Single mums budget

mazzymoo3

that is a good point I know he gets a bonus this month so will try and gently persuade him,wish me luck

MrsTinks

mazzymoo3 wrote: »

hello all,

since i last posted things have changed some things for the better others for the worse.

Good things are;
stopped company social club, health club, lottery so more money coming in (yay)

called HMRC and have been given more tax credits even though my income is good, apparently i get a bit more as i am a lone parent ( there is a positive to being a single parent)

I have stopped the savings account for the kids now:( but will restatrt this as soon as i have got rid of loan, as someone pointed out no point strugglin now like this, and interest rates are rubbish anyway.
childcare finally sorted but vouchers have not got to childminder but this is the figure i have been quoted.

Bad things;
gas and electric gone up
council tax gone up
had to spend almost £15 on nit cream as eldest has got headlice so we all had to be treated, even baby he was not happy poor chap.

Cant believe i am going through £500 a month, so purchased a notebook to write down my spending, will start on payday, as i am already overdrawn in both accounts, but have spent no money today.

Will start some of the challenges tomo, first thing is to try and lower food bill and overpay on the loan.

cant wait to see where my money goes, really furious with myself that I am spending like this without me even knowing:mad:

Council tax going up - have you checked you're getting the single occupant discount now OH isn't living there? Sorry can't remember if that was checked already
Elec and gas - check you're on the cheapest tariff through the checker Every little helps!

I think you can change your house and contents insurance mid term - check your policy or call them up and ask - if the saving is significant enough then it is still worth doing because that is definitely high!

You're angry about not knowing where money is going? GOOD!
The angrier you feel about wasting that £500 the more likely you are to address it and work out how to stop the frittering Start the spending diary now because it will encourage you to think twice about everything you have to spend! If you have to write it in that little book suddenly spending £1 on something you don't NEED will be really hard to do

tallyhoh

Plaster the childrens hair with conditioner after nit lotion, it stops them getting hold apparently, worked with mine.

MrsTinks

BRRRRR nits... I was ignoring that bit... bleurgh!
My nan never believed in nit potions - conditioner till my hair could stand up on it's own - leave 10 minutes and then nit combing it... repeat after a few days and if any sign then again a few days after that...

I hate nits lol

MFWannabe

mazzymoo3 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2000
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 668
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2668
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 670
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 236
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 126 - Does this include single person discount? If not then ring them tomorrow and claim it.
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 28.4
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 35 - could you drop to a lower tarrif?
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 250
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 18
Car Insurance........................... 41 - this seems high; check comparison sites to see if you can get cheaper
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 34
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 307
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 56 - this seems high; check comparison sites to see if you can get cheaper
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 20
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2109.52

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 165000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 800
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 165800

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 124000...(670)......4.79
Secured Debt.................. 12000....(211)......7.9
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 2000.....(25).......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 138000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
virgin credit card.............2400......35........0
hsbc overdraft.................500.......12........19.9
hsbc overdraft.................600.......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........3500......47........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,668
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,109.52
Available for debt repayments........... 558.48
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 47
Amount left after debt repayments....... 511.48!!!!
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 165,800
Total HP & Secured debt................. -138,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,500
Net Assets.............................. 24,300
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Hi
I've made some comments above where you could possibly make some cutbacks; although you've made a great start already
Do check your council tax; you are entitled to a 25% discount now as the only adult in the house. Also check to see if you can pay over 12 months instead of 10 when the new Council tax starts in April

curlytop12

tallyhoh wrote: »

Plaster the childrens hair with conditioner after nit lotion, it stops them getting hold apparently, worked with mine.

thats just what i wanted to say!beat me to it:o

mazzymoo3

morning all.

checked last night about council tax and it hasnt gone up I am paying £126 so I finish paying it in Feb 2012.
It will be £91 starting from April but will ask them to spread over the 12 months as suggested.

been keeping an eye on my mobile usuage and i havent even been touching my allowance of calls and texts and it only mounts to £20.50 so will ring vodaphone and change the tarif today.
very proud of myself yesterday went into town with a friend and she bought me a hot choccie at costa and i sneaked in my £3 lunch from sainsburys, but thinking about it now should have taken my packed lunch, well lesson learnt.
ps hope no one who works in costa is on here!! lol

Standingtall

Hi MM. Just to add to the comments above, it is worth trying a conditioner that includes Tea Tree. Neither of my kids has ever caught head lice to date and I attribute this to the tea tree conditioner recommended by a friend many years ago:)

mazzymoo3

Hi thanks for that tip re tea tree bought some today.
made a pasta bake today to feed me, my 2 kids and their 2 friends,
pasta sauce £1
pasta penne 89p
had garlic and onion in the cupboard
strawberries and grapes for pudding any 2 for £4.

some of the strawberries and grapes will do for lunch boxes on thurs and fri
Also phoned vodaphone and changed tariff £20 for unlimites texts and 600 mins which is pretty good, what dos everyone think?

also cant wait to start spending diary so have started today thanks for the advice.
Other half is going to pay half of swimming!!!whoo hoo, thanks to everyone for the kick up the bum. Its not that I am scared of him I just want everyone to be happy so scared of upsetting people and seeming like a bitter b**ch.

amorge

Well done on making all your changes. I'm struggling this month but have put it down to Christmas, I've never had to get everything on just my wages but I've managed