My State of Affairs

youngmum_2

loobyloo1980 wrote:

Is Sky Plus the one where you can record live programmes etc etc? I think £15 from £44.50 is a great saving and a good compromise, well done

Yes it is and sooooo handy

youngmum_2

chevalier wrote:

I guess you must buy really expensive presents if you are saving £300 a month for them.

The £300 is actually my savings for a couple of other things too including money towards all things car (MOT, tax disc etc), money towards hair cuts for all 4 of us, money into a clothes fund, as well as the xmas and gift fund. So it works out £20 a week of that is put towards Xmas fund and £15 towards gifts (all birthdays, mothers day, anniversary's etc).

chevalier wrote:

For the last few years, I have had a £20 limit per birthday or christmas present. That means for the 20 people I buy for the total cost a year is £800

This is what I'm going to need to do too I think. Thanks for the reply

lynzpower

OK a few things

Have a nose around using the search button on the top panel for looking for gifts/ presents. This is one thing people do struggle with.

Martin started "the great mothers day hunt" and someone the other day did a "how to keep spending down on "stuff", are 2 I remember.

the key is savvy shopping. Many of us have a present box/drawer so when we see genuine bargains we buy them and save for Xmas. I bought a gorgous oil burner ( v classy & expensive looking) for 50p on a market stall, they had a job lot, that will do for someone for Xmas, the label is M&S on it, I suspect they were about a tenner? So theres 9.50 I dont have to spend later. FOr mothers day I bought mum a AA book of country walks & pubs which is something my mum & dad do many weekends, go for a ramble and a nice lunch- I found this in 99p stores and she was over the moon with it. Many people make cakes, sweets, cards, photoframes etc themselves, using crafty skills. Some offer a "gift voucher for a nights babysitting" or similar. PIcking up bits in the sales is always a good idea, Im going to get more into it in January I wasnt really on board with moneysaving last year :rotfl: theres not many bargains around Xmas, so giftbuying all year round is the savvy plan.

Keep an eye on the freebies board, a few weeks back there was a thing where a website was giving free voucher worth a fiver on kitbag, and there was plenty of things for a fiver on there ( shin pads, footballs, kids tops) so things like this help too. PLus you can get john lewis/topshop etc vouchers via https://www.pigsback.co.uk )( and a massive thread in the freebies section with tips on getting the most out of it) And many people have picked up boots stuff with their advantage card points. Tesco clubcard point can be used for days out (eg legoland, alton towers etc) that is a good alternative as a present for your little ones. Some people do gift baskets with perfume & smellies freebies too- im not organised for that yet, I use them all myself !!

Happy hunting

youngmum_2

lynzpower wrote:

OK a few things

Have a nose around using the search button on the top panel for looking for gifts/ presents. This is one thing people do struggle with.

Martin started "the great mothers day hunt" and someone the other day did a "how to keep spending down on "stuff", are 2 I remember.

the key is savvy shopping. Many of us have a present box/drawer so when we see genuine bargains we buy them and save for Xmas. I bought a gorgous oil burner ( v classy & expensive looking) for 50p on a market stall, they had a job lot, that will do for someone for Xmas, the label is M&S on it, I suspect they were about a tenner? So theres 9.50 I dont have to spend later. FOr mothers day I bought mum a AA book of country walks & pubs which is something my mum & dad do many weekends, go for a ramble and a nice lunch- I found this in 99p stores and she was over the moon with it. Many people make cakes, sweets, cards, photoframes etc themselves, using crafty skills. Some offer a "gift voucher for a nights babysitting" or similar. PIcking up bits in the sales is always a good idea, Im going to get more into it in January I wasnt really on board with moneysaving last year :rotfl: theres not many bargains around Xmas, so giftbuying all year round is the savvy plan.

Keep an eye on the freebies board, a few weeks back there was a thing where a website was giving free voucher worth a fiver on kitbag, and there was plenty of things for a fiver on there ( shin pads, footballs, kids tops) so things like this help too. PLus you can get john lewis/topshop etc vouchers via https://www.pigsback.co.uk )( and a massive thread in the freebies section with tips on getting the most out of it) And many people have picked up boots stuff with their advantage card points. Tesco clubcard point can be used for days out (eg legoland, alton towers etc) that is a good alternative as a present for your little ones. Some people do gift baskets with perfume & smellies freebies too- im not organised for that yet, I use them all myself !!

Happy hunting

Wow, thanks for all that :T

youngmum_2

angchris wrote:

you dont need to be paying £10 a month for your bank account! i fell into that trap with lloyds tsb they upped me to a gold card with a £10 a month charge because my loan worked out cheaper, i agreed without thinking about it:o and must of paid £100`s + £100`s extra over the course of several years, if you dont use the "extra" benefits your bank give you for your £10 then downgrade your bank account asap or change banks like i did through quidco to alliance and leicester, you get £50 cashback through quidco and if someone refers you they get £25 and so do you, so you will be £75 up on the deal and no more £10 a month charges!:j

I must admit, I have never used any "benefits" that come with bank accounts. Does anyone know if I can remove these priveledges completely and pay nothing for my bank account? Specifically with Lloyds TSB that is?

lynzpower

ive got a ltsb account, it goes cost me about £7pcm interest on the Overdraft. but thats not the account charge.

youngmum_2

lynzpower wrote:

ive got a ltsb account, it goes cost me about £7pcm interest on the Overdraft. but thats not the account charge.

I was getting charged £7 every month prior to upgrading to the Gold Account (which is now £10 :eek: ) but I assummed that was for the Select account I held then.

Mmmm, I wonder.....

angchris

lloyds have a classic account which is free and you still have a debit card/cheque book and i kept my £1500 overdraught (not that i use it but its handy to know its there for emegencies) when i downgraded from the gold card

youngmum_2

angchris wrote:

lloyds have a classic account which is free and you still have a debit card/cheque book and i kept my £1500 overdraught (not that i use it but its handy to know its there for emegencies) when i downgraded from the gold card

Thanks again

youngmum_2

youngmum wrote:

Monthly Incomings
My wage (variable) - £1400 average
OH wage - £672
Family Allowance/Child Tax Credit - £150 (approx)

Total -£2222

Monthly outgoings
Mortgage £666.64 (Fixed 5 years, commenced Dec 2005)
Council Tax £147
Car Insurance £26.06
BT Line Rental £10
Talk Talk (varies £2-£6 roughly) £6
Car Loan £93.80 (Not due to end till April 2009 - not sure of APR)
Bank loan £126.07 (ends November 2009 - again unsure of APR - emailed to find out)
DFS £63.52 (ends June 2008, interest free)
Insurances (Home, Mortgage, Critical Illness, Union) £92.60
Nationwide Loan £47.43 (Ends May 2009)
Poweregen(Gas & Electricity) £50.00
Sky £42.50 - Thought I could reduce this to £15 but "apparently" if you have Sky plus (which we do) lowest we can go is £25 :mad: Better than nowt I suppose - £17.50 saving
Specsavers £15.00
Wanadoo £17.99 - Signed up for Talk Talk which is going to be £21.99 all in so just now Wanadoo plus BT line rental and Talk Talk current phone bill = £34 so £12 saving in all eventually
TV Licence £10.99
Account charge £10.00 - am looking into cancelling this

Food £300 perhaps - am going to reduce this to £200 with the help of the grocery challenge - £100 potential saving
Petrol - not sure on average, perhaps £160
Put money aside for Xmas, Gifts, Car, Hair fund, Clothes etc = £300 - have reworked those figures and am reducing this amount to £178 (£122 saving!)
Weight watchers £20
OH pocket money £20
Lottery, Pocket money etc £20
Misc - newspapers, DVD rental, takeaways etc ? (I know I buy these things regular but where to pay for them from?) - Loose change is going to pay for any papers and any DVDs or takeaways will come from any extra money managed to save from grocery fund I think

Total - £2225.60

£317.50 potential savings there I reckon!

Thank you so much everybody for all your input. :T Truly appreciated. I'm not done yet mind you. Still working on getting those APR figures for one so can see if any of those loans can be improved on.

Only downside is that MY car insurance hasn't been included, only OHs. (Yes we have 2 cars - don't all jump on me at once, lol!). I paid for that outright - just didn't have enough for OH too at the time.

So of the savings I'm making, over the next 6 months until car insurance is due for renewal I plan to put a good whack aside so I can pay both outright come March. Only problem is mine is astronomical as I have driving convicions Hey ho, by 2008 my licence will be clear again. Was just a silly girl and made a silly mistake. I'm an :A behind the wheel normally, honest!