Help me make sense of this please - SOA

Verbatim

Do you take lunch to work? Have a few months without buying clothes?

I don't suppose the store card is really 0% and that is likely to be on the high to ouch side. Would be good to have an acurate picture so that you can prioritize paying more to the highest interest cards. If you're still using the store card stop as you'll be heaping extra interest charges on already high charges. I guess you can't use the cc as it's over limit? But as soon as it's under don't be tempted to use it again.

prettypaula

£35 for a bikini wax is an appallingly high amount.

buy some wax strips and DIY.

vka1

Hi Katerina,

I'm still a newish person round here so not great for big advice, and I'm with you on the waxing! I've managed to down grade to a local salon, without the frills which is cheap and cheerful. Eyebrows and bikini is £14. Shop around. You might like your current person but you'd be amazed hopemuch cheaper it cann be elsewhere.

Gumtree's worth a look for offers or buying Groupon or other vouchers for special offers can save a packet. I got £36 haricut plus extra conditioning treatment thing and a glass of fizz in really good salon last week for £18, instead of the £45 advertised standard rate....it all adds up. Could save you £20 a month, or £240 a year or more than a third of your water bill could be paid off...The small savings of £10-20 a month really do add up.

Good luck with it all,

V

katerinasol

Verbatim wrote: »

Do you take lunch to work? Have a few months without buying clothes?

I don't suppose the store card is really 0% and that is likely to be on the high to ouch side. Would be good to have an acurate picture so that you can prioritize paying more to the highest interest cards. If you're still using the store card stop as you'll be heaping extra interest charges on already high charges. I guess you can't use the cc as it's over limit? But as soon as it's under don't be tempted to use it again.

I tend to buy a Tesco meal deal at work, which is £2.50 for a sandwich, a snack and a drink, I have tried to make my own lunch but it really doesn't work out!

That store card definitely isn't 0%, but I have no idea how much it is now to be honest. It's actually been sold on to a debt collectors company, I'm just about to write to them and make them a repayment offer.

The CC wasn't even renewed when it expired because it was constantly over limit, I'm really struggling to pay it back at the moment. Would you say the CC is top priority then?

katerinasol

prettypaula wrote: »

£35 for a bikini wax is an appallingly high amount.

buy some wax strips and DIY.

25-35 seems to be normal round these parts... I would love to be able to give myself a Brazilian but I don't think I'm that good!

vka1 wrote: »

Hi Katerina,

I'm still a newish person round here so not great for big advice, and I'm with you on the waxing! I've managed to down grade to a local salon, without the frills which is cheap and cheerful. Eyebrows and bikini is £14. Shop around. You might like your current person but you'd be amazed hopemuch cheaper it cann be elsewhere.

Gumtree's worth a look for offers or buying Groupon or other vouchers for special offers can save a packet. I got £36 haricut plus extra conditioning treatment thing and a glass of fizz in really good salon last week for £18, instead of the £45 advertised standard rate....it all adds up. Could save you £20 a month, or £240 a year or more than a third of your water bill could be paid off...The small savings of £10-20 a month really do add up.

Good luck with it all,

V

Thank you for your kind words the reason I want to stick with the current salon is because they do this chocolate waxing thing that is actually amazing, barely hurts at all! I haven't yet found any other place round my parts that does it but I might just have to look a little harder.

I'm trying to grow my hair out at the moment, so that's not a problem really! But I'm lucky because my friend is a hairdresser and she cuts mine for about £15, to be fair though I don't have my hair cut that often (once every 5 months maybe?) so it's not a huge expense for me.

merlot123

katerinasol wrote: »

I tend to buy a Tesco meal deal at work, which is £2.50 for a sandwich, a snack and a drink, I have tried to make my own lunch but it really doesn't work out!

But £2.50 per day is approx £50 per month on lunch:eek: (and that's just your lunch, what about OH?) coupled with the gym of over £100 per month, I don't think you have had your light bulb moment yet.

merlot123

Pollycat

merlot123 wrote: »

But £2.50 per day is approx £50 per month on lunch:eek: (and that's just your lunch, what about OH?)

When I first looked at your SOA I thought, 'wow, £125 per month on groceries is not bad for 2 people' but if you're spending £50 per month on lunches, I think you're missing something in your SOA - I can't believe (in a nice way ) that you can only be spending £75 per month - works out at £2.50 per day - on food, drink, cleaning stuff, toiletries etc.

I do understand what you say about your treats but with your waxing and gym, that's a whopping £140 per month which is crazy admittedly imho) when you owe money for Council Tax & water rates and your credit card debt has been sold onto a debt collector.

Do you think you have your priorities in the right order?

There may be things missing from your SOA - do you never, ever buy presents at birthdays and Christmas? Not for each other? Not for friends & family?

I really do think your spending diary is going to be a big shock when you see what you're spending money on.

Put everything in that's not on your SOA - birthday card for your friend, glossy magazine, new lippy, pint of milk at the local shop - you'll be amazed at how much you spend (or fritter away).

Sorry if this sounds tough love.

vka1

Hello,

I agree with Polly cat and Merlot123, I think you've made a good start coming here but you maybe have to got a few hurdles to get over yet. Writing all down on an SOA is tough. But a light bulb moment can be operated by dimmer switch too! Sometimes it's a series a brighter moments that appear over time.

Thank you for your kind words the reason I want to stick with the current salon is because they do this chocolate waxing thing that is actually amazing, barely hurts at all! I haven't yet found any other place round my parts that does it but I might just have to look a little harder.

When your spending diary kicks in, and you eventually question spending something cos you don't want to write it in your notebook and keep your monthly spend down, 20 mins of a discomfort will seem more attractive than the expensive treatment. Even more so when you work out what % of your debt it is or how it lengthens the time til your debt free date or that it can stop the water people seeking bankruptcy.

It might sound crazy right now. And, it will take you a few months of keeping a diary to figure out your prioirties. We all have things that we choose not to give up because some quality of life is important. For some it's chinese takeways, for others it's the cinema or wine or clothes...and that's fine. It's just about working out which treats are the most important ones, and finding if they can be done more cheaply.

Carrying cash is also a huge incentiviser. You realise exactly what's going where. Why not work out from your SOA what your weekly spend should be on food and other day to day spending, take that out in cash on a Sunday for a few weeks and see how you go? I've learned a massive lesson that way....I hugely undersestimated what I fritter and small bits, and writing it down helped me realised, but it was only actually carrying cash not cards that made it hit home.

V

katerinasol

Thank you for your advice everyone, a spending diary really seems to be the way to go. Funnily enough, I got home from work yesterday after posting this and found out that OH bought us little notebooks that we can write down all our spending on! How crazy is that?

Carrying cash around seems to be a good idea as well, I actually mentioned that to him yesterday. We're thinking of leaving the cards at home and just using cash - that way we won't be tempted to think "oh I'll just use a tenner out of next week's allowance".

I felt a bit defensive about the lunches and bikini wax but I guess you are all right and I need to spend some time keeping the spending diary to figure out whether I can still justify spending that amount of money on it. I would still love to keep the bikini wax as a 'treat' and will try to do so but we will see if I still want to spend £35 on it in a few weeks' time!

I feel a bit more cheerful about things today, and seeing people on here tell it like it is has definitely helped loads.

Superbiatch

katerinasol wrote: »

I felt a bit defensive about the lunches and bikini wax but I guess you are all right and I need to spend some time keeping the spending diary to figure out whether I can still justify spending that amount of money on it. I would still love to keep the bikini wax as a 'treat' and will try to do so but we will see if I still want to spend £35 on it in a few weeks' time!

Go to your local college beauty school and get the Level 3 girls to do your waxing, you'd probably get your legs, underarm and bikini done for £35