Reality Check...

milasavesmoney

Glad the nephew is alright. I raised 6 children and ALWAYS had a bill to pay at the emergency room. I would just get one paid off and back in we would have to go. I'm glad that's behind me now.

Excellent :A excellent job of not ordering online!!!!!!!:T:T:T

reality_check

I hate coming back on here with bad news, but it is all my fault! Over the weekend I have spent £180!! £40 was on a Jo Malone hand cream - don't ask! It smells lovely and is really moisturising... I wasn't organised and too hungover to then bother to go buy my friends daughter a present for her birthday so I put £20 in a card, could have Spent half of this if I had bought a gift as she’s only 6, but then didn’t think £10 looked enough in a card so added in £20. I then bought a dress from Karen Millen at £80 that was half price, and can’t return it as I have already been out on Saturday night wearing it! And the final £40 was spent on drinks on Saturday night that resulted in theeee worst hangover ever!! And to top it off, my friends daughter who’s birthday it was I popped into the party where there was a petting zoo! So imagine feeling horrific + screaming kids + bugs/rats/lizards – it was up there with the worst hangovers for a long time….that’s what I get for drinking cocktails and mixing every spirit going :mad:

I don’t know if I can rescue much of this spending…but I’ve not been in much so hardly made dinners so only bonus is I probably could live without buying anything for about 10 days…but I know that's not realastic!

milasavesmoney

1) good job on the dress. :T
2) you botched it big time on the rest!
3) I'm slightly glad you had a horrible hangover and suffered at the party. By the way who cares what 'it' looks like??? £10 was plenty and what you could afford?? Right??
4) You are in debt. This is how you got here.

Butt kicking session has now come to an end. Get back up on that horse you fell off of and continue to do good deeds for your financial future. You deserve to be happily solvent and out of debt.:):):):)

p.s. That you put this in your diary is HUGH!! I hope you see that this is a big step in becoming debt free. We all have had our own episodes of spending insanity. That's why we are all here.

reality_check

I know I know you are right, £10 is all I should have put in (in reality I can't even afford that!) but I just thought £10 doesn't get you much these days and my friend has been great with my daughter over the years...oh well, it's done now, onwards and upwards.

I didn't deserve the petting zoo and hangover, nobody does :rotfl: well...I take that back, I can think of a few people I would wish it on!

I want to buy/do something with my daughter for passing her exams (providing she does lol) but I don't know what! I wish I was creative and could make things and wish she would appreciate something like that, but in reality I am not creative, and she would hate a homemade effort, as would I!

I also want to join a gym....I have been thinking about it for a while, and I know it's another monthly cost i could do without....there is a basic gym near me for £20 and it is month to month with no contracts and included classes, which interests me most. Should I put a price on my health?! This is how I am justifying it to myself and blocking out the fact that I could go a run for free lol but we will see...I am about 85% going to sign up!

Bought lunch today, £4 on a sandwich, I need to snap out of spending money and not being organised!! Tomorrow I will 100% be back on track xx

Eager_Elephant

reality_check wrote: »

I have 10 days until pay day as the 15th is on a Sunday so will be paid on Friday, I have came under my petrol budget with all the petrol I will need topped up and provided I don't spend any more than £5.13 in the next 10 days then I will make it to the end of the month!! I have also had to use a week and a half of my food budget to fund the key so I will be making do with what we have. Made a big pot of soup so I will be eating that for 7 days as have 7 containers made up for lunches and made a curry today which will do tonight, tomorrow's dinner and a portion for the freezer for another 2 meals.

I don't know if it is possible, but we are about to find out!!! xx

If you only had £5.13 to last until this Friday how did you buy all the stuff you got??

If it was by using your credit card then I think you need to take the credit card out of your purse and cut it up so you can't use it.


If you took from your emergency fund then hopefully you can pay it back on payday.


Can you start to recognise what leads to you spending money you don't have?
I don't think going out with friends is a problem and £40 is pretty tame for a night out but how did the moisturiser come about?


Could you look at your budget so you allocate some fun money/spends so if you want an expensive moisturiser you can only have it if the money is in the 'pot' and then you have to pick between moisturiser and night out??


I know that my triggers of spending too much is going to town on a Sat morning with DH and DD so I try to avoid it. This weekend we had to go to town but I wrote a list of places we had to go and what was needed and did not deviate from it - it takes practice but I know the feeling of dread on a Sat afternoon is so bad I don't want to overspend.


Same as mila - it's great that you have come back to confess all and shows that you recognise you shouldn't have spent money you did not have.


Could you make something for tea tonight that's suitable as leftovers tomorrow for lunch so you don't need to spend £4 on something which is only half decent?

milasavesmoney

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

If you only had £5.13 to last until this Friday how did you buy all the stuff you got??

Can you start to recognise what leads to you spending money you don't have.

This is this same line of reasoning I was going to ask about. You don't have this money to spend. You can't continue to buy what you fancy at the time. It is not sustainable.

You could decide how much you can spend on a present for your daughter and begin to look for deals on what you want to get her. Don't go over what you have set to spend.

Have you done a SOA? I can't remember. That would be a helpful tool for you if you haven't yet. You can do this!

reality_check

Hey EE, I used the emergency fund to fund my spends. I think I might ditch the emergency fund and on Friday clear off £1500 on M&S. My plan was to pay my daughter back this month, I have saved £500 of £1500 so she could be put on hold until June, and I can get my EF back to £1000 to July.

The £40 was mostly on taxi's and a few drinks, it could have been much worse, but who I was out with hardly lets me spend anything, which is awkward but that's another story.

There is no reasoning behind buying the dress and hand cream...I bought them simply because I wanted them. I sound like a 5 year old brat! I didn't need a new dress, I have a wardrobe full, and although I like expensive hand cream and I can justify the cost IF I had the money..I didn't need it or a cheaper alternative, I have some!!

I think I have finally cracked the refusing to use cards or my overdraft as refuse to pay fees, but still can't be trusted with money that I can get my hands on, clearly.

Lunch was a one off, I think I have got to grips with 95% bringing it from home, but last night I wasn't staying at mine, and never thought so was all just a lack of organisation.

I allocated £100 to spending this month,...and ended up spending £260. I gave £20 from the £100 to the missing key fund. I just need to get a grip and stick to a budget, can't really afford to give myself £100 a month never mind any more!!

I tried to do a SOA before but couldn't get it done and gave up as annoyed me.

A basic outline is:

Wages: £1100
Commission: £1200 is the potential this is not a guarantee, but it generally is...and I average £900

Mortgage + Council Tax + Water rates - £600
Gas & Electricity - £85
Dog walking - £20
Virgin TV/Phone/Internet - £40 (I currently have credit with them so not paying this for 6 months)
Netflix - £7
Gym - £20 (I am most likely joining)
Petrol - £100
Food + cleaning products - £150
Annual saving for home and car insurance so I have the money for 2017 - £50
Current credit card repayments £150

Total: £1222

Everything is set amounts that won't change apart from food and petrol. Petrol is pretty accurate and food could be as much or as little as I make it, but £150 is such an improvement from what I previously spend.

This then leaves £778 and if I give myself £100 (should also include haircuts, waxing and the rest I can spend on whatever I want) to spend I have about £678 per month to pay towards my debts.

Come August after my MOT I will put away £50 a month to cover next year/tax/unexpected repair costs. This year I will use commission money and have a small debt repayment that month.

For my daughters & parents birthday and for Christmas I will pay minimum payments and use commission on them. My friend who's daughters birthday it was, it is only her 2 kids I buy for which are in Feb and May.

I am so bad at this debt busting/spending!!

Eager_Elephant

Just my thoughts (sorry if they come across as harsh)


If your commission averages £900 why have you put £1200 in the budget? Do you get commission every month? What would happen if you went off on long term sick, do you get sick pay based on basic wage and/or commission?


You are living month to month when really on your income you should have plenty of surplus.


I am concerned that your FS is not accurate as there isn't enough on it plus you keep talking about paying for things from commission and reducing debt repayments when they crop up rather actually budgeting for things - the problem with not having a budget is you just spent whatever you feel like rather than what you can afford.


Is dog walking always £20pm or is it actually £5 per week so some months you would pay 5 times?


Do you not have a mobile phone? Insurance?


Do you not have to pay tax for the car? Even if you have paid outright for this year you need to save for next year.


If your MOT is in August why have you not started saving for that already so that when August comes you have to take less from your monthly income?


Do you never have to pay for parking or tolls on bridges?


What will you be doing when you car needs replacing? I have just replaced my car and always meant to save something each month towards a newer one and never got round to it. Since I replaced my car in November I have been saving £30pm into an online savings ready to fund my next car.


Do you ever have any medical costs? Contact lenses? Glasses? Prescriptions? Dentist?


Any charity/donation outgoings?


Personally I think £150 for food is quite low especially if you have been spending a lot more - if you cut back too much too quickly you feel you are missing out and then overspend. Could you do it more gradually?


Are you saving towards repairs around the home or replacement white goods? These outgoings should not come from the emergency fund as they are not unforeseen - all homes will need work done on them at some point.


If you look back over the last few months how much have you actually spent on things such as going out/clothes/nice moisturiser? You clearly like nice things so only allowing £100 per month for spends is not going to work long term because in a month like this one you have overspent by £160 so better to up your spends to something more realistic and if you have it spare on next payday to pay it to debt. Plus you have regular beauty treatments - if they all fall in the same month that is going to cost more than £100.


I think you need to start putting money away for birthdays and Xmas now to spread the cost.


You are not bad at debt busting/spending, it's just you are new to it all and it takes time to adapt.


Could you open an account with a Building Society for your emergency fund? My Xmas pot is with Coventry Building Society and although I can log in online money takes 2 days to move to my normal bank account and it's such a faff to log in (as I don't know my details off by heart) that I just don't bother to take money out. Plus I don't have a branch in my town so can't walk in.


You need to set your budget now and allocate all your money for the month and then on payday transfer it to where it needs to go and don't steal from other pots - once your spends have gone they have gone and you have to wait for the pot to be topped up again on payday.

milasavesmoney

Looking at what you have coming in and what's going out is a great start to understanding your ability to repay your debts. EE has pointed out that your FS probably is a little bare bones. As you go back over your bank and credit card statements etc you will find some other things such as your phone, etc. since knowing where the money is going is essential.

The £1100+ commission is what you bring home after your student loan is deducted?

And yes, your EF should not be easy to get to and you really do need one. I have mine in a credit union savings account (US) that has no debit or check writing privileges. RC, I know myself too well to trust myself with easy access. I initially saved $1000 and then I started the 3-6 month EF. That's what I'm doing now. You can see my progress in my signature.


It's from experience that you learn (or burn) and you are a very fast learner. I have different accounts set up for different things such as taxes, Xmas, repairs, EF etc. I have one checking account set up with PayPal and if the money is not there, then I don't buy it online. That way I stay away from my credit cards. Honestly this seems complicated when looking at it, but if I don't do it this way I'll spend it.

I agree also that you need a larger fund for yourself. If, at the end of the month, you have money leftover you can make an OP. You clearly love life and you love your daughter so it's important that you don't feel hog tied to your debt but give yourself a bit more leeway than £100 a month. You make a good salary and should be able to enjoy yourself and take care of yourself. i.e. Gym membership.

This is a long road but so worth the trouble! Cheering you on from New Mexico.

reality_check

thank you to both of you for taking the time to send those replies...I really do appreciate your input.

My take home pay is always aprox £1100 and I work in sales so my commission can be anything from 0 to £1200 but my average monthly amount is £900. However if I was off sick I would not be entitled to it...so basically i need to be on my death bed right now to call in sick!

Food budget isn't actually as bad as it sounds, for 2 people 4 times a week and 1 person 3 times roughly. I shop in Lidl and mostly just eat chicken/fish with vegetables/rice or pasta. I used to be the M&S microwave queen!!

I am not budgeting for home improvements right now as I have spent the past 2 years renovating my house and everything is 100% and won't be doing anything any time soon.

My life insurrance is paid for by my dad! It was years ago and he found out I never had any, and he now pays for it!

My daughter pays my phone bill, it is sim only and £20. I don't have phone insurance.

Dog walking is £10 per day x2 days a week. I pay 2 weeks, my mum pays one and daughter the other.

Medical costs - I bought 6 months of contacts online that will probably last me a year and I think it worked out as £65. I don't have any on going prescriptions and hardly visit the doctor so would just pay for this if and when I needed it. I have private dental care through a benefit in work so luckily that is covered.

I cancelled charity contributions about a year ago - I was that person who stops for people in the street and a sucker for a sob story...but they have all been canceled, for now anyway.

I probably do need to give myself a greater monthly allowance or I will be in the same position every month....or, not having access to other money and using all money towards debt means if I don't have it I can't spend it...will just be miserable lol I have had years living on a champagne lifestyle on lemonade wages...maybe i should just rough it for a few month!

I have an old credit union account, I could use this for birthday, Christmas, EF.... I did plan on just using my commission for annual costs and when they come around then plan to budget for the next year. Like my car insurance, I paid it in full this year on a credit card but I now have monthly savings for 2017 I planned to do the same for my MOT and tax that are due in August.

I don't have a car replacement fund right now, my car is reasonably reliable, but it is a MINI and because it is owned by BMW they charge ridiculous prices when anything goes wrong....so i probably do need a car parts fund.

I think I just want to pay every penny to debt and hope nothing happens, but I know things are bound to happen so it isn't realistic....but thought could get away with a year of hammering debt and not budgeting...oh i don't know!!

I just need to refocus! Friday is pay day, new budgets and new targets!! xx