Having my LBM but possibly smashing the bulb as i hit my head off the wall

mismatch

Hi all
Quick check in today as its that blessed thing they call a day off. Thanks skinty for the support.
So this week's been busy at work which helps on the nsd front which is good when mon morning brought the "u r on or over it account limit" text from the bank,4 days after payday that just makes u feel all warm inside doesn't it lol. So with at sorted I got back the £17.50 I had to spend of my money on Sat for work supplies back off the boss and silently vowed o survive the . Week on that £12.40 left!!! Whoop whoop!!! Hubby is working a way from his normal store this week and has managed to use 3weeks petrol in 6days. This will come back in expenses but not for 3-5 wks as the area manager has to show up and sign them. However we do have a lovely week week off in a few days so hopefully that'll help balance out. Still £30 unexpected petrol wasn't ideal. I suspect my car needs to visit the lovely garage people but I'm clawing onto the hope putting air in the tyres will stop the pull rather than a balance and track......not much hope but a girl's gotta try.
So my quick update has turned waffley again but to sum up I've spent about £5 in 4 days which ain't bad but stupid work has as usual thrown us a curve ball but we pootle on. I'm trying desperately not to touch the bonus money pot so I can pay off something but I'm already starting to lose hope. Only 21 days till payday tho so u know miracles and all that jazz

mismatch

Well a week off hasn't helped my general nsd attempts but I've still bargain hunted what I've spent even though I shouldn't have spent it lol I'm blaming the oh`s bday but I suppose we shud have resisted the alcohol and krispykremes Nvm it's done now. And on a happier note I popped for a top up shop this morn with £25 in my purse as budget and after coupons spent only £19.81. First time in a long time I've managed that. Maybe I'm starting to get better at it little by little. 11days till payday so gonna do my best to have more nsd days than spendy days fingers crossed!!
Anyone out there happen to know the rules for moving dd dates and if bank can do it or if it has to b the company. I'm having thoughts that if all my dds were within say 7days my life might b easier....maybe lol

supersaver1000

Hi Mismatch. Just popping in to say 'hello' and to wish you luck.

I've recently had my LBM (almost 2 months now), and I think the first few weeks are hard. I've been desperate to start paying off more but was then leaving myself short plus I've had a few extra expenses pop up and its very frustrating.

I have at least stopped the debt building and it is going down. Its a bit like dieting - it took quite a few years to get to this stage, so its not going to go away overnight.

Keep going and keep altering little things and they will all add up. I've altered my signature loads of times and I've moved some things around so I'm saving a few pounds here and there. Before I wouldn't have bothered but now I can see how they all add up to quite a nice sum.

So yes try altering your direct debit dates. It can be easier if they are all paid and out of the way, but if you've got money coming in 4 weekly that may mean you end up with a load of direct debits to pay and no income one month. Would it be better to divide up your 52 weeks of bills by 4 and then transfer that money into an account for your direct debits every 4 weeks and then use that account for direct debits only? Just a thought - I'm very much a newbie so someone else on the forum may have a better idea.

But keep going - you are heading in the right direction.

:-)

Sorry, I'm not sure if that is clear? I use a spreadsheet for each month and I have my bills listed by date on the left and then a column for each of my bank accounts. I put the balance on the account at the top and then underneath the bill amounts that are going to be paid from that balance before my next pay date at the month end. I then deduct the bill amounts from the balance and can see if I need to add anything into the bank account before the date each bill becomes due. I guess you could do that for 4 weeks? Each time I check my balance I change it in the spreadsheet and remove any payments that have been made and check any remaining figures to make sure they are accurate. Its a bit of work to set it up but once I'd done it I kept a master copy so just copy and paste it each month. It means I don't have to worry about bills bouncing as long as I check the sheet and my balances regularly. (apols if this is long).

mismatch

Thanks for the suggestion super saver. Currently I transfer a full calendar months worth of dd cash into the 1Bill account each payday but because of the 4weekly pay sometimes every penny goes and sometimes there's £100-150 left come next payday and some months I end up checking what's left a few days before payday and using some of what's left because I've run out of money in my "living"account. Hope that makes sense. Boggles my little brain sometimes lol :-)
I need to consider venturing into spreadsheets I think but I'm a bit tech-phobic so may have to b paper unless I can get a free tool like budget brain for spreadsheets if there's such a thing out there lol

supersaver1000

Yeah my brain gets boggled with all the juggling too. A spreadsheet application definitely helps because you can adjust the figures and it will automatically add up the totals/shortfall/excess. There are loads of free apps out there and programmes. You only need a basic spreadsheet not all the graphs etc. which one depends on whether you are windows, mac, tablet etc. I bet there's a thread on here somewhere.

I think (but I'm not 100%sure) that you should divide your annual salary by 12 to get your monthly figure then do an SOA comparing your monthly outgoings. Then you'll know how much you have to play with. Then take one sheet and list your outs and ins in date order with a running total by the side. The aim is to make sure you have enough in the bills bank account until you get paid next. You can put each month on a separate sheet or you could just do a running total.

I now know where I can rob peter to pay Paul etc. hope that makes sense. Good luck

mismatch

Def makes sense supersaver. I have the dreaded Windows8 if any1 has any spread sheet app suggestions gratefully received :-)

mismatch

Ongoing to do/change habits/list

1) decluttering house room by room
2) eBay/sell unused books,cds, possessions etc
3) try enveloping next payday
4) meal plan and stick to it
5) find ways to make extra money online (can't fit in 2nd job)
6) once monthly big shop then only top up what's needed preferably without needing to use car
7) use up all toiletries before buying any
8) resist qvc
9) resist takeaways
10) freebie and coupon hunt more

mismatch

11) try you need a budget (hope it works for 4weekly pay!)

giblet1979

Hi mismatch,

I've enjoyed reading your diary - well done for getting started; all the changes will soon start to add up and you'll see those debts going down before you know it.

I really like YNaB (DB bought the full version after the trial for me as a pressie )

It takes a bit of time to get used to, so don't get disheartened. It will work with 4 weekly pay as it just asks you to put in incomings vs outgoings and then allocate all of your pennies to some kind of job e.g. 'bill', 'savings' 'debt etc'. You can start simple, and build up to a more complicated set of categories. It really helped to show us in the first month how much money we were wasting by not being organised / being a bit lazy with food especially on my part.

Subscribed.... and good luck x

mismatch

Thanks giblet, im now kinda excited to play with ynab but I'm trying to wait so the trail will include 2 paydays so I think I'll get it in weeks time. That's 2 days to play with it then pay hits then next payday 4weeks later plus a couple of days. I hope that way I get a true picture (May wanna not look but meh). Do u have it on pc and a phone? Wondering how well they work together.
Back to work after my few days off today, lunch is packed so it's kind of a nsd. Oh has to go buy chicken food but that was budgeted for, was just a matter of when ran out so money out but expected. I shud b suitably depressed by lunch as its my first day back so I've added some choccie biccies into the bait bag to avoid buying chocolate. The plAn just has to work now lol :-)