A Diary of Reinventing Ourselves

brizzledfw

Well done :T Worth it. Extra £70 a month to throw at other things..love it

getmore4less

brizzledfw wrote: »

Hi Sugarcube, will PM you. Unless anyone wants it Also agree 'pots' like that are the way to go with 'easy spenders'. Its also why I like software like YNAB as it helps you forecast spend rather than just recording it. When we weren't in control and hugely in debt, using traditional budget/recording software felt just like bolting the door after the horse had bolted

If used properly MSMoney does forcasting and cashflow etc. very well as do quite a few other packages.

Budgeting is all about the planning,
which is where a lot start to go wrong they forget things and don't do at least 12months ahead.
Then keeping an eye you are on track
which is where more go wrong, they spend more than they allocated in the plan and don't change the plan to reflect the difference.

When I looked YNAB was more a cashflow managing product which for many that is what they need to get the money flow under control.

getmore4less

Forward_thinking wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Spent TWO HOURS on the phone to fuel suppliers!!!!! Had no lunch, baby not fed and now have to rush out door for school run!!!!!!

Good news is we are swapping suppliers and will be paying £130 for gas and electricity instead of £200. So that's good. Plus they were so friendly (OVO as opposed to British Gas).

Hope not every change is not going to be this time consuming and painful!!!! It's taking up so much time.

Two months saving and that more than £70ph better than working

or thats an hour a month you don't have to work because you allready have paid yourself £70(probably closer to two hours net)

brizzledfw

And just heard from OH that YNAB has moved to a monthly subscription service which if true would make me think twice about it if there were (and there are as you say) alternatives, so...

We are still on the YNAB Classic version which was a few dollars when we bought it in 2013

But the main thing is to get a product or system in place and use it religiously. Without exception.

LittleDutchgirl

If you have a Barclaycard then they offer your Experian credit score for free. You have to sign up and confirm your address then it takes a couple of days to come through. It is just the raw score and they are trying to sucker you into buying their really expensive services but might be worth while and potentially informative.
I would also strongly suggest you try and clear a credit card asap. I found that as I did this the cc companies kept contacting me with BT deals. There is nothing that they hate as much as a zero balance but you can use that to your advantage.
The first part of debt busting is time consuming (but satisfying as you can see the savings) it definitely gets less demanding but perhaps more of a slog. But worth it in the end.
Cheering you on from the sidelines
LDg

Forward_thinking

Thanks everyone. School run done. On to the phone and internet providers. We're paying too much at the moment with BT. Can anyone recommend a good provider before I get researching. Again.

Really pleased about the gas/elec. Worth having no lunch for.

Eager_Elephant

Forward_thinking wrote: »

Thanks everyone. School run done. On to the phone and internet providers. We're paying too much at the moment with BT. Can anyone recommend a good provider before I get researching. Again.

Really pleased about the gas/elec. Worth having no lunch for.

Just subscribed to your thread.


I am with BT for phone and PlusNet for internet - I would not be with anyone else for phone as it is Bt Openreach who own all the telephone cables etc and them that would have to fix it. Once we were with a different supplier and when something went wrong we had to do everything through our supplier as not allowed to find out info from BT and it took ages but when our supplier was BT they could contact the engineer direct and a few times we were even allowed to speak to our local engineer while he was working on the exchange (just down the road).


We live in a really rural area so don't get much choice of supplier but we are happy with what we have.


We have an online account with BT and you can log in and look at the billing options and can add and remove things you need/don't need.


Could you try that first and see if you can get your bill cheaper?


Just remember cheap is not always better especially if your DH has to work from home sometimes.


Failing that Martin has some great articles on phone/internet providers and says who are the cheapest etc.
Just look at the top of the website and you will see things like cards and loans, reclaim and further along is Utilities which is where the phone info is.


Good Luck

Forward_thinking

Thanks Eager-Elephant. Just spoken to OH who was actually really pleased when I told him about the gas/electric. Son told me British Gas is better because they have cute penguins in their adverts!! Having thought about it we will stay with BT for phone as it's too complex to change as you say. Will investigate internet providers though.

scotdebs

Hi FT :hello:I too was a silent lurker from your original thread mainly - because we are in similar situations income of £6.5k per month coming into the house and £43k of unsecured debt :eek:

So will follow your journey in the hope it keeps me on track with mine I have found keeping a diary really does help keep the focus - it's all to easy to put head in the sand and pretend it's not happening or will go away

Good luck

ScotinLondon

As with Eager Elephant - we have BT for landline & plusnet for internet. I like plusnet - their customer service is good. Also see if you can do the annual landline rental charge for BT - if you still want to stay with BT that is. A little bit cheaper than paying on a quarterly or monthly basis.

You are doing very well so far...please don't be disheartened.

All previous posters have said, it is a marathon and you will succeed.

Good luck!