To be debt free by 30 I need to start now! - Gingernutbizkit's 2010 diary

gingernutbizkit

Hi,

Spent most of yesterday sorting out how I'm going to organize my house file and what needs to go in there. Here's my plan - any thoughts gratefully received.

FOOD.

• Weekly Menu
• Food Inventory - what's in our freezer and cupboards
• Meal Ideas - To help with menu planning
• Packed Lunch Ideas - to stop me getting in a rut and giving them the same thing every week .
• Take Away Menus - hopefully won't be used much

SHOPPING

• Grocery Shopping List - available all week for everyone to write down what we've run of.
• Shopping budget - to monitor if we are meeting our £250pm goal
• Shopping Reminder List - Quick list to run through before going shopping to see if anything else needs to be on the list
• Vouchers

HOUSEHOLD

• Daily Chores List - think of a simple tick sheet to keep me on track
• Weekly Planner - I want to create more structure to my week (shopping monday, washing tuesday etc). My Nan used to do this and I think it'll help me get more focused. Wonder if I can include fv on it :rotfl:.
• Monthly Cleaning List - tick sheet again?
• Jan-Dec Tasks - There's loads of job around the house that just don't get done and I think having then written on a calendar will help.
• House Details - size of rooms, curtains, paint used etc
• House Projects and Costings - hopefully no more big ones for a couple of years!

GARDEN

• Plans
• Records - variety of veg grown, yield, comments etc
• January - December tasks

FAMILY
Will contain a section for each of us with personal details (DOB, NI no, Medical info etc), Work details, School info, Music/Movie must see lists etc
Babysitter Information Sheet

FINANCIAL

• Budget
• Bank Account List - now we have so many thanks to MSE
• List of card numbers and Telephone numbers for reporting them missing/stolen
• Finances Explained - Details of our finances for the benift of Mrs Ging if I was ever to be abducted by Aliens/raptured etc.... currently I don't think she would have much of a clue what to do!

TRAVEL AND LEISURE

• Places to go/Things to do (locally)
• Picnic Planner
• Holiday packign list - including camping list
• 'Before we leave' check list
• List of Place we want to visit

OCCASIONS

• List of Anniversary Types - tin, paper etc
• Jan-Dec Gift list - to keep track of who's birthday is coming up and whether we have the gift already.
• Children's birthday planner - parties, gifts, cake ideas etc
• Our valentines and anniversary plans - which will most likely be left to me :rolleyes:

CHRISTMAS

• Gift List
• Card List
• Key Meals and Shopping List
• Timetable for Christmas Lunch

CRAFT

• List of projects
• Project details

ADDRESS BOOK

• Useful Numbers
• A-Z of contacts

Anything else that I have missed?????

ging x

mitchaa

gingernutbizkit wrote: »

Foster care is a good wage (although your maths is out and it's not £90K unfortunately!) although it is £6.80 per hour and from that you are expected to give set amount to the kids for pocket money, clothing etc, set up savings for them, pay your own taxes etc and don't get any holidays or any pay if you don't have children in place. I could go on!

Sadly lots of people do get into fostering for the money which I totally disagree with.... with kids have enough issues without feeling like they're a financial gain. I know a carer who doesn't even like kids :eek:.

£4600 x 13 = £59,800. I guess this is where you get your £6.80ph rate from?
(£6.80 x 24 x 365)

To earn £59,800 or £4600 every 4wks that is indeed a salary of £90k PAYE as shown in this calculator... http://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php

You mentioned that it is classed as self employed so you have to pay your own taxes and expenses? If so, surely you dont have £4600 every 4wks as a lot of it will be used for taxation, but you did not mention this in your expenditure? £4600 appears to be gross rather than net

If that is the case, are you not going to get lumped with a massive tax bill when you do your tax returns or is there a big scope for offsetting expenses against tax so your taxation contributions are pennies? Or is foster care work tax free income?

gingernutbizkit

mitchaa wrote: »

£4600 x 13 = £59,800. I guess this is where you get your £6.80ph rate from?
(£6.80 x 24 x 365)

To earn £59,800 or £4600 every 4wks that is indeed a salary of £90k PAYE as shown in this calculator... http://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php

You mentioned that it is classed as self employed so you have to pay your own taxes and expenses? If so, surely you dont have £4600 every 4wks as a lot of it will be used for taxation, but you did not mention this in your expenditure? £4600 appears to be gross rather than net

If that is the case, are you not going to get lumped with a massive tax bill when you do your tax returns or is there a big scope for offsetting expenses against tax so your taxation contributions are pennies? Or is foster care work tax free income?

Hi,

Fostering is self-employed but you do get certain tax breaks. This will be my first year of putting in a tax form and so I will then have a better knowledge of what I will have to pay. I'm expecting about 2-3K plus the £400 for my accountant
I have some savings and Mrs Ging gets some extra payments for petrol, overtime etc and that is the money used for my taxes (hence why it is not in the budget). Once I get this bill this year I will then budget for it properly.
In respect to my expenses, you will notice that in my budget I have allowed £200pcm for outgoings related to fostering.
So, sadly not £90Kpa but still good money..... although I really don't like to think about it in this way.

Ging x

gingernutbizkit

:mad::mad::mad: - one for each time today someone from Virgin Media has called to say that we are sorry you are cancelling your contract, can we offer you a cheaper deal.

Here's how the fourth call went (please note I am not normally so rude - even to cold callers )

Him: Good afternoon madam.... can I speak to Mrs Ging (ok, he used my real name!)
Me: Has this got anything to do with my phone contract with you?
Him: (sounding slightly surprised) Yes madam that is why I am calling.

We confirm I am who I say I am (which I'm not because I was having to pretend to be the other Mrs Ging ).

Him: and how are you today?
Me: I'm fine but would be better if I didn't keep getting these phone cals all the time. I don't mean to be rude to you personally but I think 4 times a day is a bit ridiculous.
Him: I'm sorry to hear that Madam (MADAM???? I'm 27!!!) Ummm, my records show that we haven't contacted you for over 6 months... which is actually why I was calling you Madam.
Me: Let me guess, you have some amazing offer that is going to stop me from leaving you.
Him: Well actually,umm, yes, umm Madam I have.
Me: Well maybe if you were willing to look after me 6 months ago when my cable wasn't working properly and had offered me a great deal back then then I wouldn't be leaving you.
Him: Cable?
Me: Yes my cable. Maybe your records don't show it so let me fill you in (then reel off list of all the problems I have had with the service) and that is why I have decided to leave Virgin and it doesn't matter how much more money you can take off my bill or how many calls you make we will be leaving you.
Him: Umm, I'm calling about your mobile phone contract with VODAPHONE!!!!!! :o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o

The rest of the phone call basically consisted of me apologising A LOT . Fortunately the guy actually thought it was hilarious and when he put me 'on hold' I could hear part of his conversation with him colleagues about me .

Did get our bill changed to include anytime minutes for no extra cost - which means I won't have to pay on the house phone for all my fostering calls (which aren't local even though they're close by :rolleyes:)

A very embarassed Ging x

Raini

That's very funny!! :rotfl:

Also, I think you might just be my heroine!! You have not only sorted your kitchen cupboards into little containers but also have an AMAZING house file!! :T:T:T Seriously impressive! I tried to that last year or maybe even the year before but got bored & wondered off ... will try again though & will nick all of your sections too!!

gingernutbizkit

Raini wrote: »

That's very funny!! :rotfl:

Also, I think you might just be my heroine!! You have not only sorted your kitchen cupboards into little containers but also have an AMAZING house file!! :T:T:T Seriously impressive! I tried to that last year or maybe even the year before but got bored & wondered off ... will try again though & will nick all of your sections too!!

Haha! If only you knew how naturally disorganised I am. I figure that if I make a real effort now then eventually it'll all become second nature (coz it's definately not my first :rotfl:). I want 2010 to be the year that I finally get to grips with everything. My house usually looks tidy, but that's only because my guests don't tend to open cupboards or look under beds . I'm working on having a place for everything and systems in the house for getting things done. So many jobs just don't happen around here and inevitably that costs us money (i.e because we don't look after stuff we end up having to replace it).

Nice to know that I'm inspiring someone though - let me know how you get on :beer:.

Ging x

gingernutbizkit

£450 off Mrs Ging's credit card today.

Brings our total debt repayments to over £5K this year :j. So we are still on target for our challenges - in fact, we're a bit ahead .

Ging x

mitchaa

I never knew the tax exemption benefits of being a foster carer were so good. I just can't believe you will have only a £2-3k tax bill on a £60k income, that is a tax break and a half. Just for comparison purposes, a £60k salary would normally attract £18.5k in taxation contributions, (Income tax and NIC) so although you only have a £60k salary, its exactly the same as a £90k PAYE salary.

Apologies for prying, it just interests me. I take it you have 2 teenage children under your care and that they are categorised as needing the highest levels of support? How do you find it? I take it teenage kids with a lot of mental/drug problems are very difficult to control? Do you have them all year round or is it just a few weeks here and there with different children? I take it there are a lot of months where you will not receive this £4600?

Anyway, good luck with the rest of your challenge. Just dont get too carried away with it though as remember you only live once.

gingernutbizkit

Hi,

I have three brothers in my care - all high need. They're aged 8-12a dn live with us full time. In fact we are moving to permanency panel with them in a couple of months (which will officially recognise that they stay with us into adulthood).

It's exhausting but Ilove them dearly so well worth it.

Ging x

gingernutbizkit

Hi all,

Little update......

Rang up today about getting an allotment.... was put on a 12 yr waiting list .

House file is getting under way.... would be helped if my printer wouldn't keep refusing to work :mad:.

First bread disaster today... tasted really sweet :think:. Did make a lovely banana loaf though .

Still under budget for this month's grocery challenge . If I can do this every month then I will add the extra to my Christmas fund.

Rough tax bill has come in from the accountant (still to be confirmed by IR) and is less than anticipated.... will probably OP on my student loan:).

Need three more farmville nieghbours....anyone? :rotfl:

Hope everyone is well,

Ging x