Just calculated my SOA

magentadreamer

Just another thought, if you've not missed any credit card payments then I'd give them a ring and say I've been offered a card that is giving me a better interest rate so I'm thinking of transferring and see if they'll reduce the interest rates.

alemted

magentadreamer wrote:

Your first debt to hit would be the studio Cards catalogue - I'd use the money saved from your council tax to sling at that. I'd also ask come april if you could perhaps pay the bill in 12 monthly instalements -my council allows that.

We pay monthly, but paid it off early as they were demanding money for arrears. It will be monthly payments again when it starts in april i think.

magentadreamer wrote:

Are you manageing to keep up with the loan repayments? you didn't say how much each debt was costing you out of the £561 you have left over.

Sorry, I might have misunderstood you here......we always pay the monthly repayments for loans & cards first and then struggle with food, petrol, normal living etc., so we aren't in arrears to any creditors atm. We now have run our credit to the max so can't afford the upcoming loans & card repayments & have money to live. Out of the £500 - £600 p/m we assume we will have left to pay creditors from the SOA, we will take payplans advice on how to repay - waiting for contact back tomorrow.

magentadreamer wrote:

Housekeeping - this could be really cut back, have you tried shopping at the likes of Lidl/Aldi/Netto/Farm foods etc -as others have said check out the OS board.

We will no doubt be cutting the housekeeping budget down from month to month as we never budgeted before, it's a new start for us really, and it only started today.

magentadreamer wrote:

Electric - your electric is costing you £1050 a year - ditch that tumble drier.

We think it's outrageous also, unfortunately we need that tumble drier - our washing machine is working on average twice a day, every day. We are going to look at possible savings switching and also being more energy efficient.

magentadreamer wrote:

RPFN - this is a savings/insurance type thing isn't it? Could this perhaps be put into a paid up status or even find out how much you might get for it if your wife cashed it in.

Yes, mentioned this to the wife - she'd forgot about it!! She will find out the details and see what can be done with it

magentadreamer wrote:

School meals - I'll admit my daughter has these out of convience but a packed lunch might save you some more money.

sorry, meant work, not school. It's for me - £2 per day but it will be going down to next to nothing soon.

alemted

tryhard wrote:

Child Benefit £163.40 check that you are getting what you are entitled to

Hi tryhard, I assumed everyone got the same child benefit per child upto age 16?

We only recently got child tax credit again after they froze payments due to giving us too much a couple of years ago.

Tustastic

I'm no expert at DFW but good luck to you alemted. Get your wife to work the RCN subscription by contacting them on their 24-hour number to ask about the assistance they give to people in financial difficulty, debt management etc.
You mentioned £40 a month for the puppy's pet food. You also need to budget for pet insurance, vet bills etc. This may sound awful, but if you and your wife both work full time, then presumably the puppy spends a lot of time alone, and you might all benefit from rehoming the puppy so it has a bit more fun in its life and you get to save the money. Please don't be offended if I have misunderstood - just trying to think of positive things to help you financially. The vet, RSPCA or, if it is a pedigree, the breed society, can all help with rehoming - this is very often due to financial hardship and nothing to be ashamed of. HTH:)

Little_Miss_Winner

Hi and welcome to mse.:hello:

Hi tryhard, I assumed everyone got the same child benefit per child upto age 16?

Yes i get £163.40 too, thats the standard amount for 3 children under 16.

My kids are 7, 4 and 2.

We think it's outrageous also, unfortunately we need that tumble drier - our washing machine is working on average twice a day, every day.

Mine used to be on every day as well. But i tend to do the washing in the evening now, and dry it over 2 maidens, Radiators and over the bannisters, I limit the drier to once a week if i can, and thats mainly for Jeans... It's hard but can be done. You have to get into a routine though, otherwise the house looks like a washouse!
In the evening when i have done my 2 loads i hang to dry, then in the morning before the kids are up, I gather it all up and put away all non-iron things, like underwear, socks, towels etc.., then make a pile of things to iron, and iron them in the evening before i do the next round of washing!!!

Continued......

Tustastic

The RCN 24-hour number is 0845 772 6100, massively busy most times (380,000 members) but a little quieter at night so now could be a good time to call. The call centre is I believe on a business park in Wales so don't test their nerves by making woo-hoo ghostly noises down the phone before speaking.:) I no longer work for the RCN but they are a very helpful bunch of people.

Seaxwyn

Hi alemted

We are a family of 6 (four children aged 5-12) and we don't use the tumble dryer every day. Like pot 'o' gold we put lots onto the radiators and indoor airers overnight. Today I got three loads nearly dry on the washing line outside, then just finished off the dampest bits in the dryer, the rest is on radiators now.

Our kids are now fanatical about turning off lights, tv etc - yours probably will be too if you tell them how much you are saving. I know this is just one tiny detail but it's probably one where you can make noticeable savings.

Good luck

Little_Miss_Winner

With regards to food shopping.

We were spending a fortune going to the supermarket every Saturday, not too mention, time and energy too. It would takes us about 3 hours, of constant bickering, and chasing the children round, sooo stressful !:eek:

What i do now (thanks to OS - old style board) is over the weekend, i make a list of what i need for the MON-SUN coming.:T

I list breakfasts, lunches, and Teas. MON-SUN

Then any extras we have run out of, loo roll, washing powder, shampoo, condiments, foil etc......

I then order it all from Tesco on-line to be delivered to my door. I always use a code that either gives me loads of points or money off my order.
This week I used £8 off an £80 order. Got all my Bogof's.

I order in the comfort of my home, no kids mythering can we have that magazine, or them cakes....


We used to spend about £100 per Saturday (£5,200) pa. Now we probably average out at about £50-£55 per week which has halved, we are eating sooo much better cost we plan, and are much more organised. I used to throw shed loads of stuff out every week, now i use everything.

Milk and Bread is bought during the week, I have cut out all junk for the kids, and we now bake bicuits, cakes etc, for a fraction of the price.:T

Does save loads of money, but preparation is the key.

~evanesco~

We always, always shop online now. I wouldn't do any other. Last week we did our weekly shopping 'in-store' this week, as we were mystery shopping, and went £20 over budget, and thats with a list!!! We never go over online, it's always under budget.

Evans. xox

girlsmum

just a thought have you any available credit on your TSB card if so could you not transfer your balances from the store card to that, i know its not the best deal, but better than the rates you are paying studio etc.

call and ask them if they can offer a special rate etc??? it can't hurt