Live on £4000 for a year - Part 3

cw18

I'm now approaching half way through the part 1 thread, and have just come upon this post from Nyk (by way of research) asking people to put their hand up if they (or their partner) paid 40% tax. Had I been on board this challenge at that point, my hand would have hovered at that one.

If I hadn't been off sick (meaning I would still also have been doing unsocial hour on-call slots for extra pennies) I'd have hovvering around that point -- but would have avoided it as I paid into AVCs from the 1999-2000 tax year (the first year I hit it -- and I hit it BIG time that year.... paid the maximum 15% of salary into my pension, and still had to pay 40% on about £20 of my earnings :eek: ) until we were TUPEd in May 2007 (at which point I was on half pay sick leave, so a vastly reduced income and in need of every penny - plus no forseeable risk of hitting the 40% rate)

My big problem now is that we (me in particular, but hubby didn't help with regular demands I rarely said no to) always spent as if that was going to continue up to retirement -- but it's not. As a result I have more debt on plastic that I would ever dare admit to hubby as he hates the things !!! As all the household financing has always been down to me (he's never been interested) he's never needed to know -- which means I'm now in the unenviable position of trying to balance the books on benefit level income (from late November once my redundancy date hits).

BlueFleur

I haven't been on here much as I've been finding motivation a real difficulty this week. As my bf and I are splitting our household costs 50/50 for the first time, I now have to update him on the latest bills. I don't think he realised how much our costs came too! I'm trying to get everything square for the end of the month, but I think he's gone in to shock about the latest water bill At least it'll motivate him to budget in the future.

The weird thing now is that my outgoings are less than my income for the first time, and continue to shrink. However, it just doesn't feel enough as I'm determined to be debt free and I want to be able to throw more money at that

dfw844

bails wrote: »

Blimey DFW, where do you get surveys like that from?! I haven't got into surveys yet, any tips? As for your £50 for 3 weeks, it will be hard but is doable. Make a menu plan of basic meals to help you, pop over to Weezl's thread for v cheap meal inspiration!

To be honest Bails, I don't often find surveys like that either! I've been doing surveys on various sites for about 2 years. Most of them I get about 10p each for! So I wonder if I've started to build up a good reputation or something. Because I've had a few through in the last few weeks that pay over £5 for online surveys, and then this online focus group for £70 (it was quite boring and time consuming), and then a phone one for £50 which was easy and quite fun. I think it also helps that I'm a 'decision maker' in our business - they always want the opinions of the people who choose which computers / mobile phones etc you buy.

Thanks for the advice on lasting until payday! I'm not doing too well so far... Although I did get some good whoops stuff on Friday, so I'm going to go to that section in the supermarket first everyday. Also, my quidco payment has now been scheduled! So fingers crossed by some cosmic force (MSE maybe?) I should be ok because after months of waiting, suddenly all this free money is coming to me at once! xxx

whitewing

BlueFleur,

It took me at least a year of trying extremely hard with money after I joined MSE to even begin to feel vaguely hopeful of the longterm.

It has taken even longer to get DH and I even managing to support each other with our different attitudes and personalities and weaknesses.

Try not to do too much too quickly. I know, for example, that I am still paying too much for phone and internet but I can leave this for the time being. It still pays for itself with all the help and advice I get online.

As you get budgeting under control you can sort debts out. I find it more exciting to make minichallenges and make adhoc payments. For example, one week I may set aside the child benefit amount for Xmas, and the next week, DH's wages may be used as a mortgage overpymnt. This is less boring to me than £100 a month saving without thinking about it.

Hello everyone.

Frugaldom

cw18 wrote: »

I'm now approaching half way through the part 1 thread, and have just come upon this post from Nyk (by way of research) asking people to put their hand up if they (or their partner) paid 40% tax. Had I been on board this challenge at that point, my hand would have hovered at that one.

If I hadn't been off sick (meaning I would still also have been doing unsocial hour on-call slots for extra pennies) I'd have hovvering around that point -- but would have avoided it as I paid into AVCs from the 1999-2000 tax year (the first year I hit it -- and I hit it BIG time that year.... paid the maximum 15% of salary into my pension, and still had to pay 40% on about £20 of my earnings :eek: ) until we were TUPEd in May 2007 (at which point I was on half pay sick leave, so a vastly reduced income and in need of every penny - plus no forseeable risk of hitting the 40% rate)

My big problem now is that we (me in particular, but hubby didn't help with regular demands I rarely said no to) always spent as if that was going to continue up to retirement -- but it's not. As a result I have more debt on plastic that I would ever dare admit to hubby as he hates the things !!! As all the household financing has always been down to me (he's never been interested) he's never needed to know -- which means I'm now in the unenviable position of trying to balance the books on benefit level income (from late November once my redundancy date hits).

Hi cw18, I got TUPE'd in my job 'down south' Then everything changed and I'd to relocate, blah, blah, blah... that's another story. However, my honest opinion of your situation, and please don't take offence, it's just my thoughts on this, is that you need to sit down and discuss finances with you hubbie in an absolutely 100% open and honest manner. Look at your marriage as a merger rather than a 50:50 partnership. With such a drastic change you cannot possibly maintain an equal partnership in terms of money, your role has completely changed but you are probably still in charge of the general housekeeping. Except housekeeping isn't just about kids, laundry, cooking and cleaning, there's a whole financial side to it that most men seldom even consider and, as already said by several others, find very difficult to comprehend. Try to relax and think of your next big adventure as one into the world of professional housekeeping. A look back over history will soon show the immense responsibilities (and extremely high salaries) of experienced and reliable housekeepers when compared to many other careers. Even if it's just to polish up your bookkeeping, budgeting and general skills until you get back to doing whatever you like best, think of your 'wife' role as a career move.

Back to the moneymaking - I have just added another £46.11 to my target, had another 3 enquiries for the free PC via Freecycle, no interest in the laptop and haven't checked the bank yet to see if the TCB cashback has arrived

Edited in: :rotfl: Just noticed I had posted the moneymaking bit in the wrong thread, sorry :rotfl: It should have gone in the £1000 in 100 days thread - oops!

cw18

Nyk - I had thought about pulling hubby completely on board, but have decided against it. He has terminal cancer, and really doesn't need anything else to worry about

We were officially told at the start of July that all they can do now is buy him time, and he should spend quality time with the son in the Army while he was home on leave that month rather than leaving it until we next expected him home around Christmas. But I know that they can't give any definite prognosis, and he's already a good year beyond where our GP thought he'd make it to. This is why I have no intention of trying to cut back on the 'allowance' of just under £50 he has each week, which he spends on fags and going to the pub (and just about accounts for all the overspend). It's also why we're allowed as much to spend each month as we are -- get loads of premiums due to his condition and the fact I'm going to be his registered carer.

At the moment I reckon we can hold our heads above water for 4-5 years before having to look giving up the house, and my Dad has offered to 'advance' my brother and I some of our potential inheritances to clear some debts/part of our mortgages (bro's job is also under threat, and he has two kiddies under 5 -- my youngest is 17, though I'm only 2.5 years older than him!). The advance would just about clear my cards, which would in theory give me £200/month to "play with" and stay inside benefits levels rather than being majorly (sp?) over budget every month.


But some good news today -- just got my pay slip (money doesn't go in until first thing tomorrow morning) and I've got an extra £340 (plus coppers I won't mention due to someone's OCD with numbers ) going in -- the payrise from April has finally been applied, and I've got the backdated bit as well So when I make my c/card payments tomorrow, that will be headed straight for the one with the highest interest rate. Am also hoping that I can resist all temptation to spend on 'non essentials' during October, which means I may have another £350+ left at the end of the month to shove that way (and that's after I pay the chap who's coming to fix my grill tomorrow, and pay for the larger dog to have his booster on Wednesday).

Was chatting to a friend this morning outside school, and mentioned I've set myself a grocery budget (food only) of £165 for next month -- including anything I use that I already have in, but not including the 4 lunches a week my son buys from his own money when at college (EMA and Sunday paper-round)...... and she looked at me in horror. She and her hubby have two boys in primary school and she's also a child-minder (though I think at the moment she only has two babies -- under 6 months -- part time, so they make up 1 place and don't need much in the way of groceries), and apparently she spent over £100 on Saturday which (with the addition of milk, bread and f&v) might last her a fortnight!!! And that was just food stuffs..... Will be interesting to find out what her final monthly spend comes to and compare it to mine

Frugaldom

cw18, thank you for explaining your situation, I can see how difficult this must be for you! You are being very brave in tackling all of this alone, but I can understand exactly why. Whatever you decide to do, everyone here will be very supportive and offer suggestions and helpful advice wherever and whenever possible. It is best to make the most of whatever time you have appreciating what is most important whilst, at the same time, trying to keep on top of the essential payments, thus avoiding any repercussions. The grocery challenge is a great way of keeping tabs on spending, so you shouold be well into the swing of things by November. Good luck and I am sure everyone here will be sending you all their very best wishes.

Frugaldom

Free entertainment if I had a web cam :rotfl: This is the best fun we've had for months... we have royalty coming to visit this afternoon and this 'sleepy little corner' in the southwest of Scotty-land is awash with 'men in black'. OK, so we have a traffic warden, a handful of police persons rummaging in bushes (looking for JB's eBay hat???? :rotfl: ) and a handful of dodgy looking blokes in suits waving walky-talkies about in a bid to look indiscreet! A couple of council-looking blokes have planted a Rowan tree (right opposite my window!) and apparently Princess Anne will be here in a couple of hours! D'ye think I should wash the windows and sweep the front step? :eek: And what's the protocol on hanging out your window with a camera? They are clearing the street as we speak, DS has just had to move his car, and folks are milling around like they don't know what's going on. It LOOKS as if Princess Anne will be alighting from her car practically outside my door!! Wow! D'ye think there's any chance she'll see my eBid sticker in the window, log on and buy my clutter?? :eek:

Skint_Lynne

nykmedia wrote: »

Free entertainment if I had a web cam :rotfl: This is the best fun we've had for months... we have royalty coming to visit this afternoon and this 'sleepy little corner' in the southwest of Scotty-land is awash with 'men in black'. OK, so we have a traffic warden, a handful of police persons rummaging in bushes (looking for JB's eBay hat???? :rotfl: ) and a handful of dodgy looking blokes in suits waving walky-talkies about in a bid to look indiscreet! A couple of council-looking blokes have planted a Rowan tree (right opposite my window!) and apparently Princess Anne will be here in a couple of hours! D'ye think I should wash the windows and sweep the front step? :eek: And what's the protocol on hanging out your window with a camera? They are clearing the street as we speak, DS has just had to move his car, and folks are milling around like they don't know what's going on. It LOOKS as if Princess Anne will be alighting from her car practically outside my door!! Wow! D'ye think there's any chance she'll see my eBid sticker in the window, log on and buy my clutter?? :eek:

Try and get a souvenir nyk, like one of her gloves or something, then stick that on ebid, you might make a few quid out of it, it is amazing what people will buy!! You could get a photo to authenticate the glove.:rotfl:

mumzyof2

Hello Everyone!!

How are we all? Iam much better today. DS at school. Need to pick him up soon though.
I have sorted my bills out and i have started paying them each week instead of waiting for the week there due and say having £60 to pay all at once. :rolleyes:

Im off to college tomorrow!!! Everything is sorted and should get child care, travel paid for . I am excited and have my bag and everything i need but im not looking forward to getting my ds to school for 7.55am and dd to nursery and me on bus by 8.30 But they dont need breakfast as they get it given so dont think i have to get up any earlier than i do now.

Hope everyone is okay x

Ps: sophiesmum i sent you a pm other day x hope you got it ok x