debt free (almost)

anukis

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braddy970

Hi Anukis, I didn't want to read and run, Im not as experienced as the rest but I can see there are a few ways you can make huge savings. Is your mobile on contract? Without your tv license your phone internet tv is just over £50 per month, is this with sky? You can use Martin's tools to check prices and get a combination price for most. The food is very high with school meals, my little boy who is 6 has a school meal once a week on a friday and the rest he has a pack lunch, I spend between £40 - £50 a week at Aldi for 2 adults 1 6 year old and a baby who needs nappies wipes jars etc, I also get my toilet products from here so maybe shop around or go a brand lower? The own brand products are just as tasty as your expensive brands Good luck x

anukis

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mildredalien

£400 disposable income isn't that low really, any disposable income is a good thing! Well, if you actually have that leftover that is. It might be worth doing a full statement of affairs and trying to account for every last expenditure in detail, so you know exactly what that £400 might have to cover. Do you think you will be able to stick to your budget above and not spend anything else? £600/month is a lot and as you say, covers other things than purely food shopping. Check out the old style boards for tips and advice on reducing grocery costs, things like batch cooking, dropping down a brand, using Lidl or Aldi etc.

If you can stick to that, you could pay off that loan in what, 3 months? Or stick to the £125/month repayments, start putting £200/month into savings to build up a buffer and have some leftover for other things. You could even save £200/month for holidays - that'd be £2400 a year to go on holiday which isn't exactly having to scrape the pennies together for a week in a caravan. Ultimately it will depend if you can stick to the budget above, and what you want to spend the disposable on.

Will your mum have any income stream? Benefits, part time work, a pension?

retepetsir

anukis wrote: »

Mobile is on contract.

Internet, TV, home phone is with talktalk on a contract... still 1.5 yrs left on it I believe.

Of that, the only paid TV subscription is £5 for children package. The rest is freeview.

The cost is TV licensing, line rental, home phone, internet... plus mobile boost £3 and international calling boost and calls £3.50 (most relatives & friends are overseas). I could probably drop the intl boost but it would cost me more in the end... it's quite a good deal with all inclusive calls with all Europe and North America for £3.50/month.

Yes I know grocery bill is a bit high... but that includes some toiletries and all household items. Also includes me eating out at lunch (luckily it's subsidized canteen so cost is £3-£5/meal). That's probably where I can cut but I don't really know how..

I don't eat take out, cook everything from scratch, no semiprepared stuff. Problem is, fruits, veggies, and fish are really expensive regardless of where I buy them from. Also not driving so I can't shop in multiple places... I do most of it online (ocado or tesco, trying to decide now). Some stuff I pick on my way home Tesco as well.

Take your own food/lunch to work. Instead of £3-5 a day you're looking at £1 or so, a massive saving when multiplied up.

£600 is still quite an impressive amount for 2 adults and 1 child.

What is the £400 disposable income made up of? That could probably be reduced.

anukis

privacy reasons

anukis

privacy reasons

mildredalien

I'd reiterate again, do a detailed statement of affairs and budget for every type of expenditure and stick to it - you can then see what to whittle down to give you a bit of breathing room and what you want to prioritise.

Your income isn't low, you're right, but your mortgage makes up a pretty high proportion of it so you are bound to feel the squeeze in other areas. At least the loan will be interest free and time limited, so you'll hopefully have a bit more wiggle room after a year.

Make sure you start putting something away for savings, even if it's only £50 or £100 a month - it's definitely worth having a buffer to pay for those odd electrical expenses or next time your flat needs an upgrade you can pay all or most of it upfront.

You're not doing badly with money and planning ahead is definitely the way!