SOA - please help!! I want to start today!

getmore4less

There are loads of little saying the one that stuck in my mind was your future financial security is not determined by how much you earn but how much you spend.

I think a really good exercise this month will be to see if you can go without increasing the debt, even better if you can also make the min payments on the cards and not use some of the paid off bit.

if you track your spending you will know if you go ovr and at this point you have to make it clear to everyone that everything you spend from now till next pay day is borrowed money.

a spending diary is important as is a proper budget(a full years plan) but you may find posting diary helps with the motivation, even if it is just a regular update on progress, some like to do family blogs with every detail you will find what works for you.

what uaually happens you have loads to do for a couple of months the !!!!!! the budgte ballances and you have a plane it's back to the daily grind with nothing to do but just track you are on budget till something changes(sometime good more money, sometimes bad the car blows up).

Cleaner what about twice a month with you guys doing the other 1/2.

Ironing just do the for work/school stuff.

getmore4less

On tools to help with the planning, you might be the perfect target market for YNAB. there are some threads around that cover this.

I had a look and did not like it for my needs prefering MSMoney, it has some good tools for forward planning/forcasting.

Orange_Ena

When I had my first LBM I went through all my outgoings and asked myself whether I needed it or could I get it cheaper. I saved £150 per month which was completely painless and it felt like I'd got a pay rise. It's nothing like your numbers but it's all relative. I made other cutbacks too and after 4 years of just having freeview, which has been totally fine, I've just bought a Now TV box and I'm spoilt for choice. I thought I needed cable telly, turns out I could live without it.

You can still have treats and it's not all doom, but it's just making better choices or making the things you have to pay like gas and electric or house insurance as good a value as you can get. You might save £10 here, £50 there but times that by 10 and it's quite a chunk of money. Don't forget cashback sites either. I bought some cat food via T0pcashback and got 52p back. I was going to buy it anyway so a couple of extra clicks and I've saved money. I'm booking a night away and I should get about £14! back which will pay for a few drinks or towards a spa treatment. It all adds up :j

I sometimes worry about being recognised on here but then I think if anyone does recognise me from RL and dares to comment in a negative way about my debt, well that's just rude. Hopefully, people will just think that I'm doing a good thing in sorting my life out and that's admirable.

This is a really great thread and you've had some brilliant advice. I'll be following your journey with interest. You can do this!

asparagus1968

Mr4c and Sanctioned Parts List -

fantastic posts from you both ! Many thanks

m4rc

Forward_thinking wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Have just cancelled medical insurance (was paying £600 month but was about to change to £300 - won't for now. Have lost all our pre-existing history now anyway so it's done. That's what I was dreading!)

Rang up about the car - it's sold but he's taken my number and told me to look for a galaxy as they're more reliable.

Just about to check our council tax band - just a quick calculation but I am determined to get the magnifying glass out and put it on absolutely everything. Also busy decluttering the house - on my last room (not including that garage!) I'm currently balancing on a stool checking the medical cupboard - postman just looked at me as if I was crazy! Especially as the one year old was up there with me - holding on to him obviously. It's my last room and the house is totally organised and decluttered. Apart from the garage. Somehow it's true - tidy house, tidy mind. It makes me feel I can really do this debt sorting.

£600 - wow, even though it was going to £300 that's a massive saving, well done you, I know that was a difficult decision. However you will see how worthwhile it was in the coming monhs and years as everything you can stop or reduce now will go towards you guys having a better quality of life and owning your own home, car and other stuff rather than renting, hiring and leasing it.

I was going to say a galaxy is a better choice but I didn't want to put you off when you were doing so well. I have had a zafira, 2 galaxy's and a citroen c4 Picasso, and I would choose the Galaxy every time, even if it is an old one. Reliable, lots of parts, comfy, good spec and the seating layout worked for us - littlest in back row with 2nd seat folded for wheelchair, middle row my younger son who is disabled and his brother, also has disabilities but can walk, but he's a big lad so there's no room for my little girl in middle, and me and the better half in the front. The zafira we didn't fit so well, citroen is a bit of a squash too, nice cars but I had and have mine through motability so I don't have to worry about repairs - I would never buy one with my own cash. Sadly when I needed to replace the last Galaxy the new model wasn't available so we had to take the citroen, next time it's a galaxy though.

And the garage - I think we are all allowed a garage that has all sorts of stuff chucked in that never gets sorted, that's certainly the case with mine so nobody say otherwise!!

Mendry

Getting one's expenses picked apart in these boards can be painful - hang in there, there is a lot of good advice from many experienced users.

Well done for taking the first few steps!

My small input is regarding groceries costs: Once you realise just how overpriced some products are, you will be the ones "judging" your friends/relatives for spending two or three times more than you for the same kilo of tomatoes (etc).

Forward_thinking

Thanks everyone yet again. I keep thinking everyone has said all there is to say but then along comes another golden nugget.

Feeling terribly guilty at the moment. My son is supposed to be going to piano lesson tonight - I've just cancelled it. He wanted to continue but said he didn't think he was good enough and didn't think he would have the willpower to practise every night. So it's gone - it was costing £24 each lesson. And that's almost the price of the cleaner who I am thinking of sadly finishing. He's upstairs at the moment and I suspect he has agreed to end because of our conversation last night. Feel horrible but know it's the right move for us all. : ((

anna_1977

Gosh that must have been hard

matchboxfull

Forward_thinking wrote: »

Thanks everyone yet again. I keep thinking everyone has said all there is to say but then along comes another golden nugget.

Feeling terribly guilty at the moment. My son is supposed to be going to piano lesson tonight - I've just cancelled it. He wanted to continue but said he didn't think he was good enough and didn't think he would have the willpower to practise every night. So it's gone - it was costing £24 each lesson. And that's almost the price of the cleaner who I am thinking of sadly finishing. He's upstairs at the moment and I suspect he has agreed to end because of our conversation last night. Feel horrible but know it's the right move for us all. : ((

He might well be relieved if he wasn't that bothered about learning. Maybe leave the door open for him to choose something he is interested in (as long as it's not dressage or, like, yacht club!)

lynnejk

I know some of these moves will feel 'painful' but try to look at the big picture, when you can, and keeping a record of that debt and your monthly expenditure going down will, I'm sure, be a wonderful feeling. You're doing great so far so you just have to stay strong


Getting the sprogs on board is the way to go. When mine were little and funds were pitiful they understood when I said that we couldn't afford things. You might like to think about the older ones having a weekly 'allowance', even if small - then they can see that sometimes you have to wait and save up for things you want
Lx