what can i cut back on?

chloejane_2

Hi all been on the site for some time managed to do some savings but need to do some more drastic savings now, any helpful advice welcomed please

income

child benefit £116.60 per month
DH wages £1946.40 per month this does alter with overtime/shift patterns etc
My wages £200 per month approximate depending on hours DH works

total £2263.00

out goings all are per month

mobile phone £10
rbs £77
house insurance £38.63
egg £300 gone in six months if we keep paying this amount
cahoot £150 20 months left to pay at this amount
life ins £9.95
life ins £71.72
internet £24.99
mortgage £390.11
tv licence £11
council tax £110
sky £42.53 this is the last payment then its gone
food £240 this feeds 4 people 1 cat 2 dogs and includes all toiletries, washing stuff lunches etc
petrol £170
interest upto £50 from bank for OD
car ins £100 two cars
car tax mot etc £50
2x kids clubs, outings etc £10
BT £50
gas elect £55 not as much in summer but more in winter
clothes, shoes etc £15
2x kids savings £10
spending money £40
fags £150

total 2143.40

think ive listed everything we have as outgoings and included as much info as i can remember at this time, i know our income looks more than our outgoings but this is never the case, so we have cut up all credit cards and are paying them off, this month was the last sky payment, internet just realised we are tied in for another 9 or 10 months so cant do to much about this at moment.
The money that is left over each month is going into doing the house up we have just moved and house needs quite a bit doing to it, like ceiling taking down and stuff, we have done this ourselves but need money to pay for artexing etc all the bits that need someone who knows what they are doing.

i know that the obvious one is the giving up smoking both of us were 20 a day so this cost has gone down considerably already, we are working on this, so please dont be to harsh

dave318

BT - is another one. Try One of the carrier companies who will give you free evening and weekend calls, plus Call1899.com. This will be 3p per call during the day. My bill is currently £15 to BT, the lowest they will go, for line rental, plus about £4 per month from the other two. A saving of nearly £30 per month.

Good to hear Sky is going. It is amazing to me the number of people on here who now regard this as an essential. Stop watching telly altogether and go and do something less boring instead.

You could probably save at least a tenner off your internet as well, or go for a package along with your phone. (But not Sky)

Bin the kids savings just now, until you are in a better position.

And please give up the fags. That is a huge waste of money, literally going up in smoke. It is bad for you and your kids and is reflected in the price of your life insurance. (knew I couldn't help myself) (Sorry to be a moan).

isgman

Cut down on the Smoking.. it will be better for your Health and Save you money at the same time.. (Sorry to pick this one,,,Ex-Smoker)....

nellis10

ignore me didn't read about your internet!

Can you forgo the kids savings for a few months?

Gforce_2

Don't you claim child tax credits? This would give you a minimum of £545 extra per year.

James240

Sorry do u need 2 cars? as your paying out £100 a month on insurance for them and if you only used one that would save u around £600 a year

newmum1

i think you can cut down on the food £240.00 seems a lot i reckon with some savvy meal ideas yoy can do this for about £160.00 try it .........

Mrs_Arkwright

'life ins £9.95
life ins £71.72'

That is massive. Me and Mr A have a joint life policy for less than 20 quid a month with Virgin Money.

You could also shop around for your house insurance, again ours is 20 quid a month with Esure.

Kids clubs, outings, and savings you could ditch - no point saving while you're in debt, and getting out of debt now will be better for the whole family in the long run.

'Spending money' - what's this actually being spent on - you need to do a daily spending diary for every penny and see where your money is going.

And the obvious one, as you say, is fags. Stop. It's costing you money, and they make you die. Take up knitting instead. Much safer and cheaper.

James240

Also if u had 1 car you would be able to cut down petrol costs as well

KatrinaC_2

chloejane wrote:

Hi all been on the site for some time managed to do some savings but need to do some more drastic savings now, any helpful advice welcomed please

income

child benefit £116.60 per month
DH wages £1946.40 per month this does alter with overtime/shift patterns etc
My wages £200 per month approximate depending on hours DH works Is there any way you can supplement this by doing some work from home, selling stuff you've bought or made on Ebay, becoming an Avon/Virgin Vie/Ann Summers rep, etc?

total £2263.00

out goings all are per month

mobile phone £10
rbs £77What is this for? Is this a credit card repayment?
house insurance £38.63
egg £300 gone in six months if we keep paying this amount
cahoot £150 20 months left to pay at this amount
life ins £9.95
life ins £71.72 This is a HUGE amount for life insurance! Altogether you are spending £120 per month on insurance - would it be cheaper to get a combined policy? Try looking at somewhere like moneysupermarket.com and make sure that this is the best value possible
internet £24.99 Again, very expensive - does your provider have a cheaper rate? I know you have 10 months to run on the package but sometimes asking if you can lower your tariff can work.
mortgage £390.11
tv licence £11
council tax £110
sky £42.53 this is the last payment then its gone
food £240 this feeds 4 people 1 cat 2 dogs and includes all toiletries, washing stuff lunches etc
petrol £170 What do you use your car for? Is there anyway to cut back on the number of miles you do every month? Walking, cycling etc. Also, do you really need two cars? Life is a lot easier in a two car family, but you pay heavily for the convenience
interest upto £50 from bank for OD
car ins £100 two cars
car tax mot etc £50
2x kids clubs, outings etc £10
BT £50What does this cover? Is it just one month of calls and rental? If so, use the phone less and see about using a call carrier like One-Tel to reduce the costs of when you do use it. There is a board all about cheaper telephone calls which might be able to give more advice
gas elect £55 not as much in summer but more in winterChallenge yourself (and the kids!) to work out ways to save on gas and electric. Turn the heating thermostat down 2-3 degrees, turn the heating on later at night and off earlier in the morning, shut doors, turn off lights, cook food in batches, etc. You will always spend more on fuel in the winter but in tehe summer you can drive it right down.
clothes, shoes etc £15
2x kids savings £10 This suggestion always makes me sound like a heartless woman, but stop saving for the kids and use the money and the savings to pay off some of your debts. Remember, this is your money, you are not stealing from your children, you are using the money to make life better for the whole family by paying off the debts earlier. Once you have paid off the debts put all of the money you were using to pay off the credit cards into that account. It'll probably take a few months to get back to the point you are at now.
spending money £40What do you spend your spending money on? Have you tried keeping a spending diary?
fags £150 Ahem. I'm not going to lecture because you know that you are paying someone to kill you. Oh, and you're paying more for your insurance too. Try Quit on 0800 00 22 00

total 2143.40

Are you paying off your credit cards in the right order? And have you tried moving the balances about to get as much of the debts onto low or 0% APR cards? Even if you can't get another card I found that calling the companies and asking whether they'd offer me a low APR balance transfer if I moved from another card with a rival company worked.

i know that the obvious one is the giving up smoking both of us were 20 a day so this cost has gone down considerably already, we are working on this, so please dont be to harsh Good for you - the last step is the hardest but not impossible (I'm a reformed smoker too). Try calling Quit or asking your GP for help and support. You can also get nicotine replacement therapy on prescription which may save you money.

I hope this helped

Kat

lazy&indebt

I know the best way is to quit but some people find it easier to wean themselves off cigarettes, until that happens, why don't you switch to roll ups for a while? I know a lot of people don't think much to them but they really aren't that bad, I prefer them myself to normal cigarettes and for about a fiver, you can buy enough tobacco, papers and filters to make about 60/70 I think...my mate did this swith and has saved £100 per month!!

Just a suggestion....