Budget Advice

stucosby

racing_blue wrote: »

That doesn't look too bad at £219.48 per month, or about £3.5k per year. But for a real appreciation of what the car is costing I prefer to include depreciation. And what about servicing and MOTs? I bet the reality is £5-6k depending on the age of the cars you drive?

2007 BMW 3 series and 2007 Mini One - I don't think either would have massive depreciation, despite the high mileage on mine

stucosby

callum9999 wrote: »

Do you really need two cars if only one of you seems to work outside the house?

We discussed my wife selling hers but decided that it's important for her to have it for the sake of the little one if nothing else. He'll be going to nursery soon enough and, while a bus may work out cheaper, i suppose we don't mind paying a little more for convenience etc (not very moneysaving i know!)

stucosby

minimonsters wrote: »

there are loads of stuff you can try to make a few extra pennies but it really is only a little extra and personally I find it all a bit stressful. I try to cut back so we can live within our means and spend more time together.

hope this helps a bit, you'll probably be really surprised with what you manage to take off your monthly bills. I've cut my bills down and we're actually doing more fun stuff than ever
all the best x

Excellent post with some good thoughts/suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to write this.

BudgetQueen14

Good for you, for doing something about the situation before it gets worse. We weren't in debt but we were living pay day to pay day and didn't have a lot to show for working so hard. So I started looking around and found a couple of American websites, one is called YNAB (you need a budget) and the other was Dave Ramsey. So I started doing a zero pound budget. Basically you give every pound coming into the home a job to do. I can't believe how much we have now saved, we have had to make sacrifices but we are happier and healthier than ever and I really now hate wasting money. So good luck!

dollydiva

callum9999 wrote: »

Do you really need two cars if only one of you seems to work outside the house?

I concur. Why is your wife thinking of cutting down her contribution? Not sure why that is?

I'd also say you'll save a bundle if your wife can cook meals from scratch rather than buy something that you heat up in the oven.

I wouldn't buy from Aldi & Lidl myself as I think there stuff is rubbish unless you're buying basics from them - ie meat, veg, bread

stucosby

dollydiva wrote: »

I concur. Why is your wife thinking of cutting down her contribution? Not sure why that is?

I'd also say you'll save a bundle if your wife can cook meals from scratch rather than buy something that you heat up in the oven.

The two sentences are related - time! My poor wife toils all day looking after our 9 month old while trying to do a bit of house-keeping and then in the evening when i get home, she's free to do her actual job. Not much fun!

We try and batch cook in the evenings together but there's only so many hours left in the day. Sometimes we give in and sit down to have a rest, let alone think about trying to enjoy ourselves! Add in a screaming baby who's currently teething and unable to go to sleep till 9:30pm and that's our life at the moment! :eek:

bouicca21

Hmm. Maybe the housekeeping (does that mean cleaning and clothes washing?) could be done at weekends by OP ...

stucosby

bouicca21 wrote: »

Hmm. Maybe the housekeeping (does that mean cleaning and clothes washing?) could be done at weekends by OP ...

Yes - cleaning and washing. I already try and do this on weekends too - as well as letting my wife have a lie in/bath (things we used to take for granted!). The weekend is probably when my wife does the bulk of her work and i look after the little one. Tough innit!