The onset of insanity?

alastairq

I also like Holes idea of having an account just for the DD's. You can then work out how much needs to be transferred each week, fortnight or month

I absolutely agree there..

get another co-op acount, just for DD's and 'fixed' bills like CT, etc.

I would also get any/every DD transferred to 1st of month if possible...most companies [except Orange] will do this...or even, at the END of a month, so you have the whoe preceeding month to get the cash together?

however, if you get a 2nd account for DD's/fixed payments ony, this wont really matter...

Why not use the MSE budget planner?

This allows you to work out what a real month's outgoings are...and what will be left over....as all incomings and outgoings can be worked out on a weekly , or monthly basis...??

fiveyearplan

I'm paid weekly too and find it much easier to have my DDs spread out over the month. However most of the lesser DDs come out of OH's account where we also have CHB going into. How many direct debits do you have?

dollparts

fiveyearplan wrote: »

I'm paid weekly too and find it much easier to have my DDs spread out over the month. However most of the lesser DDs come out of OH's account where we also have CHB going into. How many direct debits do you have?

Approximately nine, though there could be another one or two (am waiting for new gas co to take over and replace the prepay machine I inherited when I moved in.)

I have spread them out as much as I can. I guess it will be a case of seeing how this pans out over the coming month and changing anything that isn't working.

dollparts

alastairq wrote: »

I absolutely agree there..

get another co-op acount, just for DD's and 'fixed' bills like CT, etc.

I would also get any/every DD transferred to 1st of month if possible...most companies [except Orange] will do this...or even, at the END of a month, so you have the whoe preceeding month to get the cash together?

however, if you get a 2nd account for DD's/fixed payments ony, this wont really matter...

Why not use the MSE budget planner?

This allows you to work out what a real month's outgoings are...and what will be left over....as all incomings and outgoings can be worked out on a weekly , or monthly basis...??

I came across this today and am in the middle of filling it out.

I think my frustration is that I have no real idea of when it is 'ok' to spend the surpus I have. Albeit a small amount, it would just help me to budget what I can put to one side as I am trying to save a few pounds here and there to buy things for the house.

marmalady

Is there anyway of asking your employer to pay you monthly? I have no bank account at the moment due to co-op losing mi ID documents. Ive had so many probs with all companys wanting new DD instructions and with more postal strikes planned looks like it will be another week before i have an account! Ive started keeping a note book with bills and dates and running total. Im opening another account to keep money separate for the allocated money for clothes, car tax maintenance etc so when they are due il have the money and going to use O2 card for groceries. Had some very embarressing moments last 2 weeks when shopping and counting out 1p and 2p coins to scrape enough together adding up in my head with a child interupting hasnt worked out! Will go armed with calculator this week to avoid embarressment at the till!

property.advert

I use Excel and always have for everything since university and the old Lotus 123 versus Excel debate. I find it really useful but I also write code and design loads of spreadsheets !

If your payments are fixed and cannot change, then Excel is the easiest tool as it can be set up to tell you how much you are currently short of the next payment due out of the bank and how long you have to get that payment together.

However, you really have to keep on the ball and run a surplus because DDs are not what they all seem. For instance, my Sky says the payment date is 28th of the month and all communication says that payment will be collected on or after 28th of the month. Simple you think ? not at all. What happens is that they position the money to be in their account on 28th. They can pre authorise the payment days in advance and if that fails, then they do not collect the DD.

Due to fraud on a different account, I only open one account for the day the DD was supposed to go out but it was failing. Digging, I found that they actually went to my account on 25th. This month they have debited the account on 27th !

What I mean is that trying to run things without the buffer of your most expensive DD could end up with you losing your account (Co-op) and facing charges at some or all banks.

You also have to be aware of utilities changing amounts and mobile suppliers coming in with variable amounts each month.

You can't just add up the DDs and divide by 30 to give a daily amount as they don't come at the same time and a collection of a few in a short time would see you not having enough in the bank unless you had a buffer.

If you really can work with Excel but need some help to set something up, please feel free to ask.

fiveyearplan

dollparts wrote: »

Approximately nine, though there could be another one or two (am waiting for new gas co to take over and replace the prepay machine I inherited when I moved in.)

I have spread them out as much as I can. I guess it will be a case of seeing how this pans out over the coming month and changing anything that isn't working.

I have a list of DD, date and amount (or estimate if it isn't exact) and make sure what will go out before the next weekly pay goes in that way I know how much I can spend. There are 2 weeks of the month that I have to save almost all my wages to pay mortgage so I know what I can (CAN'T!) spend.

dollparts

property.advert wrote: »

I use Excel and always have for everything since university and the old Lotus 123 versus Excel debate. I find it really useful but I also write code and design loads of spreadsheets !

If your payments are fixed and cannot change, then Excel is the easiest tool as it can be set up to tell you how much you are currently short of the next payment due out of the bank and how long you have to get that payment together.

However, you really have to keep on the ball and run a surplus because DDs are not what they all seem. For instance, my Sky says the payment date is 28th of the month and all communication says that payment will be collected on or after 28th of the month. Simple you think ? not at all. What happens is that they position the money to be in their account on 28th. They can pre authorise the payment days in advance and if that fails, then they do not collect the DD.

Due to fraud on a different account, I only open one account for the day the DD was supposed to go out but it was failing. Digging, I found that they actually went to my account on 25th. This month they have debited the account on 27th !

What I mean is that trying to run things without the buffer of your most expensive DD could end up with you losing your account (Co-op) and facing charges at some or all banks.

You also have to be aware of utilities changing amounts and mobile suppliers coming in with variable amounts each month.

You can't just add up the DDs and divide by 30 to give a daily amount as they don't come at the same time and a collection of a few in a short time would see you not having enough in the bank unless you had a buffer.

If you really can work with Excel but need some help to set something up, please feel free to ask.

I have always managed my bank account with the use of a buffer and am looking for a way to manage monthly outgoings based on weekly income. My OH has just referred to it as a 'calculation mismatch' or something such.

I don't know if I made myself clear, I am not trying to siphon every spare penny that is left over from my bills-just a way to try and forecast what I will have on a weekly basis so I can plan.

I know that DD amounts can vary, and some of mine do and I always make provision for this based on averages and adjust them each month accordingly.

I don't arrive at a daily/weekly amount from dividing the monthly total, that would be a huge mistake and would catch me out within a week-financial suicide!

dollparts

marmalady wrote: »

Is there anyway of asking your employer to pay you monthly? I have no bank account at the moment due to co-op losing mi ID documents. Ive had so many probs with all companys wanting new DD instructions and with more postal strikes planned looks like it will be another week before i have an account! Ive started keeping a note book with bills and dates and running total. Im opening another account to keep money separate for the allocated money for clothes, car tax maintenance etc so when they are due il have the money and going to use O2 card for groceries. Had some very embarressing moments last 2 weeks when shopping and counting out 1p and 2p coins to scrape enough together adding up in my head with a child interupting hasnt worked out! Will go armed with calculator this week to avoid embarressment at the till!

I am self employed and invoice clients weekly.