I really think im developing a bit of a spending problem OOT and i need some advice before it starts being a problem.

Basically im a small-stakes (semi)grinder and have been pretty successful for the past year or two and have made enough to supplement my currently pathetic day job income nicely. There have been some bad patches along the way but essentially i have a really good hourly that is so far ahead of my job hourly its insane. I have a couple of debts that could do with being paid off (student loan for one and another smallish one to my mother) and provisionally after planning to pay these off I also really wanted to save up like $20k or so this year to be in a position to buy a house this time next year, which basically wont happen now. But essentially my financial position is, while net negative i guess at the minute, the future looks bright enough.

However, I am currently spending faaaaar too much money. My old car died recently so I bought a new one. I didnt, however, need to buy a new Audi A3. I also didnt need to spend $500 on a new sat-nav which in truth I will use about once a year. Nor $500 on a leather jacket that i havent worn. This is a pattern that just keeps repeating at the moment. This isnt really a BBV thread (even though i guess it sounds like one) but essentially while im accumulating a lot of nice crap im actually not accomplishing any of the financial goals I set out to achieve at the start of the year.

I know the obvious answer is to go 'yeh spend less, save more etc etc' but how is the best way to go about this? Is savving up for a house deposit a priority over paying over student loan, for example? Do you start paying $x amount off your loan per month even though on paper im earning about $10k pa (no joke)?

Any serious views on this would be appreciated because its finally dawning on me that im crap with money and its not a nice feeling!!

[henry17]not only should you continue buying $500 leather jackets, you should buy all of your friends $500 leather jackets, and you should get your bartender a $500 leather jacket every time he opens a beer for you[/henry17]

First,

Max out your roth IRA at the beginning of each year ($5000).
Max out your 401k at work.

Those combined above will guarantee that you save around $20k each year.

Next, why not setup an account with HSBC or a similar high-interest money market type place. You can schedule auto-transfers of money weekly/monthly/etc to go into that account.

Then, every time that account hits $10k, transfer it all into a vanguard mutual fund.

1. Don't buy a house.
2. Rent with roomates (if this is unacceptable then maybe you should buy a house)
3. Save a significant part of your income every month ( say like at least 1/2 of your net take-home before expenses but after taxes). Start by maxing out your company matched portion of your 401k. Then max out your Roth 401k ($5000 this year). If you want to save more put it in your 401k. Finally, start saving money into a taxable account. Invest all of your money into index funds that track large international stocks, the S&P 500, etc.
4. Limit your leather jacket type spending only to extra money you have left over and never on credit. Make sure it is something you really want by spending a few months thinking about it and researching the 'best' thing to buy on the internet.
5. Look at the interest rates on your student loans and car loan. If the student loans are consolidated government loans the rate is probably pretty low (say like below 3%). In that case you should only pay the minimum. If the car loan is over like 6% it's probably a good idea to pay more than the minimum on it.

1) Get married
2) Have spouse complain every time you try to spend money on stupid stuff you don't need

It sounds like you're somebody that really has to trick yourself into saving. That means making sure you never get your hands on the money.

Given your current scenario I think the easiest thing for you to do is to decide that your "real" job income goes towards saving. Set something up where the money is taken off your paycheck (like with a work 401K) or worst case just set up an automated-withdrawal on the day after you get paid into a high interest account.

Sit down with someone you financially respect who will shoot straight with you. Develop a budget based upon your reasonable needs not your income.

Every week/2 weeks/month (whatever works for you) pull out cash for every category in your budget that is not fixed or mandatory and put it in an envelop or other similar mechanism. Especially do groceries, dining out, entertainment, gifts, clothing. Only pay for items in that category with cash from the envelope. When money runs out in that category you are done spending until you refill

Sounds antiquated but I've found that it reduces my spending by 15-20% and helps me stay on budget. It is more of a pain, but it really raises awareness about what spend.

Try it.

First, I would never endorse buying a $500 leather jacket. My taste in clothing runs a little more upmarket.

Second, I hate debt. While I normally do encourage people to spend and enjoy life there is no way someone should buy an Audi while they still owe Mommy money. Pay debts first then you can spend your money on whatever.

OP's goal is to save $20k in a year so he can buy a house. If I thought that was a realistic goal I'd suggest just a high-interest savings account. If the time frame is a year and the amount is under $20k I don't see it being worth doing anything more elaborate.

I don't see the time frame as being realistic though. We don't have his income but when he describes it as "pathetic day job" it doesn't really give me the impression that he is going to have $1600/month in truly disposable income after still having enough of a life to remain sane. It is also not clear if he bought the Audi cash or if he just saddled himself with a new monthly expense.

My advice would have been don't buy the car if you want to buy a home. At this point I really think he has to start thinking of buying a home in 2 or maybe 3 years unless he can increase income. Assuming income can't be increased then I'd buy nothing until I had mom paid. Then I'd go back to a modest life with some socializing so as to not go crazy but no stupid large purchases. My main goal though would be to increase my income.

get some money management software and start tracking your expenses.
see where you spend obscene amounts (relative to your income) and start cutting them down. set up plans on how to get rid of debt.
takes some time and effort, but that was the only thing that helped me get a grip on my finances.

i've also set up several retirement funds starting at the age of 20, where i can't really access the money before the plans run out. probably the best decision i have made to date. putting away a couple of $$ each month because i've started early hurts far less than having to catch up at the age 40. if i had easy access, chances would be that i'd have dipped into those savings.

Excellent, even better than the first joke post.