Dream budget

azjh77

I was playing about with excel and my budget spread sheets yesterday and decided to do my 'dream budget'. This is what all the money will go on when I am completely debt free. We will be about £700 ish a month better off, will be able to finally start paying into those pensions we set up and couldn't afford to keep going. We will be able to put money away every month for Birthdays and Christmas and holidays....

I worked out that we can actually manage just on our tax credits! (Let's not get into a 'benefit claiming debate' over this though!)

I have 4 children, so receive quite generous CTC and £217 a month Child Benefit. We would be able to pay all our outgoings with this and save my wages. At the end of the first year we could have saved enough to take the children abroad - for the first time as a family!

This assumes that we still stick to a budget, and don't waste money on stuff we don't need - which lets face it, got most of us in trouble in the first place!

I have SOS'd all the money and would open separate little savings accounts for all the money I will be putting away.

So how much better off will you be once all the debt has been paid? What do you plan to do with it?

Madnessa

Hi there

I will be in a similar situation to you. Will be £750 better off a month (this is just my wage as I am paying off my debts) and I also had to stop paying into my pension plan to pay off the debt.

So after debts I will start paying into pension again (about £100 a month) and also start overpaying on my mortgage as I want to pay it off in just over eight years. Am also getting married next year but will have a very small budget for this!

And your right a holiday abroad sounds very appealing

Don't you feel so frustrated that you got into debt in the first place? It really gets me down when I make big payments on my CC and I think what else I could have done with that money.

Well at least I learned this lesson before 30 as I am never ever ever ever going to make this mistake ever ever ever again!

So I will hopefully be debt free by the end of this year/beginning of next with a whole new attitude to money - if I ain't got it I won't spend it!

chevalier

I hope to save my wages for holiday expenses when we return home once we emigrate. Should be able to do this, as I am studying at the moment.
chev

angelavdavis

I have found not having my credit cards means that I have £800 in my account every month (that is now overpaying the mortgage!)

sophiesmum_2

since becoming debt free we can have bought two horses and can afford their upkeep and still managed two foreign holidays and savings.:j :j :j

We only had to clear just over £3000 worth of credit cards, and also get rid of the unnecessary stuff to do this - dvd subscriptions,book clubs,unnecessary insurances, gym etc.

I like to keep on this site to make sure we don't get sucked in again.
Was dfw nerd number 75 - now debt free.

sophiesmum:D

LookingAhead

Once my loan is finished (3 years time) and coupled with the credit card repayments I was making until this year, I will be about £800 better off.

But it's the £300 that will make the most difference now as the credit card repayments are now just helping me battle down the overdraft IYSWIM.

The £300 extra will be split into savings and a little for me - but I will budget like crazy so I don't get sucked into the 'old ways'!

The savings will be for little breaks away, improvements to house and 'general' savings.

millionaire_in_training

I will have about £600 per month. Marvellous!! I can't wait x

taxi73

Just worked it out I'll be about £1200 p/m better off that's a god yearly wage..wow...don't know what I'll do with it but am planning on paying my mortgage off and doing house up..

debtfree1day

we pay around £1200 a month off our debts, I cant imagine what it would be like not to face this burden - and as its 7 yrs aways, its probably best not too

Mortgage has got to be the bulk of the answer......overpaying by even £500 a month makes such a big diff to length and amount....TRUE DFW THINKING

tsharp

I worked out that after bills and car tax this month, I will have about £45 a week to live off, and i got paid yesterday! This month I am getting married and going away on honeymoon. Gonna be interesting.

azjh77

Good luck Tsharp..hope the weather is nice for the wedding - and the Honeymoon (good weather not so important there, can spend a lot of time 'indoors' )