my debt free diary.....time to make a change for myself and my boys!!!!

tryingtodobetter

The things that jump out at me the most are;

- Childcare - Why do you need this if you are a SAHM?
- Mobile phone- This seems very high
- Sky/Cable -Could you just have freeview?

Well done for posting and trying to get things sorted.

TurnaroundSue

I notice that you have put down you have a secured loan, but you are renting. What is the loan secured against as most loans are only secured against property?

Why doesn't your OH want to switch his tariff? Surely his current one is nearly enough for what he needs and really does need to see what can be done at reducing his monthly bill. I mean £99 for this month's bill, why on earth is it so high? Thought I could talk, but that is ridiculous:eek:

I notice that you do not work, is there anything you could do part time to bring in a bit extra? Why are you paying for childcare if you are not working? Is this something that could be cut out? That monthly amount would go quite a way to reducing your debts and bringing your debt free date nearer.

Well done for posting your SOA. You have done the hardest bit and hopefully some peeps alot wiser and more knowledgeable than my good self will be along in a mo to give you further advice/help.

samboss0306

thanks chev for your reply i sometimes make oh lunch for work in the mornings as i make ds1 lunch for school but i didnt think about soup in a flask!! i will defo do that as it is cheap and easy to make!! im going to try really hard to get the shopping spend down and have just invested in a slow cooker so i can cook food that will last a couple of days. thanks again for all your replies.
xx

samboss0306

the childcare costs are my younger sons playschool fees he only goes twice a week and does lunch club there for an extra £2.00 a session he will start getting it free next september. my oh mobile was extra high this month as he went snowboarding in january and missed his flight home so was on the phone to me alot as i was trying to get him another flight and it charged him 75p just ti connect each time he rang me!!!! sometimes i wish i had left him out there!!

tryingtodobetter

Regarding the childcare costs; I would take your son out of Playschool and not send him until September when he would be eligible for funding, £105 a month is alot of money that could be thrown at your debt.

TurnaroundSue

samboss0306 wrote: »

the childcare costs are my younger sons playschool fees he only goes twice a week and does lunch club there for an extra £2.00 a session he will start getting it free next september. my oh mobile was extra high this month as he went snowboarding in january and missed his flight home so was on the phone to me alot as i was trying to get him another flight and it charged him 75p just ti connect each time he rang me!!!! sometimes i wish i had left him out there!!

So from September you will have the £105 freed up to put towards your debts?

Re your OH's phone, even with the extra high bill this month, you are still paying £70 pm for his phone bill, which is still extortionate. He really, really does need to get this reduced and change his network/tariff. If you go through quidco, you will get cashback also.

samboss0306

TurnaroundSue wrote: »

So from September you will have the £105 freed up to put towards your debts?

yes thats right i pay it termly so i have one more payment due in may that will cover him from may to july then i will get the goverment funding as it will be the term after his 3rd birthday so i can throw that straight at a debt.

i will try and pluck up the courage to speak to oh tommorrow about his phone as it does annoy me when he says that i am in control of the money and pay bills, which is fair enough, but then surprises me with high phone bills to try and battle.

im at college at the moment doing my NVQ level 2 in bookkeeping a couple of nights a week so has anyone got any ideas on a pt job i could look for for the other evenings?

TurnaroundSue

You could try some bar work, supermarket work, waitressing, lady of the night - no, no only joking!!!!:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

samboss0306

Lady of the night, that sounds good!! dont know if i would earn that much though!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

have spoken to oh and he has decided to change his tariff for his mobile so will be ringing vodafone asap.

i want to see if i can get my electricity and gas cheaper with another company (currently with edf energy) but do you think it is best to leave it till we move house as we are due to move in around 4 weeks anyway?

the house we are moving to is currently on a key meter for gas and elec whereas i pay by direct debit monthly. is being on key meter alot more expensive?

thanks for all your help. xx

TurnaroundSue

Ah so he's with vodafone. I threatened to leave as was paying £30 pm with not very good tariff and they offered me 600 minutes and unlimited texts for £12.50 per month. He really does need to threaten that he is leaving. If he goes through a cashback site like quidco on a sim only package with vodafone, he will get £90 cashback (after 4 months) and can still get 600 minutes and unlimited texts for £20 per month. Hopefully that will be enough for his needs and you will save buckets.