Don't know where to start

DevilsAdvocate1

I really need to save some money, but I just don't know where to start.

When the children were small, I was really good at managing the money. I was a stay at home mum and we had half the income that we do now. I remember using vouchers at Asda even when not buying the item (not sure if they still do this). Although things were tight, we did not get into debt.

Our income is roughly double what it was then. The children are now 17, 14 and 10. We have about £9000 of debt and this is going to increase. Our car went in for a service and MOT yesterday and its going to cost at least £1000 to get it roadworthy. We discussed not get the work done and buying another car, but we just don't have the money right now. Car insurance is also due as is the road tax.

Also, my husband is about to start a new job. He is going to be working from home, but his new company want him to travel down to their office for the first two days. They want him to do this 6 times a year and have added £2000 onto his salary to cover this. However, this means we have to pay out initially and the cost will be recouped over the year. He also has to provide his own laptop. Not bought yet, but has to be done before the 1st of October.

It is worth it though, as we reckon his monthly net pay will be around £500 a month more than now. He currently works from home, so no changes there.

I'm worried that this pay rise will just get eaten up the way my wages have been. I need to make a budget and put this money toward the debt without eating into it for day to day stuff. But where do I start?

Any advice gratefully received.

lessonlearned

And breathe...........

I am no expert but I think the first thing to do is a statement of affairs. If you go over to the debt boards you will get lots of help,and advice and there is a link on how to do an SOA.

Then you work through your outgoings systematically to see where you can make cut backs and economies. This might be looking for better deals for your utilities, switching credit cards etc.

Then start a spending diary and record every single penny you spend, this will soon show you where the leaks are and where you can make changes.

Re - the car. Your idea of trading in your car might not be such a bad idea.......We did this once when we had an unreliable banger. we bit the bullet and went In For a new one, no deposit, 0 per cent Interest.

Now I knkw the argument for not buying a brand new car, ie the depreciation, but if you intend to keep it for several years then the depreciation won't matter. what you will get is several years of trouble free low cost motoring.

We kept that car for 17 years and eventually gave it to my sister. It just wouldn't die and kept sailing through its MOT year after year.

I think once a car starts costing serious amounts of money on repair bills then it's time to let go.

Your bill is around £1k, plus insurance and tax, what's that another £400 or £500 which realisitically you don't have. You could shell out all that money and the car might still need more money in a few months time. Have a look at some of the deals out there, it might be the best way to go.

Have a look at your food budget and see what cutbacks you can make there. do an inventory and have a use up month, put the savings towards the lap top. There are some great tips on the grocery challenges and feeding a family of 4 for £20 thread.

Have a good declutter, and sell anything that is surplus to requirements - again you can put the money raised towards the laptop.

£9k may sound like a huge debt but you can do it. Look up the snowball calculator - i think there is a link on the debt boards.

As you say you are going to be £500 a month better off anyway so what with that, plus reducing your outgoings wherever possible, you should make headway on those debts in no time.

Have a moratorium on all unnecessary spending for 6 months, ie no new clothes unless of course the children have a growth spurt, no new toys, gadgets etc. . See the "Im not buying it thread" for ideas.

Start thinking about Christmas and planning ahead.

One thing I will say is try to get the whole family involved. Let the children know the score, they are old enough to understand and of course we are never to young to,learn how to manage money effectively.

Ask for their advice and suggestions, you never know they might come up with some great ideas for cheap fun and entertainment, maybe even an alternative low cost Christmas.

Good luck and keep,posting.

Ps one of the areas where the children might be of real help is getting them to photograph and list things on eBay for you. it will sa e you a lot of time and they will most likely enjoy doing it.

davidsdesire

lessonlearned has given you tons of great advice.

the only thing i can add is to remember that you eat a whole elephant one bite at a time!

take it one step at a time, don't let it overwhelm you and just keep working it.

jackyann

Your children are at very expensive ages, and I found it very difficult at that time to keep on top of a budget.
I think you definitely need to involve them, and enlist their help.
Sort out a food budget, work out what will be in the "help yourself" list, and what will be rationed. Look at all the good suggestions on this site for feeding hungry kids!
Also be clear on pocket money and what has to come out of it.

Can the eldest get a part-time job? Do you live in the kind of area where middlest might be able to do odd jobs for neighbours to supplement pocket money? Ours did stuff like car washing, garden tidying and dog walking.

Good luck

lessonlearned

There's an item in this weeks email called 60 Life Hacks. It's also
Posted on the Boost Your Income Board.

Might be worth a look at. Ive already found one I didn't know about and have started to act on the tip. It should generate me about £30 a month, so we'll worth the effort.

Rainy-Days

Undertaking a Statement Of Affairs is the first priority as Lessonlearned has pointed out.

Many years ago, my late, but totally wonderful, Uncle Ron gave me a crash course in managing financial affairs and this was in the day when there was no direct debits or standing orders at play! I had a budget account, which ran alongside my current account. The budget account dealt with everything from the utility bills, rates the car and a bit added on for any household repairs.

If you have not got a budget account then perhaps you might want to think about getting one. As my Uncle Ron said to me all those moons ago that the car tax, MOT and insurance comes around every year so it's no shock when it pitches up - a bit like Christmas as well it seems to take us all by surprise yet it is there every year in December grinning at us! The key thing though is not to 'raid' the budget account to 'tide you over'!

My good friend has gone through the wringer with debt and has managed to clear out £28k of debt. Okay, her credit rating is smashed to pieces, but she is pretty much back on an even keel - with only one CC debt left to deal with. It has taken her about two years of difficult times to come towards a better place. Debt is a nightmare situation that can rock you to your core, but the first point is taking responsibility for it - which you have done and are facing up to it!

Start meal planning and get yourself a shopping list on the go as well. Find out when the sales for clothes are on and buy the kids clothes then. If you can car boot anything then do it. If you can eBay stuff even better you can get 20 free listings a month!

Debt is no joke, but anybody can fall victim to it - get over onto the Debt Free Wannabe area of this forum. Some sterling advice over there, which my good friend benefitted from immensely.

Butterfly_Brain

A lot of good advice already given.

First and foremost don't panic

Do an inventory of the cupboards and freezer and see what meals you can come up with, get the children involved in the meal planning and check out the grocery challenge board

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5313679

The children are old enough to understand about debt so sit them down and explain what you need to do, they will understand honestly.

We have always struggled but our two never complained from a young age even about having second hand toys for Christmas especially DD who collects original gen 1 transformers which you can only get second hand, she said the best Christmas present we ever gave her was a box full of six of them.
She is now a charity shop officinado and loves coming home with a bargain :rotfl:

Go back to using cash and leave cards at home, this stops you buying on impulse because you can only spend what you have allocated.

Meal plan and use a shopping list.

Use the market and local butcher/greengrocer rather than supermarkets which have cunning ploys to make you spend your money.

If you have an Aldi or Lidl close by use them, both have good quality items and are a lot cheaper than the big four supermarkets.

Have a look at the money saving meals threads such as
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4148389

This is a brilliant site set up by weezle, thrifty lesley and other girls on here

http://cheap-family-recipes.org/

DevilsAdvocate1

Thanks everyone. I will do a SOA over the weekend. There are some things I'm already intending to cut, but don't know if it'll make much difference. The debts are on 2 credit cards which are both 0%. Both are at their limit too.

I already shop at Aldi, but my husband pops into Sainsburys on a Monday night.

Unfortunately we have expensive hobbies and this is where most of the money goes.

Am I okay to post the SOA here, or sure I stick to the debt board?

Thanks again.

lessonlearned

I think you might get more general advice on debt busting on the other board and perhaps more house keeping/food budgeting advice on here.

I see no reason why you can't post on both boards or indeed any other biard. . The Boost your income board might be useful too.

jackyann

DevilsAdvocate1 wrote: »

Unfortunately we have expensive hobbies and this is where most of the money goes.

.

I wonder what can be done about that? Depends on the hobby, but maybe you could:

Give it up and get a cheaper one?!
Ration time / money spent
Turn it into a money saver or maker: one of the women at a class I attend barters her cleaning services to the teacher
I'm sure others will be along with more ideas!

DevilsAdvocate1

I don't think much can be done. My eldest two boys are very musical and the eldest wants to study it at university. He has 2 piano lessons, 1 viola lesson and 1 guitar lesson every week. Middle son has 1 piano lesson, 1 viola and 1 guitar. Youngest has 1 violin lesson and 1 drum lesson.

Sometimes, my eldest covers for one of the teachers and that week all 3 boys get their guitar or drum lesson free. Son also gets paid, so works well :rotfl:But doesn't happen too often

I figure skate. I go 4 times a week and would actually like to go more, but know I can't afford it. My youngest figures skates too and is good, so don't want to stop him. He talks about doing this when he grows up, if he's good enough. As a boy, it should be easier for him than if he was a girl as there is a shortage of boy figure skaters.

Just going to have to increase my income and save my husband's increase in wages. And spend less in other areas. There just always seems to be something we have to buy