Help & Advice with monthly budget & finances

paulmapp8306

greenwoodlad wrote: »

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 !!!

Got nothing to do with being in a village. What they mean is they dont have any of their own equipment in the switch, because its not worth the effort for the amount of custom it brings in - therefore they have to rent BTs equipment (the only equipment there) to provide a service for any customers they DO have. Thats what the extra £15 is - they actually charge you the rent rather than covering it themselves.

its worth saying that if BT are the only ones with equipment in the switch and they wont take up some of the rental cost - then you will go to BT direct.

BT charge approx £21/month for line rental plus any time calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Broadband starts at around £10 I think (changes almost daily so worth checking) BUT you get 3 months free on switching so will save a little (if your not already on BT).

if you are on BT, check with them your on the best tarrif and get any reductions (paying by DD, friends & family etc).

Ultimately even if you dont save much you should get a better product. Im with BT, and get their infinity unlimited internet, free calls 24/7 and line rental for £60. your paying £69 for only evening and weekend calls - and i dont know what internet speed your getting (i get around 34 Meg)

badger_

The spending diary is really good, if you keep it up and fill it in properly it's amazing seeing where the money goes.

Can you switch leccy providers? If you sign up to Top Cash Back you may even be able to get some money back for switching.

Have you looked into Plusnet for broadband (again check Top Cash Back for deals)?

beanielou

Why dont you make a monthly trip to Aldi for storecupboard items ect & buy the rest from your wife's place of work?
Aldi are so much cheaper it would be worth your while to do that.
Keep going!

flippin36

I find it really hard to read about how hard you work, then read your SOA. I'm all for a strong work ethic but I'm worried you are going to become completely exhausted keeping up with it all .

I really think that you need a family meeting to discuss the situation because it is perfectly possible to cut the groceries right back. It will just mean that everyone has to get on board and change eating and spending habits. If you have a calm but serious meeting where you tell the family how tight things are I'm sure that they will be willing to pull together. You could print out your SOA. Do they know??

I know just what you mean by the kids needing to keep up with the others. How I have dealt with this is that I give my daughter a strict allowance every month, she can spend this as she pleases and I do not interfere even if I think its a waste of money. If she wants a superdry hoody at £60 she will have to save for it. She asks for money from relatives for birthdays etc and this is put towards her fashion fund. The only thing I buy for her are essential toiletries, uniforms, shoes etc. It makes them a little more aware of how much things cost and that sometimes you have to wait for them. My daughter is far more stingy with her own money than with mine. It also helps with your budgeting.

Good luck!

whiteguineapig

i think flippins post is excellent, there must be better ways than this, surely everyone in you'r family can see that you'r working yourself to an early grave?

catwoman73

Are you sure your monthly diesel costs are only £160 per month for 2000 mile per month - I know your car is efficient but could you be spending more than you think on diesel which could account for some of the 'missing' money??

Flat_Eric

I agree that taking out a 0% credit card to pay off the Next card balance as others have suggested is a sensible move as the interest payable on store cards is astronomical.

I used to buy all my clothes in Next - now I rarely shop in Next and instead get the majority of my clothes from $ainsburys. I picked up a suit (half price) for work last week for just £21.50! When I popped in next yesterday, just a jacket would have set me back £40!

Join in on the Grocery Challenge here

fab way to help keep track/cut back on the grocery spends.

also check out these threads
sneaky 1
and
sneaky 2

Pinksparkles26

How far are your sons into their mobile phone contracts? As long as they are one year in or more then their tariffs can be lowered with Orange. (I'm a bit of a phone geek! so know this kind of stuff.) This will save you some money each month no matter how little, it all counts and will help you feel as if you are regaining control. oh and £175 for groceries for a family of 5 for a week!!!!! Are you insane! What are you buying? I have a family of 4 and spend £80-£90 a week. You could easily cut back there with typical supermarkets (unless its an expensive one like Waitrose.) Sort out a meal plan for the week and only buy and go down the aisles of what you need so you wont be tempted. No matter how much you think that can't be reduced you will be shocked to see that it can Good luck and keep us posted

greenwoodlad

PinkSparkles thx for post - yes i think we are insane! Unfortunately the lads are 6 and 7 months into contracts but that info is useful to know - we went to A**i yesterday and got some bargains - but were surprised to find that with 4 items on our list Sain***ys is actually cheaper than A**i (just)- but it just shows you have to shop around, also Morr****s with staff discount was cheaper in some items - will definitely be worth us doing A**i once a month though.

greenwoodlad

Oh also have applied for a 0% balance transfer card to see if we can get rid of the next account and was looking into taking a cheaper loan out to pay off our existing one - i have been using the tool on MSE to see if it would be worth our while and unless i can get under 7% interest , it wont be worth it