Struggling - whats my next move

kittiej

[QUOTEcouple of things to note, i leave for work at 7.30am and get home at 8pm so its hard for the wife to go out and work, it may be old fashioned but i bring the money in and she runs the house and kids..
][/QUOTE]

Your OH needs to view her stay at home status as a job - it is in her best interest to make sure that you as a family only pay the bare minimum for everything - I did not say you have the bare minimum as a standard , just that you pay this iyswim.

If you can get her onboard then she will probably enjoy the addictive challenge of it. eg if you are a car sales person then you would not buy a stock car for £5k if you can get it for £3k etc.

Edit shop around with suppliers?

soontobemrsg

You really need to compare energy tariffs for your area and switch or get your current provider to offer you a better deal.

As your partner is at home all day and it's not feasible for her to work then there is no reason why you can't half that huge grocery bill with meal planning, batch cooking and cooking from scratch. Do you take left overs to work or do you take a freshly made packed lunch/buy food?

Perhaps she could also take it on board to sort through the kiddies old stuff for resale while they have their afternoon naps along with some online surveys?

The £60 mobile bill is for 2 phones I assume...does your wife really need a contract if she's at home? Could she go PAYG? How long is left in contract...if it's coming to an end providers will find you much better deals.

I haven't long switched to freeview and I must say I don't miss the satellite package in the slightest. You're out of the house for a significant part of the day and with two youngsters at home I doubt your partner has much opportunity to benefit from this luxury.

Try keeping a spending diary from your next payday. I was shocked at the little things I was wasting money on daily like having 6 newspapers delivered a week but only ever reading 1 on a saturday, grabbing a coffee on the way into work having only just had one before leaving the house and coffee being provided for free in the office. Just this simple exercise has saved me £200 a month and hasn't stopped us having treats as a family.

I'm also more prone to withdrawing money at the cashpoint now as opposed to using my debit card in the supermarket as it's much easier to stick to my budget if I don't have any extra available in my purse. Give it a go next time you do your monthly/weekly shop, withdraw only what you intend to spend and then leave your card at home.

rotherham123

hi

just done the gas/elec compare..

Can save £391 per year ( £32.58 per month) if i switch to Spark Energy.

so my bill comes down from £166 to £133 per month, a saving found but i still think its high.

I used the british gas local compare and i use twice as much elec and gas as most people in my postcode...

so i either has massive leaks, wastage through laziness or uneconomical boiler..

what so you reckon to Spark Energy? or should i speak to british gas?

thanks

soontobemrsg

No idea on spark energy as it's still ridiculously high.

Do you have a combi or back boiler? Is it overdue a service? As you pay for insurance on it maybe you can get them to check why the usage is so high?

soontobemrsg

Just to help you with your comparison...my gas bill is £48 per month...we cook with gas and our shower is heated with gas...our boiler is brand new though.

Thermostat for the heating is NEVER over 20 degrees.

racing_blue

Remortgage at 2.5%, pay off cards, rip em up- you'll be quids in?

rotherham123

soontobemrsg wrote: »

Just to help you with your comparison...my gas bill is £48 per month...we cook with gas and our shower is heated with gas...our boiler is brand new though.

Thermostat for the heating is NEVER over 20 degrees.

wow...!!

i shower every morning, missus does every 2 days, kids prob 3 times a week.. kids and missus wash every morning and before bed..

oven cooks once a day for tea as i am at work and 1 child is at school..

something not right here.. i am amazed at how things seem fine and when you look closer its far from fine

i'm on it!!!

rotherham123

racing_blue wrote: »

Remortgage at 2.5%, pay off cards, rip em up- you'll be quids in?

declined on mortgage and a low rate loan due to being over committed.. scissors were at the ready...

i have a capital one card with a nil balance and a 6k limit.. should i cancel it?

moohound

Do you have a large older property to heat? Our gas and electric combined is less than your gas alone, and we have a decent sized house.

The next big one to get a grip,on is the food shop, it's not that hard, meal plan, don't waste food, especially buy one chuck one away! Downshift by one price level i.e. if you normally get Finest/taste the difference get regular, if you normally get branded, get shops own etc, except when on special offer then get the cheapest. We do this and notice no difference in quality and taste. We went from spending £125+ a week to £70.

I bulk buy wash powder, dishwasher tabs, dog food and a few other things from a wholesaler, but only if it's on special offer.

For family days out we bought a cool box for £17 and take lunch with us, rather than spend £25 in a cafe. On motorway journeys we take a flask of coffee rather than spend £6 in Starbucks. There are lots of small ways you can make savings, it's easy to think its only a couple of quid, it doesn't matter but it all adds up.

rotherham123

moohound wrote: »

Do you have a large older property to heat? Our gas and electric combined is less than your gas alone, and we have a decent sized house.

The next big one to get a grip,on is the food shop, it's not that hard, meal plan, don't waste food, especially buy one chuck one away! Downshift by one price level i.e. if you normally get Finest/taste the difference get regular, if you normally get branded, get shops own etc, except when on special offer then get the cheapest. We do this and notice no difference in quality and taste. We went from spending £125+ a week to £70.

I bulk buy wash powder, dishwasher tabs, dog food and a few other things from a wholesaler, but only if it's on special offer.

For family days out we bought a cool box for £17 and take lunch with us, rather than spend £25 in a cafe. On motorway journeys we take a flask of coffee rather than spend £6 in Starbucks. There are lots of small ways you can make savings, it's easy to think its only a couple of quid, it doesn't matter but it all adds up.

no just a bog standard town house (like a terraced) so i am between 2 neighbours, i can only be losing any heat through my front door, back door or roof...

but i have just checked my boiler cover and it includes a service so i am ringing british gas up tomorrow morning...

also how do you get you debt detail at the bottom of your posts?