Where to save? (SOA included)

papermoney

miggy wrote: »

Papermoney - don't stay up all night! You'll think more clearly in the morning.

Here is a hot chocolate to help you sleep. :coffee:

:beer: Thanks

I'm going to call it a night. Report writing has given me a headache and that was before I started looking at my finances :rotfl:

Thrugelmir

TV insurance - £7.99
Fridge Insurance - £2.99
Laptop Insurance - £6.99
Dishwasher Insurance - £2.49

These total £20.46p per month.

The money would be better spent on paying down a credit card. And using the credit card if the need came to replace.

Do you need a landline telephone and a mobile phone? Another £20 there. That could pay down the credit card.

Could you not come to an arrangement with your parents in the short term? Give them a second charge over the property to secure their loan. This could be discharged when you get your finances sorted out at a later date. The £283 would help clear more expensive debt.

Items missing off your list. Car maintenance and servicing, car breakdown cover , water rates.

DarkFallout

You may probably get about 10 pounds of child tax credits a week.

You can probably get childcare vouchers from your employer which are tax free.

Cut the Sky and optimize the insurance policies.

papermoney

Thanks - the water rate is on there (I think) £27.00

Will look into the insurances.

I didnt include car stuff as it all goes through my husbands business. We need the landline for business as it is always diverted to my husbands mobile and then I have my own mobile that I use (as I can use the landline).

Cutting sky seems the best thing at the moment.

I can't do anything about the loan to my parents as they took a second charge out on their house and the money I pay them goes straight to their bank straight to Natwest. Thanks again

albacookie

papermoney wrote: »

It's actually a real pain, we are tied in for another 2 years even though we are not getting what the company said we would (download speed) but as it was done over the phone, they will not believe we were told differently so will not allow us to cancel the contract without a very heavy penalty charge.

You could try calling their bluff - I was having problems with my broadband and had 10 months left on my contract. I phoned them and asked for my MAC code so I could leave, they then pointed out the penalty for doing this and I said that as the service was so awful I would gladly pay it. I then ended up with the next package up for 40% less than I was already paying - worth a try!

papermoney

albacookie wrote: »

You could try calling their bluff - I was having problems with my broadband and had 10 months left on my contract. I phoned them and asked for my MAC code so I could leave, they then pointed out the penalty for doing this and I said that as the service was so awful I would gladly pay it. I then ended up with the next package up for 40% less than I was already paying - worth a try!

Thanks - my husband tried this and the penalty was high but they did say they would reduce the monthly payment by 10%
he is waiting for the supervisor to call again on Monday.

Thanks

dancingfairy

Just wondered whether having a clear out might help a little - with kids I guess you might have their old baby clothes around? games etc? O.K so it's not going to make you a fortune but if you pick a nice day and try a car boot you could make a bit of money - clear up space in the house and kick start the money saving. Some people have made silly money by having clear out and seeling stuff on ebay etc- I mean several hundred pounds. I've never quite worked out how they would manage that though but worth a try - even if it pays for a few treats and means more money can be thrown at the debts.
Being a teacher you could try extra tutoring in the holidays perhaps?
df

papermoney

Thanks - i'm going to put a few bits on ebay over the next few weeks and see what goes and what doesn't. Even if it's only a few pounds then it's better than nothing.