Lightbulb moment

moneywaster55

OK, I do believe this month is going to be harder than last month .

Last month I did not have options. I had no money therefore could not spend. This month I have. So I will need to be super strong. I have alloted sums to all that needs paying. Put petrol in the car for this week, £60 given to DH for petrol for the next 3 weeks and gave him £10 for newspaper and a bit money in is pocket. £140 in a purse for food. I was going to start on £180 know I could bring this down, but decided to bite the bullet and start on £140. This gives me £35 a week for food, washing powder etc. I'll do mu level best not to go over budget.

All my amounts and budgets are loaded on to my Free phone Money Tracking App, started using it yesterday for every penny spent.

I am going to buy a 99p sealed Christmas tin for next Christmas, this will be kept at my mams house. Plan is to save £20 a month plus £2 coins for next Christmas, well thats my plan ? this should be able to be done as I will have no payday loan interest to pay :j.

Wonga as promised have taken 1s thalf payment. I have checked my balance on line and also have not added any interest, but ill keep an eye on it.

Monday when I go to pay my rent (4 weeks) and my council tax. I will put £20 in my Credit Union account, they take payment at my local rent office but cant withdraw there :j thats brilliant, so cant be tempted. Its quite a journey to have to go the actual place to withdraw. I will deposit every month when I pay my rent. This I hope to build up and in a dire emergency, may be able to get a loan from there if needed.

I have not given myself any csh, I cannot think of 1 thing I need. But if I do I will keep a note and make sure its covered for next month.

Cant think of much more at the moment.

Thank You :A

415SanFran

I use my 2 pond coins to pay my car tax.
It covers it every year and I have a big car, but I can always afford to get 12 months worth.

When things are very lean would OH read the paper on the internet? I know it's not the same as physically holding a paper, but it's a few pence every day when they need to be counted.
Could you make a few of your Xmas presents?
We started buying just for the children a few years ago, thankfully that helped everyone out.
Shame you didn't have time to go a few plants from seed and you could give them. Or look in the charity shops for bath sets, they always have them this time of year, silk scarfs as well, I love them brightens up my day on a winter morning, if someone gave me one I would not care if it came from the charity shop......but do they need to know.

415SanFran

Sorry,, one more thought.
For some reason the washing powder and washing up liquid is always half price in January (not sure why)but if you can eek out what you have till then, you buy a years supply then, I think I paid about 25 pounds last year for everything (three 93 washes of powder and 8 bottles of fairy washing up liquid) and I am just coming to the end of it now, but enough to last me, JUST like you their is just 2 of us here.

LannieDuck

If you're worried you'll have money left over that you'll spend when you don't need to, why not estimate how much will be left over and put half of that in a savings account at the start of the month. Then keep the other half for emergencies.

If you get to the end of the month with it, half it again - half for savings and half for a treat, even if it's just a bottle of wine or a chocolate bar. I find if I occassionally have little things like that, it stops me wanting big things

moneywaster55

Sanfram and Lannieduck thank you for more fab ideas.

DH would happily do without anything and go with nothing in his pocket. So I do like him to have a little something.

I am a bit crafty, so will get some ideas together for this years birthday presents. I mess around at making jewelery, just beaded stuff nothing silver but can use silver finding, they are quite cheap on Ebay.

I have been paid £25 for the dolls clothes that I was asked to knit. This went straight on a Christmas present, so felt like a bit of a freebie :j lol.

I did a big shop yesterday and I have £67 of my £140 left, this works out at about £2.50 a day left. I think all I need is fruit and veg, bread and milk, when needed. My freezer is not that big so cant stock up on too much stuff but I am sure I can get through on whats left. Mam lives not far from me and she has huge freezer so might, ask for a draw in hers lol.

Being just the 2 of us, we can cut right down and not feel guilty. So thats a good thing. We live quite simply, we do not go out very often and very rarely eat out, maybe a coffee or a sandwich out while shopping but now keeping that down too.

Thank You all :A

marathonic

Mobile phone............................ 30

What type of mobile phone do you and your partner have? I see you talk about apps so it's obviously a smartphone.

Is it still in contract? If not, the network should be able to unlock it for free to allow you to switch networks (and you can transfer your old number over to the new network).

Just this month, I signed up for http://ovivomobile.com/

I don't know how they do it but you pay a tenner upfront for your SIM, you get 100 free minutes, 100 free texts, 200mb internet and unlimited Ovivo-to-Ovivo calls free every month - with no further payment.

It's possible that it'll change at some point but, if you get even one month out of it, it'll be worthwhile. Hell, you could even call it an xmas present to your other half and agree to buy yourselves a couple of bottles of wine per month with £8 - £10 out of the £30 saved every month whilst the offer lasts.

gfplux

I have only read the title of your original post. Something about a light bulb.
Then just jumped to your last post and have copied this from it.

"I have been paid £25 for the dolls clothes that I was asked to knit. This went straight on a Christmas present, so felt like a bit of a freebie lol."

I want to say good luck as you are really trying. BUT the two lines above suggest the bulb went out.

So sorry to say it, but someone has to. Don't be too hard on me please.
Good luck.

marathonic

gfplux wrote: »

I want to say good luck as you are really trying. BUT the two lines above suggest the bulb went out.

In fairness, the only loan left is half a Wonga loan with no interest to be taken next payday. And, if I'm reading right, there's £5 in the credit union with a further £20 going in tomorrow.

If the OP can make it through Christmas without another pay day loan and without withdrawing the credit union money, they'll be doing very well.

Based upon the SOA, they'd have £469 free in their budget then so could split that - with, for example, 75% going to savings and 25% going to 'loosen the noose on the budget'.

marathonic

moneywaster55, I do have one comment.

You say you're hoping to get a smaller car in January with the £1,200 you hope to earn for your pre-Christmas work.

My challenge to you is to put that £1,200 into the credit union and close 2012 out with a cushion of money should any unexpected expenses arise (if your car breaks down or needs new tyres, you don't want to have to resort back to a PayDay loan).

Then, in 2013, your goal can be saving up for that new car. With £469 free in your budget, you could save £300 towards the car and do what you like with the rest. By May, you'd have £1,500 to buy a car. At that point, you may even decide that you want a slightly better car and wait until June or July.

In other words, you'll have some flexibility in 2013. If you buy the new car in January with no savings and a clutch burns out, you'll be right back in the position you were in in your original post. The chances of something like this happening with a £1,200 car are ridiculously high.

At the end of the day, it's the people that say "I have money, I can buy that car/phone/laptop now" that consistently appear on this board. You need to change that mindset.

marathonic

Further to the above, a car is a want rather than a need when you already have a car.

When is it's MOT due and what was the last big expense you encountered with it? As a friend of a mechanic, it's shocking how many people upgrade from a cheap car to a more expensive one - only to find that the more expensive one causes them nothing but trouble.

If your £200 valuation for your car is correct, I'd drive it until it breaks down (however long that may be) and then take it to the scrapyard.

If you do this, I look forward to an updated SOA from you next year - which will look a hell of a lot healthier than your original.