Spending too much :-(

Toto

Hey don't be hard on yourself, believe me we all started right where you are. You have done a great job so far, sounds corny but honestly half of the battle is admitting you need to change things. After that it's just finding a plan of action. We will help you every step of the way so keep posting. And by all means go and raid the fridge, have a good old glass of wine while you are at it. Things will look brighter soon I promise.

Mindy_2

I've just done a quick tot up of your finances:

Monthly Amounts

Incoming
OHs wage £1870
mine £595
Tax credits/benefit £220
Total = 2,685

Outgoings
mortgage £575
supermarket £656.72
household bills £290 this includes NPower at £77 and £88 seems a bit much to me
£50 cable i've not included this in the bills as I can identify that it isn't essential although have just gone down to a lower package.
Gifts have cost £200 this month with two big birthdays
Car Loan £139
Credit Card minimum payment £140
Various store card/catalogues £40
Bank Charges £120
Kids play centre £8.33
£80 clothes the girls needed some summer clothes and shoes.
£45 petrol
Car insurance is £50
£20 2 x union
Mobiles free
Dining out £35 this is usually much much higher with two or three takeaways a week as well as going out for dinner
Then some misc
£80 cheques, random switch transactions £100, Cash £150, £160 spending whilst out on day trips to play centres and lots of other £20 here and £10 there = £550 (a rough guess)
Total = £2,824.05

£2,685.00 - £2,824.05 = -£139.05

Possible savings
Supermarket - £406.72 - reduce this to £250
Household bills - ? - sort out gas and elec (use quidco for cash back)
Cable - ? - you have said less than £50 but not essential, do you have to have it?
Gifts - ? - decide how much you will spend, and buy accordingly
Clothes - ? - shop around and buy more cheaply
Car insurance - ? - shop around (use quidco for cash back)
Mobiles - when does this freebie run out and how much then?
Dining out - £35 - you can't afford to dine out until you get your debts sorted out
Misc spending - £500 - spend with care, have a spending diary

Total savings - £941.72

You could reduce your debt by nearly £950 a month and that doesn't include you shopping around for cheaper gas, electric and car insurance.

You come to the crunch point where you decide whether you will sacrifice a few things now and pay it back sooner, or carry on with the "nicer" lifestyle and it all takes longer to pay back.

Don't think of yourself as a failure, because you are sorting the problem out now before it becomes any worse, and building up better habits for when you become debt free.

Good luck and let us know how it goes

Fritter

thank you mindy. going to try internet shopping so that I can see what I'm spending where and know the bill before i get to the check out.

thank you so much for your time in helping me. i'm just sitting down with a coffee as per the quidco instructions and am going to join as i shop with alot of those stores so fingers crossed.

thank you so much, you've been a great help and support.

Sarah -x-

pigsmightfly

pinkshoes wrote: »

OR... work out exactly how much you need in a week, take it out in CASH, then put your bank card away so you can't use it. Only take cash out once a week, and ONLY that amount.

I agree - I had my lightbulb moment before Christmas (:eek: ) and this is what I do now.

I made a list of all the money I would need each week (mortgage bills etc.) and put the money into seperate envelopes so that the money for them was there and safe. Then I was really strict on myself and only allowed myself £20 spending money (for anything just for me) each week.

Once the money came out of the bank, my bank card got left at home so I couldn't take more out or use it to pay in shops etc.

I also sat and went through my monthly direct debits and have been getting in touch with certain people to get prices reduced (contact lenses, monthly payments etc.).

This is starting to work for me. It is really difficult and takes a lot of will power but can be done.

Fritter

I don't feel safe venturing elsewhere yet. Is that daft?

Sat and worked one out, not sure how realistic it is though.