Is it wrong to want it all? Ramblings and other stuff

LittleBit_2

Grrr more possible expenditure that I forgot to mention. Our cat has a dead tooth that the vet says will need removing, as it will get infected. Our pet insurance policy doesn't cover dental unless it's as a result of an accident. The vet says that it's probably as a result of an accident, but of course we have no proof of that

LittleBit_2

Ok, this is our SOA, although there are other things that we put money to one side for that aren't included. I'll try and add them on at the end...

Monthly Budget SummaryAmount(£)
Total monthly income 2,770
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans)1,777
Available for debt repayments993
UNsecured debt repayments50
Amount left after debt repayments943

Personal Balance Sheet SummaryAmount(£)
Total Assets (things you own)190,500
Total Secured & HP Debt-174,470
Total Unsecured Debt-300
Net Assets15,730

Household Information
Number of adults in household2
Number of children in household1
Number of cars owned1

Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details
IncomeAmount(£)
Monthly income after tax1100
Partners monthly income1550
Benefits120
Other income0
Total monthly income2770

ExpensesAmount(£)
Mortgage692
Secured/HP loan payments0
Rent0Management charge (leasehold property)0
Council tax115
Electricity45
Gas30
Oil0
Water Rates29
Telephone (land line)13
Mobile phone10
TV Licence15
Satellite/Cable TV0
Internet services5
Groceries etc.200
Clothing30
Petrol/diesel120
Road tax25
Car Insurance50
Car maintenance (including MOT)55
Car Parking0
Other travel0
Childcare/nursery20
Other child related expenses0
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.)0
Pet Insurance/Vet bills25
Buildings Insurance12.5
Contents Insurance12.5
Life Assurance38
Other Insurance0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.)45
Haircuts10
Entertainment140
Holiday40
Emergency Fund30
Total monthly expenses1807

Secured & HP Debt DescriptionDebt(£)
Monthly(£)
APR(%)Mortgage174470(692)
Secured & HP Debt totals174470- -

Unsecured Debt DescriptionDebt(£)
Monthly(£)
APR(%)
Credit Card 300
Unsecured Debt totals300

Asset DescriptionValue (£)
Cash1500
House Value (Gross)185000
Shares and bonds0
Car(s)4000
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets190500

First of all, clothing tends to be more than £50 at the moment, as I'm growing out of things very quickly and have to look reasonably smart for work.

We usually spend about £80 on days out, and then probably about £100 - £150 on 'general shopping' this tends to be stuff that we just buy and don't really need! On a weekend when we're bored and can't think of anything better to do...

Also we budget £20 for pet food which isn't on there.

We have £20 a month each pocket money, which isn't on there either.

Also £10 a month goes into my sons Trust fund.

We usually spend £20 a month for food at work which is mainly breakfast (as we start at 7:30) with the odd cup of tea thrown in.

And at the moment we're saving £500 a month towards the new baby/me being on maternity leave.

I think that's probably it. So that brings the total of 'spare money' down to around £300. Every month I think we should be able to save this extra too, but every month something 'comes up'. For example this month we have to get a room plastered at the cost of £200, and then it's my birthday so DH will be buying me some kind of pressy (hopefully won't spend too much)...

mum2one

Have a proper look after (I sound so nosey), promise I'm not, it seems to be your in the right direction, the 1st thing I noticed was entertainment was £140.00 per month....

The 1st thing Id suggest doing is - keep a spending diary for a week, one for you, one for hubby, list everything in it, from the groceries, to whetehr you buy apacket of chewing gum.

Method in my madness, grab an A4 folder, cheap pad, and a set of 12 dividers.

Set the dividers into months - say starting Sept (if you can get it done in time, or Oct if you cant)
On the 1st page, put the amount, of your income, (may vary each month, or may be drops due to your maternity payments).
Then break these down into weekly or fortnighly payments, which evey you find easier to budget.

Presents - pop over to the thrifty threads. Theres some brilliant ideas about making extra money, bargain offers, etc
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1678781&goto=newpost

Thats the money making thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1800153&goto=newpost

Thats the spending / crafty / thread- dont worry both threads are long 50 odd pages long, but go to the 1st pages on each ansd it explains the ideas behind it.

Some people are mad about xmas, others like to save money so bargain hunt, xmas sales etc.




Then put all the expenses, base it on the SOA, but add everything onto it, even if its £1.00 here, the pocket money. That way it will show you how much you will need to cover every month and the spare money you have.

Maternity clothes, can you try and mix and match items, espicaly as you only have a few weeks left at work.

mum2one

As the old saying goes, a new pair of eyes.


What I've done -
SOA-1- the information you put on the SOA, based on your outgoings (In all honeslty, assets etc, I ignore - as at mo really looking at incoming v outgoing)
Income £2770, total spends £1778, spare £992



Income 2770

Mortgage 692

council tax 115

elec 45

gas 30

water 25

landline 13

mobile 10

tv license 15

internet 5

groceries 200

clothing 30

petrol 120

road tax 25

car ins 50

car main 55

childcare 20

buildings 12.5

contents 12.5

life ins 38

presents 45

haircut 10

entertainment 140

holiday 40

emergency 30


soa-ended


then
SOA2- again your original SOA, plus the additions you added on at bottom, I just assumed that you have 4 days out a month, where you spend the £80 per time, and taking the I'm bored spending at £150.

This actually leaves you short of £108 per month, thats without paying the credit card, or any other bills.
Income-2770
total spends-2878
shortage-£108

Income 2770

Mortgage 692

council tax 115

Elec 45

Gas 30

Water 25

Landline 13

Mobile 10

tv license 15

Internet 5

Groceries 200

Clothing 50

Petrol 120

road tax 25

car ins 50

car main 55

Childcare 20

Buildings 12.5

Contents 12.5

life ins 38

Presents 45

Haircut 10

Entertainment 140

Holiday 40

Emergency 30



4xdays out 320

bored shopping 150

petfood 20

pocket money x 3 60

trustfund 10

food at work 20

save-baby/no work 500



total spending 2878

income 2770



spare money -108





then
Column 3- my suggestions,
the red figures are painless! cuts from your existing budget
the blue figures are based on your original SOA, but where I feel further reductions can be made, simply by shopping around and using cash back sites.
I noticed your car insurance works out at £600 per year, I dont know ur age, ur car, circumstances etc.
(I've just changed my fathers car insurance, as well as saveing him £60, I also got him a £65 cashback).

Income 2770

Mortgage 692

council tax 115

elec 45

gas 30

water 25

landline 13

mobile 10

tv license 15

internet 5

groceries 180

clothing 40

petrol 120

road tax 25

car ins 50

car main 55

childcare 20

buildings 12.5

contents 12.5

life ins 38

presents 30

haircut 10

entertainment 100

holiday 40

emergency 30


4xdays out 150

bored shopping 50

petfood 20

pocket money x 3 50

trustfund 10

food at work 10

save-baby/no work 500



total spending 2503

income 2770


spare money 267



Even with the painless cuts, you are now £267 a month better off.

mum2one

Follow on from last post, recall earlier in thread you mentioned weekly expenditure.

Following on from the 3rd SOA, I've broke ur expenditure into a weekly budget, but also look into the piggy bank method. (you either have seperate accounts,(I have 3 current accounts),or be very organised and have some good notebooks.

Going on your expenditures, I would suggest splitting the money into 5 accounts/sections.

HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNT
mortage-£692
c-tax-£115
elec-£45
gas-£30
water-£25
landline-£13
Tv license-£15
Internet-£5
Buildings -£12.50
Contents-£12.50
life ins-£38
TOTAL £1013 A MONTH (WEEKLY -£253.25)

PLEASURE
Clothing - £40
Presents - £30
Haircuts-£10
Entertainment-£100
Holiday-£40
4 days out £150
Bored-shop £50
Pocket Money-£50
TOTAL £470 A MONTH(WEEKLY-£117.50)

EXTRAS
Childcare £20
Emergency £30
Trust Fund £10
No work/baby £500
TOTAL £560 A MONTH (WEEKLY-£140)

FOOD
Groceries-£180
Petfood-£20
Food-work £10
TOTAL £210 A MONTH (WEEKLY - £52.50)

CAR
Petrol - £120
Tax £25
Ins-£50
Maintance-£55
TOTAL £250 A MONTH, (WEEKLY-£52.50)

Hope that makes sense xx

LittleBit_2

Thanks mum2one, that's fab. It's lovely how people take the time to try and help
The only problem I see with that way of working is that for example when you have the list for pleasure, it includes days out which are weekly spends, but also holidays, which are saved up for as one-offs, i.e. we may only take the money out once a year. So, holiday money etc would need to go over to a savings account rather than a current account, so we'd end up spending it.
Saying that though, it would definitely save us some money. I think I need about 20 different purses/cash tins and to take the cash out at the beginning of each month so I can keep a definite track of how much we have left. At the moment I do it all in the current account, and sometimes debit card purchases take a while to come out, by which time I've lost track of what we've spent! :mad:

mum2one

LittleBit wrote: »

Thanks mum2one, that's fab. It's lovely how people take the time to try and help
The only problem I see with that way of working is that for example when you have the list for pleasure, it includes days out which are weekly spends, but also holidays, which are saved up for as one-offs, i.e. we may only take the money out once a year. So, holiday money etc would need to go over to a savings account rather than a current account, so we'd end up spending it.
Saying that though, it would definitely save us some money. I think I need about 20 different purses/cash tins and to take the cash out at the beginning of each month so I can keep a definite track of how much we have left. At the moment I do it all in the current account, and sometimes debit card purchases take a while to come out, by which time I've lost track of what we've spent! :mad:

Know that feeling, my current account is a mess.
Slight confession, I use a spreadsheet, + have note books all over the place, I've got 3 current accounts, but still get in a mess.

Hope you didnt mind me playing with ur figures, good practise for starting my grand debt plan-pay off!

Might be worth, trying a notebook and allocating a seperate page for each expendtiure, good luck.xx

LittleBit_2

Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday dear LittleBit, Happy birthday to me :j
I've got some lovely pressies. Hubby has made me a hamper with stuff like sweeties, some fruit teas, some sparkly pens etc in a hamper. Also a really nice photo of him and DS in a frame, and a journal with a fancy pen.
Got a gorgeous plant from MIL, some Ruby and Millie make up from my sis, and some other bits too.
We are going to go out for lunch I think, and then to a local country house and park (which is a freebie)

Puddleglum

Happy Birthday LittleBit! It's my birthday too. Nothing exciting here at Puddleglum Mansion unless I go and make myself a birthday cake!

Hope you have a really great day.

Dinah93

Yey Happy Birthday Littlebit, have a great day out!

For our budgetting we have two current accounts, a joint one, and one just in my name with the same bank. We also have a dire rate instant access saver with this bank too. We have a savings account elsewhere as well. How we work it is that on payday our money for living off goes into the joint account. This is just for spends and food. The money for petrol (work a long way from where we live so get through approx £300 a month on this) goes in the dire rate saver, and gets transfered over to the joint account as needed, but this means we always have money for getting to work. We know how much is needed by the bills each month, this goes into the bills account in just my name, and the money to go to savings goes into this account too so the DD can come out of here. Finally we transfer 1/12 of the annual spends for dental, cat, holidays, cars, new computer fund, and presents into the good rate saver. We have a great spreadsheet to keep track of what is in here for each individual fund, so even though it looks like a big pot, its actually all divided up. If you're the type who likes spreadsheets just pm me your email addy and I'll make you a copy of my budgetting spreadsheet and my spending diary spreadsheets, and send it over.