SOA Help

SueP19

Ah thanks Pollycat and Lost2
I actually work for a firm of accountants so its very much "don't do as I do"
I just never could get a handle on where I was going wrong, at work they are all lilly white with savings, I am the black sheep BUT I do get the poor/in trouble clients and they do appreciate me.
This forum has been a godsend both from a support/taking the stress away point of view but also in making me focus in stead of just launching from one crisis to another. I will certainly be promoting this site to my little self employed guys and its funny, the research I have been doing on PPI reclaims have resulted in the Accountants asking me loads of questions about it all
Now if I could just practise what I know, hehe!!!! I COULD end up being wealthy

TotallyBroke

SueP19 wrote: »

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

I only have the one current account and the one esavings account so don't have to worry about remembering to transfer from one to the other. I found that by doing the running total of what will be in the bank, each time a bill is paid or money comes in, helped me budget for months that were 5 weeks long. In fact I am so sad that my budget sheet runs to 2012 based on todays figures. It meant that to cover a 5 week month I had to spend £5 less on groceries the month before.

Another thing that I believe has helped me, although it is a load of rubbish if the truth be known is fengshui (sp). Apparantly if you keep the lid on your toilet closed and put the plugs in all your plug holes then your money will not go down the drain. I've been doing it, infact I keep the bathroom door shut at all times and I feel richer and have spare money. My surplus money and good fortune could also be down to me getting rid of a gambling partner lol but before he went I didn't put the lid down on the loo lol

SueP19

Now I know we are soul debtors, Totallybroke. Feng Shui, I first found it when we were trying to buy our current house, we had no end of grief and guess what front door faced east and we are, all 3 of us, west people. It also had 3 doors in a row from front to back. I have been so busy these past few years with my business, working fulltime and stress related headaches that I have let my feng shui slip. Funny things is hubby has been ranting on at me for months about "the mess in the corners" feng shui wise and I have just been too busy to get organised but I am determined to sort the rubbish out. We are missing our North corner and the south east corner of our house (money and career!!!!!) So no its not daft to me.
As for the accounts I want to make it as simple as possible and so for me its 1 saver for monthly bills I have to save every week for, 1 saver for extra money I can pay off cards and 1 for yearly bills

PS I used to go mad if the toilet seat was not put down, now all my lot are trained hehe!!!

TotallyBroke

Oh I really know nothing about Feng Shui. I don't even know if that toilet lid thing is real. I just remember hearing it and thought I'd do it. It's not just the seat it's the acual lid so that nothing can fall into toilet. Someone did buy me an elephant that is also to do with channelling energy or stopping it, can't remember, but knowing me I have it in the wrong place anyway.

I suppose it proves in the theory that if you want to believe you can. Something to do with the placeabo (sp) medicines. Just water but made to look like miracle medicines. If it works for you then great. I think for me the toilet lid was just a control thing, once I had control over that I realised (with the help from others on here) I could take control of the whole of my life.

SueP19

Totallybroke, LOL the toilet thing is for real, as to if it works UMMMMMM!!!!! just look at my signature it either doesn't work or I am doing it grossly wrong, hehe!!

jennyo

Things look like they are coming along well for you Sue, I understand husband pester power, he was worse than my now grown up children. However I must say he has changed and is doing his best, even looking for the bargains in the supermarket.

SueP19

I have to say he is like a petulant child.............or was. I think we will still have moments when he rebels but hopefully that will be few and far between. Our DD has been more mature since she was 5 than him, hehe!!
In the past I think I must have been mad to have put up with it but at the time the creditors were easier to deal with.
I was trying to think of my light bulb moment but in truth I have been flickering on and off for the past year, it was how to bring him round to thinking properly, his attitude has been s*d 'em. Thats ok but it me who has to deal with it. I developed high blood pressure at 28, have felt ill for years and then 5 years ago I ended up with stress migraines............every weekend for 2 years was a nightmare. My craft business then came along and it was so de-stressing it really helped but of course I have had the sulky treatment from him as it takes too much of my time.
Last month at 42 I finally ended up with BP tablets OMG did that make a difference, my head is not as fuzzy as before and instead of spending my days scared of what was about to happen not just financially, I felt ready to deal with the world.
Life can be so cruel sometimes, my standard motto is "when life gets you down, get back up and stand taller"
Bless you XXXX

trina2010

i think the thing that stuck out for me most is the car expenses.
im a little confused as to whether this is one cars expense or 2? but according to my calculation you are spending just short of £4000 a year on your car alone.
£195 a month for fuel @ 250 miles a week may sound ok but up until recently I was driving 400 miles a week for work and spending the same per month.
£420 a year on road tax...even if this is for 2 cars its high. maybe its time to sell and buy something a bit more efficient, and you should be able to get a fairly decent car for the value of your current.
£876 for insurance and breakdown cover.....lets say breakdown and tow cover (including towing anywhere in UK and joint cover for 2 people) is £95 a year which means £781 for insurance.
I think if you have a look at changing your car it could potentially save you a lot of money over the year.

I hope this has given you something new to think about, well done for the steps so far and keep it going! you will feel so much better about everything once you know its all under control.

Trina x

SueP19

Hi Trina, sorry it is for 2 cars. I get 34mpg from my Citreon, I think probably the mileage was an under-estimate its probably more like 320-350 mixture of country/town and A road. I just road taxed the C5 for 6 months and it was just short of £100.
We did have a 106 before but hubby is a big bloke and found it impossible to drive. Ok the bad news our 2nd is a Grand Cherokee Jeep.......................don't leap in, this car does about 2500 miles per year and the size of it is in relationship to the caravan we tow. For the winter it has been SORN but as we live 5 miles from our nearest village and 15 from a town a second car is possibly an essential...................reason firms in hubbys industry are dropping like flies and if things do go wrong he will need to re-tax the vehicle to go to a job, those figures are based on this prospect. At the moment the unused bit will increase what I can pay on my cards, over and above the agreed amount.
Breakdown has a cover for parts included in it and is a 2 year contract til Jan 2010, I agonised over taking this out but 3 months after taking it I had to have brakes/discs/calipers renewed. I got just short of £300 back so not such a bad deal.
Citreon ins £252, Jeep £300, AA ins £324 (breakdown say £95 +Maintenance £229)
Hope this explains a bit better

trina2010

ah, yes makes more sense, it just sorta stuck out a bit as quite a lot of money, but makes much more sense, theres no way hed be talked into selling the jeep? a good sized diesel saloon may be able to do the same job but cost a good bit less on fuel and the dreaded road tax, my OH has a VW Passat, 1.9ltr turbo diesel, hes gets about 65mpg out of it on average and theres a lot of power in it...maybe something to talk over with you husband a bit of research cant hurt.

best of luck, keep up the good work!