My Monthly Nightmare!!

talana

colly2218 wrote: »

We both get paid weekly cash (£596 total)
We are a family of 4 (kids aged 4 and 7)
One week every month we pay out £580 to the CCCS, which leave us with £18!
The following week we pay out £725 rent (which leaves us short)
The other 2/3 weeks of the month we have to pay the other bills we owe, and try to get as much shopping as we can to last the 2/3 weeks when we have no money!
We also need to put back £129 to make up rent

Part of your problem then is that you're not budgeting. From the above account you're reacting to these expenses almost as if they've taken you by surprise rather than planning for them in advance.

£596 per week total then.
From that, you set aside £135 each week for CCCS.
You set aside £170 each week to cover your rent.
You set aside £x each week for your grocery shopping etc
You do the same for every other bill and essential expense, and then you see how much each week you have left for non-essentials.

Take control of your budgeting.

colly2218

Thanks Washer for the advice, just a quick point. We spend £20 per person on birthday gifts and there are 23 members of the family (Grandparents, parents, neices, nephews,brothers and sisters etc) How much is a good amount..or do you think it's really ok to not buy everyone presents (ie adults)

WASHER

Personally, I don't buy Birthday presents for anyone but my own children, I don't even get my husband a bought one.

We also don't buy anyone but my own children and Grandparents at Christmas time, the extended family came to an agreement years ago that we have too many Nieces, Nephews etc, and we should buy for our own family only.

It's down to personal choice and finances at the end of the day, you need to get together with Sisters/Brothers/Inlaws etc and come to an agreement, over a glass or two of wine, then generally everyone will agree with what you are suggesting!

[Deleted User]

"Thanks Washer for the advice, just a quick point. We spend £20 per person on birthday gifts and there are 23 members of the family (Grandparents, parents, neices, nephews,brothers and sisters etc) How much is a good amount..or do you think it's really ok to not buy everyone presents (ie adults) "

There's no problem in buying all of these people present if you can afford to. At the moment, you cant. buy a card, or get the kids to make one.

I'm sure that all of your family would rather you were getting your debts under control rather than buying them a present. Presents for children only at the moment would be a good idea.

Also, can either of you "up your income"? Overtime, second job? Or can you get some extra cash from e-baying? Gumtree? Car-booting?

Mrs_Jojo

colly2218 wrote: »

We spend £20 per person on birthday gifts and there are 23 members of the family (Grandparents, parents, neices, nephews,brothers and sisters etc) How much is a good amount..or do you think it's really ok to not buy everyone presents (ie adults)

Personally, I buy presents for immediate family (parents and siblings) and people I will see at Christmas - we tend to have single friends over for a meal and I will always have something for them to open on the day but it will be a little something, I wouldn't spend more than a tenner on something, and may even make something for them instead.

My siblings and I decided long ago to only buy for the children for Christmas and for each other at Birthdays - this works well! Also, I pick up things through the year when I see them - if something costs £5 but was reduced from £20 then that is fine, in fact, if something costs £5 and the child will love it, then even better!

Finally, I have lots of friends with little children (mine are older teens now) and I deliberatly don't buy them presents unless I will see them on their birthday or at Christmas, not because I don't want to be generous, but because I don't want to put their parents under some obligation to buy for mine - the parents tend to appreciate this! I will also, again, make things for friends (I sew) which tends to be cheaper and more appreciated than more 'stuff'.

The people who will mind getting a homemade gift really don't matter and the people who matter really won't mind (in fact, they'll be thrilled at the time you spent on them!)

Mrs Jojo

colly2218

Trying to up income form Amazon, and ebay. BUt not much money to be made. Car booting is out as my OH wrote the car off!!

katsu

colly2218 wrote: »

We spend £20 per person on birthday gifts and there are 23 members of the family (Grandparents, parents, neices, nephews,brothers and sisters etc) How much is a good amount..or do you think it's really ok to not buy everyone presents (ie adults)

I'm buying for a similar amount of people (22 last year), mostly adults, but for Christmas mainly, very few birthday gifts. I spent £180 on Christmas last year and got good reactions to the gifts. That was an average of under £8 per person. I bet none of them would have guessed.

This year I'm at an average of £11 per person (splashing out ) and have only 7 people left to sort.

I do this by:

* shopping all year round (this is basically the key to managing the costs)
* keeping a pressie box on the go so you can shop from your stash
* hunting in sales all year round - I get my cards in the sales, good prices on wrapping paper, decorations etc. Think of ideas for people and then look for sales on that sort of thing - i.e. if you want a dinner set look for huge reductions in Debenhams or BHS for example and snap one up on a 70% off end of season deal or similar. I got some 2010 gifts before Christmas 2009 in the pre-Christmas sales.
* use charity shops - you can get great condition items and new goods at reasonable prices
* make some gifts - if you have kids they can make for grannie etc. Sewing, ebroidery, jewellery, baking, jams, chocs, fudges etc.

I appreciate it can be difficult to stop buying in big families but there are options other than spending a fortune. You could always try a "secret santa" amongst the adults?

determined_new_ms

Hi op. I saw your post yesterday and wanted to comment. Re gifts - this year I have been buying things on ebay/in sales/making a couple of thoughtful gifts. I do not intend to spend more than £5 per person apart from my mum, children and partner. For example for one person I have got a really cool shower cap that I know she will love - cost £3 off of ebay. for 2 pple I'm going to make slow gin, for in-laws I'll make up a mulled wine box. Get thoughtful & creative with gifts its much cheaper and nicer also (I'm vetoing any last minute gifts - they're always carp)

I think there is a lot of room for improvement in your budget, but it will come gradually. I was struck by the fact that we have a similar income, but my oh & I are paying approx £900-£1000 pm to our debts. I certainly do not feel like I am living like a pauper (altho there have been moments!) There are 4 ppl in the house (2 teenage boys aged 17 years) and our food budget is between £260-300 pm & this includes lunches for everyone & alcohol to drink at home. The things I think you could make big savings on are:

When things are tight - can you afford to go out drinking & eating each month? Get an orange sim & do orange wed cinema & pizza express meal eveyr other month. Do your children at such a young age need pocket money? Your phone internet & tv package is too high, we pay £17 pm for all 3 (freeview is much better in my opinion, tv is carp anyway!) , much better for your family to go for a walk, read a book, play a game etc etc etc (young kids love baking so thats a simple, cheap & organised for the week way to spend time!)

school meals, meals at work & snacks can all go and the money can go towards living within your budget. Its hard but the only way to get out of debt is to live well below your income and it is possible to do this without having a drop in lifestyle.

Good luck!

colly2218 wrote: »

This is it. I have faced up to the truth...even though we are on a cccs plan we are still overspending!!!:o
Robbing Peter to pay Paul and forever playing catch up.
CCCS payment are higher than what we were paying before, but can't be changed.
Any helpful ideas gratefully appreciated! Please be gentle!

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b]

Monthly Income Details
Income from Employment (after tax). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,582.67
Income from Self Employment (before tax). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
State Pension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Private Pension / Annuity Payout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Benefits (Inc. Child Benefit/Tax Credits & Income Support). . . . . . . . . . . 178.00
Income From Savings & Investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Gifts From Family / Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00

Monthly Expense Details

In Your Home

Mobile Phone(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.00
TV Licence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.00
Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80.00
Home Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Cleaning Products/Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.00
Garden Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Household Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.67
Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.00
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173.33
Council Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115.00
Overdraft Cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.00
Bank Account Fee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.00
Home Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.00
Mortgage/Rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725.00
Plumbing/Boiler Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Mortgage Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Mortgage Payment Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00
Food and Household Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346.67
Drinks for Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.67

Motoring & Public Transport

Petrol/Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Car Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Car Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Car Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Rail/Bus/Taxi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156.00
Breakdown Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00

Debt Repayments

Credit Card Repayments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Hire Purchase Repayments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Personal Loan Repayments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Car Loan Repayments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
cccs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580.00

Savings & Investments

Pension Payments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00
Buying Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Mini Cash ISAs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Lump Sum Saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Regular Saving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00

Family

Pet Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
School Trips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00
School Meals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.00
Pocket Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.33
Nappies/Baby Extras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Laundry/Dry Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.00
Children's Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Baby Sitting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Childcare/Play Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.00
Pet Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Travel Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00

Entertainment

Satellite/Digital TV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Family Days Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.00
Cinema/Theatre Trips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00
Books/Music/Films/Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Big Days Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.00
Shopping for Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Pet Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Hobbies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
IT/Computing (eg Anti-virus etc). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
DVD Rental. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Drinking Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00
Eating Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00

Clothes, Health & Beauty

Complimentary Therapies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Optical Bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Haircuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00
Dentistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00
Beauty Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Healthcare Cashplans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Dental Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Private Medical Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Fitness/Sports/Gym. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Work Clothes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
New Children's Clothes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.00
New Clothes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.00

Education & Courses

University Tuition Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
School Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Your Courses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00

Big One Offs

Funeral Expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Wedding Expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Sofa/Kitchen/TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.00
Winter Holiday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Summer Holiday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.00
Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.00

Odds & Sods

Newspapers & Magazines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.67
Tax & NI Provisions (self-employed only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Regular Charity Donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Meals at work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.33
Smokes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108.33
Coffees/Sandwiches/Snacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.33


Total monthly income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,760.67


Total monthly expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,098.33


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foxgloves

Just wanted to say that we also have internet broadband, phone & TV package from Virgin but it's about 46 a month so nearly half of what you are paying. We seem to have loads of channels............in fact more than we ever watch........so it's definitely worth seeing if you can drop down a package or two. Just that & the fags would free up nearly 150 quid a month. As a former spender (in fact partner was worse than me!) I can definitely say that although cutting down on things does feel like making sacrifices initially, it can soon become second nature because you start to appreciate feeling a bit more financially secure & anything that reduces worry & stress has to be good.

AndreaE

I am also with Virgin and pay £50-something which includes all my calls, lots of channels and 20mg broadband.

Andrea