The DFW Diary of a Mogchops!!

mogchops

Smamfer wrote: »

No problem.... just promise to come back and keep updating as so many start and then go off the rails but the support you will get in here will be masses i promise you x

Oh I am definitely going to keep coming back....I think the "writing it all down" part is really going to help!!

Things to do in next couple of days: Start a spending diary, and get in touch with Virgin to see about getting phone in with tv/bb.

WelshSaver

mogchops wrote: »

OK, here we go. All figures monthly.

Incoming

DH Salary £1900
My salary £800
Child benefit £130

Total Incoming £2830

Outgoing

Mortgage £512
Council Tax (last yr was £98, not got this yr yet, will estimate) £108
Gas & Elec £129 ( I agree with everyone else, this seems high, keep doing your best to get this down)
Water £21
Virgin Media (Broadband & TV) £31.87
TV Licence £11.95
Life insurance £25.74
Buildings/Contents ins £16
Car insurance £19.75
Car Tax £15
Phone (landline) £20
Phone (mobile) £25 (can you reduce this down, is it on contract?)
Sickness/redundancy ins £37.41 (Do you really need this, I always think these are a waste of money as they have so many get out clauses)
Pet insurance £4
Vet (monthly to cover annual jabs, worming/fleas etc) £10
Child trust fund £10
Childrens savings acc £20
Grocery shopping £250
Petrol £60
Beer £120
Tobacco £25
Brownies £10
Ballet £20

Total: £1501.72

Loans & Credit Cards

Nat West loan, £25,000, taken out Nov 08, over 7 years 10.4 % APR: £414.00
AA loan, £10,000 taken out August 06, over 7 years (cant find paperwork to check APR) : £150
GMAC (car loan) £5,000 taken out Jan 08, over 3 years 12.7% APR, £159.72.

MBNA credit card, £1900 owing (£2000 limit) 1.8% monthly APR - currently paying £40
Tesco credit card, £5200 owing (£5250 limit) (cant find APR) currently paying £150

(Also have a Nat West credit card which is clear, with £3000 credit limit)

Total loans & cards £913.72

Incoming £2830 less outgoing £2415.44 =£414.56??!!!!

Wow, that was an eye opener!!!

According to that I have over £400 left over - where the flippety flippin heck is that going then??!!!

Before anyone states the obvious about a couple of things on my list: Beer. I dont drink much at all, but DH drinks 4 cans of stella every day, which adds up. He knows he has a problem, and is trying to deal with it, but these things take time. He is NOT an alcoholic, just likes a few cans to wind down of an evening. He works very long unsocial hours. Please dont anyone have a go about this, as we know its a problem and are trying to work through it, but I wanted to be honest on my outgoings.

Tobacco - again, I dont smoke, DH does, but only roll ups, hence £25 is pretty low, as a small packet of baccy @ £2.50 odd lasts him a couple of days.

Phew, need to stop and gather my thoughts now I think!!

Again try a spending diary for a while and see where the extra is going. Good luck and keep posting.

mogchops

Its a new morning and Mogchops is feelin good!!!!

Its a lovely feeling knowing I'm being positive and DOING something!!

Welshsaver - good point about the sickness/redundancy insurance. I need to look at that - its just gone up from £28 to £37 a month, like you say, is it worth it? Will have a read through the paperwork later.

Mobile - contract runs out in next couple of months, will re-negotiate then & get a better deal (& a new phone, & therefore sell the current one!)

Its a new dawn, its a new day, and I'm feeling fine............. :j

mark13

We also have seperate account for the kids which we also use for their bits and bobs and kiddie emergencies. The interest on that account isnt much but it does give us peace of mind.

TurnaroundSue

mogchops wrote: »

Its a new morning and Mogchops is feelin good!!!!

Its a lovely feeling knowing I'm being positive and DOING something!!

Welshsaver - good point about the sickness/redundancy insurance. I need to look at that - its just gone up from £28 to £37 a month, like you say, is it worth it? Will have a read through the paperwork later.

Mobile - contract runs out in next couple of months, will re-negotiate then & get a better deal (& a new phone, & therefore sell the current one!)

Its a new dawn, its a new day, and I'm feeling fine............. :j

You don't need to wait until the contract is up, they will do something about it NOW!! Also think of a sim only card (if you don't need a new phone). My ds has one for £20 and he gets 600 mins and unlimited texts; also on a 30 day roll over contract which means you can chop and change as the market dictates. Also go through one of the cashback sites and you will get cashback - we had £90 from Vodafone as xmas, so it might be cheaper to keep your phone instead of selling it - check to see how much you would get for your phone first and what cashback is on offer before you make the change.

It might help to do the proper SOA on www.makesenseofcards.co.uk and that will ensure that you haven't left anything out of any monthly spends. Really agree that it will help you to keep a spending diary as this will show you where every little penny goes to.

Good luck and keep up the good work!

firesidemaid

re. the home phone etc

most companies include free evening and weekend calls as standard now anyway, so unless you need to ring mum during day then calls will be free.

you can also get something like 18185 too, so any daytime landline calls will only cost 6p anyway. have a look on the phones board for the landline tutorial.

re. mobiles - o2 seems to be doing good sim only deals plus £23.50 q/co cashback too.

re. groceries - do you meal plan? most folks find this the cheapest way to do things/budget

re. general soa/budget - i write down all the outgoings plus i put a monthly amount away for all those annual costs.

i then work out what is left and write down a running total, so i can see what we have spent and how much is left. i keep OH aware of this total so that he knows when there is no more money left for that month (and he can't say he wasn't warned) - we also mainly jointly decide/give the ok about the spending of that money (again so we can't blame each other:rolleyes:).

can you buy the beer in bulk and/or find a cheaper brand that OH likes instead (although i know men are fussy about these things)?

good luck for now x

mogchops

firesidemaid wrote: »

re. the home phone etc

most companies include free evening and weekend calls as standard now anyway, so unless you need to ring mum during day then calls will be free.

you can also get something like 18185 too, so any daytime landline calls will only cost 6p anyway. have a look on the phones board for the landline tutorial.

re. mobiles - o2 seems to be doing good sim only deals plus £23.50 q/co cashback too.

re. groceries - do you meal plan? most folks find this the cheapest way to do things/budget

re. general soa/budget - i write down all the outgoings plus i put a monthly amount away for all those annual costs.

i then work out what is left and write down a running total, so i can see what we have spent and how much is left. i keep OH aware of this total so that he knows when there is no more money left for that month (and he can't say he wasn't warned) - we also mainly jointly decide/give the ok about the spending of that money (again so we can't blame each other:rolleyes:).

can you buy the beer in bulk and/or find a cheaper brand that OH likes instead (although i know men are fussy about these things)?

good luck for now x

Thank you!

I do meal plan to a degree - but then it slips & I end up in local Tesco express thinking "hmm, whats for tea tonight"!!! I am determined to meal plan and shop in a more organised fashion! Did small shop this afternoon & was very strict about what went in the trolley!

Have just been on phone to Virgin Media - swapping landline over to them & will save about £10/month. All evening & weekend calls included, & keep same number. Very pleased with that.

Mobile - called vodafone, contracted till September, but can upgrade or whatever from July. I did however change plan to get 100 more minutes for same price so happy with that. I do need it. DH has a work mobile so no cost there, but it costs me to ring him! So more free minutes is good.

I need to pop over to the meal boards & get some more ideas for meals. We do cook pretty much from scratch, very rarely succumb to ready meals, but I find we do the same things on a rolling rota, & I need some new cheap ideas!

I have come home this afternoon so positive though, its a good feeling! :j

scaredy_cat

you should start a spending diary for you and your oh to see where the leftover £400 odd is going.

mogchops

scaredy_cat wrote: »

you should start a spending diary for you and your oh to see where the leftover £400 odd is going.

Yep, diary started today - contains 2 entries from Tescos for groceries & beer!!

Am also hoping that as DH sees the beer adding up in black & white, it might help to cut him back a bit!!

scaredy_cat

i know that it's easy to spend a lot without realising. i got to college 1 day a week so if i have a tea when i get there, then 1 at break times, that's already £2.80! then any food could be upwards of £2.50 so it's over a fiver before you know it!!