(deep breath) here goes.

Ohhohoho

Thanks Magenta, yes i know i need to keep a diary and really scrutinise where i can cut back.
The £150 saving a month never really amounts to much as, i should have mentioned, i also use the leftovers in December to buy all my Christmas presents, and of course dip into it when i need to keep my current account out of overdraft! So i guess this is my rainy day pot and the other £400 i think i will just pay on the card.

Thanks for positiveness about the holiday! you'll laugh, but i even told myself it won't cost the full 1k cos we'll be making savings that we normally spend in England e.g. utilites and food bills! I know thats silly, but it helped me feel better!

I am going to keep a diary and then post up here exactly what my bits and bobs are to get some more help, although i guess i know really where i'm going wrong, its just so difficult to keep focused on a day to day basis - things like days out for my daughter all mount up etc I just need to get tough don't i!

I shall get on the phone to ntl and see what they will do.

Nappies is probably only £12 month or so, catfood is probably £20 month or so, but as you say i need to work all this out for sure and see where my money goes.

magentadreamer

Do get onto NTL, I told my best mate her OH got them a better deal then rang up a day later and pretended to be his Dad then a day later and was her Dad -result being 12 months lhaf price phone rental for his dad, 6 months half price broadband and phone line for her mum and dad. They got 12 months half price line rental plus NTL will foot the bill for their wireless contector thingy themselves. Just have a look on the net for broadband providers and take it from there - i quoted I think Tiscali at them for me as it was cheaper for me.

tyllwyd

If you have got debts, putting aside £150 as 'anything' money seems way too much - I would break it down to show exactly what you are saving towards the car maintenance etc. And if Christmas is costing that much, maybe you need to have a good look and cut right down.

We've just started a proper budget and I am shocked to see how much we spend on a family trip out at the weekend, just to something like a soft play centre and some lunch for everybody. If you are treating yourself to a holiday, then maybe you need to be tough and say no to some of your usual treats and trips out to compensate.

And I'm afraid I really don't believe in the lottery! I'd rather put the £5 aside and know that I've got it, instead of seeing it disappear. If the lottery is such a good bet, how come they make thousands of pounds profit to give away to their good causes????

black-saturn

Could you not cut down on (or cut out) the car use? It seems like a hell of a lot to be paying. I got rid of my car when I had my "lightbulb moment" and paid what I was paying on that towards the debt. It's amazing that after a while you get used to not having one. Most journeys can by done on foot or by bus. Longer journeys just take a bit of forward planning. Now I am out of debt I still havn't got a car as I've realised I don't need it. I dont think I ever will either.

black-saturn

tyllwyd wrote:

And I'm afraid I really don't believe in the lottery! I'd rather put the £5 aside and know that I've got it, instead of seeing it disappear. If the lottery is such a good bet, how come they make thousands of pounds profit to give away to their good causes????

Same here, I don't believe in it either. Apparantly the odds are that you've got more chance of getting on a rocket ship to the moon than you have on winning the lottery.

HLK

magentadreamer wrote:

Do get onto NTL, I told my best mate her OH got them a better deal then rang up a day later and pretended to be his Dad then a day later and was her Dad -result being 12 months lhaf price phone rental for his dad, 6 months half price broadband and phone line for her mum and dad. They got 12 months half price line rental plus NTL will foot the bill for their wireless contector thingy themselves. Just have a look on the net for broadband providers and take it from there - i quoted I think Tiscali at them for me as it was cheaper for me.

Agree with this - I got mine reduced twice.. the first time we were paying so much that we saved nearly 400 over a year from 1 phone call. I waited 6 months and aasked again once the 3 for £30 deal came in. Their current package with a 1 meg broadband is just £33. So your £75 seems way to high. The thing is to talk to the right people - i.e retentions.. there's a number on here somewhere- 'll have alook and get back.

Here you are 08000529403 and press option 2 - but read this thread first and you'll get plenty of tips. It pays to do your homework before calling. Some folks seems to ask for inidividual reduction on their service I just always deal with my whole package.

HTH

mgardner

Ohhohoho wrote:

I forget to say that the £250 feeds three of us for a month, and a cat, and buys all the nappies and houshold stuff. Does that make it seem any better?

I have been working hard towards this holiday, its not particularly expensive, will just be cheap package holiday abroad - the only and last one until the debts are all gone!

Can anyone recommend good phone and internet packages?

I have just managed to get Telewest to agree to give me the three for £30 option, thats the phone, broadband and TV. I was previously paying them
£25 just for broadband , the line rental and I didnt have the TV package. When I first asked I was told this was for new customers only. But after playing my face and asking what price loyality, been with them for some years I was eventually told I could have it.

monkeylugs

Hello, how do?

Is there any reason why your three-year-old daughter is in nappies? Is it just at night time or is she in them during the day?

I'm not saying it's "abnormal" but, just as a thought, maybe your health visitor could look into getting you some free nappies. My son has delayed development and as a result at 37-months has the developmental age of a 24-month old child. My HV said if I wanted she could get me some free nappies. She said they wouldn't be brilliant as Pampers but would do.

Also, she suggested I applied for Disability Living Allowance because "my child takes more looking after than a 'normal' 3-year-old. When the forms came it did ask about toileting however they do have to be over three to get it, so if your daughter is nearly three or only in nappies at night then it's probably not your worth applying

roswell

your currently paying £900 a year to ntl, you can change this to £360 just by changing to there 3 for £30 package .... just a thought, thats painless and im sure you can find a use for £570

Ohhohoho

Wow what a wonderful lot of useful information to return home to! Before i turned the pc on i have read my gas and elec meters to submit to powergen.

I am going to read your link to NTL and then get on the phone to them.

My daughter is only in nappies at night, she's only just turned three and not yet ready to go without them, so wouldn't get any help from HV. But good thought!

I don't really believe in the lottery either but that really is my partners domain, they are his numbers he's had for years, he just does £1 a week. I'm going to get him to read all this thread later, so he can join me in the plans!

Car - i cannot do without my car i work from home and travel within the community, my work pay some of my petrol, but don't cover the large costs i have of ferrying my daughter to her grandparents and back, who very kindly provide free childcare for me thank goodness!

Ok so my £150 savings per month comes to £1800 a year.

Heres a rough guess at car costs - £160 car tax, £250 Mot and service, £350 insurance and always shop around for the cheapest. = £760, I have a large family so if i quickly add up all immediate family members birthdays and xmas presents spending £20 on each thats £360 + 150 p/yr on my daughter and partner presents.

All of this totals 1270 out of the 1800 per year, and i havn't yet accounted for daughters friends presents (i only do £5 a time), extra costs for car, e.g. the £50 i just spent on break pads, and tyre repairs.

I think i need to save the £150 p/mth don't you? then i have all costs covered, otherwise they would end up on the credit cards. What i do realise that in addition to this we don't need to be having the extra £100 in joint account, so i shall start paying that extra onto debts + savings i make with utilities, there could be a light at the end of the tunnel!!