Help me make my money go further, please!

FatVonD

I am shortly to be made redundant and (with no disrespect to anyone for whom this is a devastating experience) for one reason and another this is actually the right thing for me at this moment in time but I'd like some help in stretching my redundancy payment as far as possible, please.

I had reduced the term of my mortgage to get it paid off quicker so I will contact the building society to get it put back to the original longer term which will reduce my payments by about £400 per month but I'd be really grateful if anyone would cast their eye over my other household expenses and tell me if they think anything else could be cut back.

The bills are for a 2 bed semi and the car is a Suzuki Vitara.

I'm currently paying (per month):

Gas/water/boiler insurance £28.18
Car insurance £35.52
Buildings insurance £19.16
Gas £40.00
Electricity £60.00
Phone/broadband/cable TV £50-£70
Life ins £13.66
Water rates £27.79

I also have two 0% interest CCs, I'd be interested to hear the pros and cons of paying them off while I have the money or keep the money to pay the mortgage for longer.

When I can remember my Tesco password (at work at the moment) I'll post my most recent order because this is an area where I think I need to cut back big time. (Not to mention the local Indian takeaway)

McKneff

You really need to post an SOA listing all your inomings/ outgoings, secured loans, unsecured loans. etc.

Only then with full details will any one be able to help yu
but my first thought is get a water meter.

FatVonD

McKneff wrote: »

You really need to post an SOA listing all your inomings/ outgoings, secured loans, unsecured loans. etc.

Only then with full details will any one be able to help yu
but my first thought is get a water meter.

Thanks, McKneff, but I'm not really comfortable putting that much information on the net!

PS Do they charge to fit a water meter and would it still be worth it when I prefer to bath rather than shower?

sassyblue

Do you have any savings at all vonD? I don't bother with the boiler insurance, although having said that it's new, we had it installed 5 years ago. ( I ask abut the savings becuase l don't have the insurance but would pay out of savings for repairs if need be)

As per McKneffs advice look into having a water meter, although it depends on how much you wash and how many children you have? I have one child do one 6kg wash per day, bath (half full) every night, hubby showers and we have dishwasher on 2-4 times a week, we pay £40 per month :eek:

FatVonD

sassyblue wrote: »

Do you have any savings at all vonD? I don't bother with the boiler insurance, although having said that it's new, we had it installed 5 years ago. ( I ask abut the savings becuase l don't have the insurance but would pay out of savings for repairs if need be)

As per McKneffs advice look into having a water meter, although it depends on how much you wash and how many children you have? I have one child do one 6kg wash per day, bath (half full) every night, hubby showers and we have dishwasher on 2-4 times a week, we pay £40 per month :eek:

Yikes! There are 3 of us (sometimes 5.) DH showers daily and DS and I bath daily but share the water (not at the same time!)

No savings but generous redundancy payment.

Tiggyroo

Have a look on the old style board. There are hundreds of threads that will help you save money on shopping and really cheap, tasty meal ideas hth
Tiggy

FatVonD

Tiggyroo wrote: »

Have a look on the old style board. There are hundreds of threads that will help you save money on shopping and really cheap, tasty meal ideas hth
Tiggy

Thanks, Tiggy, I do browse on there though I'm not really Old Style (I just like the company in those parts!) but I shall make more of an effort.

McKneff

FatVonD wrote: »

Thanks, McKneff, but I'm not really comfortable putting that much information on the net!

PS Do they charge to fit a water meter and would it still be worth it when I prefer to bath rather than shower?

You could ring them up and they would do a comparison for you.

You can have a meter fitted and do your own costing over the year and then have it taken out at the end of the year if it wasnt cost effective.

It does make you think about the water that you are using though,
ie, running it when you brush your teeth, putting something in the cistern to use less water, use up waste water for the garden, good for your pocket and the environment.

Worth a phone call.

As for your SOA, this forum is completely anonymous, unless you have family and friends who know you and your username.

sassyblue

FatVonD wrote: »

Yikes! There are 3 of us (sometimes 5.) DH showers daily and DS and I bath daily but share the water (not at the same time!)

No savings but generous redundancy payment.

Then l would definitely advise staying OFF a water meter, me and little one (he's 4) share the bath too which gets me strange comments from my sisters, but that's a whole other thread.

FatVonD

McKneff wrote: »

As for your SOA, this forum is completely anonymous, unless you have family and friends who know you and your username.

No, just paranoid

gonzo127

to be honest you do need more information posted to be able to get the full help we can give, ones that jump out at me,

gas and elec seem high, i live in a 3 bed semi with me, wife, teenage daughter, 2 1/2 yo daughter (full time) and when back from uni 18 yo son, our gas and electric combine is £90 a month and wife and younger daughter are at home all day - find out your annual usage in KWH and do a comparison, online duel fuel accounts paid by direct debit are usually the cheapest

car insurance - not being funny but how much is the car actually worth? what is your excess? just something to think about really as if the car is worth less that £1000 and your excess (comp and vol - each insurance policy will have both) is £300 plus is it actually worth spending out ~£400 a year to insure it fully comp when you would actually only get probably £500 back if you wrote it off (taking into account the excess you would have to pay) in this instance it might be worth it to swop to third party fire and theaft or just third party to try and save money

phone/broadband/tv - do you actually need this, or do you need it all? would freeview/freesat and seperate phone and broadband be a better option?

things you have missed out
mobile phones - are you on contract? - if so phone up and find out how many mins and texts you use, if you dont use them all ask about dropping down a tarrif to one more suitable, or if you are out of contract look at leaving and going pay as you go for even more control

groceries - aim for £60 per person per month (full time people at home) for your budget - this is doable with a little work and you can still have a healthy diet with the odd treat