A Thread for After Debt?

runmichellerun

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Michelle I have a spreadsheet which shows each account:

1) Current
2) Current - Bills (DD and SO)
3) Savings Account (for all my 'pots')
4) Credit Cards - Spending Diary (paid off in full)
5) ISA

Then I break down some of the pots further (ie. Car Fund is broken down into MoT, Service, Tax, Breakdown and Insurance)

I then have a page with all useful info on it (card contact numbers incase my purse gets stolen, contact numbers and accound numbers for gas/electric, water etc etc)

The pages for monitoring my gas/electric usage, birthdays/christmas', weight, food menu and shopping lists, grocery spends...

Oh and a Calander so I know when the school holidays are and when DS goes to his dad's etc which helps with meal planning!

Blimey. That's a lot. You're so thorough! I need to get organised!.

JulieGeorgiana

runmichellerun wrote: »

Blimey. That's a lot. You're so thorough! I need to get organised!.

Start slowly... mine is am build-up of 9 years...!

Just write your incomings and outgoings to start with and work from there... it's all a work in progress

Good Luck though x

samtoby

I keep my receipts of things I have bought and when I look at the receipts it makes me think I could have saved that and that and so on.

I have treated myself to new shoes from my new Very account but apart from that only essentials will be purchased. I am just too excited about the possibility of having my own home. My own front door and walls I can paint and floors I can carpet the way I want. I want to be able to say I did it all myself.

My Mum is my tower of support. Even though when my dad died they were divorced and not in talking terms for 20 years she helped me arrange the funeral; supported me through the loss of my baby just over a year ago and generally has been my ROCK. Onwards and upwards!

Where is this BABY? Go and get some curry tonight....!

rising_from_the_ashes

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

I am still here for my sins...

Ohhhhhh Roo - you naughty baby!:D

runmichellerun wrote: »

Me too. I put a certain amount into savings every month but find myself dipping into it all the time as it's money I think I can spend. How do I make myself realise that if it's in this account I can't touch it? And if I don't have the money then don't spend it?

I used to be like that with my savings pots but I think I've cracked it ..... I try to look at it that the pots are money that's already spent IYSWIM - touch wood .... working so far!:D

I do hereby solemly declare, that I, Little bit dizzy, will pledge to aim the following goals for 2012...

Wow! Dizzy - that's an impressive list ...... still working on mine!:o

Little_bit_dizzy

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Michelle I have a spreadsheet which shows each account:

1) Current
2) Current - Bills (DD and SO)
3) Savings Account (for all my 'pots')
4) Credit Cards - Spending Diary (paid off in full)
5) ISA

Then I break down some of the pots further (ie. Car Fund is broken down into MoT, Service, Tax, Breakdown and Insurance)

I then have a page with all useful info on it (card contact numbers incase my purse gets stolen, contact numbers and accound numbers for gas/electric, water etc etc)

The pages for monitoring my gas/electric usage, birthdays/christmas', weight, food menu and shopping lists, grocery spends...

Oh and a Calander so I know when the school holidays are and when DS goes to his dad's etc which helps with meal planning!

JulieGeorgiana, you do put the rest of us to shame. I thought I was reasonably organised but I'm way off the mark How is Roo today? Do you know whether Roo is blue or pink, or are you waiting for a surprise when the grand entrance is finally made?

Glad you like the aims! It was originally more finance orientated but I changed it so it was a bit more about other stuff too. I love watching my money, but I need to concentrate on other things as well, like the garden.

My coaster thingys came from Ebay today, so I can make a start on cross stitch coasters now! 'Free' (well almost) gifts!!!

rising, hope work was a bit better today - how's the foot now?

I did my credit reports today, through Experian (Credit Expert) and Equifax. I'm pleased (but somewhat mystified) with the Credit Expert one, apparently my 'score' is 973, which they reckon is 'excellent'.

A) Is this just a sales ploy to get me to pay the extra ££££'s to get more details from them? I know I've been much better with my payments since becoming DF, paying most in full etc (except Mr T c/card 0% and money in the savings to cover), closing old / dormant accounts and stuff, but still...

Didn't Martin :money: say there's no such things as a credit 'score'? Or did I dream that????

Anyhow, there's loads of green, the odd (old) amber but no red

rising_from_the_ashes

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Michelle Regular Savers is the key … you only get a decent interest payout (8%) IF you don’t touch it for a year (save £25 - £300 a month)… it’s there for emergencies (real ones) otherwise you risk up to £156 (£124 after tax) in interest if you touch it, because they give you 0.1% instead!

Yup - agree totally! I've just switched my "new boiler" pot over to a monthly savings plan ... out of everything I just cannot touch that as this is the last year I can get the boiler covered under a service plan:eek: and really need to get some money put aside .... just in case!

runmichellerun wrote: »

Can I ask everyone what spreadsheets they have please? I have a monthly budget spreadsheet but nothing more specific (i.e. spending diary), I just try and keep within the limits I have set myself. I want to be more geeky about this so would like to know what others do.

I use what has been aptly named the "Speadsheet of Wonder" on MSE - developed by a regular on the forums .... the SoW is fantatic - lets you put an annual budget in, you can track what you've spent on worksheets for different things, how much you've got left etc

A couple of snapshots (just couldn't resist:D)

Totals page



Jan Groceries page

rising_from_the_ashes

Little_bit_dizzy wrote: »

rising, hope work was a bit better today - how's the foot now?

Hi Dizzy, foot's a bit better today so hoping it'll be "numb" in a few more days:j thanks for asking.

Little_bit_dizzy wrote: »

I did my credit reports today, through Experian (Credit Expert) and Equifax. I'm pleased (but somewhat mystified) with the Credit Expert one, apparently my 'score' is 973, which they reckon is 'excellent'.

A) Is this just a sales ploy to get me to pay the extra ££££'s to get more details from them? I know I've been much better with my payments since becoming DF, paying most in full etc (except Mr T c/card 0% and money in the savings to cover), closing old / dormant accounts and stuff, but still...

Errrrrrrr mmmmmmmmm ......... yes (sorry)

Little_bit_dizzy wrote: »

Didn't Martin :money: say there's no such things as a credit 'score'? Or did I dream that????

Anyhow, there's loads of green, the odd (old) amber but no red

Honestly, don't ever pay extra to get a score from any credit reference agency - it's a figure they come up but it's never seen by any lender so really not worth anything.

Each lender will have their own criteria that needs to be met (some can incl things like whether you're single or married / who you work for eg some are now apparently using public sector employment as a "no" / how long you've been in your job etc etc)

This makes it really hard as some lenders may turn you down - but others may be happy to lend to you .... depending on how they decide...:(

Great news to no Reds!:T

Little_bit_dizzy

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Errrrrrrr mmmmmmmmm ......... yes (sorry)

They're cheeky blighters! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:


Thought as much. Still, was worth doing just to check what was showing and it's miles better than a few years ago.

JulieGeorgiana

Sam I go through my ‘old transactions’ tab on my spreadsheet with all my historical data of my accounts and creditcards with DH once a month so see where we could save. Makes a difference to review your spending. Yes, I like your mum more and more, I am pleased that you are so close to her. Tried the Curry… No Baby!

Rising sweep tomorrow… fingers crossed!

Do you know I do that now… I used to ‘owe’ myself but decided if it was in a pot it was not my money anymore… and we stopped touching it… took forever!

Dizzy Ha! Nothing like the SoW, which I looked at and decided it was too OCD and a pain in the a$$ and would track my accounts the way I want them too! I forgot the ‘Old Transactions’ page which keeps a record of my main accounts for the last financial year at least! Truth is it’s taken me years to get my spreadsheet like this… and I’ve deleted a LOT to make it simple!

We have no idea if Roo is Blue or Pink, which is why I think Roo is late… the suspense…! Got the names picked out though… can’t wait to use one

Yeah, Experian got me twice with paying for that ‘score’ first time it’s 999, then it’s 697, no reason for the change, had less credit and no debt on the second time… no oranges either! Scam!

Well done on your credit report though

Rising your snapshots scare me! Imagine keeping track of each individual item you bought this week… Mine is more simple or I’d never maintain it! That’s why I decided not to keep the SoW, it could be simplified but it doesn’t keep track of individual accounts!!

JulieGeorgiana

Ps. Rising you forgot your savings on your spreadsheet... ASDA Milk is 2 for £2

Is it bad that I knew that when I don't shop at ASDA???? And it was off the top of my head???