SOA - HELP Please!

Revenge_of_the_Red_Devil

Earnings:
Salary - Varies. I earn roughly £30 an hour, and I work a 50ish hour week, lets say £6000 a month. I was looking to work more hours, but I am quite busy with family matters at the moment,
Extra (Selling things (I accumulate quite alot of freebies in my line of work, iPod Nanos and the lot, so I sell/ give them to mates) £500

Outgoings:
Mortgage, have currently moved in to a friends, who's putting me up for free for a few months , no worries there.
Car - sold it, I walk or go with a friend
Other expenses (family, etc) - £1000 a month
Donation to Mosque - £500 a month (am stopping as of 1st March, cos I can't afford)
Myself (TV packages/nights out/food) - £300
Internet connection, mobile - £50
Clothes - £150ish
Savings for accomodation - £500

Roughly £2500 Quite high I think. The donation stops in two months, that'll cut off £500 a month. Otherwise, I think everything else isn't bad????

Debts -
£50 000 to brother. No interest, so I'm really lucky, but I want to pay this off asap as is quite embarassing.


So, I should be 4 grand up a month, but I'm not? I dunno where all the money goes, but I've only paid off 10 000 to my brother off the original 60k in the last year
ANy tips/helps very welcome.
Thanks

clarab_3

I think the first thing you need to do is start a spending diary - write down every penny you spend for a week or two to get a better idea of where it all goes - you might find that even by writing it you start to question whether you really need it or not!

bank_of_slate

Hi red devil,
welcome to the board.

Firstly, I see a lot of 'approx' and 'about' amounts in the SOA.
You need to work this out exactly.
Also, if you are living with friends rent free, make sure you pull your weight with sharing household jobs or you'll soon outstay your welcome.

Perhaps when you tell the mosque that you will no longer be making the regular donation, could you offer to help out in a cost free practical way instead?

I agree with the spending diary, most people spend way over the amount that they think they spend!
...Linda xx

chevalier

Revenge_of_the_Red_Devil wrote:

Earnings:
Salary - Varies. I earn roughly £30 an hour, and I work a 50ish hour week, lets say £6000 a month. I was looking to work more hours, but I am quite busy with family matters at the moment,
Extra (Selling things (I accumulate quite alot of freebies in my line of work, iPod Nanos and the lot, so I sell/ give them to mates) £500

Outgoings:
Mortgage, have currently moved in to a friends, who's putting me up for free for a few months , no worries there.
Car - sold it, I walk or go with a friend
Other expenses (family, etc) - £1000 a monthcould you explain what this is. It is a lot of money.
Donation to Mosque - £500 a month (am stopping as of 1st March, cos I can't afford)Can you stop this now?
Myself (TV packages/nights out/food) - £300you need to slash this dramatically, plus how much of this is food?
Internet connection, mobile - £50if you have a tv package, can you not get free phone calls/internet connection via a package
Clothes - £150ishif you have been spending this much for any length of time, you do not NEED any more clothes you may WANT more but you can't afford it.

Roughly £2000 Quite high I think. The donation stops in two months, that'll cut off £500 a month. Otherwise, I think everything else isn't bad????

Debts -
£50 000 to brother. No interest, so I'm really lucky, but I want to pay this off asap as is quite embarassing.


So, I should be 4 and a half grand up a month, but I'm not? I dunno where all the money goes, but I've only paid off 10 000 to my brother off the original 60k in the last year As mentioned above, start a spending diary, and you have to be honest and put down every little thing. You will probably be horrified by the totals you spend on rubbish. Do you take your lunch to work? This can be a big area for overspending.
ANy tips/helps very welcome.
Thanks

Best of luck
chev

chevalier

Also bare in mind that your £6000 approx monthly salary will be halved pretty much by tax and national insurance contributions (ie paying 40% tax and 9% insurance)

Revenge_of_the_Red_Devil

Thanks for the advice.

I'll start the spending diary.

I've had a word with the guy who runs the finances in the mosque just now, we've agreed to stop this now, but I've offered to help out there for a few hours a week cleaning and the lot.
Thats a weight off my shoulders

The "other expenses" (family etc) is to help out a poor member of the family which we're all paying a bit towards. As long as I sort the rest out, I can keep this up, no?

chevalier

I agree that charity begins at home. I am assuming that your family know that you owe your brother this money? If yes then would they not understand that you can't pay as much just now because you want to pay your brother back?

And sorry if I am being dense, but can the person you are supporting claim any benefits?

chev

chevalier

I agree that charity begins at home. I am assuming that your family know that you owe your brother this money? If yes then would they not understand that you can't pay as much just now because you want to pay your brother back?

And sorry if I am being dense, but can the person you are supporting claim any benefits?

chev

bank_of_slate

Only if you have budgeted for and are sure that you can afford it.
Surely you should be planning to get out of your friend's house and getting somewhere yourself in the not too distant future?
You will need some kind of deposit for a mortgage/renting!
...Linda xx

Revenge_of_the_Red_Devil

bank_of_slate wrote:

Only if you have budgeted for and are sure that you can afford it.
Surely you should be planning to get out of your friend's house and getting somewhere yourself in the not too distant future?
You will need some kind of deposit for a mortgage/renting!
...Linda xx

Yeah, I forgot to mention, I set aside £500 a month for future accomodation. Am currently on £1000 Thanks for that. Will edit SOA.