Get over it, get happy, get healthy, get a life...

sallyx

Lovely new shiny diary Yes Food can be much lower as already pointed out but you know that too.

Onwards and upwards hun...and no more spending on sexy underwear for the time being

Snaggles

CLAPTON wrote: »

I haven't read your earlier thread but just to say you need to include all the things like car insurance, MOT, car tax, clothes , xmas and birthdaty costs in your budget etc because you need to start saving up the monthly amounts NOW so you will be able to pay the bills then they come in. .. in fact especially so as you say your income is due to fall in April: otherwise you will need to get another loan to pay for them.

Thanks Clapton - the problem is that at the moment there is no room in the budget to save for them, hence doing this (although I have to say, I have never been the type to 'get another loan' to pay for ANYTHING). I've got a small amount in savings that will probably cover those types of things this year, but it's finding a way to squeeze them in in future that's the scary bit.

OberonSH

aww Snags, I didn't realise, you poor love. You get out there and kick some butt!

• Mortgage - 280.00
• Council tax - 65.00 Have you made sure this includes your single person discount?
• Electricity - 60.00
• Gas - 55.00
• Water - 30.00
• Telephone/Internet/TV - 65.00 Jeez girl, we pay £42 with Virgin. Get this changed
• Mobile - 45.00 Try & reduce this, you've got a landline afterall
• TV Licence - 12.00
• Food - 290.00 We spend £180 on 2 adults, & 2 hungry toddlers. Meal plan, use up what's in the cupboard and cut out the snacks.
• Petrol - 60.00
• House Insurance - 18.00
• Life Insurance - 21.00 Are these as cheap as you can get?
• Contact lenses - 13.00
• Lottery - 5.00 (work syndicate - can't leave mid-year)
• MRP - 12.00 what's this?
• Charity donation - 5.00 Charity begins at home right now love. You can restart once you're on your feet.
• Childrens savings - 20.00
• Gym - 22.00 Get rid. You should be getting enough running about with the kids lol.
• Childcare - 39.00

You're a smart lady, you'll get it figured out. Don't forget to sign up to a few survey sites and places like quidco for changinf suplliers. That should pay for a few treats!

lynzpower

what about the mobile Snaggles, any chance you could reduce that? You do seem to be paying rather a lot on "communication" and maybe a reduction here could help to put toward the car insurance?

Pooky

Happy new diary - sounds like you're coping well.

As for Ryans DLA, my friends son was diagnosed as autistic when he was 4, he doesn't need any additional support at school and is to all intents and purposes a healthy, happy 10 year old now...but there is the bed wetting issue, he does wake constantly at night and wander the house, he does have major meltdown episodes when he's at home, often destroying things to make himself a "nest" to hide from the world.... She asked if I'd write a statement to support his DLA request, I'd seen him at his worst, I'd seen the devestation he can cause and the amount of money she needs to spend on his dietry issues (he'll only eat food in red packaging or food that's "no colour" as he calls it) He cannot put on socks that have already been warn/washed, so every day, a new pair of socks (she buys them in bulk)...

I wrote a supporting statement and it was accepted, he now gets the financial help and support that helps to make him cope with day to day life.

Obviously everyone's different but if it's going to make life easier for you and Ryan then go for it.

Snaggles

Hi Mudbath - big welcome to you and your chocolates

Sally - no underwear??? _pale_ But I luuuuurve underwear! (and some of mine is a bit stretched :rotfl:). Ooooh I knew you lot would be harsh, but that's just mean! :D

falady

Hi snaggles,

Well done on posting and deciding to tackle it again. It sounds like you've been through the mill lately (I had read bit of your previous diary but am not up to date) but now you're coming through it - congratulations.

As other people have said, you can probably get the mobile phone, TV costs and food bill down, but you know what to do. Maybe it would be worth doing a batch cook of bolognese, shepherds pie etc one day when you've got a bit more energy? it would help with having healthy meals ready when you're too tired to cook.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll do really well,

Ali xx

Snaggles

Obi - cheers hun, good suggestions. The gym is because I took up running but was struggling over winter due to the cold wind making my asthma hell. I really need the gym membership at the moment, it's part of the getting healthy, mentally and physically. It's the local council gym and includes a big discount, so even if i only go once a week, it works out cheaper than paying 'per session'.

The MRP is mortgage repayment protection. I would cancel this except it still covers Stu, who is currently off work (with no sick pay) recovering from an operation, and therefore wont be able to pay maintenance if he doesn't get back to work in the next week or so. Once he's back, i might think about whether it's necessary.

Lynz - lovely to see you still around - the communication did go a bit mental - actually £45 is one of my better bills (the 2 previous ones were £92 and £112 :eek:). I'm now paying £29 a month but get LOTS of minutes and texts, so I'm hoping this will reduce not only the mobile bill but also the landline bill.

Obi - what services do you get from Virgin for your £45? Ryan is VERY attatched to Jetix, which you can only get on one of the bigger TV packages. He would give it up if he had to, but he is the only one of us that would lose a channel he loves, so it seems a bit mean.

Pooky thanks - it's something I will revisit now that I'm getting back on my feet. Your friend's son sounds similar to Ryan in a lot of ways. It can be very stressful but I wouldn't change him.

Snaggles

falady wrote: »

Hi snaggles,

Well done on posting and deciding to tackle it again. It sounds like you've been through the mill lately (I had read bit of your previous diary but am not up to date) but now you're coming through it - congratulations.

As other people have said, you can probably get the mobile phone, TV costs and food bill down, but you know what to do. Maybe it would be worth doing a batch cook of bolognese, shepherds pie etc one day when you've got a bit more energy? it would help with having healthy meals ready when you're too tired to cook.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll do really well,

Ali xx

Thanks Ali - I always have really good intentions of batch cooking, especially as I still can't quite get out of the habit of cooking as if Stu still lives here. But my freezer is really small, and I end up with nowhere to store it! Must make sure I have a couple of weeks of using up freezer stuff to make some room I think.

Snaggles

By the way Ali - your sig (the bit in red) and location is making me wonder if you work at the same place as me?