oi what you doing here

elantan

well house is relatively respectful ...and i have had a quick squizz at the finances ...then i realised i forgot the student loan ...groan ...

anyhoo ...taking all my payments etc into account (including mortgage) i am £6,575 less in debt this year than i was last year ...that's quite alot of money and i am pleased it is looking not too bad ...but i want more ...i want next year to be able to say that i am out of debt to my visa and paid off the two overdrafts and bought a lawnmower and a laptop (badly need both) without getting more into debt ...

soooooo i was looking at the take aways ...we spend somewhere in the region of £1250 a year on them ...this is taking an average of 4 a week ...2 for hubby 2 for me ...now some weeks we have ore and some weeks we have less but i am just roudning it down to two each ...if i can save even the £250 off of that next year then that is a saving atleast ...maybe i should start a takeaway diary as well so that we can see exactly what we spend on them...

other things i am thinking of ...well to be honest this is where i come undone ...we have cut back so much over the last few years that there isnt much more i can do ...yes my mobile phone could be doing with being one hell of alot less and to be honest it is a pile of pants and i cant stand it ...but i am tied into a contract for about anohter 18 months so i cant really do anything about that just now ...

my direct debits are as low as i can get them i have changed gas and electricity supplier to the cheapest for my area ...

i pay the friends and family rate for my broadband ...i think it is aboout £33 a month but that gives me 20 meg download (hubby is thinking we need 50meg) unlimited calls ...cheaper mobile calls (still only make these as an emergncy type thing) cheaper calls abroad ( i have two very good friends i try to call once a month for 20 mins or so) and loads of tv channels which we dont really watch to be fair but it comes with the package ....

food well i have tried and tired to get this under control but it just aint working ...i did the whole get a big shop idea but we landed up chucking stuff away ...it suits our life better to buy as we need ...i have to admit i am rarely if ever tempted to buy things we dont need this way and we have found we dont have as much waste ...but i cant go the whole meal planning ...i tried and tried it but it just didnt work ...also hubby and i eat differently i am a veggy (almost fully fledged now) and he is a carnivore ...i like pasta he doesnt etc etc ...so i dont know what i can do here

diesel comsumption ...well yes this can do with being looked at again ...we are careful not to drive above 60 now and keep tyres etc inflated as needed .... but i am still making the occasional (and i do mean occasional) un needed trip out in the car ...but i have to admit when the good weather comes i like going away for the day ...i dont just want my car to be something i need for work ...i like going visiting new places so if i can keep them but cut out the other un needed journeys thats should make a difference

talking of cars we do also need to put in place a savings plan for a new one ...this one is a 53 plate and we have had enough problems with it to last a life time ...we cant afford a new one just now but we are going to have to start thinking about putting something in place ....

so that means savings as well ...

yikes it seems alot ...

ok chunking it down

we need to earn more and spend less ....

ebay is a no goer before anyone suggests this is a long long standing point with hubby and i and i aint letting it go for nothing ...

so overtime it is ...arrrggghhhh ...ok i need to do it ...so in order to make it more bareable i think i am going to share the moeny made into three pots ...one for debt repayment (extra to the visa ) one for lawnmower ...then laptop ...then car...one for treats ...how about half for debt ...quarter for savings ...quarter for treats..?

elantan

just had hubby on the phone his van is stuck in a scheme he also has locked the keys in the ignition (due to trying to fix the back door then the front doors locking on him) he doesnt think he will get home early there are buses in the scheme that cant move and have blocked the roads ...and he has had to phone the A A for the second time today(first time to get the van out of the driveway this morning) ....oh well that will be the weather then ...how come the u.k comes to a grinding halt in this weather ?


just had an update from hubby he has been told by the AA it will be 9pm before they can get to him (had told him 5pm previously) he is frozen to the marrow and has no money for food (its sitting in the front of the van along with the keys) and i cant get to him to give him money or food as i cant move the car (
its still bricked up and far too icy to attempt to move it

shaun40400

:grouphug::grouphug:
sounds like a day from hell,,el for your oh,,,,
get some soup warmed up and put it in a flask so you can serve it the minute he slides in,,,:o

takeaways,,,,,hmmmm
we used to have them twice a week,,,,,what a waste of cash,,,,i used to look at joints of meat in the shop for €16 and say im not paying that much for a peice of meat,,,,,yet
one takeaway,,,€16 and makes 3 meals,,,,,
stock freezer with your favourite quick meals,,,,lidles German burgers,,salmon slices,,,,,both fry / micro wave in mins,,,,batch cook meals next time you cook and save some
come on el its easy!!!! and cook a lot quicker than they can deliver,,,

elantan

shaun we are the same ... would look at some lovely meat for hubby (steak or whatever) and he would say i aint paying that for that look at it i could get a chinese and have someone cook it for me for less than that ...but we need to get our heads round quality more ...

we dont eat things like burgers though shaun ...its more like gamon steak with potatoes etc for hubby or chinese (he makes some lovely food)

for me its more about being less lazy i just get to the i so cant be bothered stage in life ...have too much to do usually

but WE need to get on top of the situation ...i was hoping to talk to hubby tonight but i dont think thats a good idea with the day he has had

boredofbeingathome

Oh poo..i hope he gets home earlier Not good in this weather at all. He will need thawing out too...now as it is a clean thread i am suggesting hot water bottles.

elantan

i was thinking other things har har

savingholmes

hi el sorry you are working all over xmas

Hope oh gets home at a decent time

takeaways will pm you some time

elantan

thanks saving no hurry though i know you have enough to deal with ...

right hubby is home and soaking in the bath ...he noticed a lovely clean house ...go El ...and asked what i did with my day i told him and he said oh tell me how it went

so i got out my note pad and told him and together we discussed how we want the future to be...both financially and health wise

we have agreed that over time will have to be done as and when we can ...and takeaways will be down to one a week each saving some money over the year ...
hubby has said he will drink once a week for both financial and health reasons ...we will see how this goes though ...he does have alcohol issues

he has also agreed to try to have 3 bottles of ginger (pop) a week ...again for both financial and health reasons ...he can easily go through a bottle a day so this is a big thing for him to come up with ...

he came up with both the drinking and the ginger ideas i have to admit i didnt so maybe he will stick to it if he is involved

i am going to cut back on eating crap ...chocolate etc i spend far too much on the stuff ..... so giving it up for financial and health reasosn.....

i already dont drink so i have nothing to give up there

i think thats about it for now

boredofbeingathome

Sounds good El, hope he is ok after all that waiting in the freezing cold.

taxi73

The plan soundsgood and could possibly work with your DH coming up with ideas.
Hope he has thawed out now and has had something nice to eat.