would love to be mortgage free!

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

coldcazzie wrote: »

major money hemorrhage

Sounds like you need some MSE for that. Take a browse once a day until it's cleared up.

coldcazzie

I'm trying, believe me this month's cc bill has the car hire from our hol on it, but our spending came out of our current account as there was limited space on the cc (downside of reducing the limit so that you don't have too much credit available to you!), which meant our account balance fell over after the normal bills went out as well.

Additionally, we have had a rather large change which I've not mentioned yet, which is going to have an effect on our finances. In July we deregistered Squish and Lumpy from the local school, and are now home educating them. Unfortunately, whereas the government gives just under £5k per child per year to schools to cover resources etc, there is no equivalent funding available for HE families, so everything has to come out of our own pockets. I have been collecting resources for some time now, and also making the most of discount codes (eg, 55% off annual Reading Eggs subscriptions) but even so, there are things that are going to cost more. I'm going to have to incorporate these into my latest SOA.

I know it's the right decision for us as a family, and for the kids, but my anxiety about money is not improving with that as an added factor.

coldcazzie

I was gonna post a SOA but I wussed out as it's so awful

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

Go on.... we'll be nice by saying only constructive advice on places to save.

coldcazzie

I'll try after the kids have stopped hogging the internet for Reading Eggs

coldcazzie

Incomings
Wages: £1246.16
CTC: £663.64
WTC: £22.21
CB: £188.40

Total: £2120.41



Outgoings
Essentials
Mortgage: £499.96
Council Tax: £97
Life Assurance: £28.69
Alarm: £27.49

Bills
Gas/Electric: £100
Water: £39.80
Boiler Cover: £20
Washer Cover: £6.99
My Mob: £7.99
His Mob: £26
Sky: £54.50
Cat 1 Insurance: £2.99
Cat 2 Insurance: £2.99
Bathroom Payoff: £25 (0% CC until March 2013)

Extras
Park Christmas Savings: £19.33
TM Magazine: £2.00
Milkman: £40.95 (£9.45pw)

Credit Card Expenses (overall budget is £700 - allows for overspends on some things if the whole thing is still within budget)
Food: £400
Pets: £50
Toiletries: £30
Pharmaceuticals: £15
Cleaning: £8
Petrol: £110

Savings
Regular Saver: £200
Bike Costs: £30
Clothing/Shoes: £40
Gifts/Cards: £40

Cash Purchases
Bus Fares: £30
Gymnastics: £35 (£3/child/week)
His Snacks: £25

Total: £2101. 68

Leftovers: £18.73

coldcazzie

Ok. Areas I've already identified as possibly being changable:

coldcazzie wrote: »

Boiler Cover: £20
Washer Cover: £6.99
Sky: £54.50

Boiler cover is due for renewal in Nov. Already planning to reduce this from Homecare 200 to 100 which should see it drop to between £10-15.
Washer cover. Not sure about this. Currently annual premiums are less than a single call out, and I've called them out 4 times in 20 months. However, reason for call outs has been clogging with fluff due to tumble drying cloth nappies, which no longer applies as Giraffe is now dry. Therefore, we could take the risk and not renew this in Feb/Mar time.
Sky: currently paying an extra £10 pcm for HD (had to take out a 12m HD contract when we bought the HD box). Already agreed this will go in Feb/Mar when 12m is up.

coldcazzie wrote: »

Milkman: £40.95 (£9.45pw)

I could reduce this to £8.10 pw by having 1 less bottle of milk each week, or by buying in the supermarket. However, I must confess I love having our milk delivered, as I only shop once a week so would have to buy 4 6pint cartons of milk each week and transport them home in a trundle trolley along with all our fruit and veg... and also store them until they get used.

coldcazzie wrote: »

Regular Saver: £200
Bike Costs: £30
Clothing/Shoes: £40
Gifts/Cards: £40

We need another pot which covers annual purchases like TV License and Home Insurance. Have estimated that this needs to have a payment of around £30 pcm to cover both. If we can't get some additional help with dental costs/my prescriptions then we'll also need one for health costs, which will be £10-15pcm.

coldcazzie wrote: »

Bus Fares: £30
Gymnastics: £35 (£3/child/week)
His Snacks: £25

Not willing to give up gym. It's the only regular group we are commiting to at the moment and the kids absolutely love it. Can't get the bus fares any lower. I'm already being cheeky by not paying for Lumpy when I should. And no matter how much I try, I cannot get him to give up his cravings for pepsi, crisps, and other assorted crap. God only knows what he spends it on, but I've found it's best to give him "pocket money" and let him spend it on whatever he fancies.

So. Like I said. Awful.

Tommelise

Hi Caz

I havent read all of your posts, but can see that you have already made some savings on food, if I compare with your first SOA - well done

But even with your new savings on milk you stil spend 435 each month on food. With planning you should be able to reduce what you spend on food

You might also be able to save a little on this post:
Toiletries: £30

I dont have any other suggestion except that I too would keep the: Gymnastics: £35 (£3/child/week)

Peonie

Hi Caz,

Can I ask why you put money into Park Christmas Savings? I understand you are saving for Christmas, but do you get any interest from it?

I recall when the Xmas saving scheme a few years ago folded the financial guys on the news said people should use their ISAs and save it wherever they want.

Also, check out if paying for the TV license monthly will cost you less. It may work out £5 less or so.

Mr P refuses to pay for any type of cover. We only got it for the bed as it was practically free.

Good luck home schooling.

coldcazzie

Hi Peonie, nice to "see" you

Peonie wrote: »

Can I ask why you put money into Park Christmas Savings? I understand you are saving for Christmas, but do you get any interest from it?

Not interest, no... but because we are agents we earn commission on the orders we put in for our customers. So, this year's orders have earned us ~£200 commission, which we carry forward to our order next year (plus 10%), meaning we (personally) will pay less each month for it. We'd have been paying around £40pcm without last year's commission having been applied to our order, so it's a nice saving. We could earn more commission with more customers but I've not quite gotten over the embarrassment of asking people if they're interested yet, so currently we only have 3. We earn between 1 and 25% commission, depending on the amount and type of orders.

Also, check out if paying for the TV license monthly will cost you less. It may work out £5 less or so.

Nope, the cost is identical either way. I'm wondering about putting it back to monthly though, rather than annual.

Mr P refuses to pay for any type of cover. We only got it for the bed as it was practically free.

I wouldn't have bothered tbh (and indeed, didn't bother) until the boiler and the washer broke. The boiler turned out to need a new... control board? which, alongside the call out charge and labour costs would have cost more than the full year's cover has cost us. And as I said before - a single call out for the washer would have cost more than a full 12 months of premiums, and I've had 4! I think we've got our moneys worth... but definitely think tentative cut backs can be made.

Good luck home schooling.

Thanks