need advice with budget thanks

Mrs_A.

would be grateful if you guys could help with my budget


incoming
me and mr a £2000
child benefit £154.00
outgoing
bank loan 358.66
car loan 147.33
over draft 100.00
suite loan 100.00
car insurances 50.00
lecky 75.00
oil for heating 100.00
life insurance 40.00
aol 17.99
tv licence 10.99
sky 21.99
union 10.99 (cant not have this need it for work)
pertol £200 ( 60 miles round trip to work daily)
rent and council tax 0.00 part of hubbies pay
think thats all as you can see no accounting for birthdays, xmas, holidays car repairs. dentist, opticians, prescriptions, clothes , food, haircuts,etc
there are 2 adults and 3 man size teenage boys and a fussy spoiled old cat.
all help gratefully received
thanks in advance
mrs a

jessicamb

Cor - you'll be loaded when all those debts are gone!

Electric is massive - are you paying off arrears

Oil for heating - never used oil so I dont know how this compares but £100 in gas would heat a palace I think. Dont know if you can switch to a cheaper supplier?

Ditch sky

With the free rent/council tax - unless its usual to get job based housing (armed forces or some other occupations) your OH will be paying for it in income tax - may be worth checking the tax code to see if there is anything on there that shouldnt be?

AOL - can get broadband for £15 month (vast savings I know)

Are you claiming all available benefits - working family tax credits etc. You should get something as the family income isnt huge.

What about groceries etc?

Any chance of sending the kids out to work?

OberonSH

Welcome to the board, hopefully e'll be able to sort you out a bit!

me and mr a £2000
child benefit £154.00

Total 2154 per month

outgoing
bank loan 358.66 apr? length on the loan?
car loan 147.33 as above
over draft 100.00
suite loan 100.00 as above
car insurances 50.00 have you checked out this is the cheapest deal around?
lecky 75.00 seems a bit high, have you checked you're with the cheapest provider,not to mention the smaller things like swtchng lights off etc
oil for heating 100.00 can this be got any cheaper?
life insurance 40.00 can this be frozen or at least got cheaper anywhere else until you're a bit more flush?
aol 17.99 you can get a slightly cheaper deal starting from £12.99
tv licence 10.99
sky 21.99 this could be got rid of, or if you can't live without it (with 3 teens!) then try calling them, some people have got half price rental for a few months
union 10.99 (cant not have this need it for work)
pertol £200 ( 60 miles round trip to work daily) can you car share with anyone in the area to save a bit of money?
rent and council tax 0.00 part of hubbies pay

Total out = 1292.35. Should in theory leave you 921.05 a month! Hmm, I'd consider keeping a spending diary for a month, and write down EVERYTHING you spend. That way you may find out where this 900 a month is going! That should more than cover food, other bits and bobs etc.

MCBIRNIE25

Hi and welcome.
All the comments above are valid. However over 900quid a month is going somewhere. Defo need to find this out.
Also, you can get bulldog broadband for 9.99 it's pretty good to. My mate uses it.
Anyways keep a diary, lets account for those 900 spondoolies and we can go from there.
MCBIRNIE25

hattie_pea

how much does your life insurance cover you for? £40 a month seems quite high...

If you can't get rid of the sky could you split it 4 ways and ask the kids to contribute towards it?

Mrs_A.

thanks everyone
i definately need to start the spending diary from today.
lecky i changed last year to npower then they rocketed the payments up i think im tied with them for a while.
cant car share no one else nearby me im very rural
life insurance is for both of us and mr a's pension i already lowered them when times were a bit harder than they are now
mr a doesnt get taxed on house or council tax
car insurances are def the cheapest around
oil prices have shot up recently cant get it any cheaper i always phone round before ordering a tankful
unfortunately not entitled to any benefits
bank loan is for 30 months apr of dunno 25 months to go
car loan is for 48 months apr 18.4 ends 18/8/8
suite is 0% till december then 25.5% not paid any yet (better make that a proirity)
kids to chores by way of rent and board as they are students with no income and very part time jobs
broadband mmmm worth thinking about
sky i would be absolutely linched if this went
thanks
mrs a
off to find a book in my cupboard for spending diary

Quincifer

I imagine with 3 older kids you get through alot of food and snacks. I agree with the spending diary idea, you really get an idea of where your money goes.
I'd try to do a meal planner if you can for at least a few days a week. Get your kids to help out or ask them what stuff they would like and cook in bulk. Do your kids take lunch with them or buy it? And if so who pays for it? Because sandwiches/pasta/salad are soooo much cheaper, easier and healthier for them.
Good luck xx

Mrs_A.

spending diary started yesterday,
trying hard not to adapt my spending habits too much as id prefer to get an honest picture of where its all going.
the kids make their own packed lunches and i dont give them money if i do its a loan until they get paid and then they return it.
thanks
mrs a

MinnieSpender

Can you get any cheaper insurance deals through your union?

CosmoCat

if you'd be lynched getting rid of the sky, why not get the others to contribute towards it.

i hope your spending diary gives you a good estimation of how your spending goes.

all the best.

Mrs_A.

never thought of the union for insurance will look into this
will ask everyone else about the sky thing
thanks
mrs a