Let's get this paid off - diary of a trier

FatVonD

Moneylockdown wrote: »

Just a query - how much does everyone spend on petrol a month for 2 people? I didn't think that our £340 was high but now it's been flagged as high I am conscious about it and wondering if that could be a major cutback that we could be using.

Thank you :beer:

It is what it is though. Presumably you only drive when you need to get from A to B rather than just for the fun of it and that is the amount of petrol you need to do it The only way to cut back would be to car share, take public transport or switch to a more economical car (if yours are the very thirsty types!)

Do you shop at Tesco? I found when I was driving to work I was saving about £6 on a full tank of petrol by using their points. (I think you earn 2 points for every £50 you spend in a month.) Obviously if you've accrued a good amount of points and you can only use them once it makes sense to run the car almost dry and then fill up to get the biggest savings (the max is 20p off per litre.)

rockm87

I spend about £60 a month, but I only drive to and from work (20 minutes each way), with a weekly shop 5 minutes down the road.

try cutting your usage, and driving economically.

japmis

Take a look at the YNAB software; it's really helped me get my finances in great shape

Purplesky_2

Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

Summary

Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 2,350
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 1,736.14
Available for debt repayments 613.86
UNsecured debt repayments 266
Amount left after debt repayments 347.86
Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 6,800
Total Secured & HP Debt -0
Total Unsecured Debt -10,944.04
Net Assets -4,144.04
Household Information

Number of adults in household 2
Number of children in household 0
Number of cars owned 2
Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 1150
Partners monthly income 1200
Benefits 0
Other income 0
Total monthly income 2350
Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 0
Secured/HP loan payments 0
Rent 525 (Is this as low as you could go? Could you move closer to work?)
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 127
Electricity 40 (Most places you can change the supplier for energy, double check your lease. Double check you're on the cheapest tariff available)
Gas 30
Oil 0
Water Rates 39 (This looks absolutely fine, but are you on a meter? If so, could you reduce water usage?)
Telephone (land line) 23
Mobile phone 80
TV Licence 12.14 (Do you actually watch TV live? If not, you can get rid of this!)
Satellite/Cable TV 0
Internet services 0
Groceries etc. 160
Clothing 20
Petrol/diesel 340
Road tax 34
Car Insurance 50
Car maintenance (including MOT) 10
Car Parking 0
Other travel 0
Childcare/nursery 0
Other child related expenses 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 0
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 0
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 6
Life Assurance 0
Other Insurance 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 20 (Is this true? It is for me, but maybe you're being a little optimistic?)
Haircuts 20
Entertainment 0
Holiday 0
Emergency Fund 200
Total monthly expenses 1736.14
Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 0 (0) 0
Secured & HP Debt totals 0 - -
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Credit card 1 439.94 15 0
Credit card 2 781.5 20 0
Credit card 3 1969.6 27 0
Loan 7753 204 0
Unsecured Debt totals 10944.04 266 -
Asset Description Value (£)
Cash 1600 (You could reduce this to £1000 and pretty much pay off cc2?)
House Value (Gross) 0
Shares and bonds 1700 (Are these "bonds" that are really fixed-term savings or investments?)
Car(s) 3500
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets 6800

There are other points here that have already been addressed, so I won't repeat them.

I've just done one of these and we have had to look at many of the things that you are now looking at.
Do you use your mobile for the internet mostly? You may be able to do without a landline for a while totally?

If you are spending that much on petrol, how much could you save in petrol if you moved closer to work (or more equidistant from your jobs), even if that involves a higher rent? Or could you downsize?

Also, for reference we spend £20-30 a month in petrol.

Moneylockdown

FatVonD wrote: »

It is what it is though. Presumably you only drive when you need to get from A to B rather than just for the fun of it and that is the amount of petrol you need to do it The only way to cut back would be to car share, take public transport or switch to a more economical car (if yours are the very thirsty types!)

Do you shop at Tesco? I found when I was driving to work I was saving about £6 on a full tank of petrol by using their points. (I think you earn 2 points for every £50 you spend in a month.) Obviously if you've accrued a good amount of points and you can only use them once it makes sense to run the car almost dry and then fill up to get the biggest savings (the max is 20p off per litre.)

Hi FatVOnD,

Thank you for reply... We don't really shop at Tesco as find quite expensive compared to asda xx

Moneylockdown

rockm87 wrote: »

I spend about £60 a month, but I only drive to and from work (20 minutes each way), with a weekly shop 5 minutes down the road.

try cutting your usage, and driving economically.

I only spend £80 it is the husban who spends the rest as his work is quite far from where we live xx

Moneylockdown

japmis wrote: »

Take a look at the YNAB software; it's really helped me get my finances in great shape

Oooooo I will have to look into that and read some forums on it ... Thanks :beer:

Moneylockdown

Purplesky wrote: »

There are other points here that have already been addressed, so I won't repeat them.

I've just done one of these and we have had to look at many of the things that you are now looking at.
Do you use your mobile for the internet mostly? You may be able to do without a landline for a while totally?

If you are spending that much on petrol, how much could you save in petrol if you moved closer to work (or more equidistant from your jobs), even if that involves a higher rent? Or could you downsize?

Also, for reference we spend £20-30 a month in petrol.

I am going to ring talktAlk tomorrow to see if can remove landline.

My husband has recently been promoted which increased his wage but also increased his petrol which is the main problem, I live quite close to my work (£80 a month) but hubby spends the £260 on his car :-(

Our bonds are part of a share save scheme so want to keep tht in there as long as possible really.

Thank you for your time to reply and good luck with your SOA :beer:

Moneylockdown

so today has been another none spend day and I have sold an item on eBay - £2.50 paid off a card. Not much I know but it is a start.

Listed more items too.

Xx

Moneylockdown

Another £1 paid off a cc from eBay - I know it's not much but it's something.

Can't wait to update my signature on pay day (08.05.2015)

:beer: