What else can I do?

Greenwellies_2

I have had a look at my transactions:
since 24th March I have spent the following:

Car.............................£363.80
Shopping..................... £237.02
Utilities....................... £138.
Mortgage.................... £700
Cc repayments............. £137.

Now I could be wrong, but thats looking good!


GW

sweetmoneysaver

Greenwellies wrote:

Mind you, it has made me ponder over the soup. I cooked the whole chickens, then I boiled the carcuss, then I allowed it to cool, so that I could take the bones out, and now I am boiling it up again, and then I will freeze it, and heat it up in the microwave at work.
But that's perfectly normal for a soup (isn't it???) GW

Hi GW,

That's perfectly normal for soup, don't worry.

Greenwellies_2

Thanks SMS!

GW

bargainbetty

Emmzi wrote:

30 day wear lenses have only JUST been licenced in the US - so no one is really sure of the risk of infection yet and he could get all kinds of nasties and even go blind.

I'm still catching up with this thread, so sorry if this is a bit of a delayed reaction. These contacts have been available for some time now - my best friend lives in New Jersey, and she has been wearing these lens for four years, and has suffered absolutely no ill-effects. It's all about cleaning and hygiene, just like regular lenses.

Good luck GW - look for small triumphs every day, and remember you're one day closer to being debt-free.

Greenwellies_2

So, last night...
I (Hope) closed my HSBC gold card I have a £12 credit balance which I have asked them to transfer that into my bank account
Hubby closed his Virgin card
I paid off his HSBC gold card (£2.95) So that will be paid off
I closed my morgan stanly account (never used it)

I activated my AMEX card - what I hear you say! I get £15 in GP from it, so I will put petrol in the car, write the cheque out and then clear it, then close it, and I will.

Hubby helped me clear a few bits of filing, so we got rid of next account stuff and old card statements that were only used for the balance transfer.


We were very relaxed and had a decent chance to just sit on the floor in the mess and chat. We discussed that we were both scared of using our bank cards now. That we were glad that we had money in the car account to pay for the things that have happened in the last 2 weeks.

I spoke about the quality of life that we have at the moment. I said I felt it was ok, but hubby said that he felt we had no money to do anything, but he also pointed out that I am so busy studying, that, that too could be affecting the fact that he is 'bored'. I spoke about the quality of the meals, he admitted he was sick of chicken, but then I batted it back to him and told him to think of some meals.

I am chuffed to bits with all the inspiration and support that I have got from all you wonderful people.

Thank you all so much!

One last question...
I don't count my loan as part of my 'debt' because it's not a problem debt, as I can manage it, once I get the money from the car.
Am I still kidding myself?

Thanks

GW

calleyw

Greenwellies wrote:

I spoke about the quality of life that we have at the moment. I said I felt it was ok, but hubby said that he felt we had no money to do anything, but he also pointed out that I am so busy studying, that, that too could be affecting the fact that he is 'bored'. I spoke about the quality of the meals, he admitted he was sick of chicken, but then I batted it back to him and told him to think of some meals.

Quality of life has nothing to do with how much money you have or spend. It is about what you do in your life.

People can be happy with nothing. And some people have everything and are still not happy.

We are not in debt but my husband works a local job at a lower wage. Why because of quality of life. He does not spend hours sat in the car in a traffic jam fighting to get home every night.

If you husband is bored why does he not not a course. Vision2learn.com offer many different course from IT to money management and they are all free and on-line. You need to commit for 3 hours a week. You get a certificate at the end to say you have done the course. They have colleges in most areas of the country.

Or find a hobby that is cheap but enjoyable.

Why not invite friends around for a few drinks or nibbles. Better than meeting down the pub. And that to me is way better than sitting in the pub for hours on end.

The list is endless of what you can do to make your quality of life better. And most of it does not mean spending lots of money either.


Yours


Calley

Greenwellies_2

Perhaps 'quality of life' was the wrong phrase to use, but I don't feel that we're 'suffering' with any 'changes'.

To be honest, the main reason we're in this situation was because I refused to support hubby with a job offer that he got (instead of redundancy)

It would have worked out that he would be paying out 40% of his take home on transport, he'd be out of the house for 14 hours, so wouldn't see our daughter, and very little of our sons, and well I'd only see him when I got in from Uni at 10pm. That would have seriously affected our quality of life.

As it stands, I have made a budget, even based on benefits and we can manage (ok, I may be deluded, but I am trying)

Thanks

GW

nicola1982_2

Greenwellies wrote:

The free car only costs a fraction to run, insure and tax (it's a smart) it makes more economical sense for me to use that each day. I can't sell the other car as well as I need a reliable car to get child to therapy appointments and to fit the family in. The smart is worth 12k, I have been offered 3.5k. this was through ebay and I just met lots of time wasters who didn't actually want the car, but were on a scam.

I also have a trailer tent, so the bigger car (MPV) is for towing that and getting all our gear inside.

I will try to sell the car again, but I got fed up of listing it on ebay, paying their fees and having to communicate with scamsters. I told all my friends and family I was selling the car, I sent out a flyer by email for them to pass on to other people, but in the run up to Christmas, not many people were thinking of getting a new car. I resigned myself to assuming that I would have to wait until February. But now I don't know where else to advertise it. I tried loot, and all the free advertising sites on the internet and I got nothing in response.
There is nothing wrong with the car, it's in as new condition, possibly has 3k miles on it now and it's black - If you know anyone who's interested, PM me for more details. I am ideally looking for 7k for it

GW

(Moderators I apologise if this breaks any rules, feel free to edit it if so)

MPVs are notoriously expensive to run (plus bad for our environment). I'll be honest you appear to be living well above your means. If you really want to manage your money my only recommendation would be to fundamentally change your lifestyle.

My partner and I have part custody of his child, so I feed what I'd call two adults and 1/2 a child.

I'm a student and he works full time on a fairly low income.

I drive a 1994 205 - which will fill up at £35 new rates, this lasts me a month (which is good seeing as picking up the child is at least a 40 min drive each way. We're on prepay for elec - £25 pm and £25 pm gas on DD. I spend around £70 for food each month, £10 for contents, £31 for my water card (Although that will finish in November until the following April. Our only treat is an NTL TV/Internet/Phone package, costing around £40 a month and mobiles costing around £60 between us. Rent is £400. And of course CSA, as custody isn't full time. The child eats more than I do - he's a big lad for his age, as does my partner. We don't go out as such, maybe is OH gets overtime or a bonus we'll go for a drink or two in the pub. Plus I have debt repayments that my student loan covers

This frugal lifestyle has paid of as he now has received a promotion with a large payrise, I graduate and begin work next month and our collective wage will more than double - HOWEVER, we don't plan to change our lifestyle that much. Our food budget will go up to £100 pm, allowing for more variety and we'll have occasional weekend nights in the local. The rest of the money is essentially going to repay the debts.

So for you, maybe think about alternative options. I know you feel you need the MPV for a trailer, but why not go for old style camping in a few two man dome tents that could be put in a normal car boot? Perhaps you could suggest walking with the inlaws instead of eating pizza (you mentioned weight loss - this could be the perfect excuse!). Groceries are easy - stock up on chopped tomatoes, canned fish (with omega 3), chilli powder, herbs and pasta and make some really delicious (and healthy) cheap meals. How about suggesting family game nights? Play cards or dominoes as an alternative to an expensive evening out.

Also visit the student board for information on the Access to Learning Fund - one of the board members is giving really great advice on it.

The best way I find to cut down is to sit back and realise that I am not as well off as the people I know who have a substantial income and both work, therefore I cannot afford the things they can (moreover I shouldn't be getting into debt trying to).

BTW - for car sales try your local newspaper, usually they have a weekly motors page.

Good luck, and I hope that all goes well for you and your family. Hopefully you will learn to live frugally and then when your hubby does start to work again you'll have extra money to start repaying debts and mortgage etc!

calleyw

Greenwellies wrote:

Perhaps 'quality of life' was the wrong phrase to use, but I don't feel that we're 'suffering' with any 'changes'.

But your husband does. And you need to find out why he feels that way. Is because you don't go down the pub so often etc.

Because if you don't know why he feels like that. You may find he goes off the rails and all your hard work is gone in a puff of smoke.

And you could be back to square one again or even worse.

I can see from your posts that you are trying really hard. But if you don't have your husband and children on yourside. You could be fighting a losing battle.


Yours


Calley

Greenwellies_2

calleyw wrote:

But your husband does. And you need to find out why he feels that way. Is because you don't go down the pub so often etc.

Because if you don't know why he feels like that. You may find he goes off the rails and all your hard work is gone in a puff of smoke.

And you could be back to square one again or even worse.

I can see from your posts that you are trying really hard. But if you don't have your husband and children on yourside. You could be fighting a losing battle.


Yours


Calley

We have had a chat, and the fact that I am studying so much has also contributed to this, but fingers crossed in about 6 weeks, I will have sucessfully completed all my exams, so I wont feel under so much pressure for the summer.

I do have hubby and children on my side for most of it, and hubby and I are both scared to go to the bank now, so it's working.

I think he has very good understanding of where we're at, and we have been over spending for some time, so it's still early days, but I am very sure we are never going to spend beyond our means anymore



That's a bit of a pledge!

LOL

P