Teetering on the brink

faceuptoit

ss3n08 wrote: »

Well done on the packed lunch, one small step for faceuptoit but it will make a difference x

Aww thank you! This forum is so amazing, I'm finally starting to feel like I can take control of my finance and stop being such a brat.

Hoping to do a NSD tomorrow, and then that means I will have managed to spend over £100 less on my Amex card than last month (just by waking up to the issue in the past week).

ss3n08

Wow £100 in a week is amazing. I have managed to save my first £10 over 2 days and it becomes really addictive. I had to get something today and was debating between the £1.20 and £1.50. The £1.50 was slightly better but unnecessary so saved 30p. Hooray x

slowlyfading

I agree with other posters - a spending diary is a must! It'll really open your eyes as to where your money goes (though I think you have a pretty good idea anyway!) and where you can make cut backs. It sounds as if you're making good steps already, but there's so much more you can do

Pop over to the Old Style board on here and look at how you can cut your grocery budget down - it's massive for two people! Me and my DH spend about £150 for the two of us, max. It's normally lower than this, and we eat well Also, you mention about your clothes looking worn or whatever - surely at this much a month you must have a lot of clothes? Even bringing this down to £50 will help, even if it's just in the short term! Once the debt is cleared, you can then go back to spending more on work clothes, if you absolutely have to.

Rent: if this is an area you feel comfortable in, and you can manage on your wages, then I don't see any point in moving at the moment....

Entertainment: keep a eye on this - I suspect it is more than that in reality! Which is probably a scary thought. Have some DVD nights in or get a takeaway instead of a meal out, which is cheaper. Get the M&S £10 meal when it's on - it's good food and much cheaper than going out. Your liver will thank you too if you choose to stay in some nights rather than going out!

Another thought - do you have anything you can sell on £bay or such like? Most people have lots of stuff in their house/flat that they don't actually need/want and it can bring in some pennies - just another idea there.

Keep it up, you're in the right place

asparagus1968

faceuptoit wrote: »

Aww thank you! This forum is so amazing, I'm finally starting to feel like I can take control of my finance and stop being such a brat.

Hoping to do a NSD tomorrow, and then that means I will have managed to spend over £100 less on my Amex card than last month (just by waking up to the issue in the past week).

wow,thats fantastic,well done,
it'll give you such a boost seeing the balance come down and having more control,go you!!:T

faceuptoit

slowlyfading wrote: »

I agree with other posters - a spending diary is a must! It'll really open your eyes as to where your money goes (though I think you have a pretty good idea anyway!) and where you can make cut backs. It sounds as if you're making good steps already, but there's so much more you can do

Pop over to the Old Style board on here and look at how you can cut your grocery budget down - it's massive for two people! Me and my DH spend about £150 for the two of us, max. It's normally lower than this, and we eat well Also, you mention about your clothes looking worn or whatever - surely at this much a month you must have a lot of clothes? Even bringing this down to £50 will help, even if it's just in the short term! Once the debt is cleared, you can then go back to spending more on work clothes, if you absolutely have to.

Rent: if this is an area you feel comfortable in, and you can manage on your wages, then I don't see any point in moving at the moment....

Entertainment: keep a eye on this - I suspect it is more than that in reality! Which is probably a scary thought. Have some DVD nights in or get a takeaway instead of a meal out, which is cheaper. Get the M&S £10 meal when it's on - it's good food and much cheaper than going out. Your liver will thank you too if you choose to stay in some nights rather than going out!

Another thought - do you have anything you can sell on £bay or such like? Most people have lots of stuff in their house/flat that they don't actually need/want and it can bring in some pennies - just another idea there.

Keep it up, you're in the right place

So, updates after today:
I started a spending diary and am also using it as a log of my credit card spending and overdraft balance
£1.75 spent today..Not a NSD but I'm pretty pleased.
I realised I had forgotten all about my £23k of student debt...
My gf passed her last exam so she is now a Special Constable

I have a few bits of clothing (inc a ted baker suit bnwt) which I could sell on ebay. I thought I could get away with not spending money on work clothes but the problem is, as soon as I think "right, I have plenty of shirts" I realise my cardigans are knackered and I have to throw a few away and get new ones - this is just an endless cycle, coupled with dry cleaning probably means I do end up spending around £100 each month just on looking smart for work which is annoying.

Also, this is now day 10 of no cigarettes at all! So I think I have saved a tidy little sum there thanks for all the support guys.

faceuptoit

Progress today:

Spent £2.18 on a box of bran flakes and banana. Now I can have a bowl at work from my £2 box of cereal rather than paying £50p for a bowl everyday at the staff canteen

Spent £2.40 on lunch.

Friend asked me to go to the pub to watch the football - turned her down on the basis of having no money (a first for me!!)

Instead, me and the gf are going to Sainsburys, getting a few beers and some ingredients for a curry and have a curry at home with beer and football. Also going to make enough curry for lunch at work for us both tomorrow

Gf tried to persuade me we should get a takeaway curry but I held firm - probably saving myself about £15 :cool:

On the spend spreadsheet, realised if I spend £750 per month (that's after rent, all bills, gym, travel and mobile phone and £250 paid off my credit card) - which equals £25 per day - I would still have more than £200 left over every month. So that is my aim!!

IrishGypsy

faceuptoit wrote: »

Progress today:

Spent £2.18 on a box of bran flakes and banana. Now I can have a bowl at work from my £2 box of cereal rather than paying £50p for a bowl everyday at the staff canteen

Firstly, well done on taking steps to rectify it. I used to be in a right state (many years ago) and it has taken a lot of hard work to get an improvement (with still plenty left to do ), but just a quick tip on the bran flakes.

Look for supermarket own-brands. Cardboard tastes like cardboard no matter where you buy it. Asda sometimes even have 5p boxes of bran flakes on sale (I would have snapped them all up if they weren't already sold out! :mad: ). I recently bought a 1KG box of their basic bran flakes for £1.50. Buy bananas in bunches as well to keep the overall cost down.

Look for voucher codes and use them where possible, you can still eat out at places like ASK or pizza express for very little money.

Best of luck with your new journey, hiope you stay on the wagon. :T

faceuptoit

IrishGypsy wrote: »

Firstly, well done on taking steps to rectify it. I used to be in a right state (many years ago) and it has taken a lot of hard work to get an improvement (with still plenty left to do ), but just a quick tip on the bran flakes.

Look for supermarket own-brands. Cardboard tastes like cardboard no matter where you buy it. Asda sometimes even have 5p boxes of bran flakes on sale (I would have snapped them all up if they weren't already sold out! :mad: ). I recently bought a 1KG box of their basic bran flakes for £1.50. Buy bananas in bunches as well to keep the overall cost down.

Look for voucher codes and use them where possible, you can still eat out at places like ASK or pizza express for very little money.

Best of luck with your new journey, hiope you stay on the wagon. :T

Thanks for good tips I really need to focus on small savings and I'm really thankful to all on this board as I am slowly realising that I'm not entitled to everything I want, all the time! :rotfl:

Aiming for another NSD - brought homemade curry into work for lunch.

Also a big plus - Virgin Media had reported a payment on my account as late when I had set up a direct debit - so my credit score was affected. Today got confirmation that they have changed the status to up to date so my credit score is better again

Also Amex did the same thing and charged me £12 - they have removed the fee and reported it as Amex's mistake. Woohoo!!!

asparagus1968

things are looking up,keep at it,well done

faceuptoit

Here is an updated SOA for my spending in 19 April to 19 May...I've done this just on my income and what I spend...It shows a shortfall of £30 every month but I still suspect it's more than that on a month to month basis.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2106
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2106
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 683.33
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 47
Electricity............................. 10
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 13
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 6.06
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 8.25
Groceries etc. ......................... 260
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
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)...... 90
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 650
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1887.64

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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card....................1042......250.......0
Total unsecured debts..........1042......250.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,106
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,887.64
Available for debt repayments........... 218.36
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 250
Amount short for making debt repayments. -31.64
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,042
Net Assets.............................. -1,042