Dottyannes 'in need of support' debt diary (all new)

dottyanne

*Jellie* wrote: »

I'm fairly new to all this so can't really help with the SOA. Would there be any way you could stop gym membership for a bit and do something like running or workouts at home?

Alsohave you checked out Martin's tips on saving petrol? Use petrolprices.com, keep tyres at right pressure etc.

The PAD method you worked out sounds great!

Hi, I would but we cant cancel we are tied into the gym membership for another 10 months, and to be fair this does get used, my OH especially is a gym freak.

We always check the tire pressures etc, £160 is prob the MAX we would spend per month on fuel but we have on occasion spent this month so i didnt want to underestimate.

dottyanne

Tixy wrote: »

Hi Dotty

On your SOA the utilities all look really high - are you paying gas & elec by DD? are these accounts in arrears? do you give actual readings at least once a quarter (and better once a month). Is there any reason why you would expect your usage to be particularly high? I would expect your Elec to be well below half of what you are currently showing.

Also water is high as well - is this metered or unmeasured? Have you looked into whether you would save if you were on a meter?

What do the Insurances cost of £104 relate to? Is it all car insurance?

How many of you in your family for food at £450? EDIT just seen there are 5 of you, I think this could be cut back a bit by buying cheap, healthy filling foods, maybe you could aim for £400 this month and then try to cut to £350 next month (old style boards has loads of ideas that don't just mean living on own brand beans on toast)

Good luck, now you are back you will soon get back in the swing of things!

Hi Tixy, in arears with gas and elec, water has always been very high! we are already on a meter, i think its extortionate but i just dunno...

Insurance is car and Life insurances.

I am going to try to get the housekeeping money down.

Any ideas on how to make an extra £200 per month tho lol

Tixy

Have you done a check for a water leak recently? to be honest although I said £80 seems high I don't know how much other people on a meter with 5 people use (as I live on my own- and pay about £12). Talk to the kids about not being wasteful with water (such as leaving the tap going when they clean their teeth, starting the shower 5 mins before they actually jump in etc)

The teenagers could all sign up for some survery sites - there are a couple specifically for teens, yougov and another one (up your income board probably says who), they can then earn vouchers from these to save up for treats (not going to make a fortune of course but something to do whilst they look for parttime jobs. Also have they got old clothes, toys, media bits they could sell on ebay (with you overseeing of course) to boost their pocket money so you can spend a little less on them? Have they tried offering to help neighbours with grass-cutting, dog walking etc or one off jobs for the summer hols such as fence painting?

Not sure about the extra £200 - if you find out how do let me know! But take a look on up your income for some ideas, mostly it seems to be small money but every little helps!

dottyanne

Hi Tixy, im one of those typical mums....turn the light off, turn that tv off, stop running that water etc etc....dont think theres a leak - the house was a new build 6 years ago and its always been this high

Will defo look into that for the kids, they are as keen as mustard to get as much in for themselves moneywise as possible.

thanks

Tixy

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1275857
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1500955

here are some ideas

Even just a dripping tap, or a toilet that fills slightly contanstly can make a difference to the water bill. Turn everything off and then check your water meter to make sure its not going round, if it is then turn off the stoptap and see if its going round.

That will tell you if there is a leak/dripping tap in the house or a leak between the meter and the stoptap (if there is contact your water co for advice) or no leak at all. (Or you could try suggesting the teens share a bath but I'm guessing they might not be too impressed!!!)

*Jellie*

I haven't really tried any of the things you can do to make extra money but the board about it and the challenges to make £10 a day etc look pretty good

spud30

Hi Dotty

I doubt you'll remember me, but we arrived together and started CCCS DMPs at the same time.

No advice that hasnt already been said, just wanted to say hello, and keep plodding xxx

dottyanne

Hi Spud - i do remember you !! hows it going - are u still on the DMP with CCCS ?

spud30

Yep, still with CCCS. It's not all been plain sailing, a couple of creditors got arsey and went for charging orders, but we're still plodding on. In for the long haul I reckon, unless we win the lottery !!!

dottyanne

so, did they get their charging orders? thats whats worrying me on two of my debts as they stand at the moment - what happened ??