a newbie's SOA

[Deleted User]

The advice about trying Aldi or Lidl is good; I shop there instead of Tesco and was genuinely surprised at how much I saved.

f0nz

Don't give yourself such a hard time, you've realised what's happeneing before it gets too out of control and you're making changes! That's a great step! Those changes should be relatively easy to sustain whilst paying off your debt you just have to be strict and determined! When we were a family of 4 we had £50 a week for groceries and we managed. A lot of people still manage quite happily on that amount so I have faith that you can reduce, just takes a bit of effort and planning

concrete_kid

I can totally see how entertainment is £300, at points mine has probably been way more than this, if it includes nights out, dinner out, pub nights and lunches.

The key for me was to set an entertainment budget and stick to it, however I was determined not to socialise less so i'd try to plan a cheaper alternative rather than cancal plans.

So rather than go for dinner, I'd cook for friends or have them over for drinks.

Instead of lunch in summer I'd suggest picnics in the park. After that I'd give myself one night out a month, it's worked so far but it can at times be difficult saying no to things.

rising_from_the_ashes

Well done for posting - I bet you'll get a shock after a month of recording everything you spend (I certainly did!)

Re the car ...... you really do need to look at how much this costs compared to how much you use it

If you're only using £40 petrol / month then the mileage you're using it for certainly doesn't justify the amount it's costing you (sorry) - especially if you're still having to use taxis as well

koselur

Thanks for the replies...

F0nz - I've set up my YNAB now and reconciled all my account etc. I do need to be a lot stricter but I've found LOADS of great advice and I'm feeling really positive about it

Concrete kid - I don't want to become less social either but am going to be a lot more realistic about what I can afford and let my budget determine what I do rather than the other way round. Picnics are a great idea once the weather gets better (apparently we are having an endless winter in Yorkshire).

RFTA - This month is a bit experimental to be honest as I have such a poor idea of what I usually spend - I'm sure it won't feel good to examine it all (already pretty terrifying and it's only the 4th haha!).

Hadn't really thought about getting rid of the car... I haven't ever really seen it as a huge expense... but then again that could just as well be me in denial again! It does get used more than it seems since my OH gets a lot of the petrol on expenses (he gets paid per mile for this and ends up making a profit which just goes back into the car) and it really does a lot of miles to the gallon (it costs about £45 to fill up and recently went Sheffield-Leeds-Sheffield-London on one tank). Gonna have to give that one some more thought though so thanks for pointing it out! It is definitely a luxury rather than a necessity for us.

theoretica

Have a look back through your last few months of bank and card statements and see where your money has been going - perhaps try to fill in a retrospective SOA for 6 months. You may need an extra 'cash' category - which is probably mostly entertainment, some groceries and clothes/travel. How much of that spending do you now still think was worth it looking back?

January2015

Hi Koselur

Glad you posted on the main forum and are getting some great advice. As a new DFW myself I am still learning so won't try and advise you other than to say stick with YNAB. Having the app on your phone is brilliant - I used to be terrible for impulse spending and now I check what funds have been budgeted for categories and if I don't have a budget for it this month I either can't/don't buy it, or I check if I can move money around in my budget. It has already drastically reduced what I spend on what was, essentially, non-essential items.

curiousralphy

Completely off topic but I'd like to say thanks for putting up your real SOA. It's nice to see someone be honest about where they're spending and admit it needs to be fixed. Best of luck with YNAB, it's a great little program and, like many others on here, we've completely turned our finances around with it.

koselur

theoretica wrote: »

Have a look back through your last few months of bank and card statements and see where your money has been going - perhaps try to fill in a retrospective SOA for 6 months. You may need an extra 'cash' category - which is probably mostly entertainment, some groceries and clothes/travel. How much of that spending do you now still think was worth it looking back?

Hi - this is a great idea, thank you! I did rattle through last month (with eyes half closed haha!) but of course no month is typical. I will have a look at doing this tonight.

koselur

Just an update - have started come clean to my mates about my situation - and that I won't be able to spend as much money on social stuff. Feels such a relief to be honest about it - no idea why I didn't fess up before.. Have also had a discussion with OH about going out to eat which is a big (former, hopefully!) vice for me. Often if I tell him I can't afford something he tries to pay for it, which isn't fair on him (well...the occasional treat is ok :P) and leaves me feeling guilty. I've explained my situation to him when I had my LBM so he's been really understanding and we are going to do more 'fakeaways' and cheap/free dates like walks & picnics We are already planning a trip to the city farm to see the lambs which won't cost anything, except maybe £1 for a cup of tea in the cafe there.