A Thread for After Debt?

rising_from_the_ashes

QueenB :j hello! I've been worrying about you!

Li - do the books balance?

There's a few areas which look a bit high - but if the books balance and it's not a problem, then it's really not too big a deal IYKWIM

LianneH wrote: »

Monthly Expense Details
Gas..................................... 52 This is quite high - obviously depends on size of house but as a comparison I pay £34 (3 bed semi) - you're not too far from me so "coldness" should be about the same:rotfl:
Mobile phone............................ 65 How many phones?
Satellite/Cable TV/phone & broadband...................... 54 ..... ouch!:D My landline/broadband/sky come out at £40 so may be worth having a look around
Groceries etc. ......................... 280 You could probably shave a bit off here if you needed too
Petrol/diesel........................... 175 ..... again - ouch!:p Is this incl any reduction in your normal usage if you're off work?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 38.4 ** Seems a bit low? I budget £35 and that's only one car
Dog walker.............................. 70 Will you still need this if you're at home? (would DH not walk am & pm & then the dog could just go out for "widdles" during the day?)

PS I love SOAs ....... I love seeing what other people spend (and of course comparing it to what I spend!) - as I think has been mentioned before, I especially love the ones where people are spending huge amounts on x or y and just don't "get it"!

LianneH

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Li - do the books balance?

yes the books balance but thats on paper and when on mat leave anything can come up!

you comments have been really helpful and Ive been quite surprised at some of your points,(soooo jealous - you're good Rising!) so they lead me to more questions.....
Monthly Expense Details
Gas..................................... 52 This is quite high - obviously depends on size of house but as a comparison I pay £34 (3 bed semi) - you're not too far from me so "coldness" should be about the same:rotfl: i have a 3 bed detached, so interested why yours is a lot cheaper! what is your combined elec and gas? Believe it or not, this is the only bill I have never switched as I've never been able to get a better deal, maybe its my usage?!
Mobile phone............................ 65 How many phones? this is for 2 phones and both have loads of free calls and txts so we dont use our landline except for internet and incoming calls. Silly DH has an eye-phone so his bill is about £45 :eek:, mines is only £20 :cool:
Satellite/Cable TV/phone & broadband...................... 54 ..... ouch!:D My landline/broadband/sky come out at £40 so may be worth having a look around what, i thought we were doing really well here! we have just cancelled sky sports, this is sky, with tv, broadband and landline, think the only extra package we have is the kids channels. £40 - how did you manage that??
Groceries etc. ......................... 280 You could probably shave a bit off here if you needed too
Petrol/diesel........................... 175 ..... again - ouch!:p Is this incl any reduction in your normal usage if you're off work? this is a total guess. it does incl a reduction with being off work. we didnt have 2 cars last time I was on mat leave so I've take the view that if the other car is there I will prob use it. hoping this will be much less though.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 38.4 ** Seems a bit low? I budget £35 and that's only one car we are in the fortunate position that the FIL is handy with cars, so a lot of the time its just the actual MOT we need to pay for.
Dog walker.............................. 70Will you still need this if you're at home? (would DH not walk am & pm & then the dog could just go out for "widdles" during the day?) this is a new expense during the mat leave . DH has been getting his knickers in a twist about being able to take "my first born" out for walks when the 2nd baby comes. so much so he even mentioned possibly having to give him away!!! :eek: so I rejiged the budget and done some reseach and managed to find this wonderful woman. this amount is for 10 walks, so will stretch in many months to 2 months.

thanks for your comments Rising and as you say if the books balance then its not so much of an issue. but this has been so helpful! I always love looking at other peoples SOAs too! felt a bit nervous posting mine! lol

rising_from_the_ashes

Not good - just decided a while ago the money was better in my pocket than paying out to huge companies!;)

I have managed to get things down a fair bit over the last year - mainly down to proper budgeting :j and being able to get better deals:D

LianneH wrote: »

Monthly Expense Details
Gas..................................... 52 This is quite high - obviously depends on size of house but as a comparison I pay £34 (3 bed semi) - you're not too far from me so "coldness" should be about the same:rotfl: i have a 3 bed detached, so interested why yours is a lot cheaper! what is your combined elec and gas? Believe it or not, this is the only bill I have never switched as I've never been able to get a better deal, maybe its my usage?!
A detached will be a bit more expensive than a semi - what are you like about radiators on in rooms when you're not in them?
eg all my bedrooms are on frost protection only (probably helps that I hate having a warm bedroom - comes from living in a cottage with no heating where it was regularly 5 deg :eek: yup, in the bedroom - slept in clothes, on a 15 tog duvet with another 2 on top!). Bathroom one is only put on about 1/2 an hour before a bath (with door shut) and turned off afterwards etc.
Combined Gas & Elec is £64 (so £30 for Elec) - again, I don't leave lights on when I'm not in rooms BUT I'm not "as good" as others as I don't switch everything off at the wall everynight etc.
Mobile phone............................ 65 How many phones? this is for 2 phones and both have loads of free calls and txts so we dont use our landline except for internet and incoming calls. Silly DH has an eye-phone so his bill is about £45 :eek:, mines is only £20 :cool: you said it :eek: your one is ok:rotfl:
Satellite/Cable TV/phone & broadband...................... 54 ..... ouch!:D My landline/broadband/sky come out at £40 so may be worth having a look around what, i thought we were doing really well here! we have just cancelled sky sports, this is sky, with tv, broadband and landline, think the only extra package we have is the kids channels. £40 - how did you manage that??Landline = £9.49 advance line rental paid for year which is a saving of £3.50/month & this covers the cost of anytime calls so that's £12.99 total
Broadband = £6.49 - got 1/2 price for 12 months & triple x usage limit last month (you may remember my failed attempt to move to a new supplier - the old one came up with a good deal to stay!)
Sky - £21 but is basic package only (2 extra packages = Entertainment & Documentaries) - I did get 1/2 price for 6 months at the end of last year as threatened to cancel .......

Petrol/diesel........................... 175 ..... again - ouch!:p Is this incl any reduction in your normal usage if you're off work? this is a total guess. it does incl a reduction with being off work. we didnt have 2 cars last time I was on mat leave so I've take the view that if the other car is there I will prob use it. hoping this will be much less though.
I think the trick will be to try to plan your journeys eg visiting friends/family - pop in & do grocery shop on way home, rather than having to do another trip etc

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 38.4 ** Seems a bit low? I budget £35 and that's only one car we are in the fortunate position that the FIL is handy with cars, so a lot of the time its just the actual MOT we need to pay for.
Ahhhhh - "unfortunately" as mine's under warranty, I have to get it done by an "approved dealer" to maintain it

Dog walker.............................. 70Will you still need this if you're at home? (would DH not walk am & pm & then the dog could just go out for "widdles" during the day?) this is a new expense during the mat leave . DH has been getting his knickers in a twist about being able to take "my first born" out for walks when the 2nd baby comes. so much so he even mentioned possibly having to give him away!!! :eek: so I rejiged the budget and done some reseach and managed to find this wonderful woman. this amount is for 10 walks, so will stretch in many months to 2 months.
:rotfl:I do love that description! OMG I've just realised I know someone who lives in the same place as you who's expecting! :eek: BUT .... it's your 2nd, so we're safe :rotfl:I've been looking at dog walkers (odd day I have all day meetings etc that I can't get home) and can't believe how much they are :eek:.

If that's 10 walks, you're doing better than me (£10 / walk so far) BUT haven't asked if I could pay for a block for a discount so will try that - thanks!

Hope the above helps:)

rising_from_the_ashes

PS ...... are you able to get your consumption figures for Gas / Elec for the last 12 months?

If so, try here http://www.ovoenergy.com/

LianneH

If that's 10 walks, you're doing better than me (£10 / walk so far) BUT haven't asked if I could pay for a block for a discount so will try that - thanks!

Rising - Cant believe I've managed to give you ideas!!! I was expecting £10 per walk but this particular walker offered this block payment so I went with that - fab! starts next week and shes coming to see him tomorrow with a welcome pack!, its like his first day at school or something!!

anyway, thanks for your tips. I think out of them I'm going to look at the elec / gas and the sky. Oh! and DH has just told me his mobile contract is up end of June so no more eye-phone :j lol

squinky

I'm so pleased I have come across this as I was starting to feel like I was alone in my thinking. Last year I worked really hard to pay off my overdraft, two credit cards and a wages overpayment and then I started saving too and ended the 2011 on a bit of a smug high! However this year all that motivation has completely disappeared and whilst I am still managing to save each month it's just not the same. My budgeting seems to have gone kaput and the 'thrill' of saving is nothing compared to slashing my debt. I feel terribly guilty 'moaning' about it as I know I am in a privileged position now to be debt free and saving so hearing some of your similar stories has reassured me somewhat. Thank you!!!

LianneH

hey squinky - welcome!!

yes, you will see from our posts that the high of becoming DF only lasts a short while and suddenly we feel we dont have a goal.

i suppose the thing to do now is to set yourself another goal: setting a proper budget, save for something big like a house or car, save an emergency fund?

all the best!

squinky

Thank you very much Lianne, is so nice to know that there are likeminded folk around too J As part of my debt busting 2011 I read a lot of personal finance blogs last year; one talked about a spending fast and a spending diet. Now I am debt free I no longer need to be on a spending fast however I find the concept of a spending diet so much harder L Well my initial target was to save £25000 by the time my other half finishes university (May 2014) however now I am thinking this is wildly ambitious, a long way off and going to be very boring. I think I am going to start with filling an ISA. As for emergency funds I’m not sure what the general consensus is?! Last year I did manage to save three months worth of outgoings but then booked a holiday to the Caribbean for a friends wedding next year so that didn’t go too well! I guess the flipside is that I was able to say yes to a lovely event without stressing about money, it is arguable that it was hardly an emergency though! I should also start rebuilding the emergency fund then, so any idea what the average emergency fund should be?!...

rising_from_the_ashes

Welcome squinky - congratulations on your debt busting and isn't it good to know others feel the same way!

Re the emergency fund - really there are 2 types (IMHO anyway!):

A general household one for things like replacing appliances when they break down / household maintenance etc and probably the better know one for if you lose your job / circumstances change etc. HTH

rising_from_the_ashes

HELP!

I know SOT will "get this" but also know others won't so need the "sensible non-petrol heads" to talk to me sternly

Had to take Dinky to the garage today ..... and whilst waiting for her to come back ........ I fell totally, utterly, deeply ..... in love ......



Now ..... I do not need a new car ..... nor do I particularly want a new car but ...... ohhhh she is gorgeous!:o