SOA Help

SueP19

Daily.........whats the point in having an allowance for car repairs in your monthly budget!!!?????? Surely thats to put away for future repairs

CONFUSED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't use your credit card now do use it

TotallyBroke

Don't use it. Save for the car tax, insurance etc it is the best way. You won't suddenly be over your overdraft one month trying to find large amounts to cover these bills.

I do agree with daily to a point, but think that is better once your family learns to live within a budget. Once you can and actually have a surplus then you can reduce the savings to cover the debts.

The best thing I found was to write down on paper on a spreadsheet everything. So what I did was look at the bank account before the wages went in and wrote down the amount. It was always -650.00
Then I added the wages so that took me to +550 then I took out the amount for the first bill to be paid then the second etc etc. As money went in and out I worked it into my sheet. I looked at old bank statements to get a rough idea of the date they were paid. Like I know the mortgage is due on the 16th of the month.
Because everything was written down it was easy to see when I needed to cut back on things. Sometimes my wages were gone and I would need to wait for Child benefit to go in before I could buy shopping, it also showed me that I could only spend x amount on the shopping.

Now after my wages go in, I move all my car money, present money etc into the e savings account I have straight away. Because if the worst came to the worst I can move it back.
I have a copy of the sheet I used to help me, if you would like to see it I'll gladly email it. Just send me a pm with your email address.

SueP19

Thanks Pollycat your support is really appreciated

Totallybroke I am on your wave length, I am at ease with spreadsheets and that is what I have been working on since the weekend, so I could start (even those that work in the financial sector end up in c**p)
I am using the savings account this way
BS book emergency of £200, add yearly saved for expenses mot xmas etc
bank savings account each week loan amount, credit card amount and any additional money as hubby does not have a set wage, so when its good I can pay extra into this ...................like this week extra £40 to CC
You see we are paid me monthly and hubs weekly, so its a dual spreadsheet. At the end of the month I will transfer back into bank the money from the bank savings and split according to balance.

Thanks guys for your support XXXX

SueP19

Daily..........I am aware that my £200 is worth £70 in interest over the next year because I have not paid it off my credit card debts, the OD is a set fee of £5 whether I am £1 OD or £999 so no increase in interest from the bank and NO I would not borrow £1000 to have as an emergency fund. Why take money off a credit card and create an interest charge for the sake of it, after all, you would have a £1000 card with no balance on it for IF an emergency happened.

Have you ever made the choice between eating and repairing a car, its not pleasant. You need to eat but need the car to go to earn as well................................ps...a sack of spuds is very useful in these situations.
We have had crisis after crisis in our life, each time a credit card had to be used as no other funds were available. We never were able to catch up. If I am honest £200 is not a lot as an emergency fund. What if the bank rescind my OD without notice? This is happening and believe me if its going to happen to anyone it will be me. £200 can stretch to 2 weeks of fuel and food
And if you were not to have an emergency fund then why does the SOA website I used have a sub heading for it????????

I thank you for the link but I hardly think the example is comparable : £5000 v £200

SueP19

I can certainly see the logic in the link that you gave me and it would be madness to have savings and debt But each individual circumstances are different
For me the following applies, say I pay my £200 off my credit card
a) This would not put the debt below my credit limit, so no available for emergencies
b) My SOA shows that I can only repay a small amount currently, thus eliminating any further use of the card.
I hope this explains my situation a little better, the emergency is just that and not intended to be increased. By being a low amount I would have to think very seriously about what constituted an emergency thus making sure that I had exhausted all other possibilities.................the only thing I can think of would be a car repair at this point as we live in the middle of nowhere.

SueP19

My cards are overdue to not being able to pay the minimum amounts for the last 2 months.
The "some point" will come but not before my MOT is due

jennyo

I'm like you sue have a small emergency fund, I know it would probably make more sense to pay it off my CC, I also live a long way out, we are self employed, we need a vehicle, if we can't travel we can't work. I don't want to ever have to take out a loan again to cover an emergency, it may be the wrong way to do it, but having that small amount of money put by, makes me feel better, the better I feel, the more I can tackle what ever life throws.

Just something to think about Sue, since we have started changing what we do, our luck also seems to have changed, (for the better), I'm sure this will happen to you too Sue.

SueP19

Hi jennyo
Maybe it is a safety thing, brought about by, as you said, having to borrow when things happen. It is a very scary thing, I remember having bailiffs at my door with a seizure order and no one to turn to, no help from family. Luckily a friend lent me the money to pay them, it was years ago but its etched on my brain and the food v car repair is true as well.
You see I have been here before years ago when we got married, it took me 8 years to get out of it. I am just so angry with myself for allowing this to happen again. While the house prices were good we got into a vicious cycle, run up debt, re mortgage, vow never to do it again. I guess we didn't learn.
We have addressed one very core issue just lately................hubby wants, I get, the more I got, the more he wanted. Don't get me wrong I know it seems I am blaming him but I am half responsible for this, if I had stood firm years ago, we would not be in this mess.

On a lighter note I was a shopping tart yesterday, I went to Morrisons with my voucher and spent £28 but it would have been £20 more and before I get smacked I went with the premiss "only buy if its what we usually buy, only buy if on offer and finally if I can still buy it cheaper at Aldi then it put down"...............................and I stuck to it

Pollycat

SueP19 wrote: »

We have addressed one very core issue just lately................hubby wants, I get, the more I got, the more he wanted. Don't get me wrong I know it seems I am blaming him but I am half responsible for this, if I had stood firm years ago, we would not be in this mess.

Sue
It's absolutely great to read this! :T
In your original post, it really did sound like you'd got a massive struggle with your OH's attitude.
It sounds like he's had his LBM and if you're both pulling in the same direction, things can only get better.

Well done too to your daughter re her understanding about the necessity to cut back her pocket money.

You actually sound a very sensible and clued-up lady so I'm sure it won't be long before you start to see a real change in your finances - especially if you can cut down on that HUGE grocery bill.

Lost2

Pollycat wrote: »

Sue
It's absolutely great to read this! :T
In your original post, it really did sound like you'd got a massive struggle with your OH's attitude.
It sounds like he's had his LBM and if you're both pulling in the same direction, things can only get better.

Well done too to your daughter re her understanding about the necessity to cut back her pocket money.

You actually sound a very sensible and clued-up lady so I'm sure it won't be long before you start to see a real change in your finances - especially if you can cut down on that HUGE grocery bill.

I have been reading this post with interest and totally agree with you Pollycat, well done Sue :T