My SAO

debrag

so you're taking £480 to spend on holiday? how much to do have already?

theoretica

You could always change your daughter's mobile to PAYG and top up minimally- I don't see that she *needs* to natter that much, though she may disagree with me!

VanillaDelia

Try Directline or Churchill for insurances. I use DL as they are the cheapest possible for us and they include legal costs, accidental damage all for £14 a month.

Me and my husband spend about £80 - £120 per month on groceries so im sure a cut back can be made there too.

DoWhatULove-LoveWhatUDo

Is it at all possible that there is a benefit that you are not claiming, but that you could? The site below can help you check.

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/

Many local authorities have schemes whereby computers and internet access is provided to single parents, ostensibly to help with homework for secondary school pupils, but my thought was that if your daughter could go on MSN and bebo in the evenings then perhaps she could switch to a PAYG mobile phone and use it far less? If not, I think the mobile phone companies are obliged to allow you to drop one down on the tariff scale if you request it.

I have been attempting to cut down on groceries myself and to this end I have been avidly reading posts on Old Style so I know you are in good hands there. I have read so many stories about people who have made very large reductions that I am quite confident that you and I could manage to do the same.

Forris

Welcome to the forum and congrats on 'coming out'!

Most people have already highlighted your major problem areas but I will add my thoughts too.

Groceries - as has been said, this is enormous for 2 of you. Is your daughter a fussy eater or are you a little too indulgent maybe (easy to do)? You say you have been on the Old Style board, perhaps you need to check back in there to get some ideas on reducing this spend. Meal planning, using (and sticking to) a shopping list, downshifting on brands, batch cooking - all of these are tried and trusted ways to spend less on groceries. You should really be able to half this fairly easily.

Fuel - this is high, but a bit of mental arithmetic shows that this is about right for your mileage. Is public transport an option, or a more formal car-share arrangement (maybe alternate with a colleague)?

Presents - you need to consider taking a break from this for a while. If you explain it to your family, I'm sure they will understand that things are a bit tight at the moment.

Benefits - have you checked that you are getting all that you can. Have a look at www.entitledto.co.uk.

Hope this helps

Good luck

TotallyBroke

seasidelol wrote: »

to answer some questions

my child is 12, so child benefit will continue for a few years yet Ok that gives you time to make a dent in these debts before the benefits stop
council tax is with single persons discount, over 10 months, starts again 1st April, Upto some ask to pay over 12months reducing the cost per month. I prefer to pay over 10 and use Feb & Mar payment for something else.
clothes i threw a figure at, i rarely buy clothes for me, mainly for daughter, so this may be high, but i wanted to make sure all school uniform etc was covered. Sign up to freecycle. Some people give away uniforms hardly worn because children grow
holiday is an extended family thing, its booked and paid for, all i have to find now is spends, although if need be we won't go if i can't afford to, i divided the total cost over 12 months. there won't be another one next year the way things are at present. I think £400 spends is a lot
mobile phone, 1 phone is on contract which is my daughters at £20 a month, i'll ring and see if they would drop the tariff on this, didn't know they could or would do that. mine is on payg, and costs me roughly £10 a month, less some months, thats a topside figure. Yes they will and if you don't take the upgrade each year you could get more off. Or take the upgrade and sell the phone
contents insurance is up for renewal in may, so is on my list of things to look at to find a better deal, just redone motor car insurance in february using comparethemarket, and saved over £20 a month on that, can't believe how easy it was to do. Do this through a cashback site and get paid for switching
petrol is high, its my one bug bear, has anyone any idea how to make sure i'm using cheapest station, i know the one i use is cheaper than one round corner, but driving round checking seems like it'd cost me more in petrol. Check out petrolprices they'll tell you the cheapest one in your area.

Hope some of those help

cal1_2

Hi

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 995.9
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 194.85 even accounting for child benefit at £20 per week = £86 per month), are you sure you are getting the correct amount of tax credits? This figure does seem low if you are a single working mum on the above wage???
Other income............................ 0 Not prying into your affairs but is there no child maintenance paid? (again, i'm not prying , there may be a reason for this)

Please do check the tax credits website or the entitled to website as soon as you can.
I'm a single mum with 2 children and most days cook from scratch. I probably spend between £30-£40 per week, so you could cut your grocery bill significantly :T
Best of luck, i'm sure you can do it!!
xx

trina2010

im agreed with most of the points raised, you have many areas for improvement.

I also agree that there shouldnt be a need for a 12 year old to have a £20 a month phone contract...shes at school all day with her friends, what could be so important that it couldnt wait until the next morning?

your fuel bill is high, I drive 400 miles a week (thats 2 hours a day 5 days a week) and i still use less fuel than you say you do. i only spend 30-35 pounds a week. what kind of car is it that you have??

Contents insurance... £288 a year... we just renewed ours in jan, its cost us £56 for the year...

I would recommend investing in life insurance however, no one likes to think about it, but its a necessity, especially with a child

Clothes wise, your daughter will have to go without for a few months, as much as she wants to keep up with all the 'new trends' which will be worn a handful of times and never looked at again, it isnt going to help you. My mum used to take me for shopping trips for my birthday and christmas, have lunch and i could pick what i wanted. other than this I was only bought things when i needed them. Im not sure if this would work for you? but it makes buying clothes a 'treat' to be enjoyed once in a while and not, buying out of routine because its what you normally do.

Hope this helps

Best of luck

seasidelol

wow, your all so great there is so much there to look at, i'll definatley be reducing shopping bill, i need to shop once a week and meal plan, instead of calling on way home or at lunch time for bits and pieces, first meal plan done last night, and i was shocked at how much food i actually have in that needs using up, so thats my first thing well on the way.
on the holiday front, not taking that much spends (i wish!!) i included my share of the holiday and divided it by tweleve, even though i'd already paid it. so i think thats a bit misleading. i've got £120 put on one side for spends, from money from xmas from family and having sold a couple of bits on ebay.
will get signed up to freecycle, a friend had mentioned it, and unfortunatley the school my daughter goes to is a set colour for the skirt and blazer which you can only get in 2 local shops and therefore costs a fortune compared to black trousers etc from asda, but after a lot of heartache at her previous school i moved her there and she's so happy i wouldn't risk moving her again.
will look at entitled to, part of the reason i am low on tax credits is i was overpaid a couple of years ago, so they have knocked this off over the year, which has reduced my payments (i did fight it and the knocked some of the amount off thank god) and hopefully this will go up when its renewed.
as i work full time (well ish now) i didn't think about being entitled to anything else.
as for maintenance payments, i was getting these until late last year, but ex has a new family and has lost his job, so for the time being he can't afford to pay me anything, as soon as he is employed again i know he will, but it hasn't helped matters.
i rang my daughters mobile phone company, twice! first fella i got was horrid and said no you can't change your tied in until november. left it a bit then thought about someone who'd said try again, so i did, so its now down to £10 a month, which should be ample for her, and i've said she can't use it as much, as when whats on it is gone its gone. will look into internet use thing, never knew about that.
i'm going to go down all your messages and make a big list.
petrol, hmm, not sure how to reduce that, will look at trains and buses, did look at buses when we relocated to here, but when i checked they went such a long winded route it would have meant being on a bus at half six to get here at twenty past 8 in time for work. trains might be a plan, as i leave my daughter at her friends which is right by a train station in the morning, and she could easily meet me there after school if trains run at good enough times. its a funny station only odd trains stop there (unmanned tiny train station) but i'll look into it.
just a quick question if anyone might know the answer, can you vhange your insurance (i'm thinking contents) before the renewal date or do you have to wait?
Many many thanks for all comments you have been brilliant.

cal1_2

Hi Seasidelol
I think you can change contents insurance company but someone else may be able to clarify:o . Say you took their insurance for 12 months (usual) and you cancelled it in month 9, they work out pro rata what you should've paid for those 9 months if you see what I mean. The only thing with this is you 'lose' those 9 months no claims for no claims discount. If you haven't had a claim it is certainly worth looking into. Please check what I'm saying here, I'm not sure of the ins and outs of cancelling insurance half way through;) .
Well done for taking everything onboard others have said and being open minded about things. I'm sure you will be ok with a few changes.
All the best to you and your daughter,
take care
x