My SOA

kingfisherblue

£20-£30 for a pub lunch? That sounds quite excessive to me. I sometimes go for pub lunches with friends and we pay £8-£10 for two meals, plus a drink each, so no more than £15 and often less than £12.

The windscreen wipers - was it the motor that needed fixing? Did you shop around for a better price?

Regarding the hospital visits, as others have said, it is worth asking for a pass to reduce the amount paid for parking. I have done this in the past, when my son was constantly there. The hospital didn't advertise it as being available and it was a nurse who told us to ask. We were surprised to find that we could get free parking.

As for entertainment/pocket money - I can't quite believe the amount you spend! If I add up my 'pocket money' it comes to about £10 a month (excluding a pub lunch, which is about one every two months) - I usually buy 3 books for a fiver from the supermarket and the rest goes on the occasional magazine, mint imperials for the car, and very occasionally a trip to the pictures on 'cheap Tuesday'. I'm sure you can cut down a lot.

losingpatience

We couldn't shop around, it had to be a vauxhall approved dealer or it would invalidate our warranty. Apparently something had sheared off so they had to replace the windscreen wipers, motor etc to be honest though they could tell me anything and I would believe them as I haven't a clue about cars. Once the car is out of warranty I'm just going to see a friend who is a mechanic who will give me "mates rates". We just couldn't spend the time to go round different garages to get quotes, it was too dangerous IMO to drive round with no windscreen wipers in these conditions, it was a 32 mile round trip to the garage we went to which wasn't nice in this weather!

Pub meals around here tend to range from £5.99 - £7.99 per main meal, plus a couple of drinks can easily add up to £20 - £30, if there are pubs where you can get 2 mains plus drinks for £12 then I think you are very fortunate!

As I have said the £120 we don't necessarily spend per month, it's just what each of us take, if we chose to save thats our decision, and in the past when we have had unexpected bills we have taken money from here to pay for things

firesidemaid

please tell me if i have got this wrong, but if the car is still under warranty, then shouldn't something like that be fixed for free as part of the warranty?

re. the cineworld pass - have you checked the terms and conditions? do you have to give a month's notice to cancel?

also, i know it is sometimes difficult to take all the comments and suggestions but the good folks on these forums do it to everyone! it will take a while, but you will gradually start to take some of these ideas etc on board and before you know it you will be offering advice to others!

i have learnt so much on these forums, such as when i get my next car i will choose one where the road tax is only £35 per year. i break my dishwasher tablets (finish, always 10p or less per tablet) into halves/thirds, i meal plan, try not to waste anything and almost everything can be frozen.

i get 'free' meals using clubcard deals tokens - i rarely shop there but take advantage of offers/deals that give lots of extra points. in this current climate, many chains etc are offering cheap meal deals - beefeater do 3 courses for £9.99/£11.99 mon-thurs dep. on whether you sit down before/after 6.30pm. i drink soda +lime. i love a drink ot two with my meal too, but i generally refuse to do it even when i have the money, o/wise 2 glasses of wine can cost me as much again as the whole meal itself! i would rather use that money to have another meal out x

sparkleisshopping

If you google for vouchers for restaurants and pubs you can often find deals where if you pay for one main course you can get another for free or £1 or something. Using vouchers I managed to take four people out for a three course meal with wine and coffees at a nice city centre restaurant for £70 which I thought was very reasonable. As we went on a sunday it was free parking in the city so I saved a couple of quid there too!

ItchyFeet

Not sure how others regard this, but i personally wouldn't be paying extra on my mortgage because of negative equity UNLESS i was thinking of moving house in the near future. Over the long term house prices are bound to rise (my opinion!) and negative equity will hopefully sort itself out.

losingpatience

firesidemaid - under normal circumstances yes but they said that as it was due to the snow it was due to us not clearing the car sufficiently. Apparently they have had alot of cars in for the same thing. I forgot about being able to use clubcard points for meals out, although I'm not sure how many I have, will have to dig them out and have a look.

Itchyfeet - We aren't planning on moving for a few years but our mortgage is with Abbey and the current SVR is 4.24% which is one of the higher SVR for mortgage lenders. Obviously the interest rate won't be held forever so when it does go up we will probably have to pay more then we currently are. There are no fixed rates available to us due to having no equity in the house which is why we are overpaying while the rate interest rate is slightly lower so that when it does go up it won't be such a jump in payments and we will have made a dent ( a small one I know! ) in how much we owe.

firesidemaid

i agree with the m/gage overpayments, as i was going to suggest another lender's fee free deal/svr, but i remember you said you were in neg equity - it will help in the future to secure a better deal.

you will start to make some of the changes suggested slowly but surely - i can't believe how my fiancial world works compared to 3 years ago! i now use money-off coupons in tescos (you don't have to even buy the items as long as they sell them), buy gift vouchers for everywhere incl. high street at discount (so i always get 5% off my petrol at asda) etc.

also, i noticed you had put £100 a month for petrol in soa, but have almost spent that in just over a week.

before you know it, you will create money you never knew you had x

Verbatim

Hi losing patience,

I think you're getting a bit of a hard time here! If I recall your SOA correctly you have only one debt, a loan taken out to repay your car finance as it was cheaper to do so. no credit card debts etc. Your situation is not one of crisis but you seem sensibly to have decided to get a grip on your finances at a time when your OH's ill health means more expenditure.

Your SOA shows you have a comfortable surplus despite your 'treats' and I see no reason why they shouldn't continue! The issue is that more money is leaking which you now know about and will doubtless get on top of. You have enough money to pay your loan, overpay your mortgage and save as well as enjoying pocket money. That isn't to say there aren't ways of getting what you want at a better price, which is Martin's mantra after all.

Your situation is quite different from others on here who have much larger debts, and possibly lower incomes, who have to be much more limited in what they can spend.

As your fuel bills will be higher I think you're right to be cautious and save more towards them, especially as the weather is so cold just now. One thought though is whether your OH will continue to receive his full salary while he's not working? If so is there a time limit? If so I think I would be trying to live on whatever income there will be when that happens, including any benefits there would be and saving the surplus for emergencies treats thereafter.

Best wishes to you and I hope your OH makes a speedy and full recovery.
V

IWantToBeFree_2

My cineworld passes expired at the end of the month and I called last week to cancel, you should be able to cancel now, I would call asap to make sure you dont have to pay a month extra.

iamana1ias

losingpatience wrote: »

I had been driving nearly every time we went out, but it got to the point where I was sick of never being able to have a drink!

But you drink 1-2 bottles of wine at home. Isn't that enough?