Need you to pull my new SOA apart

Selidie

happytails wrote: »

Phone ins............................... 7 if mobiles are not for business use, check they're covered under home insurance and work out if it'd be cheaper to claim that way instead phone is for personal use, thinking of cancelling this, not sure it would be wise to add on home ins policy as i think it would bump up premium too much, but shall look into

I would have a look at your home contents insurance policy. Every one I have ever had has an area to cover 'portable' items, normally more than enough to cover several mobile phones . This isn't usually an added extra.

The one and only time I tried to claim on a mobile phone insurance policy they did everything possible to avoid paying it, so I claimed on household instead and was sorted in no time, have never taken out seperate phone insurance since .

I know this may sound harsh, but if you are desperately trying to save money everywhere you can, maybe you should be looking at finding other homes for your pets. In my opinion, a pet is a luxury and often an expensive one.

HappyMJ

Selidie wrote: »

I know this may sound harsh, but if you are desperately trying to save money everywhere you can, maybe you should be looking at finding other homes for your pets. In my opinion, a pet is a luxury and often an expensive one.

What? Why? I think they should give up the kid for adoption. That clearly is a luxury they can't afford. What about giving up the car? That's a luxury too isn't it?

CCCS allows £21 per month towards pet expenses. The OP has stated they spend £20 so it's within any debt advice limits.

happytails

HappyMJ wrote: »

What? Why? I think they should give up the kid for adoption. That clearly is a luxury they can't afford. What about giving up the car? That's a luxury too isn't it?

CCCS allows £21 per month towards pet expenses. The OP has stated they spend £20 so it's within any debt advice limits.

Seldie, do you have any pets? If so, im shocked you suggested this. Back in 2008 we were renting and we made the decision (thanks to mum and dad) to move back to theirs whilst i was pregnant to save up for a house, which we did. One of the things we had to do was rehome our 3 dogs - the hardest thing i have ever done in my life and i swore to never repeat. Luckily 2 dogs got really good homes, my eldest however, died 9 months later at age 12. The 3 yr old however is with a great family and we chat loads. the other however, the couple split up and we managed to take her back once we got our house. This dog is not going anywhere, not again. The bearded dragon we have costs us £6 a month in food, but replaces the TV and need for a TVL so even when the heat lamp is considered for electric usage this far outweighs the cost of electric for TV and paying TV licence Plus our beardie is much more fun than the TV.

HappyMJ, didnt realise the CCCS allowed £21pm pet expenses, very interesting!

Sarah

pelirocco

You are both only 21 with one child and another on the way , and manage to own your own home , you are doing really well and should be proud of it

cobblers_boy

Not much of an expert on looking through the SOA but the cheapest website I have found for pet food is Zooplus.co.uk. Have had a quick scan and can't see Chudleys on it but they do most of the other brands and they normally work out considerably cheaper than local stores. Orders over £29 delivered free and if you use one of the Cashback websites you can get a little back as well.

All the best and good luck to all the family.

CB

narabanekeater

Sarah what food is the dog on? also the beardie (I love them and would adore another one. Mine was called Gerri and would sit on my shoulder for hours) have you looked on Ebay for crickets. Dont be put off by the fat its ebay. I used to get all of Gerris from there

Selidie

happytails wrote: »

Seldie, do you have any pets? If so, im shocked you suggested this. Back in 2008 we were renting and we made the decision (thanks to mum and dad) to move back to theirs whilst i was pregnant to save up for a house, which we did. One of the things we had to do was rehome our 3 dogs - the hardest thing i have ever done in my life and i swore to never repeat. Luckily 2 dogs got really good homes, my eldest however, died 9 months later at age 12. The 3 yr old however is with a great family and we chat loads. the other however, the couple split up and we managed to take her back once we got our house. This dog is not going anywhere, not again. The bearded dragon we have costs us £6 a month in food, but replaces the TV and need for a TVL so even when the heat lamp is considered for electric usage this far outweighs the cost of electric for TV and paying TV licence Plus our beardie is much more fun than the TV.

HappyMJ, didnt realise the CCCS allowed £21pm pet expenses, very interesting!

Sarah

As I said, it was my opinion nothing more.

I don't currently have any pets, because I re homed both my dogs because I couldn't comfortably afford to look after them as well as keeping ontop of other essential payments, so I know it isn't an easy thing to do.

HappyMJ wrote: »

What? Why? I think they should give up the kid for adoption. That clearly is a luxury they can't afford.

An absolutely rediculous comparison.

HappyMJ wrote: »

CCCS allows £21 per month towards pet expenses. The OP has stated they spend £20 so it's within any debt advice limits.

I know this, but I am also of the opinion that just because an expense is allowed, doesn't make it affordable.

I also consider mobile phones a luxury but I am sure there are many many people out there that would argue that one

Triggles

A mobile handset is pretty inexpensive, if you're just looking for something to have on hand if your current one kicks out. We actually had a couple older mobiles in a drawer from previously (when we had 2 incomes coming in and were both on contracts), so we have those on hand as a backup. Even if you pick up a cheap £5 to £10 PAYG mobile to pop your own sim card into, it's less than paying the £7 a month.

Can you slowly wean your dog over to less expensive food perhaps? Or use 1/2 his standard brand, 1/2 cheaper stuff? Even a little bit would help.

Life insurance is not very expensive, if you look around. Our 24yo DD has a decent policy with a reputable company for £5 per month. And with a child, things like life insurance and wills are important!!

Is this overtime guaranteed? Or will you be struggling to pay the overdraft when the overtime is less than you expect? Sorry if I missed something, I wasn't quite clear on that.

happytails

Triggles wrote: »

Can you slowly wean your dog over to less expensive food perhaps? Or use 1/2 his standard brand, 1/2 cheaper stuff? Even a little bit would help.

Is this overtime guaranteed? Or will you be struggling to pay the overdraft when the overtime is less than you expect? Sorry if I missed something, I wasn't quite clear on that.

Dogs stomach is very iffy. We are lucky to find something at £14, the other brands she is ok on are £30 for the same KG. Will have a look at the online site PP suggested to see how much chappie is as she is also ok on this though in pet shops its about £18 a bag.

The overtime is provisonal, if we dont get enough then we just pay the interest on overdraft 2 (£30pm) and whatever we have spare will be kept aside. the Overtime is always available its just if DP does enough hours then we will be paying £430 off each month - theory is its do-able but this is first month in practice.

Hope that cleared it up a bit? x

**confuzzled**

happytails wrote: »

Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 50 this is quite high for this time of year! can you switch provider & have you done all you can to keep the gas down? If you have a combi boiler have you reduced the temp on the water bit so you don't have to add cold water to baths etc
this is the benchmark figure we pay, its technically too much over summer but not enough to cover winter so keeping it here ensures it evens out over the year but we are hoping to cut back a wee bit, but with a baby due in December not sure how realistic that will be
I know that feeling! I'm due halloween and am planning on a lot of snuggle days for when it's coldest:o:D I'm just grateful bubs will still be young so I can layer it up with woolies:p:D
Car Insurance........................... 63 is this a joint policy? if not seems high! Joint policy, me and oh are only 21 with a claim against me was best we could get (last year it was £113 a month :eek: In that case.....WELL DONE YOU:j:j thats a huge drop:D
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 12.08
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 20 what are these? can they be reduced? Bits and bobs for the baby, cloth nappy purchases, bedding etc it is nice to have new things but as it's your 2nd do you not have stuff from the 1st baby?? I've been selling stuff on ebay and then using the profit to buy stuff, is this a possibility for you?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0 you should have something here if you have no savings to pay for check ups etc Currently (theory is) it would come out of the emergency fund You really shoul dhave this if you have no emergency fund yet. Can't imagine anything worse than our cat getting ill and not being able to afford her treatment
Buildings insurance..................... 18.07
Contents insurance...................... 12.16 £30 on insurance we pay £16p/m for b&c insurance on a 3 bed semi i think we need to switch, we are with Santander Definitely switch! and don't forget cashback sites:D
Life assurance ......................... 0 do you not need this for the mortgage?it was advised we got this but havent gotten round to it yet DO ASAP! especially with No2 on the way! We had to do our for the mortgage
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20 can this be cut back? currently no, 16 birthdays between now and christmas, £60 budget for that - see what totals come to an will see if can be reduced in future any unwanted pressies you can 'upcycle'? or can you get LO to do something homemade for the Grandparents? HAve a look at crafting for xmas..tonnes of fab ideas there. I've got a huge list for when I'm on maternity leave...sods law that bubs will come early now:rotfl:

Pet food................................ 20 can you get it cheaper elsewhere?Not sure, Dog is on certain food as she has an iffy tummy £14 for 15kg bag, bearded dragon, Crickets are £6 a month - only one shop in area for crickets - yet to find ok food cheaper for dog
Feedem.co.uk they have bearded dragon food too and canned crickets?! Not big on reptiles so no clue if it's worth it for you but they do your dogs food for £12.50 for 15kg bag, free delivery for over £45 but be careful with the weight and always google for voucher codes..they can save a small fortune;):)
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My latest comments are in red:D

happytails wrote: »

Will get researching! You are right!! Any recommendations for companies?

Legal & general we're with, probs not the cheapest but I daren't change as DH has a congenital disorder and they were very thorough...for us it's just under £16p/m but as I say DH has a disorder and we're both older than you 2(26 & 30..I'm the younger one;):))