I'm finding it hard...

*Sparkle*_3

Hi guys,

I'm finding it hard to..... i think the word would be "manage" my finances.

I know what i have coming in and i know whats going out, but the problem seems to be the dates.

I get paid monthly (7th) my partner gets paid every thursday. Then i have all my bills coming out on different days scattered all over the month, which are hard to keep up with.
I'm finding it hard to have money in my account when certain bills come out, especially the larger ones like mortgage/rent (i pay both shared ownership).

What do you guys suggest?

helen21_2

Hi Sparkle

I have all my bills coming out within a 5 day period, i know its alot in one go but the week they come out i know how much i need in account for that week, and then im ok for another month, sorry im not of much help

southernscouser

Sorry if I sound a bit dense but if you know how much is coming out I don't understand why the money isn't there! Do you have more outgoings than incomings?

Could you not withdraw the money you need to live on, ie, petrol and food and then don't touch your account so all the bills are covered.

Maybe setting up direct debits would help and you can sometimes chose the payment dates.

brokenwings

can you conact your direct debits/debtors and arrange to pay all bills at the start or end of the month?
mine all get paid by dd or s/o within a week of me being paid ( i get paid monthly ) but leave yourself a few days grace incase of paying in delays!

Al_Mac

All mine used to come out the 7 days after pay day, change of pay day and company, must get it sorted!

Contact them all and get them moved.

BWZN93

Have you thought about setting up a cash card only bills account? As soon as I get paid I transfer the fixed costs (like the rent, certain bills like internet etc) then as soon as other bills come in the money gets transferred over. You can also change the dates of the dd's to come out at a set date with most companies.

Firstly, you need to write down all of your bills, e.g rent, electric, gas, water, cc's, misc etc, and look at your last few bills to get an average of what they are, that is the amount you should always transfer on pay day. When the bills come in, all you have to do is transfer any extra's needed to the account. This account should only be used for bills etc, so that you know it is the untouchable money. Any surplus is left there to account for any other bills being larger than anticipated in the next month.

The money in your current account needs to last until the next pay - you can divide it by the weeks etc so you have a budget.

Finally - as you an OH have different pay dates, you need to figure out a good system so that you both have money consistently every week, try doing a weekly budget instead of a monthly budget - i.e - list all bills for the month and divide by 4, giving you a weekly bill total. He transfers half of this weekly bill every week, you transfer for the whole month. The rest of your money is then divided by 4 - giving you a spending budget for a week, he gets his every week so it is done for him.

The added advantage you have is that you put in a lump sum, and he regularly tops up, so you shouldnt really have any difficulty in keeping the bill account topped up to cover them all irrespective of the direct debit date. Also, If you need to buy something that is larger than the 1 week spend limit you are in, then dont buy it and 'save' until the next weeks budget as if you did get paid weekly.

Thats what I do anyway!

HTH

Jo xx

P.S - Get online banking, it makes things a lot easier to check if they have gone, if they are correct, if more needs to go in etc etc. Also saves on trips to banks to pay bills as you can set up your own bill payments easily and do it when it is convenient for yourself.

Jo xx

*Sparkle*_3

Here is my monthly income and outgoings dates.

Income

My income £430 7th
Partners every thursday £300 or (£390 if worked overtime)
chid benifit every 4 weeks £115.

Outgoings

1st - tv licence £10, rent £300, t-mobile £40,

3rd- car ins £45

8th- loan £115

9th- gas £39

11th- council tax £116

14th wanadoo £22, BT £18, Electric £35(due to go down in few months)

18th- mortgage £340, home ins £25

21st water £20


Then i have my debts

26th Barclay £50

24th Capital one £50

31st Index £40

20th next £20

18th river island £15

19th choice £40

18th Overdraft fee's £20

*Sparkle*_3

Wow thanks guys for such a quick reply i took ages posting that income out come thing so i didnt realise the replies, anyway...

I do have online banking and i check every day.
I dont know why i find it hard?? i look at my diary each week and see how much i have to pay out and i check what i have coming in and most weeks (2 out of 4) i have to constantly change the Direct debit date and move stuff around, its really getting on my nerves.
Most of the bills are Direct debits apart from the debts.
maybe i should move them all to one date/week? or do what Jo said? they are both good ideas.

Thank you to all of you

sarah_elton

Ok, so monthly your total income is £1,854 and your outgoings are £1,360, leaving you £494 to 'live on'. Could have been worse - the figure could have been negative. )

So in total-over-the-month terms, you're ok, if you can get your other spending to within £494. If you can, I'd suggest that any overtime money (which wasn't included in that income) goes towards debt repayment.

The problem you've got is with cash-flow though. The easiest solution would be if your partner could convince their employer to pay monthly, around the same date as you. Then all the money comes in, and so long as you stick within the £494 the bills happily wing their way out. Since I suspect you've already tried this though, other posters are right - try to get as many bill dates into a single week as possible. Then your partners weekly income will need to accumulate in the account until that billing week.

If you can't get bill dates moved, next step I would say is to just jot down a month map - days 1-31. Mark on it where money comes in and out, and the 'balance' - assume you start the month on the 7th so have a credit then of £430 and track the balance going up and down. Check to see times of the month where it goes negative. You will have to fit withdrawals of the remaining £494 around these times. Although when on a budget it's a good idea to spend cash only, using cheques or Switch when buying groceries etc can help, as they take 2-3 days to actually go from your account.

From the amount you have to spend each month, you may find you need to save a bit for the first few months, to have a 'buffer' sitting in your account against awkward points, if you can't spread your spending in a way that fits over the month.

Hope this helps as a starting point?

Louise1521

Have you claimed for tax credits? Just didn't notice it on your incomings.

*Sparkle*_3

yeah at the moment we are getting a massive £10 a month!!