Budgeting for a normal healthy life..

Delree

I wish my landlord offered me the "the better package" I'm starting feel like a mug paying council tax!

fluffnutter

I suspect the issue is that, once you've paid all your bills, you (understandably) treat the rest as disposable income and spend it without really thinking about what you're spending it on. It just drips away. Why not set up an SO to a savings account and have this taken out at the same time as all your bills? You'll probably not really notice you've got less money to fritter.

And your mobile phone bills are really high. I don't know anyone who spends £40 a month unless they use it for business or have the latest iPhone all the time.

fluffnutter

lika_86 wrote: »

The thing with contents insurance is that it's not just there in case you get burgled, it's also there in case there's some sort of incident which requires you to replace all your stuff, so, say the place next door burnt down and it either spread to yours or everything you had ended up smoke damaged beyond use, how much would it cost you to replace what you have? It would be clothes, books, bedding, furniture etc etc. If you don't have savings how would you pay for all of that? If you don't have anything particularly expensive that needs cover then it should only be a very small amount each month but it's something you should think about.

That's true but when you look at the probability of claiming people might think differently.

The average person has a 1 in 17000 likelihood of claiming on their contents insurance. That's really, really low odds. You really are just paying for peace of mind and it's entirely reasonable to make the decision that your money is better spent elsewhere.

coinxoperated

Thanks for some great ideas all. I also find it insane that £600 a month is going on nothing and we never go on holidays or do anything particularly exciting due to finances, hence me wanting to check in here what I'm doing soooo wrong!

I can't get the council tax down other than by moving, which I couldn't do until April 14 and even then, I don't really want to move having done it a couple of months ago!

Like I said earlier, I'm sure we spend much less on gas / electric but I am being cautious as new house and my first house with gas central heating. Would prefer to be in credit by £100 than get a big bill. I've chosen the cheapest deal for gas and electric and it happened to be a deal with my current supplier so it's been simple.

Phones are the latest models, and £40 each is expensive, but we use them a lot and consider them to be our own little bits of luxury. We had very old phones for such a long time and were in 2 year contracts now, so changing isn't an option.

The internet / telephone is with Sky, which will eventually go up to around £25-£30 a month, but were in a deal thing so it's likely about £15 for the next few months.

We are AWFUL at planning our meals and often end up nipping to the shop for something quick to eat (hot deli counter in Morrisons!) as by the time we have both got in from work we don't want to spend ages cooking food. Our diets are pretty yack also, so if I can make a change in this area, save money and have healthier meals it will be a win win.

I have a £30 voucher for argos which I won a while back, so I'm going to pop out and get a slow cooker in the hope it'll help us prepare good better and also enjoy it!

I will definitely be taking the route of us each having a weekly 'spend allowance' in cash only and then that should be IT.

I can't even describe how annoying it is knowing we have so much spare cash and not getting anything for it and then not knowing how to solve it!

Thanks for the advice guys!

pops5588

OP, one meal that I find really good to do quickly and cheaply is stir-fry. Meat/prawns on offer, lots of veg and a little cheap sachet of sauce and it's ready in next to no time. I save it for days when I come home and really can't be @rsed

heartbreak_star

Cooking isn't a chore, I certainly don't spend more than an hour in the kitchen of an evening and that includes washing up - it's all about preparation and knowing a few simple recipes

Slow cooker will definitely help!

HBS x

Money_maker

Good luck with this. If you still can't fathom where the money goes then make sure you write down every PENNY you spend in a little book every evening.

You seem to have a very low cigarette consumption - are you sure you're not underestimating.

lazer

I was liek you but have now started saving again and doing relatively well.

The starting point is to work out your expenses properly - include things you pay for annually and one offs, and work out when these are likely to have to be paid.

For example, say your car insurance or tax is due in May, then work out the actual cost and divide by 5 - save that amount each month between now and then, then after that divide the cost by 12 and save that per month.

Having these dedicated savings account mean you don't really feel as if your spending money on the things when they are due.

For car maintenance, come up with an estimate of how much you spent last year and divide by 12 and save it too.

I take 10% of my ways out at the start of the month and put it into a proper savings pot.

If you want any holidays etc put away an amount per month too.

Anything left after removing all savings and bills from my monthly income is therefore mine to do what i want with - I generally figure out how much I will spend on fuel, food etc and anything else is entertainment money (And i still try to save some of it too!)

mincepiemonster

I know how difficult it is when you're both working to really get on top of stuff and organise the week. I have friends who still live at home with their parents and manage to spend £20k+ salaries on... well not much really!

The slow cooker idea is fab, you can always cheat and buy the pre-chopped, chilled veg from Asda or Tesco. Perhaps also get in the habit of always having a frozen pizza and a garlic bread "in stock" - not the healthiest, I know, but might stop you phoning for a takeaway unless you really really fancy one and have planned and budgeted for it. Also try and get in the habit of buying your toiletries in bulk - I never pay more than £1.50 for DH's deodorant (he will only use Sure) when the RRP is £3 ish - buy 3 or 4 when they're on offer and you'll soon build up a stash.

You could get yourselves a magazine subscription - there are often good deals to be had at this time of year, and might stop you from chucking stuff in at the till! Council tax is unfortunate, it;s unavoidable and as you says yours is very high, but when you get your payment break in Feb / Mar (assuming you're on the standard 10 month payment plan) it will start off your savings nicely!

harrys_nan

coinxoperated wrote: »

Thanks for some great ideas all. .

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Thanks for the advice guys!

I think these say thankyou