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emylou's SOA help please

emylou
Posts: 444 Forumite

My income- £2,100
Total - £2,100
Savings- £7,000
Monthly Outgoings:
Rent - £1,100 (at the moment I pay this to my landlord & it covers my rent and all bills)
Council tax - covered in rent
Gas - covered in rent
Electric - covered in rent
TV License - covered in rent
Landline - covered in rent
Food - £50
Mobile- £30
Car Insurance - £34
Petrol – £60
Road Tax- £10
Maintenance (Servicing, MOT, tyres etc) – £50
Life Insurance - £0
House insurance – covered in rent
Water rates – covered in rent
Gym/swim membership - £0
Going out/takeaways- £100
Haircuts- £8
Presents- £60
Clothes- £20
Medical (prescriptions/eye tests/dentist etc)- £7.20
Holidays (if you take them) £0
Loans/credit cards:
Barclay card £150 minimum payment £14 (aiming to pay it off next payday).
I know I need to & can bring down my "going out/take away" spend (this was an overestimate tbh as I go out some months more than others) but this is alos linked to my food shopping bill- also an estimate as I am rubbish at meal planning & hence often buy frozen meals or stuff that goes out of date before I get round to using it.
I know I have a surplus at the end of each month but I need to organise myself so that I save monthly towards car bills (tax, insurance, MOT), birthdays etc (I have a very large family and there are only 2 months in the year when I don't have birthdays). How many separate "pots"/accounts do you have to organise this kind of thing?
I imagine this is the best way to organise myself but at the same time I worry there will be too much to keep control over?
Total - £2,100
Savings- £7,000
Monthly Outgoings:
Rent - £1,100 (at the moment I pay this to my landlord & it covers my rent and all bills)
Council tax - covered in rent
Gas - covered in rent
Electric - covered in rent
TV License - covered in rent
Landline - covered in rent
Food - £50
Mobile- £30
Car Insurance - £34
Petrol – £60
Road Tax- £10
Maintenance (Servicing, MOT, tyres etc) – £50
Life Insurance - £0
House insurance – covered in rent
Water rates – covered in rent
Gym/swim membership - £0
Going out/takeaways- £100
Haircuts- £8
Presents- £60
Clothes- £20
Medical (prescriptions/eye tests/dentist etc)- £7.20
Holidays (if you take them) £0
Loans/credit cards:
Barclay card £150 minimum payment £14 (aiming to pay it off next payday).
I know I need to & can bring down my "going out/take away" spend (this was an overestimate tbh as I go out some months more than others) but this is alos linked to my food shopping bill- also an estimate as I am rubbish at meal planning & hence often buy frozen meals or stuff that goes out of date before I get round to using it.
I know I have a surplus at the end of each month but I need to organise myself so that I save monthly towards car bills (tax, insurance, MOT), birthdays etc (I have a very large family and there are only 2 months in the year when I don't have birthdays). How many separate "pots"/accounts do you have to organise this kind of thing?
I imagine this is the best way to organise myself but at the same time I worry there will be too much to keep control over?
Married my wonderful husband February 2013!:happyhear
I want to wear my beautiful wedding dress everyday- it would make shopping so much more fun, I mean, people go shopping in their pyjamas these days.......
Must STOP spending!!! 

Proud to be dealing with my debts!
0
Comments
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More than half your income on rent, council tax and bills is a bit too much, which is why you are finding the budget tight.0
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Hi!
I personally use a current account, a 'bills' current account and a couple of ING accounts for car and birthdays. Any more accounts and I'd probably be getting a little confused, but that's me and I find it suits me fine
Is it just you in the property?
Your £7k in savings is really great - got anything in particular you're saving for? A house? A car? Is it in the highest interest savings account it can be in whilst still suiting your needs? Make sure that credit card is paid off next payday as the interest will probably be more on the debt than it is on your savings
I'd check the Old Style board for help with meal planning - I find it really helpful.
The car maintenance is quite expensive (£600pa) on top of your insurance, car tax and petrol spends, do you have a car that requires a lot of maintenance?
With your rent being £1100 all in, is that the best deal you can get/what are you getting for that/do you prefer it that way? I mean, are you getting a 1 bed studio in a sought after location or a 3 bed house out of town, and if so would it be cheaper to change and either get a cheaper place with all bills in or a cheaper place and to pay the bills?
Thanks for your reply
The £600 pa for car maintenance was actually an estimate- my car will be 4 years old in September so I haven't really had any major repair costs or anything so far, just thought I'd be asked what I'm setting aside for it so I guessed.:o I hope I wouldn't need that but I'd rather have it in an account ready than have something go wrong and have to take it out of my current account/put on credit card. Maybe I don't need to budget for that as well as the car tax & insurance cost?
I think I will probably be better with my main account and then 1 for presents and 1 for car- thanks! (Could see myself with too many little pots all over the place and getting very confused!
The £7000 is in an ING account- I was saving for a deposit but that seems more & more unlikely these daysI don't like dipping into it though and I really want to continue to see it grow!
The rent being all in is because up until the end of May I rented a room in my brother's flat; he has now moved into his girlfriend's house & because I'm settled and brother is happy for me to live here, I have taken over the bills. I could look around & swap providers if I wish but he is very good with money & pretty much done it all already, although I am hoping to down grade the virgin tv package which should trim £20 off the costs (every little helps?!)
I live near Heathrow & did look at moving out and renting my own flat last year (had a few hiccups with brother where we went through a phase of annoying the hell out of each other lol); the cost of flats- even one beds, was about £700 then adding bills on top would probably have amounted to about the same as what I am paying now anyway.
Thanks again for your responses!Married my wonderful husband February 2013!:happyhearI want to wear my beautiful wedding dress everyday- it would make shopping so much more fun, I mean, people go shopping in their pyjamas these days.......Must STOP spending!!!Proud to be dealing with my debts!0 -
Does the £1100 rent you the whole house or just one room in it?
depending on the setup if £1100 covers the whole house could you sublet 1 room?
Obv a few things to check/clear first but cutting the £1100 in halve would greatly ease your financial situation and see that deposit grow alot faster...
Is the deposit inside an ISA so tax efficient?
If you're not planning on buying within 1 year perhaps consider the index liniked NS&I savings certificates as inflation seems to be topping 5%?
Is your income likely to markedly increase for any reason in the near future?
Any other living options you could consider to help save the deposit (eg parents who live nearby you could move back in with while you save?)
-I went back to live with mine aged 22 for a year to save a house deposit..... my sister having struggled renting and saving a deposit has now done the same aged 27 and it doesn't get easier0
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