My statement of affairs

alyxzandra

And my mom is in the US - disabled, double amputee. In February we nearly lost her and I am an only child as she is. Had to borrow money from my mother in law for us to go and have been sending money I do not have to her in order to pay her electric bill. And so has my mother in law, which is why we owe so much to her.

Barbeduk

You might be able to cut back on your grocery shop, trouble is you haven't really got an awful lot of time on your hands for batch cooking with the hours you work. Might be worth checking on th grocery challenge on old style to see if it's your thing. Got mine down to £260 for the 4 of us.

Have you done a spending diary? Do you already take packed lunch etc?

Definitely lots of good info here, good luck.

alyxzandra

Barbeduk wrote: »

You might be able to cut back on your grocery shop, trouble is you haven't really got an awful lot of time on your hands for batch cooking with the hours you work. Might be worth checking on th grocery challenge on old style to see if it's your thing. Got mine down to £260 for the 4 of us.

Have you done a spending diary? Do you already take packed lunch etc?

Definitely lots of good info here, good luck.

Thanks! I bought a slow cooker and do some batch cooking....BUT, my husband. We are all vegetarians and he does not like anything I make. I have tried different recipes and only one thing I make he will eat. All he wants are frozen veggie stuff. Even the grocery store own brand stuff is not cheap. I make mac and cheese for our son and freeze it, but my husband hates it and says it looks like cat sick. :eek:

I got him off of drinking pepsi max (now, it is water only and from the tap) and Mars Milks. I use mysupermarket to price compare each month, as well...Both husband and son are milk monsters, as well. Tried making my own veggie burgers and that did not go down well. But, no name brand stuff and we always have more than enough food in the house. So, any ideas on a fussy husband and batch cooking?

I have managed to cut the bill down from £350 by not buying brand name dog and rabbit food (the grocery bill includes hay for the rabbit, her food and sawdust plus dog food) and almost everything is Tesco everyday value. We both take in packed lunches. And when we go to car boots there are always fruit/veg stalls selling cheap produce.

alyxzandra

BarbedUK - looking on the grocery challenge now. We have a bread maker (bought second hand), but do not use that much bread. Milk is the main culprit. But, saw the baked beans recipes and will try it in the slow cooker as we go through a lot of it. Can forget ethnic dishes, anything with cheese, pasta, most vegetable heavy stuff, bean dishes....love my husband, but he is so fussy...however, he likes tofu, but only deep fried. UGH.

alyxzandra

Want to add one thing...a few cleaning tips that save money:

1/4 vinegar
10 drops of either tea tree or lavender oil
3/4 water

Put all in a spray bottle and use to clean floors, counters and anywhere else. The oils are antibacterial.

To polish chrome, use a paste of flour and water.

Descaling - lemon juice or vinegar or citric acid

I use all of the above to clean my home and never buy cleaning products.

brummiebabe

alyxzandra wrote: »

I live in a leasehold maisonette and the council decided that the roof needed to be redone to bring it up to current requirements. I am paying my 1/4 share. It was at £56 per month for other repairs to the building they did, but that is now paid off and it went down in April. I so want to get rid of Sky and go to Sky Freeview, but my son is addicted to a lot of the children's programs that is not on Freeview. However, for 1.5 years I negotiated with Sky to get the same package for £11 a month. But, it just went up to the regular price. :mad:

Don't envy you with those working/travelling hours & having a child - must be very tiring & bloomin hard work!!!

One thought - if your son is not even at school yet, I'm sure he could cope without the extra sky channels!!! I have 3 children & we've never had the extra kids channels!!! My sister had to cancel her's & was dreading the kids' reaction - but they weren't that bothered (and were much older than your son) so it's an easy saving to make. Plus he can't get all that much time to watch them if he's at nursery all week ! The free channels are ok - & I'm sure he'd soon adapt.

Good luck x

Barbeduk

Oh no, what a nightmare with DH. He sounds like my son, the rest of us are happy to eat anything but not him! Have you posted on the GC thread, if you ask for help there you'll get loads of ideas thrown at you. There was a recipe a while back for a pizza base that could be frozen, didn't try it but it made loads.

Have you checked out dog food prices online? Mine has a dodgy tum and can only eat blinking' James well beloved so I shop around every month. This month the cheapest deal was on Amaz(ing) with free delivery, and I went through the nectar site to get points.

Well done for the achievements so far!

[Deleted User]

alyxzandra wrote: »

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1771
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1229
Benefits................................ 84
Total monthly income.................... 3084[/b]

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 460
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 41 This finishes 2013? What month?
Management charge (leasehold property).. 40 Did I understand this will reduce further? Or is this already the reduced amount?
Council tax............................. 110Is this over 10 or 12 months? If 10, consider asking the council to spread over 12. If not overpay the debt that is costing you the most during your CT Free months
Electricity............................. 62This seems high? Especially if you are both out of the house all day Mon-Fri? Are you in arrears? If so when will you be up-to-date? If not, check whether you are in credit with the company, if so claim it back. If this is regular spending try and reduce - switch things off instead of on standby, only use lights in rooms that you are in, switch the thermostat down on the boiler [you will never notice] use energy saving bulbs etc
Gas..................................... 62As above, and switch off radiators in rooms that you are not in (when used), and make sure switched off during summer/warmer days. Also, check that you are on the cheapest tariff with the cheapest company for your usage/area [often online and duel fuel are cheapest - check every 6-12 months]
Water rates............................. 26Are you on a meter, if not consider if one would be cheaper
Telephone (land line)................... 35This seems high - I know that you have mentioned you have family abroad, is using SKYPE an option [it would be much cheaper], alternatively check with different providers to see which the cheapest company for calling the country you call [US?] most often - I know TalkTalk has a cheap call package including international calls [need to check if US is included] for around £22-£24 [internet and phone] - but do compare companies as there might be one better suited
Mobile phone............................ 47Seems high, even for two. Check if you are in a contract. If so ask if you can downgrade a tariff [some companies allow]. If/when out of contract switch to SIM only/PAYG - Try GiffGaff, I have found them to be much cheaper
TV Licence.............................. 14[12.12]
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 26I think that you should reconsider the Freesat or freeview
Internet Services....................... 0I presume this is included somewhere above
Groceries etc. ......................... 300If hubby is so fussy would giving him a budget and getting him to do the grocery shopping/cooking be an option to get him to understand the full cost of this?
Clothing................................ 0never? Even for child? Is this realistic?
Petrol/diesel........................... 260Any way to reduce? Would car sharing be an option?
Road tax................................ 23
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 58
Car parking............................. 48
Childcare/nursery....................... 0nothing?
Other child related expenses............ 15What does this cover? Can you get the same/similar for cheaper elsewhere?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10If this is prescriptions see if a prepaid certificate would be cheaper?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 56Any way to reduce? Not sure what this needs to cover, so I can't comment, but when renewing insurances check comparison sites and check the cashback sites too for additional incentives[topcashback,onepoll cashback, Quidco - all also useful for any online shopping, if you shop online]
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 24I'm assuming this is buildings and content combined
Other insurance......................... 10What does this cover? Is it necessary? Is it good value?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10Does this actually get saved somewhere for when it's needed? - Also, check out the survey sites for earning points for vouchers, you'll never make a huge amount by doing this, but can be useful to save them up and reduce the cost of birthdays, Xmas etc
Haircuts................................ 0never?
Entertainment........................... 100Any way to reduce?
Emergency fund.......................... 22Does this get saved somewhere for when it's needed?
Total monthly expenses.................. 1959


Assets
Cash.................................... 0You should have any non-monthly expenses here - MOT, Emergency fund, presents etc
House value (Gross)..................... 40000This should be £125,000
Car(s).................................. 1000
Total Assets............................ 41000[/b]


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 85000....(460)......3.95
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 738......(41).......0My understanding is this will be gone in 18 months
Total secured & HP debts...... 85738.....-.........-

Unsecured DebtsHave you stopped using credit? [this is really important] And have you addressed how these debts got built up - you do not need to feel like you have to post this info here, but do consider if you can account for all this spending.
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
1. Halifax one....................3847.2....149.2.....26By my understanding this is the debt that is costing you the most and therefore [after all minimum payments have been made to ALL debts] this should be the priority for any overpayments that can be made from your monthly surplus. Or have I misunderstood and the interest has already been added?

The rest of these I have listed in the order that you should prioritise paying them off [after the above is repaid]
2. Halifax Platinum...............9116.02...91.16.....20.9
3. BT.............................2814.37...68.32.....18.9
4.=Virgin.........................1656.01...37.99.....16.9
4.=Barclaycard....................3971.41...89.35.....16.9
4.=HSBC CC........................1999......55........16.9
5. Virgin.........................3847.2....0.........15.9
6. Tesco..........................2938.01...58........15

Overdraft......................1000......25........0Is this one interest free, but with a £25 flat fee monthly charge for the service? Is the £25 reducing it any?

Halifax loan...................2207......81.76.....0
HSBC loan......................7489.42...197.......0

Mon............................2800......70........0
Kenny..........................400.......20........0
Marie..........................2145......55........0

Total unsecured debts..........46230.64..997.78....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,084
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,959
Available for debt repayments........... 1,125
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 997.78
Amount left after debt repayments....... 127.22Do you actually see this in your bank account at the end of the month? If not keep a spending diary to see where it goes - note down all expenditure from the really small things like coffees and chewing gums to the really big things like the mortgage, and everything in between [regular and non-regular spending - shopping, DD's etc]

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 41,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -85,738
Total Unsecured debt.................... -46,230.64
Net Assets.............................. -90,968.64This would look a lot healthier [and it is a lot healthier than it looks] if you put the true value of your house in above [£125,000] instead of what you owe/equity

Credit card debt as of 1 June 2011 - 43423
June 2012 - 37164.36

Halifax loan as of June 2011 - 2943.36
June 2012 - 2207.52

Still living on overdraft of £1000

HSBC Loan as of August 2010 - £11,000
June 2012 - 7489.42

It's great that you are managing to reduce your debts, and it's even better that you have a surplus at the end of the month to overpay with. There are a few areas that you could make further savings in your SOA - but you will need to get OH on board, especially with the grocery spend!!

Also check out the snowball calculator [at the end of the page where you filled in the SOA] to help you find your debt free day and prioritise your debt overpayment

Good luck and I hope that the comments above are of some help,

D9

alyxzandra

brummiebabe wrote: »

Don't envy you with those working/travelling hours & having a child - must be very tiring & bloomin hard work!!!

One thought - if your son is not even at school yet, I'm sure he could cope without the extra sky channels!!! I have 3 children & we've never had the extra kids channels!!! My sister had to cancel her's & was dreading the kids' reaction - but they weren't that bothered (and were much older than your son) so it's an easy saving to make. Plus he can't get all that much time to watch them if he's at nursery all week ! The free channels are ok - & I'm sure he'd soon adapt.

Good luck x

He is not in nursery the whole time. I work from home 1 day a week and he is home another day a week where he is watched by my husband or mother in law. I am going to cut them once school starts as he will be too busy with homework (I hope!).

alyxzandra

Barbeduk wrote: »

Oh no, what a nightmare with DH. He sounds like my son, the rest of us are happy to eat anything but not him! Have you posted on the GC thread, if you ask for help there you'll get loads of ideas thrown at you. There was a recipe a while back for a pizza base that could be frozen, didn't try it but it made loads.

Have you checked out dog food prices online? Mine has a dodgy tum and can only eat blinking' James well beloved so I shop around every month. This month the cheapest deal was on Amaz(ing) with free delivery, and I went through the nectar site to get points.

Well done for the achievements so far!

Shortly after you posted about the grocery challenge I spoke to the other half. Nope, not having it. The list of his yuck foods:

Any veggies except peas
Cheese
Pizza
Pasta
Rice (unless it is plain)
No jacket potatoes
Beans
No mayo
Nothing with tomato sauce except baked beans

Whoever heard of a vegetarian who dislikes vegetables?????
All he wants are frozen veggie products (will not have it that I make our own veggie burgers) and then only certain ones!
Frozen potato stuff
peas

Got him into chinese, but only fried tofu and plain rice.

I hope your son is not as bad!

I buy the Tesco own senior dog food and it only costs about £5 a month. I used to buy online and when I belonged to Costco would get it from there. I just keep looking to 2015 when things will ease up. I have not done the snowball calculator as I do not want to get depressed!