Quasimodo's MFW Diary

Quasimodo

Hi All,
I thought I'd list my thoughts in case they would help anyone else. We've been with Virgin one since 2002 and it's been great for us as the job I was in at the time had payouts for share options reasonably frequently. I was able to pay these in and still have 'no money' so the temptation to spend was a lot less. The big redundancy payout went in there as well and has helped greatly now I'm earning a lot less.
With a lower income and a balance significantly ahead of target we are now suffering the opposite problem. Yes, the account will always tell us we have no money but if we want to spend we can, with no problems.
In July this year we decided that we had to get a grip and start making sure we were living within our means. I made a note of the balance and then created a table of balances for the coming months, with a target of reducing the balance by £200 every month.
I put the table into an excel spreadsheet and created another sheet to plug in the balances of the account, our purchases credit card (Asda, 2p/litre off fuel), and our balance transfer card. The spreadsheet also records our expected income. At the bottom it shows the amount we have left to spend until the end of the month. If there is any left at the end of each month we have a running total of 'savings' which also amends the final figure.

So far we've managed to knock off our £200 each month as well as adding 100-150 to the savings figure. These savings will go towards the bigger annual bills (Car tax, home ins).

The big tip so far is our weekly shop. We were spending £15-20 on alcohol each week but we didn't really need it so we stopped. The other thing is the the missus writes the list so that we get everything we need and then I do the shop (on the way home from work, saves fuel) so that we don't get anything we don't need (if you catch my drift!).

Hopefully I'll update you all asI go along.

Cheers

phizzimum

Quasimodo wrote: »

Hi All,


. The other thing is the the missus writes the list so that we get everything we need and then I do the shop (on the way home from work, saves fuel) so that we don't get anything we don't need (if you catch my drift!).

well this impresses me Quasi. If I ask DH to get a pint of milk he comes home with 3 bags of stuff we don't need! (that's why I keep milk in the freezer now)

Esmeralda must be proud of you

setmefree2

and good luck

Quasimodo

Update for Jan '09

We're still on target thanks to a Christmas budget and a secret santa with the in-laws. I'm well chuffed that we didn't have to dip into the savings pot and I have good feelings for 2009.

I'll keep you all posted.

Olderbutnotwiser

Good luck Quasi, I couldn't get to grip with theoneaccount, not strong enough.
I had one for 6 years and only paid interest in that time ugh!!!!
Horses for courses;)

StuartGMC

Q
Good luck to both of you in the quest. We're offset these days and have always overpaid to some degree throughout our mortgage. I am certain you'll find that the data you are now collating will help to improve your financial "efficiency", and if you try to save at the start of the month it can improve the amount you save too.

Quasimodo

Clouds (and some silver linings)

Well, it's going to be a challenging year. A few problems:
1. Found that our scanner won't work with Vista, and no hope of getting new drivers. We didn't need a new printer but decided to get an all-in-one so there was less clutter in the spare room. Found one in Argos that came with a free wireless print server (and was, surprisingly, cheaper than ebuyer). Whole lot was £50 and I've sold the print server on ebay for £30. Net result is a printer for £20 (maybe less if I can get something for the old scanner and printer).

2. Tumble dryer has packed up. Not good in this weather and with a 7-month old in washable nappies! I'd already made several repairs to the old one and the fault looked to be with the motor. No choice but getting a new dryer. No silver lining here.

3. Now the biggie. The trusty Skoda (bought for £100), after 18 months of service, failed (rather spectacularly) its MOT. On the upside the scrapyard gave us £80 for it and we'll get £60 back from the road tax so technically a profit but not much to offset the cost of its replacement.

It looks like we'll be taking a step backwards for a while but I think we'll recover and get back on track quite soon. I've had some money in from work that I hadn't expected.

I'll find out the damage at the end of the month when I do the figures and report back then.

setmefree2

Quasimodo wrote: »

I'll find out the damage at the end of the month when I do the figures and report back then.

with that

Quasimodo

Damage Report:
Well we seem to have survived. We haven't completely wiped out the 'savings' but we still have a couple of expenses to go on the new car. It needs a cam belt and will need some road tax at the end of the month. My sreadsheet says it's going to be a tight month but at least I know that now rather than at the end.
I think I need to get my bum in gear and start clearing the garage of those things that 'I'll put on ebay when I get the chance'.