Please help me get a plan together to manage our debt.

tabby_cats_mum wrote: »

Out of interest how do you pay for things? Do you have lots of cards or do you pay on a credit card and then transfer the money out of the allocated amount or do you use cash?

Actually, I do have a number of debit cards. The banks that I have chosen for the purposes have the facility to allow many adjunct savings accounts as well. So, attached to the main debit account, are a bunch of secondary account which have no cards, just sort codes and account numbers. This means I can still SO to any of them, but I can only withdraw money from the main account into which the main money goes.

So, for food, I use Natwest (pretty purple card) and from that are also adjunct savings accounts for mot, insurance, savings, winter, boiler etc. For petrol, I use RBS (pretty blue card) with a single savings account for overflow...anything left out of the fuel budget at the end of the month. For children, I use Santander (red card) and entertainment Lloyds (green card). So, if I want to buy petrol, I use the dark blue card, pay for a book, the green card, buy some clothes for the kids, it's the red card and buy anything edible, it's the purple card. I also have text alerts set up which sent a text when the money goes below a certain amount. If I do happen to have an issue (I overspent on the food), I can move money from one of the other less important accounts into the main one to balance it again.

Finally, at the end of the month, I zero all accounts ready for the new money to come in on the 1st of the month by SO from where I am paid.

It sounds complicated, but I promise, it isnt. Once you get the hang of it, budgeting is suddenly a doddle and you'll hardly ever be surprised by a bill again. I should also point out that my wages get paid into my (original debit account) and that is also designated the 'bills' account. I have a card for it, but never use it. The card sits at home in a locked box.

Finally, I moved all DD's onto the 1st of the month. This means that by the 5th, everything has gone and whatever is left in that account is pure 'savings'.

tabby_cats_mum wrote: »

Wow Firewyrm I'm impressed. Do you carry all the cards with you all the time?
(Sorry to hijack OP's thread but I think this is of interest to them).

Ah no . Being organised also means knowing where and when you will need the money. I do carry the 'fuel' card routinely and obviously, the 'food' card when I need to go shopping at the weekend, but 'entertainment' is usually attached to amazon and santander (children) only comes out on special occasions and then gets taken to Tesco for a specific purpose.

I also have various savings accounts (like Tesco) scattered around which hold 'xmas' savings. I use that bank because they have an absolutely diabolical online banking system...it takes forever to get into it, I have to have a corresponding passcode sent to my phone and it's practically impossible to set up an outgoing SO...all very good reasons to use it for long term savings I dont want to dip into. Essentially, I kind of forget it's there until mid-december when I start deciding what I want to buy for xmas.

When I want to pay the car tax for instance, I move money from the adjunct savings account into the main Natwest, pay, and make sure it balances. Likewise, if I'm going to the dentist, I know I have to pay, the money is moved into the parental card account that morning. I pay, check it balances and move any left over money back into it's pot ready for next time.

Possibly feeding a troll but here goes.

d70cw6 wrote: »

simple solution: get rid of the cigs and the pets

When working out a budget with Payplan pet expenses were an allowable item.

Totally agree with the above re pets.

We have 2 cats which we got when we were much financially stronger than we are now. If we are financially stretched when they die then we'll not replace them, of course. But, the cats don't know what's happening, they have done nothing wrong and as "members of the family" i would feel it massively unfair to uproot them and get rid of them just to save a few pounds per month. The company and happiness they bring are worth more than the cost. Obviously, if i had a choice of paying the bills or feeding the cats then, of course, i'd have to look into re-homing them. But to suggest a pet-owner to get rid of their animals before it being a last resort is a bit harsh.