To Buy ISA entails.

For me, I love getting advice from real people, not corporate jargon filled websites who are going to obviously promote their own products. I hope people can come to The Skint Millennial for advice, guidance and to have a browse.

Well that's all for now, I hope to see you all in the next day or so with a new post!

My House Buying Timeline as a First Time Buyer

As of the 2nd of July 2018, I am officially a home owner, for the first time! At the age of 21 I'm proud to say I have saved enough money to put down a deposit and purchase my first home.

Saving the money for my deposit wasn't easy. It took a lot of hard work, time and determination. But in the end I have my own home, a place to call my own. I can now decorate it how I'd like, and nobody an judge me for still being in my PJ's at 5pm on a Tuesday! Result!!!

I thought I'd give a timeline of all of the major points in my house buying process. I'm going to of missed little details out, but I think this summerises the purchasing timeline pretty well.

I was lucky with how smoothly my purchase went, as I know a lot of people can have many problems along the way. My journey started on the 9th May, and ended on the 2nd July.

Wednesday 9th May
After refreshing Right Move DAILY, finally a house in an area I liked, within my price range and close to my place of work came onto the market. That day I rang the Estate Agents and booked a viewing for the following evening.

Thursday 10th May
I went and viewed the house, It turns out I was the first person to view! I loved it, and fell in love instantly.
That evening I went home and discussed the house with my parents and came to a decision on what I was going to do next.

Friday 11th May - AM
That morning I sent a text to a mortgage advisor I'd met previously, and asked for his advice and support. He was great and agreed to help me! I went to his office that dinner time before having to be at work for 1pm.
We discussed how much money I could borrow for my mortgage and made sure my figures matched up. He then rang the estate agents on my behalf to place an offer for me.
I placed an offer below the asking price, a gamble as someone could get in before me with a better offer. But if you don't ask you don't get!

Friday 11th May - PM
MY OFFER GOT ACCEPTED!!!!! AHHHH!!!! I remember being so happy at work...My offer for my very own home had got accepted, and below asking price!

Sunday 13th May
I'd booked to meet with my mortgage advisor again on Sunday afternoon. During this meeting we submitted my mortgage application, and he sorted out house and critical life insurance for me.

Monday 14th May
The surveys for my mortgage were sent out on this day. I didn't pay for any additional surveys, I just did the standard one which all mortgages require. (As my house is only 20 years old, I didn't feel it was necessary for the more extensive checks. Obviously if I had the money I probably would of paid for them!)  About a week later I found out that all of the checks came back ok!

Wednesday 16th May
On this day I picked my solicitor to work with me throughout the process. During this week I was given a lot of forms to fill out! It took a while to get all of the relevant paper work together, and I felt a little stressed at this point.

Thursday 24th May
After handing the forms back, and waiting what seemed like an eternity for all of the checks to come back, I finally had my mortgage offer approved. It was official, my bank was going to  lend me money! I also received another set of forms this week to take home and fill out.

Saturday 2nd June
On my way into work I called in with my bank and closed my Help To Buy (H2B) ISA. I'd been saving into this account since when the H2B started. It's recommended you close your H2B ISA as soon as you can in the house buying process, as it can take up to a month for your solicitor  to claim your reward from the government, and obviously you want the money for when you move in! I was fortunate enough to receive the money soon enough to pay my solicitors at the end.

Monday 4th JuneI handed in proof that I'd closed my H2B ISA so the solicitor could start the ball rolling with claiming my reward for saving. I also handed in all remaining paper work.

Tuesday 19th June
After a few weeks of not hearing much from the solicitor, I received an email inviting me to come in and sign for my house the following Monday!! I was also given a completion date of the 29th June!! All of a sudden it happened so fast. I now had 10 days to pack everything up!

Monday 25th JuneThe day had arrived for me to go and sign for my house at the solicitors, well that's what I thought. I arrived to be told I wouldn't be signing today due to complications with the seller's solicitors, and that my move in date had been moved to the following Monday - 2nd July! Therefore I'd be both exchanging and completing on the same day! Something I was always advised not to do - so I had everything crossed that all would go smoothly.

Monday 2nd JuneAfter a week of packing, boxes and stress it was finally time to go and pick up my keys! The solicitor rang me around 1230 to say they were ready for collection from the estate agents. So me and my sister drove there to get them! I was officially a home owner!

It's now coming towards the end of my first month as a home owner, and I still can't put into words how surreal it is that I own a home! Me?! Little 21 year old me owns their own home...

I do apologise for being a little M.I.A this month - but I'm sure you can understand. Now I'm motivated again to put my all into my blog.

If you have any suggestions for posts then feel free to leave a comment or message me on Instagram, my handle is @TheSkintMillennial.

Things You Should Stop Buying To Save Money

When on your money saving journey, many people's mentality is that they need to cut every expense out of their life, and have no fun. With this method, people often fail to save as they aren't having fun, enjoying life or see no point in cutting everything out.

To be successful in saving money, you need to make small manageable changes in your life. Smaller changes are better as you wont be disrupting your whole life. In turn - everything wont seem so different to yourself.

When you are trying to save, you can still have fun and still treat yourself. But you need to do it in a controlled way, and only buy things when you can afford to - not on a credit card!

Although, if you're wanting to speed up the saving process - it can help to cut out unnecessary spending. Money you're spending on services and products you don't really need, or there are free alternatives available.

Here is a list of some products/services which I have cut out spending my money on (or what you should stop spending your money on!) The money which I have saved each week/month/year I have been putting towards my savings for my first home. Yours could go towards paying off debt, putting into a savings account or saving for a holiday.

Newspapers & Magazines
It's very rarely I'll buy myself a magazine now a days. The only time I do is if it's a special edition or something I'm really interested about.
I'm not that involved with celebrity culture so your stereotypical "women's magazines" don't appeal to myself.
Newspapers are similar, I like reading up on current affairs from around the world. But most of this information can be accessed online for FREE! Why waste precious money on information you can get on your phone anytime.

Gym Membership
I've never been a member of a gym, but I know how much some gym memberships can cost! Unless you use the gym regularly, and can justify the cost I just see it as an expense which can be eliminated from your monthly spending.
There are plenty of free (or cheaper) resources online so you can work out at home for a fraction of the price.
If you go to the gym just to practice cardio - you could take up running. It's free and gets you outside in the fresh air!

Starbucks/Costa Coffee
When you're treating yourself to a take out coffee everyday, you're literally throwing money down the drain. Costs can quickly add up when you're spending small amounts on coffee everyday.
It may be worth investing in a reusable cup (it's better for the environment too!) and bring your own coffee from home. Better still - you could use the free coffee available at work!

Bottled Water
Similar to take out coffee, when you're buying a £1 bottle of water everyday the cost will soon add up. The environmental impact you're having as well by buying a new plastic bottle everyday is extortionate.
Buy yourself a reusable bottle and fill up at home and at work. In some Pret stores they have a free fill up water station so you can re-fill on the go!

Branded Products
I'll admit, I'm a bit of a brand snob. For me, cutting out branded products was hard. Not because I only want people seeing me use the best products, but because I thought they were better - and own brand wouldn't be as good.
I've been proven wrong. Own brand is often just as good quality! A lot of the time own brand (such as Tesco Value, or Sainsbury's Basics) are made in the same factory as the branded alternative!
I often buy value tinned products, as there is very little difference between the two. Household cleaning products as well - an easy way to save money off the weekly shop!

Flash Sale Items
Just because you receive an email because your favourite brand now has 50% off all products doesn't mean you have to buy something! Be strong and resist the urge. You don't really need it.


Convenience Food
Such as ready to eat sandwiches, hot chicken from the rotisserie counter, ready meals for 1. You're paying for the convenience of the food being there and ready to eat! Instead, bulk buy and batch cook your meals from the week. It's healthier, and will save you money in the long run!
If you're spending £3 a day on a meal deal during your lunch break, that's £15 a week! £75 a month! Think about it...be prepared.

Is there anything else you stopped buying to help you to save money?

Blogging Report: What I've Learned in My First Month of Blogging

Thursday the 31st of May I decided to launch my blog, The Skint Millennial.

This isn't my first venture into blogging, and I have started many blogs before but ultimately they all failed as I either wasn't that interested in the topic I chose to blog about, or I felt disheartened as I wasn't getting the readers I longed for.

After being inspired by other UK-based money bloggers, I decided 'fxxk it'. In the spur of the moment 'The Skint Millennial' popped into my head, and I quickly made my blog.

And now I'm celebrating my first month of blogging! I thought this post would be useful. To those who are looking to start their first blog and may need some reassurance that your first month isn't going to be your best month. Or for those who just like to look at figures and stats. It's also helpful for myself, as I can look back on this post in the future to see how far I've come!

If you scroll through Pinterest, there are thousands of pins about how to make ''£4000 in your first month of blogging', well simply this isn't true and highly unlikely to happen (unless you get super lucky!!). So today I will share my real stats with you so you can see what it's like for a typical start-up blogger.

I decided to launch my blog for two reasons. The first for my love of helping others, the second for my love of earning money.

There's no denying it, I hope to make my blog a source of income in the future. I hope to make money from it by the end of 2018. But I also hope to help others who chose to read, whether that be with help and advice - or inspiring them to start their own blog. This way, we all benefit.

I'd like to add, blogging and social media is a hobby/side hustle for me, I work full time over 40+ hours a week - so I can't always spend as much time as I'd like to growing my blog!

So, how has this month been?

Pageviews: 442
Comments: 0
Number of posts: 9
Most viewed blog post: How I Saved To Buy My First House
Instagram followers: 220

Pinterest followers: 28
Pinterest monthly views: 994

Money made: £0
Money spent: £0

Am I happy with these figures? Yes! Obviously I would of liked to make some money, or to of received comments on my blog posts or even to had more page views. But these are still figures to be proud of considering both my Instagram and Pinterest accounts were also created the same day I launched my blog. I had no following before I launched my blog, nobody knew who I was. I've managed to organically grow my following (albeit a small following) within the last 30 days.

I'm a Instagram veteran, having had a personal account for over 6 years. So I felt comfortable being able to use this platform to build a following and to make connections with other like-minded people.

Pinterest on the other hand, I'd never used this site before. I had no clue that Pinterest was in-fact a search engine, not just a place to post pretty photos! I've watched countless videos on how to make the most out of Pinterest, and how to get people to see what you pin. And finally, in the last week of the month Pinterest has finally started to work for me. I got accepted into a couple of group boards, so I can push my content to new readers. One of my pins got 375 impressions, something I was pretty proud of!

I now try and pin my own posts at least 5 times a day, and re-pin a further 5-10 posts. For now this seems to be OK for me. I'm not looking to invest in software which I can schedule pins just yet, but maybe in a few months this will be an option to me.

Traffic Sources & Stats

From looking at my Blogger dashboard, it's clear that Instagram provides me with the most traffic.

This next month I will continue to use Instagram to guide readers to my blog, but I'll also try more with Pinterest to get people clicking my pins to visit my blog.

I've also had a view vists from Google searches, hurrah for SEO! I've dabbled a little bit with SEO this month. Trying to make sure my blog is seen on Google searches - but there's still work to do.

Pinterest

Like I've mentioned, Pinterest is a completely new platform to me. I've defiantly got better at it as the month has gone on but I still have room for improvement. Here are my current stats taken from the Analytics page.

You can follow my Pinterest account here.

How have the posts been?

I'm passionate about money. Making it, saving it and using it well. Therefore it's been easy for me to have blog topics to talk about and discuss. I've never sat and thought 'I have nothing to blog about'. Actually I currently have over 20 posts sat in draft mode, ready for me to publish!

I'm still improving my writing style, and how I want to come across to my readers. I feel as though my posts have been to the point, and the reader will understand the information I'm putting across.

I'm not ready to start a schedule for when I'm going to post, but I try to post at least twice a week (mainly three times).

Lets talk money

This month I haven't made any money off of my blog. But I also haven't spent any money either. I don't feel begrudged by this, as I've actually really enjoyed this month of blogging. It's given me something to do in my spare time, and I can share what knowledge I do have with other like minded people.

I haven't had to buy on single E-Book, or course on how to get the most out of Pinterest. Right now these services don't interest me, as I'm looking to learn a lot of this through trial and error - or from reading other blogs for free.

One thing I may have to spend money on in the future is a domain name, and becoming self hosted. These two concepts are completely new to me and I'm doing a lot of research before I jump into either of them!

My blog is currently hosted by Blogger, hence why I have .blogspot in my URL. It doesn't look the most professional I know, but for now it does the job and allows me to focus on growing my readers rather than spending money.

Once I am self hosted and have my own domain name, I'm told I will get more readers, and I'll be taken more seriously. But for now - I'm happy. Plus I don't have the time to be messing around re-building my website! This may be something I look into in a few months.

Goals for the future

There's no denying it, I have loved  this first month blogging. I only hope for my blog to continue to grow and for me to carry on enjoying it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I will always be evolving and changing when I learn new things. Here are a few goals which I wish to achieve not necessarily in the next month - but defiantly in the next 3.


• Become self hosted & buy my domain name - As mentioned above it's something I need to do. My current financial situation doesn't allow for this (the day this post is published I move into my first home!), so this will be a more long-term goal.
• Networking with other bloggers - I need to start leaving comments on other people's blogs, as this will allow me to build connections with them. It may also lead to more people coming and viewing my own blog. I'm OK at the minute connecting with others on Instagram, but I can defiantly get better at this. Networking will open many opportunities for myself. Writing guest posts on other people's blogs is something I'm also interested in.
• Join more Pinterest group boards - I'm currently a member of two group boards, and they cover a broad range of topics. Not just blogging/personal finance etc. I hope to join a few more which are related to my niche of money.
• Join Google Adsense - Another way of making a little bit of cash off of my blog is by having adverts on here. I already applied once and got declined as I only had a few posts up. I will try again in a few weeks/months when I have more content on here.

And that wraps up my first month blogging! It's been a great month, here's to an even better second month.

How I Made £100 Doing 2 Hours Work Online!

This post contains an affiliate link. This means if you buy something after clicking one of my links, I may receive a commission - at no extra cost to you. Thankyou for supporting The Skint Millennial.

Since discovering Matched Betting in the last few months, I've quickly discovered how easy it is to make tax free additional cash, with only having to spend a few hours in front of your computer.

Related Post - My First Week Matched Betting

First things first, Matched Betting isn't a scam. Nor is it betting/gambling (despite what the name says!). If done correctly, Matched Betting is risk free and you can't fail to make money from it.

Matched Betting is making use of the free bets which bookies are constantly giving away without risking your own money,  like you would be with ordinary betting.

For example, You place a £10 bet on Chelsea to win a match. On an exchange website (such as BetFair) you place your 'lay bet' (back bet) on Chelsea to lose. With this, you'll make a small loss (pennies!), but you've now qualified for your free bets. We then use these free bets to bet on higher odds, to make our profit.

Some people choose Matched Betting to just earn an extra £100 p/month, or some earn £1000's! The extra cash can be great for paying down debt, a dream holiday or treating yourself to something nice.

From one sign up offer, I made £13.47 profit!

You're probably wondering - how do I know who to place a bet on, at what odds and for how much money?

Introducing Profit Accumulator.

When I first discovered Profit Accumulator, I was hooked. I'd finally found a website which clearly told me what I needed to do in order to be successful in placing my first bets.

I'd never placed a bet in my life before I discovered Matched Betting, so I was very scared that I was going to mess something up! Luckily Profit Accumulator is very straight forward, and has lots of videos on the website explaining everything.

Profit Accumulator provides a calculator, this is what we use to calculate our odds, how much our liability will be and how much profit we'll make. There is also the Oddsmatching service, this is where we can view what events are available for us to bet on. We can see the date/time, the event and the odds. We need all of this information in order to place our bet successfully.

Profit Accumulator gives new members the chance to try the website for free. During this sign up period, you're able to do the first two welcome/sign-up offers where you can expect to make £45. 

From this you can decide if Matched Betting is something you're interested in, if so you can go on to purchase Profit Accumulator's monthly subscription for £17.99 p/month. I earned back my first payment of the subscription after placing two bets alone!

Without signing up to Profit Accumulator's subscription service, you aren't able to see the rest of the welcome offers, therefore it'll be harder for you to make more money.

Profit Accumulator is also with you every step of the way with their handy guides, reducing the chances of you making any mistakes. I honestly recommend it to anyone interested in getting started with Matched Betting!

After playing around with the site for a while, I'd placed quite a few bets. Then a few days later I spent approximately 30 minutes placing a few more, before I knew it I had made £100 in profit!

When starting Matched Betting, you need a small pool of money to place bets to claim your free bets. I started with about £50. If you have more money to start off with, you can work your way through the sign up offers faster therefore making more money in less time.

There's no advantage to racing through the offers, so feel free to take your time.

Profit Accumulator suggests that to earn approximately £500 p/month, you should spend 15-30minutes a day Matched Betting. To earn £1000 p/month you should look to be spending 30minutes - 1 hour a day.

If you're looking to get started, have a look at the Profit Accumulator website and review the two welcome offers. If you like them, and feel as though you could earn more money - sign up! If you don't enjoy it, you've still had the chance to make £45. I couldn't of made my first £100 if it wasn't for Profit Accumulator.

Are you looking to try Matched Betting? If so - let me know how you get on!

8 Steps To Start Paying Off Your Debt

Having the weight of debt sitting on your shoulders isn't a nice feeling, and often people continue to bury their heads in the sand as they don't want to face how much money they owe.

Here are some tips to get you started with paying back your debts. Quite often it's not an overnight fix, and will take time. But you're doing the right thing as soon as you start paying your debt off!

Find out how much you owe and who to
If you're in debt with just a few companies, you may be able to remember or easily find out who you owe money to and how much. If so, write down this information.
If you can't remember who you owe money to, you may need to do a Credit Check. This will tell you your credit score - as well as telling you who you're in debt with.

Get yourself a budget
Now you know what you owe, you can start to work out how you're going to pay it back and how much at a time. Start off by writing your typical monthly expenses, and see if there is anything you could live without until your debt is paid off (gym memberships etc.). See how much money you have left at the end to pay off your debts.

See my post on how to make a serious budget here

Start off small
To help keep you motivated in paying off your debts, Start by paying your smaller debts first. These will be easier to pay off so then you can focus on your bigger sums of money owed.
If any of your debts are high interest, and you're constantly accruing interest on your already borrowed money - this needs paying off as a priority as your debt is currently increasing each month.

Pay more than the minimumIf you can afford to, pay more than your minimum payment. Obviously this step wont apply to everyone, but if you're fortunate enough to be able to add more money to each payment then do it. It'll allow you to reach your goal quicker, and you may save money in the long run as you won't be accruing interest!

Automate your payments
Most companies and banks allow you to automate your payments. If not, set a reminder on your phone every payday to remember to send the money over! The good thing about automated payments is you can't make excuses to not pay your debts, as the money is going to come out of your account regardless!

Put any bonuses & gifts towards your debtAny free money you may be getting should be used to pay off your debt. You  weren't expecting to get given the money, so you can probably live without it in your day to day life! Resist the urge to splurge it on something you don't need and use it to pay off your debt and reach your goals faster.

Reach out for help
This is a tricky one, and one many people won't like to admit they need. Help. Don't get yourself another loan or credit card to pay off debt, as that just continues the vicious cycle. If you contact the companies which you're in debt to, and tell them you're struggling they may help you. They don't have to help you, so don't be surprised if they don't - but some may! They could reduce your interest rates or point you in the direction of speaking to someone if your debts are getting on top of you.

Reward yourself
Make sure you check in with yourself once in a while, and make sure you're ok. It can be tiring and stressful being on a tight budget when pay off debt, so make sure when you have some extra money you treat yourself to a meal out or a new pair of jeans.

Do you have any more advice for paying off your debts?