Hello *waves* Could i have some advice please :-)

mrsb83_2

Try the snowball calculator at whatsthecost.com to see how quickly you could pay everything off without getting a loan.

smartiedriver_2

The spending diary is the first step, carry a notebook each (you and hubby) and write in every penny you spend on anything... a quick stop off for milk, an extra packet of nappies, an extra box of cigarettes. Every single thing, every single day. A week will give you an initial idea, although a month will be really revealing.

You can then see where to cut down.

RE the groceries, cutting £100 off the bill is a great start. You definitely spend a lot on this, and on entertainment, so this will be where your biggest savings are. If you have the time, shop at more than one supermarket and buy what's on offer, so you might end up with say crab rather than tuna, if the crab is on special.

Also try downgrading a brand each time, so if you buy Heinz ketchup for example, next time, buy Tesco finest, then the next time Tesco standard, then the next time Tesco value. Like someone earlier said with the nappies, you'll be amazed at what you don't notice between brands.

RE the loan, you do tend to pay more interest up front, then capital towards the end. Ideally you would want to over pay this to clear it sooner and reduce the interest, but you'd obviously need the cash to do this.

You seem to have 'plenty' of cash left over according to your SOA - the spending diary will identify this and then you can redirect that elsewhere.

Good luck

nicmcckip

A notebooks a great idea, in mine at the front i have sections with how much i have in each "pot" (not a real pot) for example; House keeping £100, travel £50, clothes £120 etc, then in the back i write what i have spent and where and then minus from the corresponding pot so i have a running total of what i have left in each section. I find that if you have a budget to stick to you really think twice about what you buy. Good luck!