Any advice welcome - SOA included and long!

tyllwyd

Looking at your budget - allowing £25 per month for school uniforms seems quite a lot. I find that the school uniform stuff is cheaper than 'normal' clothes, and it only needs to be bought a couple of times a year. But then £25 on other clothes isn't much for a family of four, so maybe it all evens out!

If you are having a big holiday you can't really afford, would this be a good time to decide that you are not going to buy big presents at Christmas/birthdays. You are allowing just over £100 per month for those, so if you could cut that in half, that would help towards the holiday. And the same for days out. BUT if you are going skiiing, are you going to have to budget to buy winter clothes/ski gear etc?

tyllwyd

bestpud wrote:

We don't have a package, just line rental and calls - we don't use the phone that much. I don't think we'd save anything by being on a package. I've a feeling £35 is a bit more than we actually use but only just changed so will have to watch the bills to see.

So you are on Option 1 with BT (£11.00 per month) plus calls? If you are getting caller display, you must be paying extra for that, unless you are already signed up for BT Privacy? If you are paying an extra £24 on calls, you must be making a fair few calls, and you can probably save by using another provider for at least some of them (you can do that with pre-dialling, for example TalkTalk is 1363).

bestpud

lynzpower - thanks will check that out

tyllwyd - kids have agreed to having the gear they'll need for xmas this year so that will help. They are also having less for their birthdays and I will be putting the difference towards stuff for going and spending money - although I'm hoping we won't spend a lot while there.

The school uniform includes shoes and bags (although I think only my littlie will need a bag this year) - older two have one pair of shoes a year but littlie will probably need three pairs - still growing. Also the school my older two attend has changed it's uniform this year. I usually buy blazers and PE kit on alternate years so my son would be having new stuff this year anyway though - just wasn't banking on changing dd's.

Thanks for suggestions

bestpud

tyllwyd - sorry I don't know what I'm going on about! I'm getting monthly and quarterly mixed up. Just checked bill (should have done that first really). Anyway, we pay £15 a month for calls and line rental but I think this may be slightly more than we actually use.

Thanks for pointing that out - will double check everything else I've put now.

Sea78

a quick one - do you not get free dental as a student?

bestpud

We are all entitled to free dental care through tax credits but there's a big shortage of NHS dentist's here and we would only get emergency treatment via the local provision for unregistered patients.

We have decided to pay because we don't want to take the risk with the children's teeth. Also, I have a fear of dentists and the thought of going to a stranger for treatment, should I need it, terrifies me. I'm very keen to ensure my children have no reason to fear dentists like I do so want them to have regular check ups etc.

We do feel it is a kick in the teeth (pardon the pun!) however, to be told on one hand we are entitled to free dental care and then be placed in a position where we feel we have to pay - but that's a common problem at the moment.

tyllwyd

bestpud wrote:

kids have agreed to having the gear they'll need for xmas this year so that will help. They are also having less for their birthdays and I will be putting the difference towards stuff for going and spending money - although I'm hoping we won't spend a lot while there.

The school uniform includes shoes and bags (although I think only my littlie will need a bag this year) - older two have one pair of shoes a year but littlie will probably need three pairs - still growing. Also the school my older two attend has changed it's uniform this year. I usually buy blazers and PE kit on alternate years so my son would be having new stuff this year anyway though - just wasn't banking on changing dd's.

Sounds like you've got that under control! Yes, shoes cost a horrible amount, and I've not had to worry about blazers etc so I can see how it would cost you more than I spend on my primary school daughter.

bestpud wrote:

getting monthly and quarterly mixed up. Just checked bill (should have done that first really). Anyway, we pay £15 a month for calls and line rental but I think this may be slightly more than we actually use.

We've saved you £20 on your budget!! :money: How's that for painless moneysaving! :rotfl:

tyllwyd

Oh, and looking back at your budget, another big item is £130 for extra tuition. Is that going to continue in September? Do you have a break from paying in August, or maybe you've given the average figure.

D&DD

Hi Pud Your water rates seem high is this metered or normal charges?

bestpud

Tyllwyd - £20 saved - great ain't it! I thought i might find some more mistakes but the rest is right unfortunately.

The tuition wouold carry on through the hols but I'm hoping they'll be ok by then - well ok enough that I can just help em out with bits anyway. We tend to argue if I'm too involved in their schoolwork!

D&DD - that's not metered and is higher than similar sized houses in our street and area. We were told (by Welsh Water) that it's because house is a link detached and others are semis or terraced and water prices are assessed under the old rateable value because not a new build. We moved just down the road in 1998 and our water rates went up by £10 a month because we went from a new house to an old one!!! Same number of bedrooms etc.

I've put our usage into a website (can't think what it was but recommended on here) and we'd be paying a lot more if metered though.