Getting a grip!

nicp60

I'm technically debt-free now, but I didn't necessarily do it the 'right' way, and although I've learnt a lot about managing my finances, I'm rubbish at budgeting and have never properly saved.

So, I've started this diary to keep myself accountable for my finances, goals and generally just to keep on top of everything and stop d!cking around in 2013. My husband is unemployed (he was a mature student and graduated in June), and so I am responsible for all the bills and outgoings. Although he's looking for work, we have paid 20k for him to get a degree in something that he loves (animation) and I would be devastated if he ended up going back to his old job as a warehouse manager (although great money) because I couldn't budget. We're extremely fortunate that I earn a good salary and can support us both and hopefully save at the same time.

Enough blabbing, time to put my money where my mouth is!!!
Goals:

• Put aside money each month in the following categories: Car (£30), Xmas (£40) and Emergency Fund (£100). Chuffed that I have set up separate piggybanking accounts for this! I have also renamed my accounts on online banking, which will keep me focused when I do my accounts on paydays.
• Continue my M&S food challenge (opulent, I know, but I can feed us both for £100 a month by putting it on a gift card and savvy shopping and planning) Although eating out of the freezer until 25th Jan to clear space and save a bit!
• Take lunches to work instead of buying them - will save about £4 a day :eek:
  
• Basically tie up all disposable income to stop my fritter on things like diet coke from the garage and sarnies at work, whilst still having a safety net just in case.
• Save £500 a month towards a house deposit/maternity leave - fingers crossed!!

Possible obstacles:

• Credit cards - I have 2 high interest ones which I pay off every month. I have found that if I don't keep a very close eye on everything, I'll use them for random stuff (never more than £70-80 a month). I don't need to do this, and after fighting debt for so long, it makes me feel carp that this still happens.
• Fritter. I'm a part of the fritterati - a little-known underground movement whose aim is to do everything MSE with the sole purpose of having more fritter money. Nothing irritates me more about my financial habits than this!

Well there we go. I'm pleased that I've set up the piggybanking accounts already and will be watching everything this month as it's going to be an expensive one (a 60th, a wedding, a hen do and me and OH's birthdays). My first goal is just to get to payday without going overdrawn. I'll be using birthday money and anything extra that I end up with to pay off the CCs this month so I can have a fresh start with Jan's payday.
I have also checked my bank balance everyday since October 25th (I never normally would check it - got a bit of a phobia) and will continue to do this daily/almost daily. It'll be good to watch the little piggybanks growing too.

The only thing I'm wondering is if I should post an SoA?

Phew, epic post - wish me luck!!

squinky

Hello! I am in a similar position myself so am interested to see how you get on. Good luck

nicp60

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2038
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2038

Monthly Expense Details

Rent.................................... 595
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 97
Electricity and Gas combined ......... 107 Have shopped around and changed suppliers etc. Always provide meter readings etc.
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 58 Stupidly high, but am looking at getting a meter, subject to landlord approval
Telephone (land line)................... 43 Includes Sky (done channel audit!), BB and phone.
Mobile phone............................ 15
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 120 includes lunches and snacks
Clothing................................ 30 Not every month, and only ebay/charity shops
Petrol/diesel........................... 110 This is a high guess, I run a diesel which gets 50mpg
Car account................................ 30 Standing Order to my new car account to cover tax, MOT and services
Car Insurance........................... 32

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 14
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 32 Insured to the hilt!
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40 In new Christmas account for 2013. Also have a massive drawer full of nice gifts for people.
Haircuts................................ 15 Dry cut and home dye job!
Entertainment........................... 80 Mainly the odd bottle of wine and a takeaway
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 100 Straight into my new account!
Lovefilm................................ 8 Thinking about ditching this
Rollies .............................. 45 This will definitely go!!
Total monthly expenses.................. 1583


Assets
Cash.................................... 2500
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 4000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,038
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,583
Available for debt repayments........... 455
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 455 Going to boost this by reducing other outgoings and shove it in OH's savings account at the end of each month.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 4,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 4,000

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.

So, my SoA above shows that each and every month I should have £450 left. This isn't happening. I know exactly where it's going, so I'm going to stop the rot!!! :money:

nicp60

Well, so far so good. I stayed away from the booze last night - first alcohol-free day in a long long time and have taken up knitting. A bit random, but actually I'm really enjoying it!

Just planning on staying afloat this this month - I'll be happy if I can stay in the black on my current account and use birthday and xmas money to clear my CCs. Anything left at the end of the month will go towards this or into my emergency fund, which is the priority at the moment.

I did some clothes shopping yesterday - charity shops near me, and bought some new tops for work (3 m&s jumpers for 10.50!). I was looking for some trousers (mine are too small ), but didn't find any.

Off for a shower and to go and buy some big beginner's knitting needles .

SpagBol

Hello! Loving the concept of fritterati...I'm a (former) member of that :rotfl::rotfl:

All looking good to me on your SOA, interested in the concept of your M&S food challenge if you don't mind sharing?

nicp60

Hi SpagBol,
Thanks for reading and well done on your progress so far - your sig looks great! Always happy to meet a reformed fritterati member!

Basically one day my hubster found an M&S giftcard left over from our wedding in June. I was adamant that we'd already used it, but actually it had £100 on it! We got a week's worth of main meals, sides and veg and a bottle of wine for £33. It made me think that after 4 years of going to 4 different supermarkets for the cheapest deals, I might be able to feed us from one place fairly cheaply.
I'm not a cook and don't have the time for it. OH is also ridiculously fussy (he once rinsed a steak Diane under the tap before eating it), but has found he really likes their plainer foods. (Chicken with spices etc)

The first month we did the m&s challenge, we put £100 a gift card and kept back £20 of our budget. We spent it all, but it lasted just over a month. We used the £20 to get frozen veg, bread and loo roll etc from Iceland.

Last month we spent £80 in M&S (for all main evening meals) and about £30 in Iceland (had to get a lot of soft drinks in for parties etc).

This month - starting Jan 25th, my aim is to feed us both for main meals, sides and lunches too - I'll keep my thread updated on how it goes!

I always shop in the offers (3 for £10 on chicken/burgers etc - that normally feeds us for 4 days, ) and only use their 'weekends in' offers when it's actually good value for us. Having the gift card has been brilliant - we can track exactly how much we spend on food and whether it's actually worth it. If I cooked and shopped elsewhere I could feed us for less, but to be honest the food is lovely and it's really easy for us as there's an M&S at the end of our street. I also don't pick up any random stuff at the checkout - 89p for a posh choccie bar definitely puts you off mindless grabbing!
HTH! N x

nicp60

Hi all,
Just sent the hubster out for supplies for lunches this week whilst I 'get on with some work'!

Did well yesterday on the booze front - not an AF day, but walked 2 miles to the pub, had one pint, visited a few friends, walked back and only had 2 small measures of vodka when I got in. That's about a 70% reduction on a normal Saturday night!:D

Knitting is great!! Found some tutorials online on Friday, got some sticks from the charity shop yesterday, and knitted a scarf whilst OH played Fifa last night! I have to say though, I didn't see myself as a newlywed on a Saturday night, sober, with a rug on my lap and knitting!!! :rotfl:

nicp60

Very chuffed with myself that I brought my whole lunch into work today (cannot remember the last time I did that! )! I also had a proper brekkie, so when I stopped for diesel this morning, I only got a diet coke and no snakkie stuff etc. I can let myself have one drink for a quid when I'm saving £5+ a day on not buying both breakfast and lunch.

I also shifted 2.29 into my stash fund (emergency cash) from my current account to round it down. I'd heard of people doing this before and thought it sounded like a really cool idea.

DH had a bit of a wobble last night and got upset about jobhunting. Felt really sad for him and just want him to be happy

nicp60

Hello!
Well not too bad on the lunches front - DH made me lunch for today, bless him and the fritter has been kept to an absolute minimum .

Also now 3 alcohol-free days, although I can't wait to have a glass of wine at the weekend!!!

Only 17 days til payday, although I have been rounding down the amounts in my current account. My accounts look like this at the moment:

Bills etc: £80.00
Stash fund: £ 5.44
Car: £1.00
Xmas etc: £20.00

Need to do a small shop to keep up going until payday, and my bday money will go towards to credit cards I used over xmas.
So far so good!

nicp60

Hello! Well, I'm a smug Mrs!!

Very proud of myself for staying alcohol-free all week and I'm now on my 7th alcohol-free day. I honestly can't remember the last time I went for so long without a drink. I know that sounds bad, but with no kids/real responsibilities apart from my job, I found myself cracking open the wine most nights for a couple of glasses.

I don't really feel much better, but I'm sure the quality of my sleep is better and I'm probably giving my liver a much-needed break!

I've also cut right back on the frittering. I'm finding it great! I used to find all kinds of excuses to stop at the garage in the morning, go to the supermarket at lunch and buy endless coffees and cakes at work, but honestly I feel really good not doing any of that. My caffeine intake has dropped dramatically too.

I bought lunch today at work though, so I won't hit my target of 19 days in Jan (may just change the target lol), but it was nice to have a warm cooked lunch, especially as I had no brekkie this morning. That was simply down to no forward planning and waking up late this morning. I'll get myself sorted for next week.

Excited for payday in 2 weeks' time - mainly because it'll be good to see the money go into my shiny new pots. I'll have £55 to pay in car tax, and we have £60 to pay for a big pressie this month. Not too sure I'll make the £500 target, but if I don't then at least I'll be quite close.

Accounts:
Bills etc: £36.00
Stash fund: £ 6.71
Car: £1.00
Xmas etc: £20.00

nicp60

Crazy crazy time at the moment, so haven't been able to update for a while. Fritter has been OK - I've taken my lunch only once this week though, so will have to make sure I get a few bits of shopping in tonight so I can take lunch for the rest of the week.

Monday was my (and DH's) birthday, and I got some money from my parents which will be going on the cc bill from xmas. In general I think it's going to be a very tight month again, but with loads more AF days for Feb and getting into the routine of taking lunches and not spending money on carp, I'm sure I'll make it through.

Had an unexpected £65 to pay to replace the windscreen on my car, which I could have done without, but once my emergency fund is up and running I'll be covered for stuff like that in the future.

Hope everyone's well!

ETA: I went on Operation Cheapskate last week, and have arranged to have a water meter fitted, instead of paying £60 a month in rates. There wasn't much else that I could reduce, but getting our rent and bills to come in at under £1000 for 2 of us with 2 cars if pretty good I think.