Running before i can walk or slacking off???

Tink_04

Thanks for everyones opinions and replies its really helped me think things through thoroughly and after a long talk and lots of papers out and calculators we have decided to sort our accounts out and have planned the year in detail (birthdays, easter, SIL wedding - MOT tax insurance etc) and we have decided to get our accounts in order and have made a start on a budget and money planner (made a start as were still waiting on some numbers coming in) im currently planning a month meal planner and have held off shopping until im complete :eek: we are going to get our accounts in order and work out realistically what needs paying (no good paying extra off the CC when the DD's are bouncing) then were going to look at how much we NEED to live on and how much we have and set up an overpayment system and target one debt at a time - i know its a long way round doing it but we have a very low income, a child (18mths) and a mortgage so in order to get out of this hole we need to be able to live first on a REAL budget (not the ones we randomly make up or guess at) so here it goes ...... id love to still hear people's opinion and ANY good tips on how to manage as i have a feeling im going to need a lot of new friends on here and a lot of advice these coming months (years)

Tink

Verbatim

Well done on getting your budget sorted.

One of my life savers was the monthly meal plan. I saved so much by sticking to the shopping list based on just what I HAD to buy to cook the 30 meals but nothing else. before I'd have got extras for the cupboard or in case we needed something else on top. Having the plan meant I knew I had enough until the next month.

How would you feel about hosting a foreign language student? If there's a language school near you they are often short of host families. Some students are here for only a few weeks and others for a few months. Or a Mon - Fri lodger perhaps?

NeverAgain_2

...but we have a very low income, a child (18mths) and a mortgage...

Tink,

You've got £1,500 a month coming in, plus £550 benefits which effectively pays your mortgage and council tax, and you live in a cheap part of the country.

You really should be able to manage quite well.

Plenty of small families have been brought up on a lot less.

It's infuriating for you young 'uns, but older people are often very good at making money go a long way.

Do you have parents, grandparents or perhaps an auntie you could speak to?

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi and welcome along.

For me the biggest change was taking control of my finances. If you have an accurate budget and know exactly what you have in the bank then you are less likely to waste money. I think you and your OH are being very sensible. A spending diary is a big help. Write down every single penny you spend so you can see where any spare cash is going.

We put a set amount aside each month for car running costs, Christmas and our cheapie camping holiday. Anything else that came up would have to go back on the credit card.

Good luck!

Clarie_2

Sounds brilliant and that you've got an agreement together on how to go ahead - go you! Slow but sure is worth it.

Plus, living on a budget means that when wages increase, or one debt is paid off so there's extra money, you can start paying more and more off the rest. (rather than using whatever is in the bank coz it's there) - long term recipe for success!

One thing that has helped me is having a dedicated 'debt' account - when there is left over money, or extra comes in from ebaying etc it goes in here, so each month as well as our standing orders I know exactly how much I can put towards debts. And I don't spend it first!

Clarie

sickbean

NeverAgain wrote: »

...but we have a very low income, a child (18mths) and a mortgage...

Tink,

You've got £1,500 a month coming in, plus £550 benefits which effectively pays your mortgage and council tax, and you live in a cheap part of the country.

You really should be able to manage quite well.

Plenty of small families have been brought up on a lot less.

It's infuriating for you young 'uns, but older people are often very good at making money go a long way.

Do you have parents, grandparents or perhaps an auntie you could speak to?

In my experience this just isn't the case any more.

It seems like I'm of an age (28) where my parents generation had so much more disposable income than ours that I often ask my parents how they got along and they didn't really ever remember having any problems.

House prices (and therefore mortgages) are a massive part of this. Both my wife and I are professionals with good degrees and careers - in order to buy the house that I grew up in we would need to triple our £520 mortgage, and yet my father was an electrician and my mother a full time Mum - they could afford it no problem.


I honestly think this generation is squeezed far harder than the last.

Tink - £2k per month really isn't a huge amount with mortgages and childcare to pay, you're doing well to keep a family going.

NeverAgain_2

...In my experience this just isn't the case any more...

sickbean,

Fair enough, you can only speak as you find.

House prices are probably one area which have increased relatively speaking.

But on the other hand, I'm as certain as I can be the tiny amount of child benefit my mother received for me did not cover the mortgage payment and rates, as they were then.

Most people lived a simpler, cheaper lifestyle.

As a child, I used to agitate for some extra pocket money, not the latest iPhone, trainers or games console.

Equally, parents didn't spend anything like the money on, and particularly in, the house that we do today - computers, hi-fi, microwave, TV and subscription services, phones, etc.

So going back to the OP, I think she does have enough money to live a lifestyle without the luxuries, which are now regarded as necessities.

It's all relative, and we were no poorer than the next family, although the OP might be.

Tink_04

Hi and thanks for everyone's comments

Claire i love the idea of a debt account and i must start ebaying things again too!!!

Yorkshirelass my spending diary opened my eyes this week!!! i spent £29.80 in one day and bought NOTHING!!! also keeping all my receipts now as money has just been falling down the drain

verbatim im clinging to the OS board for dear life and have done a meal plan and a shopping budget - a 30 day one is impressive tho im struggling for 2 weeks worth - might just repeat and see if DH notices :rotfl:

Neveragain - i wouldn't just say young people dont know how to manage money or make it stretch as far as older people as there are people of all ages on this board who are in the same position as i am (some better, some worse) so i dont think it is an age thing i think it became socially acceptable over the years to borrow money and keep going - where as years ago that would not be the case, however were all in the same boat now trying to better ourselves so maybe our children dont think its a normal way to live.

Sickbean - thanks it is not an easy time for anyone - my grandad bought his house for £2000 - oh i wish lol

We can just manage now but want to be at a point where we dont have the debt hanging over us the SOA as you can read at the time is rough and is pending some changes - some good - some bad (nursery going up by £3 a day :eek:) when we get the final figures sorted ill post up a new one and hopefully will have a REAL budget sorted by the end of the week!

NeverAgain_2

...i wouldn't just say young people dont know how to manage money...

OK, but that doesn't quite tally with: "I spent £29.80 in one day and bought NOTHING!!!"

That's a week's groceries.

It seems to me you are already realising how you can spend what you have more wisely.

While you are never going to be able to shop like a footballer's wife, I'm hoping you will look back in a month or two and think: "Strange how I used to be so short of money."

From my experience, there's a very thin line between spending more than you have and having a little left over.

It is miserable always being short, but you are going to be so relieved and happy if you can get into the other zone.

ceejaydee23

I know this may put a bit of a spanner in the works, But there are sooo much "cheap" goods out there now, that its also turning into a throw away society, My mum n dad had their 3 piece suite for 30 years before replacing it 3 years ago. It is an all singing electronic reclining 2 armchairs and sofa, And there is no way its gonna last 30 years like the last one did! Some things maybe cheaper now but so is the quality! t-shirts that the seams twist after the first couple of washes because of how they have been cut, or the cheap materials used!