TOTAL budget, not just household???

HOLsale

pavlovs_dog wrote:

have my eye on a card box/birthday book in clintons which im hoping to get in the january sales. i'll hit the card shops with say £20, and try to get as many (cheap but expensive looking) cards as possible for this to fill the box (or card making stuff, not too sure) so that i can plan in advance rather than rushing out to buy an overpriced card at the last minute (saving money and stress levels) i will also use this as a place to record the bargains i pick up throughout the year, and freebies, which will all live merrily in my present cupboard. i plan to tax myself a set amount throughout the year to cover the main expense of christmas (the family and friends presents), so thats its only OH i have to finance for come nov/dec

!)

we have what i believe is called the card factory near us. they're selling christmas cards and birthday cards at something like 5 for 99p! i've seen what they have on offer as i've walked past and they look fairly decent... might be worth the effort to find one as you could halve that £20 and put the rest towards your deposit.

also charity shops often have cards that are still in their wrappers and not too naff for 10-20p so i always keep my eye out. i would guess that by mid january the card companies will be donating their unsaleable stock to the charity shops so definately worth watching

i like your plan by the way, very well considered

wish i was that organized

Alleycat

I can only find the ING savings account, is this the one people are talking about with the ten different pots?

It sounds like a really good idea as we currently have four accounts with RBS which we use for food, bills, miscellaneous (birthdays, household like new baby car seat etc) and OH's spends. My spends account is with Barclays but I am looking to close this one and was going to open another RBS but need more 'pots' to help stop overspending.

ms_london

Alleycat wrote:

I can only find the ING savings account, is this the one people are talking about with the ten different pots?

It sounds like a really good idea as we currently have four accounts with RBS which we use for food, bills, miscellaneous (birthdays, household like new baby car seat etc) and OH's spends. My spends account is with Barclays but I am looking to close this one and was going to open another RBS but need more 'pots' to help stop overspending.

Yes, it is the ING savings account. Once you have opened one account, you can then open as many as you like.

kiwichick

I do need to tighten the belt ou tof necessity but also want to savetowards a car as I am going to sit my test in Feb. I would NEVER buy new cause the depreciation is SO immense and am not bothered about flashiness wo will be saving towards a runabout.

We are moving in the new year, not till around March but when wedo we will be closer to DH's work. He currently commutes 150 miles per day but after moving it will be 3 miles :j Thismeans he will be home by 5.45pm rather than 7.45pm and I can get some evening work at Tescos."Every little helps" after all.

The move will cut out petrol costs by about £200 per month, of which some will go to the new/higher mortgage. The rest into the budget.

I think we have a decent wage coming in and I need to be more accountable for the spending of it. It could stretch much further than it does now.

Will have a go at working out birthday etc to save for and see where I'm at then.

Al.

pavlovs_dog

im learning to drive at the mo as well, so i can appreciate how expensive that is for you!

i think, as i said to HOLsale in a Pm recently, that i am goping to be disciplined, and set aside up to an hour a day, to sit down, sort out the finances, and do all the online survey bits that earn money.

dont know how many of you read 8pnoodles blog (8pnoodles.blogspot.com) but on there she mentions selling boots vouchers earnt from pigsback on ebay, so that is another one to consider as well! it sounds as if it is working well for her, so could be worth giving it a go

kiwichick

Can you give me an idea of which online survery groups are best. I have registered with afew but some (namely CIAO) seem VERY slow to credit the account, if at all.

I currently do Pigsback and Shop and Scan. I will let my account accrue points and get vouchers to use for xmas 2006 to ease the burden but any others would be great!

pavlovs_dog

HOLsale wrote:

we have what i believe is called the card factory near us. they're selling christmas cards and birthday cards at something like 5 for 99p! i've seen what they have on offer as i've walked past and they look fairly decent... might be worth the effort to find one as you could halve that £20 and put the rest towards your deposit.

there is one in swansea town centre, where i go to uni, so i will definatly go there. there is also a discount card shop at mccarther glens in bridgend - one of the big ones like birthdays - which i will probably use to get the cards for the special birthdays coming up next year (a 16th, 40th, and so on).

as for the organised bit..well i aspire to be, but it doesnt always work. as my a level german teacher once told me, the way to hell is paved with good intentions! and i must be going to a very bad place

pavlovs_dog

kiwichick wrote:

Can you give me an idea of which online survery groups are best. I have registered with afew but some (namely CIAO) seem VERY slow to credit the account, if at all.

I currently do Pigsback and Shop and Scan. I will let my account accrue points and get vouchers to use for xmas 2006 to ease the burden but any others would be great!

ciao are slow to credit some accounts, because it takes such a long time to collate the results from the surveys. but have faith, they do build up and after a while, you can search back through your account, and it shows you when your account was credited, how much with, and from what survey. i've just requested a payment from them, so that should be with me by the start of the new year hopefully.

IPSOS are the other ones i mainly use, which i would recommend, but again, it can take time to be credited with the points.

patience is a virtue i guess!

if you drop HOLsale a Pm, im sure she can give you a few ideas too

black-saturn

Here is what I spend per month on the total household bills:

Gas - £25 (due to go down soon, I'm paying extra because the meter wasnt read for about 6 months when I first moved in here),
Electric - £15
Water - £10.77
Telephone and broadband - £24
Pet Expenses (Insurance, vaccinations and food) - £13
Sky TV - £12
TV Licence - £10odd (get this - we cant get terrestrial TV in our road as the reception is really really bad so if you want to watch TV you have to have Sky, but they still make you pay for the TV licence),
Subscription to Rauld Dahl (?sp) books/magazines the children like - £4.99,
School snacks - £6.00
Travel to and from London (where bf lives) - £48
Food - £28
TOTAL = £197

Then once a month I put £100 into an ISA which covers things like birthdays, christmas, holidays and any other unexpected emergencies. My income is only £480 per month but after this budget I am left with £183 which usually also goes into the ISA.

I don't have a mortgage anymore as I paid all this off and I am also now debt free.

kiwichick

You guys are an inspiration.

I am SO determined to make this work for me.

DD's monthly are;

mortgage £514
mpp £26
sky £42.50 ( :mad: ) Dh for footie. When we move we will register under my
name and get a FAR reduced package at a cheaper rate.
gas £20
electric £20
phone/broadband £25
kids savings £40 (15 year plan)
our savings £80 (10 year plan)
tv license £11
council tax £89
DH books £13.50
insurance £29
phone line £10.50
anglia water £22.50
essex water £14.75


£957.75!!!!!!

This is without allowing for food £380, petrol for DH £325, and any clothes, dentist trips, shoes, birthday etc!!!

DH also allows himself £100 "spending money" each month which normally goes on CD's. I have not been able to talk him out of this but am going to have to try harderas when we move the mortgage will go up to £675 + £46 mpp.

There are also preschool fees for the under 3's, playgroup etc for the younger 2.

IT NEVER ENDS!!!