Help & Advice with monthly budget & finances

badger_

Welcome to MSE :wave:
Do you keep a spending diary? I've just started doing one and I'm finding it really useful
This one is nice and simple http://www.spendingdiary.com/ or you could create one on Excel. There are apps available too if you've got a smartphone.

paulmapp8306

greenwoodlad wrote: »

In groceries i meant housekeeping to include, food, packed lunches, toiletries, cleaning stuff, logs for log-burner in winter, and a bottle of wine at the weekend – my wife bakes biscuits & buns most days , we buy shop own brands and use the leftovers – but you’re right there must be more we can cut back, we try to always cook fresh , we don’t get processed stuff like pizzas etc – we thought £175 a week was a tight budget..(

Thats not a tight budget. I cook from fresh every night, have wine/whisky ads a treat, and my wife bakes - though only once every couple of weeks - baking isnt cheap. Its cheaper than buying cakes and stuff - but their luxuries really.

You can cook a meal for 5 for £6 easily, packups should cost less, as should breakfast. A weeks food shopping for 5 shouldnt be more than £70 with planning, even cooking fresh. Yeh, the other stuff costs too - but £100/month - so £25/week should be more than enough.


Theres no way you should service the car twice a year really. In fact a full service just isnt necessary in most cases. Check the schedule yourself, its usually just checking for cracks or splits in cables, lubricants and filters. Lubs and filters shouldnt be more than £100 and once a year is fine - even of those mileages. Checks can be done yourself.

i run a Ford C-Max, and do over 20k a year in mileage, and my running costs are around £60/month for everything.

paulmapp8306

greenwoodlad wrote: »

Yes i have got an immersion heater but never dare put it one cos of the cost but yes maybe cheaper than the oil - gotta be worth a go - thanks again

Oil isnt that expensive if you use it right. One hour a day is plenty for hot water - especially if you shower rather than bath.

greenwoodlad

Hi Folks - just rung orange and 2 other of the cheapest internet providers on line - i looked on line and orange are offering off peak calls & home broadband for £18.00 a month !!! and i am paying £34 - apparently because we live in a village & have a private exchange - there is a £15.00 per month extra charge - the other 2 providers said the same - so any on line package prices are gonna be +£15.00 a month - iv'e threatened to leave orange though and they are going to get their retentions team to ring me back - so watch this space !!!

dancingfairy

One of your biggest problems is your mortgage. Now it seems you have 2 main choices because a) you can't go on working a ridiculous amount of hours as it's not good for you and b) your summer work will dry up. The main choices I can see for you are:
1) a debt management plan where you pay your creditors what you can afford each month (someone like CCCS, National Debtline or your local CAB can help with this) or
2) You go interest only on the mortgage, take some time to get used to not working crazy hours, get the debts paid off and then consider going back on the repayment for the mortgage or stay on interest only but try and overpay or save up somewhere to make lump sums off the mortgage - not sure how feasible this is?
df

dancingfairy

At the moment you have 179 a month 'spare' (which I don't think is actually spare because it probably goes on the odd item of clothing/food/day out/haircut or something but still). Even if we include the 175 you've put in twice for Next that leaves 354 a month 'spare' now take off the 600 a month gardening (as the income is sporadic) and you are 246 a month short - you could save maybe 200 a month on the food budget and by reducing packed lunches but you'll still be short by 46 pounds. This is why I think a dmp or changing the mortgage is the way to go in the shortterm whilst you get things sorted.
df

greenwoodlad

Just signed up to the spending diary - thats gonna help - Also Dancing Fairy, Thanks for your post - we are in a fixed rate mortgage deal till April 2013 - so were were gonna try to make it till then - but interest only will need to happen, my gardening jobs - i'm lucky i have a big country house that pay me all year round - so i still get about £200 through the winter months , but yes that does reduce, and yes the hours are a killer i feel all i do is work, sleep and pay bills. i often come off a night shift, nip home for some breakfast and go out gardening for 6 hours with no sleep - you get used to it.. The kids are great but the lads want to keep up with all their mates with the brand name goods - we try to buy bits off e bay ... not easy

mrsb83_2

Your grocery spend is massive, notwithstanding the fact that it includes household items.

Plan your shopping carefully and look for economies. There is a lot of information on this site about reducing grocery bills. Some of it is quite extreme, but I think with only minimal effort you could reduce by £250 a month.

bargainbetty

How old are your kids? The 16 year old is quite able to get a part-time job to support his own telephone and lifestyle.

Perhaps include them in the challenges - give them their own budget for 'keeping up with their mates' money, and let them spend it as they choose. What they need to understand is that once it is gone for the month, it is gone.

If you are a bit rural, could you have the older children forage for wood and free foods like berries/fruits etc to reduce spending (and give them something to do)? Could they start a little allotment on your own land/garden and help by growing some veg?

I have friends in London who grow whatever they can in pots on patios, and things like chillis, herbs, cherry tomatoes etc can all help make savings on food bills. I have one mate growing parsnips in her back yard in Croydon, so I am sure a slightly more rural setting would lend itself to that.

Perhaps even approach a neighbour about letting the kids do that on adjoining land, with the neighbour getting a share of the produce? It will give them an interest and a stake in the household, if they help save money on groceries it will be more for them, and they'll learn about proper food too!

I found that doing a full inventory of everything helped me establish my position. Food cupboards, under the sink and bathroom cupboards, even toiletries. I was a single woman living alone. What exactly did I need with six bottles of shampoo, five of bodywash, five of bubble bath and 36 toilet rolls? Oh, and seven bottles of bleach. If you root through the cupboards and see waht you have to use up (freezer too) you might find your next monthly shop is cut down drastically.

Go over to the Old Style boards, and have a look at the hints on buying the products you need, rather than what the shops tell you you need. For example, five people equals a lot of laundry. Try using a cheaper washing powder, but half of the recommended amount, and then use white vinegar instead of softener. My clothes are clean, soft, smell lovely and I've halved what I spent on doing the washing. You'd be amazed what we don't need to buy.

Good luck

Johnhowell

Originally Posted by greenwoodlad
Yes i have got an immersion heater but never dare put it one cos of the cost but yes maybe cheaper than the oil - gotta be worth a go - thanks again

paulmapp8306 wrote: »

Oil isnt that expensive if you use it right. One hour a day is plenty for hot water - especially if you shower rather than bath.

I did a calcualtion on the difference between oil and electric immersion heater - oil is cheaper than the electric.

I would suggest you look at the thermostat on the boiler - we have ours set on the second mark out of six. Also, you could nudge the thermostat on the hot water cylinder down (just a nudge - I found ours was very sensitive).

I would use the boiler timer and have the boiler come on twice a day - should be adequate. Although I must say, when my partner has her bath overflowing, there is not a lot of hot water left!

Good luck,
John