I want to be a better man

Ashamed_2

joedenise wrote: »

Before buying or renting an electricity monitor check with your provider if they will give you one. E-ON are currently giving one away on their website if they are your provider. I've ordered mine but not received it yet (it takes up to 28 days to arrive!).

I'm with scottish power, but currently looking at providers to see if I can get a better deal. Thanks for the advice.

euronorris

Hi! And welcome!

Just curious, why is Skype and Messenger not always an option? If it's just a matter of not being able to call at convenient times, then sorry, but tough. Best to organise times that suit both wife and her family and limit the calls to then. (Sorry to sound harsh, but I live away from my family also, don't have a great deal of friends in the area and I get by just fine. It's not easy, but you get used to it, and you make exceptions for special occasions - Birthday's for example).

Still not sure why you need two cars? It seems you have them only to drop off and pick up your daughter. Surely you can also get there by public transport. I appreciate it may not be convenient and even time consuming, but 100 GBP on petrol per month, on top of the nursery fees is ridiculous!

Have you looked into getting a childminder instead of the nursery? Might be cheaper (might not be, just an idea). Or, the other suggestion of your wife reducing her hours, and therefore your daughter's hours at the nursery?

The fags have got to go. You know that already. It's bl00dy hard though - I get it!

You should be able to get that house insurance down. I've never seen a premium so high!

Don't mean to pry, but just wondering how big the house is? The gas and elec, house insurance etc are all pretty high which would suggest that the house is quite large. Sooo....do you have any spare rooms? How about taking on a lodger? Would bring in some extra cash.

Are you paying council tax over 10 or 12 months? If 10, call and ask for it to be spread over 12.

Ermmm. will keep thinking!

RAS

hi

If this get [past the next round of Government cuts, at the age of 3, your daughter become eligible for 5 free nursery sessions a week. You need to check that out as it would nmake a massive difference to your budget and is not far away. Only do keep an eye on the budget next month.

Go to www.entitledto.com amd see whether you can get any further help.

Ashamed_2

Top tips, thanks.
Cheapest I've found to call is 10p a minute. Skype and Msn not always an option due to the massive costs overseas for internet.

Spirit_2

Well done for getting started....that really is the hardest part.

When I had my light bulb moment we were £64K in debt, three years later we are on the home straight. Between us we earn £130K...just so you don't think you are unique in earning a lot and running up debts:o

We still live well, but not wastefully....more thoughtful really. The old style board for meal planning, shopping and cooking - following the grocery challenge, going to whatsthecost.com to plan my repayments (a brilliant tool) and just coming on here have helped hugely.

I am sure soemone must have mentioned childcare vouchers - does your wifes employer do these as it may have asignificant impact on the cost of childcare.

Stick with it...debt is 'borrowing from your future'. I did not twig this for donkeys years and thank the heavens I have come to my senses now ...but only from learning from all sorts of posters on MSE.

falady

Hi there Ash,

I've jsut seen your thread. I wondered if there was any scope in you contacting your credit card providers and asking for a lower interest rate? All they can do is say no.....

Depending on your credit rating you might even be able to get a new 0% card and transfer some debt to that.

Also, I think you said the credit cards were maxed out, but if not, it could be worth moving debt to the card with the cheapest interest rate 9though take any transfer fees into account of course).

On the main aprt of the site, martin has written some good articles about credit cards and what has the best interest rate depending on your circumstances etc.

Even if no changes are possible now, they could be in 6-12 months, once you have made a dent in your debts.

Good luck - it sounds like you are doing really well already :-)

Ali x

Want2BMoneySavvy

Well done for taking the plunge, it's such a relief isn't it?

I'm new here so don't have much to offer, although you've already had lots of great advice. My penny's worth is -

Stop Sky immediately. A freeview box should provide you with more than enough channels, and all kids LOVE CBeebies (spoken by the mother of two small children!). If your daughter desperately loves a particular programme, but her a DVD she can watch. £45 a month is waay high.

Your house insurance is extortionate. Find something cheaper, and then use a cashback site when buying your new policy.

You need to sort out your food bills asap. I feed two adults (one a rugby player), a 3yr old and an older baby for around £320 a month. Work out when your local supermarket does their reductions, and go in to buy reduced meat. Pop it straight in your freezer. Do the rest of your shopping online, after writing out detailed meal plans. Buy enough milk and bread to last you 10 days, and keep the excess in the freezer, defrosting when necessary. If you don't need to pop out for bread and milk, you won't end up spending money you haven't got on impulse buys. Start making soups and pasta salads you can take into work, saving you cash (and your waist-line!).

Try having some No-Spend-Days with your wife. Aim to spend no money on your NSDs, so no paper, no odd takeaway, no quick coffee. All these small splurges add up. If you can, think about how much you've saved each day and make a small payment towards a CC with the highest APR. All the small payments will reduce your balance significantly over a period of time.

Start selling all your bits and bobs you don't need. eBay, Gumtree etc. No point in you keeping it when it could be making money for you.

Any skills you guys have you could make a profit on? Could your wife give language lessons? Do you have any IT skills you could advertise on Gumtree?

I understand you don't want to spend your daughter's savings, but at least consider temporarily stopping anymore payments, and using the extra £100 a month to pay some debt off. You can start back up once you're back on your feet, financially.

Hope some of this helps.

MrsTinks

If you want motivation for quitting smoking... here's a little fact for you... my parents (divorced) have 6 kids (me, my dad has another daughter and son and my mum has another son and my 2 step siblings). Both my parents have always smoked... out of 6 kids only 2 (me and my dads 5 year old son) have never smoked. The others all smoke or have smoked heavily... my brother recently quit though... so... how does a 66% chance of your daughter puffing away like a chimney before she's 16 sound? Lead by example

Every time you look at that smoke... remember that you're letting your daughter breathe that too... and you're showing her it's ok to smoke...

BTW I'm only pointing this out because you've already said you wanted to quit Otherwise I'd leave you alone

laurz121

Ashamed wrote: »

Top tips, thanks.
Cheapest I've found to call is 10p a minute. Skype and Msn not always an option due to the massive costs overseas for internet.

Take a look here http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/intcallchecker/macedonia

The cheapest call to macedonia is just 1.5p per minute so you could be saving 85% on your phone bill. A massive amount if you think about it.

frannybaby

Ashamed wrote: »

Top tips, thanks.
Cheapest I've found to call is 10p a minute. Skype and Msn not always an option due to the massive costs overseas for internet.

Another way to use Skype is for you to put credit on your Skype account. That way you can call landlines or mobiles and its still way cheaper than using normal phone service.