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I'm a newbie and this is my Statement of Affairs
loving-my-baxters
Posts: 27 Forumite
I'm new to the site - just completed the budget tool and it told me to post a statement here and wait for comments!
Monthly Income Details
Income from Employment (after tax). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,913.00
Benefits (Inc. Child Benefit/Tax Credits & Income Support). . . . . . . . . . . 87.97
Child Maint.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00
Monthly Expense Details
In Your Home
Mobile Phone(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
TV Licence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.12
Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.00
Home Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... .. . 12.60
Cleaning Products/Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00
Garden Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Household Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 0.00
Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.00
Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 24.50
Council Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 102.00
Home Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.85
Mortgage/Rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 538.47
Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.95
Food and Household Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210.00
Drinks for Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00
Motoring & Public Transport
Petrol/Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00
Debt Repayments
Personal Loan Repayments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 95.00
Savings & Investments
Pension Payments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Mini Cash ISAs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00
Lump Sum Saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.00
Regular Saving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 50.00
Family
Pet Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..60.00
Pocket Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13.00
Pet Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.00
Entertainment
Satellite/Digital TV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.50
Family Days Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Cinema/Theatre Trips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Books/Music/Films/Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 0.00
Big Days Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..0.00
Shopping for Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Pet Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Hobbies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Drinking Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00
Eating Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30.00
Clothes, Health & Beauty
Beauty Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 60.00
Private Medical Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.00
New Children's Clothes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
New Clothes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00
Big One Offs
Sofa/Kitchen/TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 0.00
Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Summer Holiday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...50.00
Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00
Odds & Sods
Newspapers & Magazines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Coffees/Sandwiches/Snacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.67
Total monthly income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,100.97
Total monthly expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,997.66
I know on the face of it I seem to be well in control of my money but the truth is this is a fairly recent development - I never used to pay credit cards in full, took out a loan to pay them off (although hope to have a sucessful PPI claim and be able to clear this) and was frightrened to death of opening my bank statements!!!!! Never want to go back to the dark days so would love to hear about other money savers tips!!!
Points to note - the £100 child maint although listed canNOT be relied upon, hence the £100 monthly surplus. Basically I only 'spend' this money when rec'd from the ex and use it to cover any household repairs etc.
I know the telephone/internet cost could be improved, however I am locked in a contract with BT until July:(
Household Insurance - Renewal June and I'm sure shopping around would reduce this.
Food/drink/Cleaning bills - I aim to knock 30/10/10 off these (in order).... budget meal planning advice would be great!
Gas/Electricty - Gutted! I recently used USwitch and found I am on the cheapest possible tariff so no savings here!!!!!!
Loan repayments - I would love to have NO DEBT and I hope a sucessful PPI claim will solve this issue for me (Many thanks to the relevant forums for the advice)
Petrol - transport of the 2 wheeled variety would not suffice so I am stuck with my trusty motor for now - nb no tax/Insurance/Maint costs stated as I keep enough in the 'emergency fund' to cover the paymens once a year.
ISA - I am saving so I can make a lump sum payment off my mortgage at the end of the year and would love to save a bit more!!!!
Savings - Emergency fund, would love to add a little more to it!!!!!!
Pet food - The Boxer has to eat James Welbeloved(a more expensive brand) due to his gut, I try to buy this when on offer, large sack at a time.
Sky TV - Not a necessity but we like it!!
Eating out/Drinking out - again a budget figure I mentally state each month, sometimes slightly more... slap on the wrist needed!
Beauty Treatments - This is actually the cost of shampoo, make up etc
Clothes - The budget is for me and my daughter to share, basically the £60 stated is the amount I allow per month and I spend it on whatever we need (school shoes/work shirt etc)
Summer holiday - A small acount I opened to fund the school holidays!!!!! I find it far easier to cope with the cost of days out etc when it is a small amount per month rather than a sudden £200/£300 in August! Plus we may have a small holiday so at least that will be covered too!
Christmas - I don't keep cash in an account for this expense as I find I spend it on other things! I buy various vouchers (Morrisons/Love 2 shop/Next) on a monthly basis and put them in a tin until November. I had this brainwave last year and after a stress free December and January cannot recommend this method high enough!
Should add that I use my advantage card to the max to cover birthdays etc!
Please post money saving tips and advice, I have a large mortgage I want to pay as soon as I possibly can - would love to spend less time juggling funds and more time enjoying life with my daughter!!!!
On a general note - could somebody please let me know how to create a signiture, probably being really thick but cannot find any reference to this in my account page.
Many thanks
Monthly Income Details
Income from Employment (after tax). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,913.00
Benefits (Inc. Child Benefit/Tax Credits & Income Support). . . . . . . . . . . 87.97
Child Maint.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00
Monthly Expense Details
In Your Home
Mobile Phone(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
TV Licence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.12
Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.00
Home Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... .. . 12.60
Cleaning Products/Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00
Garden Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Household Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 0.00
Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.00
Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 24.50
Council Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 102.00
Home Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.85
Mortgage/Rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 538.47
Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.95
Food and Household Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210.00
Drinks for Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00
Motoring & Public Transport
Petrol/Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00
Debt Repayments
Personal Loan Repayments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 95.00
Savings & Investments
Pension Payments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Mini Cash ISAs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00
Lump Sum Saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.00
Regular Saving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 50.00
Family
Pet Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..60.00
Pocket Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13.00
Pet Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.00
Entertainment
Satellite/Digital TV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.50
Family Days Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Cinema/Theatre Trips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Books/Music/Films/Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 0.00
Big Days Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..0.00
Shopping for Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Pet Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Hobbies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Drinking Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00
Eating Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30.00
Clothes, Health & Beauty
Beauty Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 60.00
Private Medical Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.00
New Children's Clothes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
New Clothes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00
Big One Offs
Sofa/Kitchen/TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 0.00
Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Summer Holiday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...50.00
Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00
Odds & Sods
Newspapers & Magazines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Coffees/Sandwiches/Snacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.67
Total monthly income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,100.97
Total monthly expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,997.66
I know on the face of it I seem to be well in control of my money but the truth is this is a fairly recent development - I never used to pay credit cards in full, took out a loan to pay them off (although hope to have a sucessful PPI claim and be able to clear this) and was frightrened to death of opening my bank statements!!!!! Never want to go back to the dark days so would love to hear about other money savers tips!!!
Points to note - the £100 child maint although listed canNOT be relied upon, hence the £100 monthly surplus. Basically I only 'spend' this money when rec'd from the ex and use it to cover any household repairs etc.
I know the telephone/internet cost could be improved, however I am locked in a contract with BT until July:(
Household Insurance - Renewal June and I'm sure shopping around would reduce this.
Food/drink/Cleaning bills - I aim to knock 30/10/10 off these (in order).... budget meal planning advice would be great!
Gas/Electricty - Gutted! I recently used USwitch and found I am on the cheapest possible tariff so no savings here!!!!!!
Loan repayments - I would love to have NO DEBT and I hope a sucessful PPI claim will solve this issue for me (Many thanks to the relevant forums for the advice)
Petrol - transport of the 2 wheeled variety would not suffice so I am stuck with my trusty motor for now - nb no tax/Insurance/Maint costs stated as I keep enough in the 'emergency fund' to cover the paymens once a year.
ISA - I am saving so I can make a lump sum payment off my mortgage at the end of the year and would love to save a bit more!!!!
Savings - Emergency fund, would love to add a little more to it!!!!!!
Pet food - The Boxer has to eat James Welbeloved(a more expensive brand) due to his gut, I try to buy this when on offer, large sack at a time.
Sky TV - Not a necessity but we like it!!
Eating out/Drinking out - again a budget figure I mentally state each month, sometimes slightly more... slap on the wrist needed!
Beauty Treatments - This is actually the cost of shampoo, make up etc
Clothes - The budget is for me and my daughter to share, basically the £60 stated is the amount I allow per month and I spend it on whatever we need (school shoes/work shirt etc)
Summer holiday - A small acount I opened to fund the school holidays!!!!! I find it far easier to cope with the cost of days out etc when it is a small amount per month rather than a sudden £200/£300 in August! Plus we may have a small holiday so at least that will be covered too!
Christmas - I don't keep cash in an account for this expense as I find I spend it on other things! I buy various vouchers (Morrisons/Love 2 shop/Next) on a monthly basis and put them in a tin until November. I had this brainwave last year and after a stress free December and January cannot recommend this method high enough!
Should add that I use my advantage card to the max to cover birthdays etc!
Please post money saving tips and advice, I have a large mortgage I want to pay as soon as I possibly can - would love to spend less time juggling funds and more time enjoying life with my daughter!!!!
On a general note - could somebody please let me know how to create a signiture, probably being really thick but cannot find any reference to this in my account page.
Many thanks
Loan Free May 2015 - working on Dec 2012
Then to overpay the Mortgage - aim to cut 10 years!!!
The Topshop habit never seems to fade!!!!!
Then to overpay the Mortgage - aim to cut 10 years!!!
The Topshop habit never seems to fade!!!!!
0
Comments
-
Cut down on the home drinking, out drinking and dining out.
Coffee/sandwiches/snacks, think twice, is this at work, make your own sandwiches/snacks, buy a flask, buying coffee out is a big rip off.
Beauty treatments, shampoo etc, shop around.
Head and shoulders in a supermarket is over £2, you can get it for £1 in the £1 shop, same with all the
Colgate range,.
Worth a look in the £1 shop, Wilkinsons, Home Bargains. They all sell branded products at far less than supermarkets.
Put your £100 christmas money in a seperate savings account. You are losing interest. Morrisons/love to shop are taking advantage of a multi million pount loan from its customers and they are getting the interest you should be getting.make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
and we will never, ever return.0 -
Hi Baxters, welcome to the boards - loads of advice & support available here:D
Few comments from me below which I hope provide food for thought.
One thing ... the SOA is in a different format from the "usual MSE" one and a couple of things we need to know are missing ......
How many adults / children in the house?
How many cars in the house?
This will obviously affect the expenditure on some things noted below.loving-my-baxters wrote: »Monthly Income Details
Income from Employment (after tax). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,913.00
Benefits (Inc. Child Benefit/Tax Credits & Income Support). . . . . . . . . . . 87.97
Child Maint.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00
Monthly Expense Details
In Your Home
Mobile Phone(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
TV Licence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.12
Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.00 Is this tied to your landline? Shop around ASAP as better deals are available
Home Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... .. . 12.60 Noted your comments
Cleaning Products/Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00 This is really high (sorry) - see comments below
Garden Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Household Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 0.00 Need something in here if it's your own property - suggest £20
Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.00
Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 24.50
Council Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 102.00 Do you pay over 10 months or 12? Can you get single person's discount?
Home Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.85 Really high - I know it depends on size & location but as a comparison I pay £15 /month (B&C total)
Mortgage/Rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 538.47 This is really high for your income level - could you downsize / do you have a room you could rent (can do this tax free up to £4250 / year http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnPropertyAndRentalIncome/DG_4017804)
Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.95
Food and Household Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210.00 See comments below
Drinks for Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00 See comments below
Motoring & Public Transport
Petrol/Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00
Tax - need to add
Car maintenance (incl servicing, MOT, repairs) - need to add
Debt Repayments
Personal Loan Repayments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 95.00
How long is left / APR etc?
Savings & Investments
Pension Payments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Mini Cash ISAs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00 Do you actually have this put aside?
Lump Sum Saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.00
Regular Saving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 50.00 Is this your emergency fund?
Family
Pet Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..60.00 How many pets?
Pocket Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13.00 How many kids?
Pet Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.00
Entertainment
Satellite/Digital TV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.50 Sorry not an essential - switch to Freeview - you still get a decent range of channels
Family Days Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Cinema/Theatre Trips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Books/Music/Films/Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 0.00
Big Days Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..0.00
Shopping for Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Pet Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Boosters, flea, tick stuff, vet trips ..... need to add something here
Hobbies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Drinking Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00 Sorry not essential - cut to £20
Eating Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30.00 Sorry not essential - reduce frequency
Clothes, Health & Beauty
Beauty Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 60.00:eek: Sorry but ......see comments below
Private Medical Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 0.00
New Children's Clothes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Need something in here
New Clothes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00 Noted your comments but you need to use what you've got or sell stuff & use money raised to buy new (E*bay, CS etc)
Big One Offs
Sofa/Kitchen/TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 0.00
Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 See Christmas
Summer Holiday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...50.00 Noted comments
Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00 Sorry far too much - £10/child for birthdays & christmas
Odds & Sods
Newspapers & Magazines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Coffees/Sandwiches/Snacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.67 Sorry not essential - may not seem like a lot but adds up to over £250 / year
Total monthly income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,100.97
Total monthly expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,997.66
Household Insurance - Renewal June and I'm sure shopping around would reduce this. see comments above
Food/drink/Cleaning bills - I aim to knock 30/10/10 off these (in order).... budget meal planning advice would be great!
Sorry but this is where you could make big savings.....
cleaning stuff (£40)
groceries (£210)
drinks for home (£50)
beauty treatments (£60)
drinking out (£60)
eating out (£30)
Total = £460
As a comparison a family of 4 can manage on £220 / month for food, toiletries & cleaning stuff (incl lunches for work, nappies etc) and make up etc.
Try the Grocery Challenge on the Old Style board - great friendly bunch of people, fab recipes & loads of tips.:D
Gas/Electricty - Gutted! I recently used USwitch and found I am on the cheapest possible tariff so no savings here!!!!!! Have you checked you're not having heating on in rooms when they're not being used / not using the TD a lot etc?
Loan repayments - I would love to have NO DEBT and I hope a sucessful PPI claim will solve this issue for me (Many thanks to the relevant forums for the advice) Fingers crossed:)
Petrol - transport of the 2 wheeled variety would not suffice so I am stuck with my trusty motor for now - nb no tax/Insurance/Maint costs stated as I keep enough in the 'emergency fund' to cover the paymens once a year. Better to work out how much you spend and ensure you've enough to cover these.
ISA - I am saving so I can make a lump sum payment off my mortgage at the end of the year and would love to save a bit more!!!! Need to clear the debts first .....
Savings - Emergency fund, would love to add a little more to it!!!!!!
Your emergency fund also needs to cover household maintenance (not incl in your SOA) and new appliances etc.
Pet food - The Boxer has to eat James Welbeloved(a more expensive brand) due to his gut, I try to buy this when on offer, large sack at a time.
What is he intolerant too?
Plenty of better quality foods out there which are a lot cheaper than JWB
Sky TV - Not a necessity but we like it!! mmmmm but you also need to balance the books (sorry)
Eating out/Drinking out - again a budget figure I mentally state each month, sometimes slightly more... slap on the wrist needed! See Grocery comments
Beauty Treatments - This is actually the cost of shampoo, make up etc
See Grocery comments
Clothes - The budget is for me and my daughter to share, basically the £60 stated is the amount I allow per month and I spend it on whatever we need (school shoes/work shirt etc) Still quite a lot & you should be able to 1/2 this
Hope the above doesn't sound harsh - meant to provide food for thought & hopefully help with some cuts here & there.
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Grocery Challenge £211/£455 (01/01-31/03)
2016 Sell: £125/£250
£1,000 Emergency Fund Challenge #78 £3.96 / £1,000Vet Fund: £410.93 / £1,000
Debt free & determined to stay that way!0 -
You surely dont spend over a £1000 per year on Christmas?
If you do you can cut it down.
How long has your loan got left to run then?I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.
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One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.0 -
Thanks for the quick replies!
It's amazing how much more I could do.... thought the budget was looking OK... at least I don't spend more than I earn.... but I'm learning that it is a starting point and much tweaking is needed!
To answer a few points:
People in house: 1 adult 1 child
Cars - 1
House - a 3 bed semi (ok I know 3 beds are not needed but I really don't want to sell and whilst I'm living within my means I won't - Lodger is food for thought however.
Council tax - Pay over 10 months and already have the 25% discount.
Debt - 3 years left @ 8.7% APR so I guess an obvious tweek is to overpay this rather than save in the ISA.
Shopping bills - Food 210, Cleaning products 40, drink for home 50 and beauty 60: God you are all correct - this is an awful alot when added together and I must be able to cut this dramatically!!!! It didn't seem too much when seperated into the catagories!!!!
Pet food - The dog is intolerant to wheat and as most foods are cereal based I have problems finding one that doesn't make him ill. He must be fed a rice based diet (which tends to be the premium brands JWB/Royal Canin etc).... if anyone knows of a cheaper rice based food please let me know. Also added in here was the 3 monthly worming treatment he has. I have never treated him for fleas/he has never had one - quite pleased they don't seem to like him. He does have a booster jab yearly, but I tend to cut back somewhere else to cover this one off so didn't include it.
Sky - Yes I know i ought to cancel
and will look at Freeview options.
Drinking/eating out - I should cut, and will attempt to, but I still need to have a life and so cannot possible get this to zero!
Coffees/sandwiches/snacks - I do take a packed lunch to work, the amount of 5.00 weekly has been factored in here to cover general spending Ithat I can't quite put my finger on but know I do eg a cake from the bakery on a Saturday etc!Loan Free May 2015 - working on Dec 2012
Then to overpay the Mortgage - aim to cut 10 years!!!
The Topshop habit never seems to fade!!!!!0 -
You surely dont spend over a £1000 per year on Christmas?
If you do you can cut it down.
How long has your loan got left to run then?
When put like that I do seem rather an insane Xmas shopper!
The full 1000 doesnt go on Christmas day as such:
There will be about £400 supermarket vouchers in here which will cover the entire month of December (and maybe a bit more) leaving the amount I generally spend on food/drinks/cleaning products spare to use elsewhere (transfer to savings account as per last year I would imagine).
This leave £600 vouchers. I use this to cover presents plus I buy beauty products (again saving the general spend amount of £60 as per budget). I also have enough factored in here to buy a new outfit for the xmas party!!!
The point of doing the above is that I enjoy not having to worry about money at that time of year: Could probably cut down a little on the amounts spent however!Loan Free May 2015 - working on Dec 2012
Then to overpay the Mortgage - aim to cut 10 years!!!
The Topshop habit never seems to fade!!!!!0 -
Try looking into CSJ foods for your dog, below are links to four of their product range that are wheat free and cost between £20 and £35 for 15kg depending on which one you choose.
I have two german shepherds, one with digestive problems and this food has been great for her. I get two 15kg bags delivered at a time and with two large dogs they last 6-10 weeks depending on other foods added to their diet.
With one boxer you'll be feeding 1/2 to two thirds of a bag a month and will be half or a third of what you spend now.
http://www.csjk9.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=127&idcategory=4
http://www.csjk9.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=123&idcategory=4
http://www.csjk9.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=74&idcategory=4
http://www.csjk9.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=12&idcategory=40 -
Is spending over £1300 a year on drink healthy? It is possible to go out but drink less or soft drinks which work out cheaper.
£60 a month on toiletries and makeup makes me wonder if you have lots of unfinished bottles around to use up. Also you may be wasting money by using more than you need, most people squeeze out far more shampoo than is really needed for instance, try cutting down until you just get a lather (and teach your daughter to do the same).But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,Had the whole of their cash in his care.
Lewis Carroll0 -
theoretica wrote: »Is spending over £1300 a year on drink healthy? It is possible to go out but drink less or soft drinks which work out cheaper.
£60 a month on toiletries and makeup makes me wonder if you have lots of unfinished bottles around to use up. Also you may be wasting money by using more than you need, most people squeeze out far more shampoo than is really needed for instance, try cutting down until you just get a lather (and teach your daughter to do the same).
The way you have just stated 1300 per year is a shock to my system to say the least - It isn't all going on alcohol but I really do think this amount needs tapering!!!!!
Several people have commented on the toiletry amount - and you are no doubt correct when you say we probably use far too much than is really needed.
Many thanks for providing more food for thoughtLoan Free May 2015 - working on Dec 2012
Then to overpay the Mortgage - aim to cut 10 years!!!
The Topshop habit never seems to fade!!!!!0 -
Just read through - well done on having enough to cover everything & save a little !
I am not going to comment on any of your expenses or spending as I am in no position to comment really
But (& you knew there would be one) you could defiantly cut down on the make up etc. This used to be a spend for me as well. But, haven't bought anything other than basic stuff for 6 months and it's fine - with the odd treat you really won't notice I promise.
:j
Very best of luck to you.The final chapter - £4893 to go out of £30K0 -
what do you classify as cleaning products? seems an extremely large amountTallyhoh! Stopped Smoking October 2000. Saved £29382.50 so far!0
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