Making ends meet (or just slightly closer together)

mum2one

You can have more than 1 bank account, not sure as to whether you can have 2 current accounts, maybe consider opening one with a different bank and then your be more discilpined to make sure the money goes across. xx

tori.k

you can have as many as you want. we have four with HSBC 2 current accounts 1 joint account 1 flex saver (not used as the interest is so poor) and a regular saver.

The joint is just used for DD and standing orders for all the household bills I know how much money has to go in there each month to cover the bills and transfer it across each payday, what left stay's in each of our current accounts to cover shopping etc.

grocery is the fastest way to make savings have a look at the grocery challenge for masses of cheap recipes.

£300 over the course of a month is easy to lose it's only £10 a day, it took me best part of a year to get DH on board properly when i first started living by a set budget best way i found was to stick an envelope to inside a cupboard door and keep all the receipts, it helps get them looking at the bigger picture the 60p bar chocolate at work each day may only be £3 a week but that £3 a week is £156 per year and my road tax is only £100 PA the penny soon dropped

get the kids involved i used to get the small people reading the electric/water meter and it used to get them running over the house switching things off to try and beat it the next week. that one doesn't last long tho..lol but having family time where we would pop some corn and watch a DVD together rather then 3 kids running 3 tv's and consoles is still with us.
The hardest thing is trying to keep a sense if humor when your skint money isn't worth arguing over, what done is done it's what you do now that matters I think when most people talk of good/funny times as a family it's usually when they've had no money and had to entertain themselves 90% of us here have been/are in your shoes and we are all still trucking along, there is light at the end of the tunnel even if sometimes it feels like another train :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

I have two with Barclays two with HSBC and another with a building society all of them have different functions One of the Barclay ones is for Holiday fund, the other is rainy day cash,one of the HSBC is for day to day bills and D/D and S/O's. I also have a small savings with HSBC which I put left over odds and ends of cash in at the end of the month and the building society account is my main savings account where its not touched hardly at all, and I pay a regular ammount in every month, and its my cushion against almost anything.I get a good rate of interest on the chunk of money(well as good as anywhere in this climate) but its hardly touched unless its a dire necessity.
I think you must sit down and talk a bit more as soon he will be responsible for another mouth to feed and worrying can't be good for you in your condition.Men have little concept at all of money as a rule its just there to spend and sometimes need a bit of a wake-up call to realise it goes out the bank far quicker than it flows in Good luck to you both
JackieO xxx

Soworried

You really need to cut your OH's access to money off.
He has no income, he is not providing yet he is spending a small fortune.:eek:
Imagine that £300 invested over the year? That would be a small safety cushion incase anything went wrong.
Open him a seperate account of his own and direct debit £40 each month in to it. That is more than enough for personal spends in my view. You can of course to tell me to mind me own beeswax.

On the food budget part, try joining the grocery challenge. It has really helped me. So has reading the £7 a week thread. Let me know if you can't find them and I will link you. Read as much as you can on here, it is a mine of useful information and support.

It really comes down to being prepared and thinking. I have had to stop spending what I want and only spend what I need to spend. It has been a big eye opener and it sounds like your OH needs that eye opener as well. x

I forgot to say, making a freezer and cupboard inventorys saved me a small fortune. Thankyou to the original poster who submitted this tip. x

culpepper

Why nursery fees if OH is at home?
Can he not look after the little ones as you would be doing if he was the major earner?