What to do about the unexpected??????

angchris

Icemaiden wrote:

I have a clothing account which gets £40 a month. As a SAHM I got fed up of always having to ask DH for money for kids shoes, coats you name it, this way I can just forget about it and not panic and have to find the extra money when they need something.

thats great that you have managed to organise your finances to budget for clothes etc and im sure it takes alot of pressure off you and it gives you a bit of independance to get what your kids need :T but there are plenty out there including myself who have to live a bit more hand to mouth and i find it very difficult sometimes just buying the things we need to survive. i`d love to be able to have a budget for clothes but it just aint happening :rolleyes: using my free money on ebay is the only way i can buy things at the mo but when oh finally recieves his first pay packet (had no money since oct) i will definately try to put some away each month for emergencies :j

dlb

Again i dont buget for emergencys as on a dmp not that much spare money to put aside, but i do sell anything and everything i dont want on ebay, try to leave the money in the paypal account and then rebuy items as needed of ebay.If this isnt possible tranfer money to bank and draw out and go and buy needed item straight away so im not tempted to use it for other things.

I aim to make £20 a month on ebay selling kids out grown clothes ect but as you can see from my sig iv made over a £100 this month that will cover dh car tax.

Never feel bad that youve spent more than you budgeted for, emergencys and leaking shoes happen, what you should be proud of is that you know your over budget as you now know wherer every penny goes.

rach

i have a rainy day fund where i put a little bit each month in case the washer or anything breaks. its also a treat fund for if there's something i really really want but can't afford. its not a perfect system but does help a bit!

rainbowrisin

I would've advertised on freecycle as a "wanted", phoned the school to see if they have any lost property they sell cut price, looked in the newspaper small ads for school uniform stuff and gone through the charity shops to look for items. It's the wrong time of year for a jumble sale, or i would've tried for shoes at one.
If all those drew a blank i'd consider ebay,but sometimes I find it expensive.
If ebay fails, I would've bought just one polo and sweatshirt this month, washed it each night, then bought another next month to spread the cost.
The same with the shoes - I would've bought just one pair this month and one next. I mend my shoes with superglue and stick a few layers of cardboard in if they get holey and I can't afford a new pair until some crop up in the charity shops - they hold together and I have dry feet, so it's good as an emergency measure.
Not saying it's right or wrong, just how I would do it, and I find spreading the cost does help if you're on a weekly / monthly budget.
Don't worry about going over-budget - you've made great progress with your spending habits, and as you get the saving bug you'll find it easier to take cash emergencies in your stride.
HTH

kittiwoz

rainbowrisin wrote:

The same with the shoes - I would've bought just one pair this month and one next. I mend my shoes with superglue and stick a few layers of cardboard in if they get holey and I can't afford a new pair until some crop up in the charity shops - they hold together and I have dry feet, so it's good as an emergency measure.

Superglue is the wrong type of glue to use as it is too rigid and brittle. You should use a contact adhesive such as UHU and if the shoes are split rather than come away from the sole so there is no overlap you should use a scrap of strong fabric such as denim or calico to make a patch on the inside to make a good repair.

Also I would suggest buying good quality shoes in the first place, in sales or secondhand shoes in good condition, if at all posible because they will last much, much longer and you are less likely to have to resort to this sort of measure. Trainers are more or less an exception to this in that they are always last very badly compared to proper shoes or boots irrespective of make so you might as well just get cheap ones.

culpepper

Amy in the tightwad gazzette suggests having a buffer which is an amount you always try to keep by ,above you normal expenses. We have been doing this too for about 2 years and it has rescued us so many times. We needed a new fridge last VERY hot summer and then the washing machine broke but because of the buffer we could go buy them .I immediately replenish the buffer until it reaches safety level again.

moggins

I think my buffer is shot! It was £700 in October, now it has gone all the way down to £90

rainbowrisin

kittiwoz wrote:

Superglue is the wrong type of glue to use as it is too rigid and brittle. You should use a contact adhesive such as UHU and if the shoes are split rather than come away from the sole so there is no overlap you should use a scrap of strong fabric such as denim or calico to make a patch on the inside to make a good repair.

Also I would suggest buying good quality shoes in the first place, in sales or secondhand shoes in good condition, if at all posible because they will last much, much longer and you are less likely to have to resort to this sort of measure. Trainers are more or less an exception to this in that they are always last very badly compared to proper shoes or boots irrespective of make so you might as well just get cheap ones.

Thanks for the good advice. I was just trying to help the OP - I used what glue I had available, and at the time I didn't have any UHU.
Am not sure if good quality shoes do last longer - I had a pair of cheapy tesco boots which lasted me three years and a pair of timberlands which lasted just beyond the 12 month warranty. That said, the Clarks I got for £1.99 (unworn) from Age Concern are holding up pretty well, so maybe the Timberlands were a one off.

IWannabedebtfree

Thanks everyone- I really enjoyed reading this thread- I'm going to open two savings account- one for clothes/one offs/emergencies and one for Christmas 2007, so that it doesn't cripple me. Rainbowrisin, great advice in post 15- this is what I should have done: made- do, without throwing cash at it. Did try the charity shops for shoes, but my feet are massive and they only seem to have dainty sizes round here, dunno why.Could have glued my old shoes though. As a recovering big spender, I am slowly getting the saving bug and enjoying it, but I have a long way to go to catch up with you.

Mariel

I'd say that you only bought them because you needed them so that is fine, even if you went over budget. If I only buy clothes and shoes when the old ones wear out then I'm pretty much sorted for life! I'm hopeless, always think I 'need' things then when I've got them I find out I don't.