Were do I start.....

Prisonshepherd

Hi,

The Gas & Electric, we have just come of pre-pay meters and having not had a bill yet are working on the old amounts- No debt to pay on these after getting it sorted with the meters.

BT- costs alot, we pay by 1/4 and add on the Internet (BT), it is a lot, will have to look into this?

Food: there are 5 of us..2 boys that can eat for england: The drinks are wine, it is only a bottle a night....(only....:eek: ) at a cheap price of £2.99, but that has to stop!

Smoking: 20 a day, @ £4.39...it has to stop for many reasons and i will tackle that tomorrow...I am in a very stressful job, a clue in my name? have tried before but never for cost!!!:eek:

Prisonshepherd

OberonSH

Prisonshepherd wrote: »

Ok here it is, if not in the right format, delete or move it....!

MONTHLY

Bank Account Fee £12.00 from old natwest account (loan repayment only):mad:
Mortgage / Rent £711.30
Household Maintenance £0.00
Buildings & Contents Insurance £21.62 Is this the cheapest you can get? Try moneysupermarket etc and don;t forget to go through pigsback or quidco etc to get some cash back!
Council Tax £120.00
Water Rates / Meter £50.00 Very high. Again, try shopping around
Gas Bill £40.00 as above
Electricity Bill £50.00 as above
Oil Bill £0.00
Home Phone Bill £64.96 You can cut this in half, a lot of places do an all in 3 (tv, phone & broadband for £30
Internet Bill £17.99 see above
Mobile Phone Bill(s) £20.00 if this is contract, try going pay as you go and not using it!
Pet Insurance £14.00 can this be cancelled or at least out into a savings account - if the pets don't need it pay it off a debt at the end of the year
Food & Household Shopping £450.00 This can definately be cut. Check out old style board. Your slow cooker is your friend, as is Nettos. We spend 120 a month for 2 adults, 1 toddler, includes a bottle of vino every now and again
Eating Out £0.00
Coffee / Sandwiches Out £0.00
Pet Food £0.00
Drinks for Home £83.72...........:eek: cutting down on the wine:beer: Ooh yes! Nettos did some nice brands recently for £2.99 (Kumals). Try some of the cheaper brands, and your liver will thank you for cutting down! (why not ask someone to get you a home brew kit
Drinking Out £0.00 never go to the pub;)
Smokes £122.92...this is stopping tomorrow.....:eek:
Meals at Work £0.00
Rail / Bus / Coach / Taxi £59.40 Train to work (got rid of 2nd car:T Is this a season ticket? There's usually savings to be had getting a monthly/weekly ticket
Car Insurance £27.09 agan, shop around
Car Tax £15.00
Petrol / Diesel / Gas £40.00
Car Loan Repayments £0.00
Personal Loan Repayments £95.00
Provident £112.00......door to door I know i'm stupid....:mad:
Credit Card Repayments x2 £81.00
Other Loan Repayments £169.00
Pocket Money £30.00 can you change this for treats, or priviledges i.e if you're good you can stop up half hour later? Older kids could get themselves a paper round.
School Meals £24.00 can the kids take packed lunches? You can do more than sandwiches - soup, wraps etc
School Trips £5.00
DVD / Video Rental £15.80 you can get this much cheaper online, plus there's no late fees. Try the DVD rental article on the main site, you can get free trials too.
Book / Music / Films / Games £12.00 can this be stopped?
Cinema / Theatre Trips £0.00
Family Days Out £30.00 Try exploring the free attractions in your area and saving this money. Kids love a day in the park, they don;t care if it didn;t cost anything
NTL / Sky Subscription £0.00
TV Licence £43.80 Is this arrears - usual license is £11

Average Income From Employment / Self Employment £1,800.00
Benefits Including Child Benefit, Child Tax Credits & Income Support £378.00
Other Income £400.00
MONTHLY INCOME TOTAL £2,578.00

TOTAL MONTHLY EXPENDITURE £2,537.60
TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME £2,578.00

I know that this leaves me with £40.40 spare a month, but it never works out that way? and i want a better way of life for the kids .

Prisonshepherd

You're fairly lucky in so much as there's loads you can cut down on, so in theory you can get things paid off quicker. You need to get the whole family involved, and try to get them to treat it like a challenge. Might teach them a thing or too about money management!

Prisonshepherd

The TV licence: Got behind ( went with out one for a few months) and they calculated the DD? I will phone and see what i can do about it?

It was hard posting, but I want control back of my finances i have control in everything else i do in life so why not this! I have little understanding of finances and normally pay what companies tell me??? But not any more !!:D

I have written to my old bank and CC's asking.....NO....demanding my money back!!

I have just started to read Paul McKenna's CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN 7 DAYS, I am on a mission: Positive thinking, relaxation and control.

immoral_angeluk

Right let's have a look-see

Bank Account Fee £12.00 from old natwest account (loan repayment only):mad: Can you change accounts to one that doesn't charge a fee?
Mortgage / Rent £711.30 Is downsizing an option?
Buildings & Contents Insurance £21.62 Are you getting the cheapest? Have a look round for better deals.
Council Tax £120.00
Water Rates / Meter £50.00 This seems high, is it a bills or meter? Are you in arrears?
Gas Bill £40.00
Electricity Bill £50.00 Are you getting the cheapest around for your gas and electric?
Home Phone Bill £64.96 :eek: how much??? Stop using the phone so much!
Internet Bill £17.99
Mobile Phone Bill(s) £20.00 have you considered going pay and go? Is the mobile absolutely essential?
Pet Insurance £14.00 again have a look round for a cheaper deal.
Food & Household Shopping £450.00 For how many people? Check out the moneysaving old style board for ideas how to cut this down.
Pet Food £0.00 You pay pet insurance but don't feed your pet?? :eek:
Drinks for Home £83.72...........:eek: cutting down on the wine:beer: That's a lot of money on booze a month.. cut it down to a rare treat and save a small fortune!
Smokes £122.92...this is stopping tomorrow.....:eek: Good luck with stopping smoking! Not only will you be healthier your wallet will benefit too.
Rail / Bus / Coach / Taxi £59.40 Train to work (got rid of 2nd car:T Could you get a monthly/weekly pass
Car Insurance £27.09 Is this the cheapest you can get?
Car Tax £15.00
Petrol / Diesel / Gas £40.00
Car Loan Repayments £0.00
Personal Loan Repayments £95.00
Provident £112.00......door to door I know i'm stupid....:mad:
Credit Card Repayments x2 £81.00
Other Loan Repayments £169.00
Pocket Money £30.00 How old are you children and do they NEED pocket money?
School Meals £24.00
School Trips £5.00
DVD / Video Rental £15.80 That's a lot on film rentals a month.. do you have friends you could borrow movies off? You could probably buy the films on ebay for the same money as renting.
Book / Music / Films / Games £12.00
Family Days Out £30.00 Have a look round for days out you can do for free.
TV Licence £43.80 This seems very high! Are you in arrears?

Average Income From Employment / Self Employment £1,800.00
Benefits Including Child Benefit, Child Tax Credits & Income Support £378.00
Other Income £400.00
MONTHLY INCOME TOTAL £2,578.00

TOTAL MONTHLY EXPENDITURE £2,537.60
TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME £2,578.00

I know that this leaves me with £40.40 spare a month, but it never works out that way? and i want a better way of life for the kids .Start a spending diary to find out where this extra money goes.

Bambywamby

PrisonShepherd if you like NLP... try Anthony Robbins Personal Power CDs. They are really empowering and motivational.

Well come on board by the way.

lynzpower

hi prison shepherd,

I agree theres a lot here to start cutting back on you swill certainly feel the benfit quickly.

I would also recommend you join quidco.com - you can get cashback for changing suppluers. Also you get paid for doing free dvd trials, some up to 15 quid, so THEY pay YOU for watching free films! Great deal eh

Prisonshepherd

immoral_angeluk

Thanks for the advice,

Firstly I need to clear something up!...."Pet Food £0.00 You pay pet insurance but don't feed your pet?? " the cost is in the food bill, i am not that cruel?:eek:

You are right: I need to look into the phone bill/internet, am thinking of switching to Sky for both + sky TV as a bonus all for a better price, then inform the kids (3) they can have sky but loss the PocketMoney, then set up bank accounts and put some into them as and when, if you see what i mean?

Buildings & Contents Insurance £21.62........best i can get and only 2 months to renewal

Pet Insurance £14.00 again have a look round for a cheaper deal.......best so far, went without for 3 months and Dave the Cat ended up in the vets...£105 later, pet insurance !!!! It is for two Dave and Misty baby girl!!! (Please don not ask:o ) but i will try again

Rail / Bus / Coach / Taxi £59.40 Train to work.............i get weekly (as i am on shifts) but looking into work (HMP) buying 6 monthly and then i pay them at 0% interest.

DVD / Video Rental £15.80.....you are so right.........stopping

Family Days Out £30.00.......I have just spent 2 very nice days with my boys (daughter says dad isn't cool anymore!!!) I day in the park 5 hours and 1 day making mobiles (wind chimes) from old tin cans and fishing line, i absolutely loved it and they are great....the next door couple wanted to buy one and the boys thought it was so cool

TV Licence £43.80 This seems very high! Are you in arrears?.........No, will be checking this out, i think they set it up over 4 months, but as i said, will check it out

Start a spending diary to find out where this extra money goes........this will start as of tomorrow......!!!!

Thanks for the sound advice......sorry if i scared you about the pet feeding thing?

Prisonshepherd

Bambywamby wrote: »

PrisonShepherd if you like NLP... try Anthony Robbins Personal Power CDs. They are really empowering and motivational.

Well come on board by the way.

Thanks......I will do that. I have just got my place of work "Her Majesty" to pay for me to become a stop smoking adviser......thought this would really help me!! and as all staff can not smoke as of 1st April (but our customers can in their cells..........bloody human right:mad: ) I get paid for this and time out of work including expensive ?:T

One up to me

emzig123

Hey PrisonShepherd,

I am so impressed at the changes you are making in such a short amount of time! Keep at it, the feeling of being in control is so good, and soon you will be addicted like the rest of us!

Prisonshepherd

Bambywamby:

Thanks for the tip re: Anthony Robbins............i have just downloaded a few and so far so good!

I have just floated the idea of SAVING to the kids and they are up for it. Explained that Pocket money was to be stopped and replaced with sky + bank account......(see previous: BT phone and Internet-swapped for Sky+talk+internet for half the price) So thanks to all those who gave advice