Diaries of The Unorganised Mum!

lolly_896

My news years resolution is to be more organised. This is started with little things like getting boys uniforms ready night before, making meal plans and keeping on top of cleaning etc. But now i'm taking the bull by it's horns and tackling debts!

I want and need to be debt free - We are as a family going to make sacrifices. It's going to be tough, but i'm not going to cancel all Luxuries just most. The last time i tried we were too tough on ourselves and we quit.

I'm going to fill in a SOA in a few mins - please do not judge, i don't need criticism. I have made mistakes, i'm not the first and i won't be the last!!

I look forward to reading everyones diaries as soon as i get some time!

Thank you all

FlacosFloozie

Well done for tackling things Lolly!

Like you I'm terribly disorganised and that has caused most of my overspending over the years and led to debt. I was wooried about criticism too but everyone on this site has been really supportive of me. No one has judged (at least they haven't said anything to me if they have ).

I've found the diaries great for helpful tips and for keeping me motivaited. I agree when I tried in the past I was too ambitious cutting back and fell off the wagon very quickly. I'm now aiming to take things at a more realistic pace.

Welcome on board.

lolly_896

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 650
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 277
Other income............................ 120
Total monthly income.................... 2047

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 500
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 68
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 18
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 22
Groceries etc. ......................... 250
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 13
Car Insurance........................... 55
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 10
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1383


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Vanquis........................3500......150.......45
Littlewoods....................800.......40........0
Very...........................481.......44........0
Can't rememeber name!..........200.......15........0
Lowell.........................150.......20........0
Civil enforcement..............260.......80........0
Total unsecured debts..........5391......349.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,047
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,383
Available for debt repayments........... 664
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 349
Amount left after debt repayments....... 315

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,391
Net Assets.............................. -3,391

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Now to find where the extra 314 a month disapears! Spending diary starts today!!

Until this month, we have had nursery fees to pay. Our son has been in nappys and i havent been budgeting at all really! Food shopping we have spent lots on (at least another £200 a month - our wastage was huge)

Lolly x

DaisyMeRollin

I'm just glad to hear i'm not the only disorganised mum around! Just this morning I was rooting around the clean laundry pile to try to find uniform for my daughter and kicking myself for not sorting it sooner! I'm sure I could also save myself a fortune by being organised enough to make a packed lunch for her too.

Good luck!

parsniphead

Hello lolly

Your title really jumped out at me mainly because it sounds like me.;)

I'm sure some of the more experienced folk will be along soon to look at the SOA.

Good luck with the debt free journey. I will keep looking in if that's ok?

lolly_896

Thank you all!

I was in the Army and super organised, always 5 mins early and looking pristine! Since i have had 2 children, I always look like a scruff, house always needs a scrub, consistently late - I am doing alot better now though. I did resort to a takeway last night it was 9pm and i hadnt made me or hubs any food! We did share a meal though lol

ETA - please keep looking in, words of encouragement are always welcome!!!

DaisyMeRollin

lolly_896 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 650
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 277
Other income............................ 120
Total monthly income.................... 2047

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 500
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 68 - Is this for 12 months or 10? We're in a Band A property and it's £85pm (for 10 months), so this seems a little low?
Electricity............................. 60 - Quite high
Gas..................................... 80 - High
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 18
Mobile phone............................ 40 - High if this is just for 1 phone.
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 22 - This is quite a bit in addition to the landline costs.
Groceries etc. ......................... 250
Clothing................................ 0 Should be something here, especially with kids in the house (school shoes etc). Work out a rough clothes budget for the year and pro-rata it.
Petrol/diesel........................... 250 - Quite high if you're just using the 1 car.
Road tax................................ 13
Car Insurance........................... 55 - High
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 - Should be something here.
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 10
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0 - Should be something here
Contents insurance...................... 0 - Ditto
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 - Ditto
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 0 - Ditto, i'm assuming with kids you do have to spend a bit every now and then.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 - Should probably be something here too.
Total monthly expenses.................. 1383


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Vanquis........................3500......150.......45
Littlewoods....................800.......40........0
Very...........................481.......44........0
Can't rememeber name!..........200.......15........0
Lowell.........................150.......20........0
Civil enforcement..............260.......80........0
Total unsecured debts..........5391......349.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,047
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,383
Available for debt repayments........... 664
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 349
Amount left after debt repayments....... 315

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,391
Net Assets.............................. -3,391

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Now to find where the extra 664 a month disapears! Spending diary starts today!!

Until this month, we have had nursery fees to pay. Our son has been in nappys and i havent been budgeting at all really! Food shopping we have spent lots on (at least another £200 a month - our wastage was huge)

Lolly x

It looks like there's a few things that aren't accounted for so it's worth at least estimating these so you can get a better idea about where the money goes but there's also plenty of scope to cut back.

Are you paying for your gas/electric by monthly DD? You can get discounts by paying this way and your usage seems pretty high. If this is just the DD amount then make sure you keep an eye on your bill to see they aren't overcharging you and building up a credit on you account x

lolly_896

Council tax, is paid for the year. Im pretty certain it was £680. We live on the outskirts, it may be a little bit more. Won't know until next month when the bill comes.

Our gas and electricity costs are high - we are on prepayment meters. Already in when we moved - but we find them ok and stops us racking up big bills. Will aim to cut these down, i fancied a usage meter thingy - They were expensive though! *I must avoid tumble drier!!*

Diesel is high - that should be offset against my "Other income" I am a home carer in the community so i put in £250 worth of diesel and get £120 in expenses back so in theory it's £130. Unfortunatley i cannot be without car we live 10 miles from supermarket, 15 miles from parent's who kindly have children for us to work.

Buildings insurance isn't our responsibility since we rent. I need contents cover though

Clothing - I have wonderful parents who buy my boys shoes when needed from Clarks and my mum is forever rigging them out in "trendy gear" I only really get them uniforms once a year. Hubby and I have gift vouchers left from Xmas and will use those should we need anything.

Mobile is for 2 contracts - one ending in a few weeks so will be PAYG

I phoned BT last night, contract ends July 10th and i will seek alternatives nearer the time - I have unplugged the landline and disconnect xbox live which i think sets us over the monthly usage

I need to get an emergency fund set up, but would prefer to pay Vanquis and then only when extremely neccesary use it.

Entertainment - I need to calculate, i'm not sure what to though. I have been frugal over xmas holidays and taken boys to musuems, parks, had friends over etc. We have to save for a few breaks away though we have holidays over easter, may and july! Mainly bought for us from Mum and Dad though!

Thank you - Will definatley look at reducing diesel, gas and elec as prioritys and then create some savings!!

DaisyMeRollin

I'm starting to think we're the same person... We also live on the outskirts (and it annoys me how high our petrol costs can be!) and I only had to ask my mum the other day if I'd left my daughter's school shoes over hers because I couldn't find them and the next day she's bought her new shoes (in 3 different sizes to make sure at least 1 pair fit!). She goes nuts if any children's clothes are on offer! It really does help but it makes me feel incredibly guilty!

lolly_896

DaisyMeRollin wrote: »

I'm starting to think we're the same person... We also live on the outskirts (and it annoys me how high our petrol costs can be!) and I only had to ask my mum the other day if I'd left my daughter's school shoes over hers because I couldn't find them and the next day she's bought her new shoes (in 3 different sizes to make sure at least 1 pair fit!). She goes nuts if any children's clothes are on offer! It really does help but it makes me feel incredibly guilty!

Mum's really are wonderful people, Our standard of living would be pretty poor if it wasn't for my parent's. If there is a sale on - mum will be there kitting the boys out, it's a rarity that i have to buy them anything.

I have just been trying to salvage our sofa's! Our kitten "Pus" had scratched the corners - no amount of scratching posts have prevented this! I have cut of frays and used a slight bit of boot polish to cover the remaining bit of thread - there not looking so tatty now.

Meals are for the week:

Breakfast - HM Muffins, toast, cereal or porridge
Lunch - Sandwiches, Jackets, Soup, Omelettes or Left overs
Tea-
Today - Carbonara, Wedges & Rice Pudding to follow
Thursday - Gammon, Egg, Peas & Chips - Ice cream to follow
Friday - Chicken stuffed with philly, Veg & Boiled pots - Treacle sponge to follow
Saturday - Quorn Chilli & Rice - Banana's & Custard to follow
Sunday - Roast Chicken - No dessert, it's a big enough meal
Monday - Quorn Sausage, Yorkies. Veg & Mash
Tuesday - Pizza Ham Mushrooms Sweetcorn and Olives - Pancakes with Frozen fruit from left over batter mix
Wednesday - Chinese Coke Chicken (Left over chicken from Sunday)
Thursday - Beef Stroganoff

*Need to find some more Frugal Desserts this tends to make our mains smaller

I will need to do a large Asda order on Friday for the month - I get things we cannot get in Lidls on a weekly basis

lolly_896

I've crumbled already - I thought to myself today how good i was being "Refurbing" our old sofa, previously i would have been sofa shopping looking for new ones. Well i popped on HUKD and saw a glitch on Next 2 sofas for £98! I've taken a gamble and ordered!