Can anyone help me?

RAS

Mrs.Downie wrote: »

Shower alternate days is a huge no no! You gotta be clean!

Then share. It might even be fun?:D

The sky is for the net, landline and sky package, we're on the lowest tarriffs of them all.

Well, I am absolutely sure that others on here could get that a lot cheaper. And you need to reconsider whether you need mobiles on contracts.

You are right about the clothes, I do primarily use catalogues for clothing.

Which is incredibly expensive even before you add the massive interest rates. STOP. Send them all back and do not even open another on if it arrives.

The insurance is as cheap as its going to get Hubby isnt 25 yet, he only has 3 years no claims and the car is a 1.8 there is no way to get cheaper insurance, we do shop around. Petrol is a necessity to enable Hubs to get to work and he does car share. It 6 quid a day to get him to and from work.

Can you sell it and get something cheaper to run until he is over 25 and has more NCB?

Ahh yeah the other entertainment is the Gym that Hubby goes to, its the cheapest in the area and he's contracted in. BUt we could save 10.99 on love film

Saving money on love film will help but until you learn that your life style and your income are not matched, you are going to get more and more in trouble.

Any debt at over 30 percent will increase even if you pay off the minimum, and you have several.

You owe one whole years income. If either of you lose your jobs you are in deep trouble.

You might be able to retrieve the situation now if you really are motivated but leave it another year and you will really struggle.

Tixy

I wouldn't not shower daily either!
But you could still look for other ways to reduce your elec costs. Have you looked out your recent elec statement to see whether you are in credit on your account? are your bills based on actual or estimated readings?
Have a look at whether you might save money by switching to a different supplier or a different tariff with the same supplier (eg the web based tariffs with no paper bills are usually quite a bit cheaper).

Then as well as trying to reduce the cost for the elec you use also see if you can reduce the amount you use. Do you switch everything off at the plug when not in use? do you use energy efficient bulbs? could you batch cook when the oven is switched on doing 2-3 days meals and then on the other days use it for less as you'll just be reheating? Have you considered using a slow cooker - very cheap to run.
What about a timer next to the shower that you set for 4mins so that you ensure you don't stay ages under the shower. Obviously not all these suggestions work for everyone but if you can cut say 10% off the price you pay and 10% off your usage then thats a saving worth having.

Oh and if OH has to keep the gym subscription then make him shower at the gym on the days he goes!!

kerri_gt

Regarding Sky, I have just looked and the cheapest package, plus Sky Talk (Free Evening and Weekend calls), Line Rental and Broadband totals £30.75

Entertainment package (cheapest) £19.50
Broadband Lite FREE (with Sky Talk)
Sky Talk Freetime FREE
Line Rental £11.25

So even if you are locked in to Sky until the summer, you could speak to them about reducing the costs.

Check your broadband as not all areas can get this Free/£5 package. We had it until me moved but because of the set up at the BT exchange, Sky could only offer their standard £17 a month broadband to us - so we switched to BE.

In some cases, bundling everything together doesn't work out cheapest :-(

kerri_gt

Just reading your other posts - does OH really need a 1.8 car? Could he sell it and get something more economical to get to/from work. Although he'll lose some of what he spent out orignally on his car, one with a smaller engine could not only lower his insurance, reduce his road tax and reduce the petrol spend.

Depending on what he gets for the car too, buying something smaller/more economical might mean there is a little extra £ to throw at your debts.

whiteguineapig

i am feeling dirty now lol. i only shower every other day in winter
what about an ebay account and get selling stuff you don't use, put what you get towards debts
have you any gold you could cash in maybe

NeverAgain_2

Washing machine every day for two adults?

Is it a toy one?

I'm one adult and use mine once a week, sometimes less if I'm on holiday and not wearing work clothes.

I don't know how much electric they use, but I suspect it's quite a lot because mine's on for a long time even on a so-called quick wash.

Mrs.Downie

kerri_gt wrote: »

Just reading your other posts - does OH really need a 1.8 car? Could he sell it and get something more economical to get to/from work. Although he'll lose some of what he spent out orignally on his car, one with a smaller engine could not only lower his insurance, reduce his road tax and reduce the petrol spend.

Depending on what he gets for the car too, buying something smaller/more economical might mean there is a little extra £ to throw at your debts.

Unfortunately, the car isn't worth enough to sell it. But its still going and pretty much passes its mot with only minor issues. But he's 25 before the next insurance renewal so that may help.

I think definitely going to try drop the sky payment, get rid of love film and get some stuff sold see if that helps any.

katsu

Agree re reducing electric. Just for comparison, ours is a 2 bed semi - we too have a washing machine and electric shower, but no TV. We spend around 20pcm on elec - our total gas and elec is around £50 pcm, so you definitely can make savings. See if you can borrow an OWL meter to see what things cost you, go hunt out stuff on standby, don't charge mobiles overnight, don't leave things plugged in and a 4 min shower should be fine on a daily basis.

Re clothing - stop buying for now. Have a good sort out and work out how many outfits you can make from what you have, try new combinations of things and then try shopping on ebay or in charity shops if you need new stuff later on. I got a fab wool winter coat from Oxfam and it will last me years. Far cheaper to me than to the person who got it from M&S, barely wore it then gave it to them ready for me to buy

With the petrol, look at short journeys - for example do you drive to the supermarket? Can you go on the way home from work? I got a granny trolley and walk less than 2 miles to a small supermarket instead of driving. Also helps stop me buying too much as I can't carry it home :rotfl:

Cancelling lovefilm definitely the way to go and put any money you make selling stuff on ebay against the debts at over 30% apr as they are really painful. The good news is that the amounts are small so you should be able to clear them if you can get focussed on making some savings in your SOA.

kerri_gt

Have a look on some of the other threads for some challenges that might help you save some money - esp when it comes to groceries. There are two of us and 1 cat and we prob spend about £150 a month, that's one big shop and some little top ups. I am sure that if I did want to I could cut that down more, although we can afford that amount.

JS have an interesting thing on their site atm, where there are 5 recipies where all the ingredients cost under £20. They have a week 1 and week 2. I am sure that you could batch cook some of the meals and have portions in the freezer.

Once you clear the more expensive debts I am sure it will be a weight off, and you'll be able to deal with the 'cheaper' debts more quickly.

lvm

kerri_gt wrote: »

Have a look on some of the other threads for some challenges that might help you save some money - esp when it comes to groceries. There are two of us and 1 cat and we prob spend about £150 a month, that's one big shop and some little top ups. I am sure that if I did want to I could cut that down more, although we can afford that amount.

JS have an interesting thing on their site atm, where there are 5 recipies where all the ingredients cost under £20. They have a week 1 and week 2. I am sure that you could batch cook some of the meals and have portions in the freezer.

Once you clear the more expensive debts I am sure it will be a weight off, and you'll be able to deal with the 'cheaper' debts more quickly.

Hey Kerri!

I'm probably being completely daft here but what's JS? I'm loving the 5 recipes for under £20 idea so wanted to have a look!

Thanks x