I have done nothing yet but writting here is the only way that will make me do stg...

Want_to_be_free

Food, cat food, toiletries and cleaning material £320 to £250
Petrol £150 try to reduce it £120
Cinema tickets (4) £20 now 2 only- meaning once a month to £10
Car cleaning £12 to £0 by cleaning yourself
Take away pizza instead of buying once a month; bake it yourself from £11 to £0
My son’s pocket money £10 to £8 as he is now paying £2 towards Lovefilm.com
Massage £27, to £13.5 by getting it every other month
Entertainment such as odd coffee or food at work or additional bits and odds such as car park, going out, food outside, £80 – reduce to £60

With this budget instead of paying total 630, I will be paying 461.5, meaning my monthly spending is reduced by £168.5

According to the new budget my monthly spent is down from £2060 to£1892


My income is also up £150, I forgotten to add this to the previous post but one of my friend is coming to stay with me. She needs somewhere to stay and I need someone to be at my home because , due to my partner's unexpected and unnecessary death I am constantly having nightmares, cannot sleep when there is no any other adult in the house. I know this will go away with time. But for now my friend will be helping me out. She is not a lodger and she is only paying towards utilities and food

According to the new budget my monthly income is up from £1876,29 to £2026,29

This means I will be in green £134

However I cannot get excited because I still haven’t factored in the cost that happens during the year. ( This is another post )



Still need to check following
Council tax £65 no change- seems like there has been a mistake- find out?
Car insurance £43.37 coming to end in July, try to reduce it
Home Phone + broadband £43 Possible to reduce?
My mobile £35 is it possible to reduce?
HSBC interest payment £25 need to make an arrangement, going into the bank next week
Content Insurance £12 try to reduce it
Haircut + colouring (me every 6 months) £10 total £60 , £10 per month, can I reduce it?

moo2moo

I can understand your feelings towards benefits however whilst theres a stigma associated to some others are merely there to help. You are standing on your own two feet but theres nothing to stop you having a little help now and again. I'm pretty confident the majority of parents in the UK happily claim Child Benefit, regardless of income, without a second thought. The same goes for Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. They are there to help parents be better parents. Nothing more. The form is quick and easy to fill in and can be backdated for 3 months. The majority of people with an income under £50,000 qualify. At the very least it would mean an extra £40 into your bank account each month which would cover your sons pocket money and his Love Film rental, a trip to the cinema and pizza night.

http://taxcredits.hmrc.gov.uk/HomeNew.aspx

The hardest part is making the decision to tackle your debt. After that its a serious of tempestous days with a faint glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel but it does get easier and dare I say it even becomes fun. Ridiculous things like a minute a day playing free bingo to win a guaranteed minimum of 10p a day means you have an £36 a year income. Multiply that by two companies and thats £72. OK its a drop in the ocean commpared to your overall debt but every little bit really does help even if it feels completely hopeless at the time.

ruby1968_2

Wow what a story, just knowing how to and when to make this a commitment is just the beginning, I too found it really hard when I started, but then began to see the other side of things, although is isn't and wont be easy, but if your determined to make the difference for yourself and your son it will be an achievement, it won t happen overnight and you might not see much difference straight away but there is is light at the end of the tunnel, since being on hear I have had lots of great advice and encouragement it is well worth it, the passt is behind and the future is from now on.

good luck keep posting even if it's rambeling which I tend to do myself it helps to get it off your chest and clear your mind (technology) speaking that is.

Ruby68x

Want_to_be_free

Car

• Car tax £180.00 I can get this for 6 months then it will be just £90 to pay in Aug
• Car service £240.00 Aug 2010

Cat

• Cat injection £60.00 Jun (once a year)
• Cat Worming £ 7.00 Jun and Jan (twice a year)
• Strong Hold (worming stuff) £30 every three months but I think I can get a way with every six, also check if I can find this cheaper anywhere

My Son

• School Jacket £40.00 Sep 2010
• Shoes £90 at least 4 pairs per year as he is he is 12 and growing more every day
• Cloths £ 80.00 You might think that this is unnecessary , but he would not wear anything from charity shops or even from eBay, he is very particular - His ASD does not help here. This is one battle I cannot win.
• One Big day out, such as Alton Towers £100 But I can use club card tokens etc, so it might be a lot more cheaper
• BD £100.00, Foolishly I promised him driving experience and a promise is a promise but his BD is also in August Errrrrrrr
• Holiday in UK £200 /This is a bit far fetched but I kept Sun paper's holiday coupons, it cost me nothing because one of my friends buys that rubbish paper . I have not been any holidays for God knows how many years. I truly need a break but my son comes first. Meanwhile I will dream on with a holiday on my own somewhere sunny.
  
  
  
  

Miscellaneous

• Bin Cleaning £68.00 I cannot cancel this now because DR is coming out in June but then nothing to pay till June 2011
• Solicitor £120.00 (This is an outstanding payment should be paid soon)
• No clothing or shoes budget for me but I need to wear decent bras as I have big boobs cost about £90 per year from M&S – reduce it silly mo, I mean not the boobs
• Dental payment back up £200.00 per year? I might not need that but just in case
• Flight to visit my parents £500.00 Aug 2011
• I need a Laptop a decent one will cost £500 / I am using my work one at the moment, and not comfortable about keeping my personal data in there.
• Car , need to get this in Aug 2011 but must budget it before hand otherwise there will be no money , I guess max I spend will be £1200
  

WOOPING total of £3528 extra money will be needed from June 2010 till June 2011

Ok now I lost the plot because I can not stop laughing :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

jo1972

Morning WTBF,

I've spent all morning trying to find a spreadsheet I can nick of someone that shows monthly ins and outs, trying to set something up for when I get paid on Friday that shows how much OH and I have to put in to our monthly bills so we both put in fair and square. But I'm lost, having problems with the laptop and can't find anything suitable, found a blank one but don't know how to make it work :mad:

Good luck with your journey, it sounds as though you now want to be in control and I hope that you don't get any major hurdles along the way xx

moo2moo

Try the peeps on the live on 4k a year thread hidden away here they have some fab spreadsheets for every conceivable budgetting outcome and then some.

Want_to_be_free

jo1972 wrote: »

Morning WTBF,

I've spent all morning trying to find a spreadsheet I can nick of someone that shows monthly ins and outs, trying to set something up for when I get paid on Friday that shows how much OH and I have to put in to our monthly bills so we both put in fair and square. But I'm lost, having problems with the laptop and can't find anything suitable, found a blank one but don't know how to make it work :mad:

Good luck with your journey, it sounds as though you now want to be in control and I hope that you don't get any major hurdles along the way xx

---

Hi Jo, I created my own spreadsheets and can send mine to you if you like but Martin's Budget planner does excatly the same thing- and it is probably much more better then mine. The url is
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning

There is a spreadsheet version that you could use.

Good luck and if you are stuck , I can help you because I am an analyst LOL don't laugh , I am actually quite good with detail hence I can grill myseld to the bone while looking into my finances. So far, I am still at "Finding Out' stage, it can only get better from here , it must otherwise I am doomed.

Good luck with yours too, especially with the wash machine problems_ Can you be cheeky and ask your mum to do the washing for you, offering some money towards it

jo1972

Lol she doesn't have a machine either :rotfl:

ViolaLass

Just a thought, but it might be worth considering whether you can really afford to give your son an expensive day for his birthday, a trip to Alton Towers, a summer holiday AND visit your parents. Are they all really necessary?

You could spend the day together and do something far cheaper than Alton Towers and it is also possible to have a holiday for a lot less than £200, especially if you stay close to home.

Want_to_be_free

moo2moo wrote: »

Try the peeps on the live on 4k a year thread hidden away here they have some fab spreadsheets for every conceivable budgetting outcome and then some.

---

Moo2moo, so far you sent me very sensible messages, I cannot imagine how people can live with £4 K per year but I guess if you must then you have to find a way.

I feel like silly brat making much ado about nothing when I think about other people who are far more misfortunate

Your message made me think very hard, I thank you for it.



I am going to read the 'frugal living tonight',
I also already booked a meeting with local CAB in order get total benefit check.

I have very very long way to go.