Our SOA

lincs1205

Dandelion Patrol - Thankyou for your comment this is what I'm concerned about. It's also why I've opened another bank account to try and turn the tide. Definitely going to pay my overdraft back first then concentrate on the joint account then the credit cards. Do you think it's worth paying the full £500 back to N&P then concentrate on the other overdraft or pay them back month by month?. I am in the position where I can do extra shifts which I am doing I get paid between £18 to £22.50 an hour. I have started taking steps to get our outgoings reduced. Thankyou.

Tabatha_Kitten

I had the most miserable two weeks of my life lying on a beach in Santorini around 2009 beating myself up feeling guilty all because it was too late to cancel without penalty a holiday I couldn't afford in the first place.
Im not being horrid when I say I hope the same happens to you. because that's ultimately what saved me in the long run.

lincs1205

Tabithakitten - I know you're not being horrible I already feel like rubbish anyway I have already said to my husband that he would probably be financially better off without me as have at my darkest times thought about ending it all. I feel physically sick when I think about the figures involved and how much money we've wasted over the past few years. Before he met me he thought nothing of getting a loan or credit card and actually took extra money out against his mortgage to help his parents out. He has finally realised that he needs to take a look at our bank statements and can't leave it all to me to deal with I do feel responsible as I'm the main earner. We have no excuses as we have no children.

redpete

lincs1205 wrote: »

re the £150 per month no it isn't it's probably 6--8 monthly.
We don't use £50 per month for presents more like every 3 to 4 months. Haircut is going down to potentially £35 per 8 weeks as going to go to the college across the road,

The SOA presents a monthly account - so spending that happens at different periods (every 8 weeks, or every 6 months...) has to be averaged to give 1/12 of the annual spend. So the amounts mentioned above become £18.75-£25, £12.50-£16.67 and £17.50.

DandelionPatrol

lincs1205 wrote: »

Tabithakitten - I know you're not being horrible I already feel like rubbish anyway I have already said to my husband that he would probably be financially better off without me as have at my darkest times thought about ending it all. I feel physically sick when I think about the figures involved and how much money we've wasted over the past few years.

Now you have put the effort into the SoA there is no point in ending it all.

lincs1205 wrote: »

Dandelion Patrol - Thankyou for your comment this is what I'm concerned about. It's also why I've opened another bank account to try and turn the tide. Definitely going to pay my overdraft back first then concentrate on the joint account then the credit cards. Do you think it's worth paying the full £500 back to N&P then concentrate on the other overdraft or pay them back month by month?. I am in the position where I can do extra shifts which I am doing I get paid between £18 to £22.50 an hour. I have started taking steps to get our outgoings reduced. Thankyou.

Overdrafts are charged in many different ways, but typically, you are punished heavily for using it in the first place, but it does not cost so much more for being deeper in. So aim to get rid of first the smaller - because you can do this more quickly and then get rid of the larger one

lincs1205

Thankyou dandelion Patrol. I've been accepted for a flex direct nationwide account with a £1000 0% overdraft for 12 months which I'm going to get my wages paid into. So will pay my £500 overdraft off first then move onto our joint overdraft then start throwing additional money at the credit cards.

DandelionPatrol

lincs1205 wrote: »

Thankyou dandelion Patrol. I've been accepted for a flex direct nationwide account with a £1000 0% overdraft for 12 months which I'm going to get my wages paid into. So will pay my £500 overdraft off first then move onto our joint overdraft then start throwing additional money at the credit cards.

Do not leave your existing account open with an overdraft! No turnover of money and the bank will probably call the overdraft in, plus mess with your credit record.

lincs1205

Will get this sorted ASAP. Thankyou

AspiringButAnxious

Definitely get a water meter. It saved my parents over a third of their bill for our household of 4 adults — which includes a brother who leaves the tap running when he shaves (grrr!) and daily hose pipe usage because we have 2 dogs and the gravel needs washing down. You can also find ways to further reduce your usage: my mum collects rain water in a bucket for some of her plants (it's supposed to be much better than tap water for the orchids she inherited from my gran, apparently). I'm thinking about buying my parents a water butt for Xmas, to help them save more money and the environment!

lincs1205

Thankyou aspiring but anxious this is definitely a great idea and will make us both think more carefully of our water usage. Have said to Dh that tomorrow I want him to ring all the utility companies and say they can speak to me as he is on permanent nights. Plus I'm more patient on the phone.