My SOA

Forris

kjmtidea wrote: »

I included child benefit in the income part. I can't get our electricity any cheaper, we are paying off a past debt with British Gas. I make sure that everything is switched off at the plug when not being used etc. We recently cut our Sky tv down from £48 ish to £22. I do try to plan our food shopping as much as possible, I do it online but with 2 adults and 4 children it is hard! My food shopping also includes nappies, cleaning stuff etc. The holiday money is every month, that is for spending money aswell. We don't have contents insurance but I really must sort it out. Thanks for the reply.

Are you in an area that can get the free Sky broadband? This would save you £18 per month. Chuck your phone in too and save a couple more quid!

To check which broadband providers are available in your area try:

Moneysupermarket - http://www.moneysupermarket.com/broadband/

Samknows Broadband - http://www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php

TismE_3

Hi kj and welcome:T

I guess what you said in your first post would be my advice, write down all that you spend for a month this will be a real eye opener.
Just make sure everything is wrote down no matter how much even a loaf of bread from the local shop ect.
This will highlight where the extra spends are!!
I too on paper am £150 up each month but tell that to my purse!!
so am taking my own advice an starting a spend diary tomorrow.

Best of luck.
Tisme x

TurnaroundSue

Hi and welcome. I would definitely meal plan, start a spending diary and as advised by UncleBuck, use your holiday money to pay off your o/d and then stay in credit.

Good luck

kjmtidea

Thank you every one. I will definitely look at our food shopping to try and cut costs there. To answer all the questions - The childcare is for my son to stay at playschool for lunch, he has his 5 free sessions a week but that doesn't include the hour for lunch which is £2. We overpaid on our tv licence, we changed back account that we were paying from and they took it from both accounts for a few months so we are in credit with them for a little while.

We are putting £35 a week away for our holiday, it is self catering so we are aiming for enough to cover that and have a little spare. My mobile phone a contract one and doesn't finish until 1st April so will be cancelling that when I can.

I don't have a large amount of debt no but I would like it paid off so I won't constantly be in it. I don't smoke or drink or have a social life! My treat is broadband. I will make an effort to cut my food shopping down and I am definitely going to start a diary of everything I spend starting from tomorrow, I think that will show where all the spare cash is going.

Thanks again.

theoretica

As well as keeping a diary from now on you might look back over past statements to see where the cash has gone.

Do you give out any pocket money?

kjmtidea

No i'm not that nice lol. To be honest I think that I am just a bit naughty with day to day bits and pieces, I also buy far too much chocolate.
It will be interesting to see how much money I can save just by cutting back.

moo842

who is your mobile with?

firesidemaid

re. chocolate - if you know you buy it regularly buy it cheaper in bulk when on offer eg. home bargains, supermarkets etc.

meal planning is so the way to go. 7 x cereal for breakfast, 7 x sandwiches/packed lunches and 7 x dinners per week - visit the old style board for some fab ideas and inspiration. healthy and homemade food.

good luck x

Fire_Fox

How much of the electricity bill is debt and how much is current usage? Standby doesn't eat much electricity - it's heating, hot water and tumble dryers that are the killer. You are presently spending £1000 a year on your telecoms - get one of the new £6 internet connections. Do you really need a mobile phone each as well as a landline?

While you are saving for a holiday but still have an overdraft, the holiday is effectively costing you 18% more than you are budgeting as you are wasting money every month on the overdraft. Pay off the overdraft over a few months then throw all your spare money at saving for a holiday when you are debt-free.