Prolonged Light Bulb Moment

BlueDaisy

Hello Everyone,
I've been around a wee while and joined a few challenges, so I just wanted to introduce myself properly
I'm in the middle of a prolonged light bulb moment, trying to sort out my finances :cool: and not liking what I'm seeing :eek:
I've downloaded all my bank statements since the beginning for the year and am sorting them out into a 'budget' spreadsheet, so far we have overspent by approx £4K and I know that I have not added the £3K we spent on a new boiler yet. So by the end of the year I am probably staring an £8-9K overspend in the face! Wow! That is scary
We do have debt but they are manageable, but we also have savings which are dwindling at a phenomenal rate - so I really need to get a grip on our finances - DH is of the 'Stick yer head in the sand' variety so I'm pretty sure it's all down to me.
This is a great site for inspiration and motivation, but I struggle to find time to actually post, I tend to spend my time catching up with the threads that I'm following.
Anyway, that's me, hello all :j

Tixy

Hi

Have you got DH to look at the spreadsheet you have been creating? Is he realising the amount of the overspend? and is it helping him to lift his head a little out of the sand? Maybe you could try setting him some money challenges of his own?

BlueDaisy

I am using the 'Slowly, slowly, catchee monkey' approach. :-)
I think we are both under the impression that I am the spendy one but it is becoming apparent that I am not the only spendy one! It will definitely be time for a little chat when I have all the evidence at my fingertips. We are already reigning in our Xmas spending but some serious budgeting will need to be achieved next year.
I like the idea of setting him some challenges of his own though, hadn't thought of that and I like it :-) Thank you :-)

gettingthehangofthis

You're not the only one with a prolonged LBM! Mine has been spread over a few months realising bit by bit 'oh yeah, that overdraft IS a debt, oh yeah I COULD get more from my savings, cripes I really SHOULD have an emergency savings pot, oh yeah actually I DON'T have a clue how much I spend on what!'

The main thing is that now you're aware of it and are making changes, and you're in the best place for help. Have you done the usual SOA, snowball calculator etc?

BlueDaisy

Thanks Gettingthehangofthis it's good to know I'm not alone. :beer:

It was when I tried to do my SOA that I realised how much things had begun to slip out of our control. Having done the spreadsheet I should be able to transfer the info over to an SOA more easily.

The big spend areas are Groceries (about £500 a month for 2 of us!!!) - mostly on wine and crisps tho so cutting that out will help us get healthier too. :T
Next big spend that needs serious review is my hobby - dog showing - I think last year I spent about £3000 on the dogs (and I only show 1 of them) that's what I can trace anyway.

The other thing which I *think* is mostly DH is anywhere between 500 and 1000 per month cash out of the bank account :eek: some I can account for but most of which I have no idea where it ended up

So you can see why we really need to make a budget and stick to it

National_Debtline

Hello Bluedaisy,

I just wanted to pop in to say I wish you well on your quest. £500 is actually within the guidelines for housekeeping for two of you. It could be worth tracking where the cash you're taking out is going, it's often quite an eye-opener once you start adding it all up.

Budgeting is absolutely the key. We've quite a detailed one on our website - it's in a slightly different format to the SOA you often see here on MSE, it could be worth a look:
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/pdf/personal-budget-sheet/your-personal-budget-sheet.pdf

Bets wishes,

David @ NDL.

thriftylass

National_Debtline_representative wrote: »

Hello Bluedaisy,

I just wanted to pop in to say I wish you well on your quest. £500 is actually within the guidelines for housekeeping for two of you. It could be worth tracking where the cash you're taking out is going, it's often quite an eye-opener once you start adding it all up.

Really? £500 on just food and drink (she admitted it is a lot of crisps and wine too) is a lot for two I think. Even if you include loo roll and cleaning products it seems a lot. But it depends on what you earn I guess.

Could you post a link to the guidelines for reasonable spending, just curious. Thanks

jackieblack

thriftylass wrote: »

Really? £500 on just food and drink (she admitted it is a lot of crisps and wine too) is a lot for two I think. Even if you include loo roll and cleaning products it seems a lot. But it depends on what you earn I guess.

Could you post a link to the guidelines for reasonable spending, just curious. Thanks

I agree

In fact I think £500 is a ridiculous amount for 2 people to spend, even if they are high earners! No wonder some people get themselves in financial bother (not meaning you, OP) if that's considered 'normal'.

Many, many people manage perfectly well on not much more than half that for a family of 3 or 4 - anyone who doubts that needs to get themselves over to the OS boards!

National_Debtline

thriftylass wrote: »

Really? £500 on just food and drink (she admitted it is a lot of crisps and wine too) is a lot for two I think. Even if you include loo roll and cleaning products it seems a lot. But it depends on what you earn I guess.

Could you post a link to the guidelines for reasonable spending, just curious. Thanks

Hello there. Housekeeping also includes cleaning products, personal care items, clothing, cigarettes, alcohol, newspapers and magazines.

Some information can be found on page 18 in our self-help pack, here it is: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/pdf/self-help-pack/step-2-working-out-your-personal-budget.pdf

The guidelines are actually the same regardless of income. They are only a guideline, though, and many people (mysef included) survive on a lot less.

Many, many people manage perfectly well on not much more than half that for a family of 3 or 4 - anyone who doubts that needs to get themselves over to the OS boards!

They absolutely do, in fact I quite like the challenge of trying to feed the household on as little as possible. It's important to bear in mind that some people may have special dietary requirements - which can push the bill up.

If you have any further questions please do ask, I'll do my best to help!

David.

jackieblack

Wow
I'd love to know how those figures were arrived at! :eek:

National_Debtline

jackieblack wrote: »

Wow
I'd love to know how those figures were arrived at! :eek:

A lot of work goes on behind the scenes, involving a large number of organisations. The idea is that if a creditor is presented with a budget which is compliant to 'the common financial statement' with their figures falling within the guidelines, a creditor should accept the offer of payment being put to them.

You can read a bit more about the common financial statement here:
http://www.cfs.moneyadvicetrust.org/

Sadly, the actual figures are generally not in the public domain - but we allude to them within our 'Dealing with your debts' guide, which I posted up earlier.

The figure includes clothing and generally housekeeping and personal care items too.

David.