Does this Qualify as a lightbulb Moment ?

rubix_76

:idea:

My story so far:

In a galaxy far, far away … ( I should stop doing that !!) I got some credit cards, bought some stuff, thought it was a good idea to consolidate, got a loan, consolidated that too, yadda yadda, you know the story.

The reason for me wanting to sort out my finances is that OH and me have a baby due any-day, and I would like to make it as pain free as possible.

Having read other peoples threads, I now list my SOA.

Monthly payments

Mortgage – Nationwide 626.85
Life Insurance (mortgage) 11.54
Life insurance (endowment, expires in 1 year paying approx 1k) 5.42
Income protection (OH) 13.17
Council Tax 95
Gas - British Gas 44
Electricity - British Gas 15
Land line – BT 13
Internet (dial up) – BT Openworld 15 hours per month 4.99
Anglian Water 25
Cat Insurance - Pet Plan 16.79
TV Licence 10.99
Dentist (private) 16.30

Groceries – Tesco 260
Petrol 173.33
Mobile Phone Me & OH 60
Union Membership 21.92

Pocket Money (both of us) 200

Secured Loan (30k) (Yes and for another 29 ½ years too !!!) 342

Graduate Loan (only till November 2006) 225

Childcare (from mid July 2006) 433.33

Total (now) = £ 2180.29 pm
Total (Jul to Nov) = £ 2613.63 pm
Total (after Nov) = £ 2388.63 pm


Annual payments

Car Tax 250
Car Insurance 750
Car Maintenance inc MOT 300
RAC Membership 100
Christmas 350
Birthdays 100

Total = £ 1850 pa Equates to Total = £ 154.17 pm

Wages (combined) approx £ 2300

Result (now) -£ 34.46
Result (Jul to Nov) -£ 467.80
Result (after Nov) -£ 242.80

Any help gratefully received :T

Thanks
Rubix

P.S. So does this qualify for a :idea: moment ??

skintchick

Yes it does! WElcome!

I don;t have much sensible going on in my head right now, except that you shoudl change from British Gas, and use your mobile less, and cut your food budget down to about £120 for the pair of you (see the old Style board for ways to do that)

Someone less spaced out than me will be along shortly to give you better help. x

vyvyan_2

Hi and welcome - you've def come to the right place. I'm sure more experienced people than me will have some helpful stuff to say about your SOA. Congrats on the baby. A new life and a new financial life too!! Well done for making it a new start. Looks like a well thought-out SOA too. Def a lightbulb moment. Here's to new beginnings :beer:

Verbatim

What's up skintchick? Are you OK?

tiptoes

Welcome Rubix

As skintchick said try figure out where you can save money i.e changing gas supplier, cutting down on grocceries ( for two adults and two children I spend £250 per mth. the oldstyle board is realy good for ways to cut back on grocceruy cost), changing your mortgage provider. looking into whether you would be entitled to tax credits or childcare costs.

Do you and you partner have any savings would these be better being being paid of your load or mortgage.

if you look aroun the boards there is lots of helps tips and advice

rubix_76

Vyvyan and skintchick,

Thanks for your kind words. I have been planning how to say it all for a good week or two, also lots of info to digest and make sense of too.

Regarding British gas, are they really more expensive ? I know they put up their prices first, but aren't all the suppliers relatively similar ? I don't want to have to change every six months as they all change prices !!

Food bill, we both have packed lunches, and ALL of our shoppoing comes from tesco, including meat, veg, the lot.

We have decided to use real nappies where we can (for cost and environmental reasons) The programme with a skipfull of nappies made me choose (I think it was Martin, not sure though).

I have also got Martins (new) diet book, so will be reading through that to get more hints.

Thanks

Rubix

in*the*red_6

Hiya

Just a small thing but when you note your deficits after July and then November, remember you will have child benefit £60-something pound for one child and you should be able to get some tax credits if you are paying approved childcare too. This should make the shortfalls a little less.

Best wishes

kathfisch

skintchick wrote:

Yes it does! WElcome!

I don;t have much sensible going on in my head right now, except that you shoudl change from British Gas, and use your mobile less, and cut your food budget down to about £120 for the pair of you (see the old Style board for ways to do that)

Someone less spaced out than me will be along shortly to give you better help. x

Hope you're ok Skintchick

Welcome Rubix, and congrats on having your lightbulb moment!

I would definitely echo skintchick and say switch from british gas for your gas and electricity, read here for info on switching, it really is very easy and could save you loads. Also try here for info on cutting phone bills (landline and mobile). The best way is usually to switch to PAYG and do your best not to make calls! Do read the articles though cos there might be cheaper ways for you to make your landline calls. Also pop over to the telephones board here if you haven't already, they can advise and answer questions.

As far as insurance goes, make sure you shop around when renewals are due, try some of the online "best buy finder" type sites, you'll be surprised at the savings you could make.

Definitely try the Old Style Board here for help, you can definitely cut down that food bill by quite a bit!

Can I ask what the £200 pocket money for the two of you goes on? If you could reduce this it would help greatly. It is important to treat yourselves and have a few things (takeaways or nights out) to stay sane but if you are determined to do this you really need to cut back on luxuries. When the baby comes along you will probably find you spend less on socialising anyway, at least at first.

Apologies for all the links, will keep you busy for a while if you've not read them all!

Best of luck

Kath

P.S. I should learn not to type so much, everyone beats me to it!!

Rubix, British Gas are significantly more expensive than other providers I believe. Not just because of recent rises, their prices have always stayed high and been undercut by others (but BG can rely on all their loyal customers who won't or don't switch so don't need to be so competitive). It only takes a few minutes to check if there's a better deal for you.

newmoneysaver_2

£200 a month pocket money?!

At the moment you can't afford to have any pocket money. Ehat is this used for? Can you go without? Does it cover lunches whilst at work, if so take lunches from home, so much cheaper..

rubix_76

tiptoes wrote:

Welcome Rubix

As skintchick said try figure out where you can save money i.e changing gas supplier, cutting down on grocceries ( for two adults and two children I spend £250 per mth. the oldstyle board is realy good for ways to cut back on grocceruy cost), changing your mortgage provider. looking into whether you would be entitled to tax credits or childcare costs.

Do you and you partner have any savings would these be better being being paid of your load or mortgage.

if you look aroun the boards there is lots of helps tips and advice

I think grocery shopping is one are we NEED to cut down on, not sure how though, will look into that.

Tax credits, will look into (when the bloomin baby turns up - allready 5 days late )

Mortgage, tied into a fixed rate for security purposes (one less payment that will change)

No savings, but childcare vouchers will be used to their maximum potential.

Rubix

Verbatim

Hi Rubix-76,
Congrats on the new baby and welcome to MSE.

I'd agree that often the easiest thing to reduce is the grocery bill. I've found that by leaving my cc at home and sticking to the list (I always have taken value items where available) I've cut down my bill a great deal. The basic ranges of supermarkets are often exactly the same as the high er cost items, same manufacturer and contents, different packaging. The orange juice
is about 34p in Sainsbury's basics range and the difference is that you have to cut or tear off the corner to to pour rather than a pull tag on the (much) dearer own brands/other brands. Pasta is almost half the price (19p for 500g) etc. Sorry if this is grandmothers and eggs stuff.

Looks like you've done a lot of the hard work already. I'm impressed.