Direct debit vs. monthly set-aside?

Reya

Hm. I just checked the contents insurance. It's a yearly payment (thanks for reminding me, though, as I'd not thought to include that in my monthly set-aside budget!) but breaking it down per month it's just over £8 per month. We actually invested in some quite expensive art over the past few years, all of which I'm getting to keep. I don't want to sell it, but it's there as a sort of insurance policy against future financial worries. It's put the policy up by a couple of pounds a month, but I can live with that. Besides, it's beautiful art by my favourite artist, and it reminds me of some lovely times I had in Paris. I won't part with it unless I really have nothing left to my name.

My main concern with the house thing is that we have no children, so I worried that the housing association might boot me out of here in preference to, say, a single mum with a couple of children :undecided Thank you for the reassurance, though; it does make me feel a bit more confident that I won't be packing my bags too soon!

amosworks

OK you might hate me for this, but why not continue sharing the house with your ex partner? If you can stand him of course, it could be quite a useful arrangement (financially) and he's probably still the best person to share with rather than a stranger or something. Maybe not long term, but just for several months while you make more progress sorting things? Just my $0.02

Reya

amosworks wrote:

Don't forget also that if you do pay by DD, you are covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee which may help you if they !!!! up, as you'll quickly be able to get the money back from your bank. If you pay manually then the timescales to get back monies owed etc. might not be so short.

Ooh, I hadn't thought of that. Thank you!

Edit: And with regard to sharing, it's him that wants out, so that's not an option. Luckily, the rent on the house is extremely low, and well within my budget, thank God

RVK2

Reya wrote:

Hm. I just checked the contents insurance. It's a yearly payment (thanks for reminding me, though, as I'd not thought to include that in my monthly set-aside budget!) but breaking it down per month it's just over £8 per month. We actually invested in some quite expensive art over the past few years, all of which I'm getting to keep. I don't want to sell it, but it's there as a sort of insurance policy against future financial worries. It's put the policy up by a couple of pounds a month, but I can live with that. Besides, it's beautiful art by my favourite artist, and it reminds me of some lovely times I had in Paris. I won't part with it unless I really have nothing left to my name.

My main concern with the house thing is that we have no children, so I worried that the housing association might boot me out of here in preference to, say, a single mum with a couple of children :undecided Thank you for the reassurance, though; it does make me feel a bit more confident that I won't be packing my bags too soon!

I'd put the value of my ISA on it that they won't ask you to move

CLAPTON

my view is:

pay by DD where there is a discount for doing so e.g. most gas and electric although always check the bills and metere readings to make sure you're not overpaying

donot use DD but save in advance where you are actually charged for paying monthly...many insurance companies charge more if you pay monthly

where there is no discount or surcharge, them pay by DD if you otherwise pay upfront but save if you pay in arrears.

all a bit complicated...it depends upon whether you want the bother but can save some money.

Daniel_B

What clapton said pretty much!

DD when it's easy/discounted - Phone/leccy/gas/water/Life insurance/Broadband/TV/Water/Council tax

Everything else MAKE monthly, ie for my situ:

Car insurance/Petrol/Travel Insurance/Car Tax/Car servicing & maintenance.
I also do the same for Holiday/clothes/going out/food/presents etc etc

Divide all the figures/estimates by 12, and away you go.
After you have 12 months of stats, your estimates will become less and less that, and much more accurate - after 12 months, barring very unusual circumanstances, your life becomes comparitively simple with regards to bills.

Dan

Reya

Trying to kill three birds... er, replies with one post here

Redvelvetkiss2 wrote:

I'd put the value of my ISA on it that they won't ask you to move

Thank heaven for that! I really do feel much better about that now. It was the only real worry I had left. Yes, things will be tight, financially, of course, but being shunted halfway across town in the middle of all that was playing on my mind.

CLAPTON wrote:

my view is:

pay by DD where there is a discount for doing so e.g. most gas and electric although always check the bills and metere readings to make sure you're not overpaying

donot use DD but save in advance where you are actually charged for paying monthly...many insurance companies charge more if you pay monthly

where there is no discount or surcharge, them pay by DD if you otherwise pay upfront but save if you pay in arrears.

all a bit complicated...it depends upon whether you want the bother but can save some money.

That makes sense. *nod* I already have a lot on DD (rent, council tax, phone, internet, TV etc) and I'll look into getting the gas and leccy put over, too. At least the meters are in boxes right outside the front door, so they're easy to get to; no rummaging around under hoovers and old coats in the cupboard under the stairs!

Daniel_B wrote:

Divide all the figures/estimates by 12, and away you go.
After you have 12 months of stats, your estimates will become less and less that, and much more accurate - after 12 months, barring very unusual circumanstances, your life becomes comparitively simple with regards to bills.

That's what I've been doing, and I've been rounding everything up to the nearest pound. (Why is it that people always try to make things look cheaper by charging £24.99 instead of £25? I suppose it does actually fool you into feeling like you're getting more for your money, even if you're only 'saving' a penny!)

Anyway, all of those extra rounded-up bits will amount to a few quid at the end of the year, too. Every little bit helps!


Thanks, everyone, for all of the great advice! :T