A Diary of Reinventing Ourselves

Forward_thinking

But that would be agreeing that we have no break at all this year - he would be happy about that. I feel it is important we have a small break this year - very limited costs - but he would probably be ok to go without. So it's a subject I am totally avoiding at the moment as he knows I really value our holidays and would be happy to point out that if we are looking at our costs now we obviously won't be going anywhere this year. Actually, I'm surprised he hasn't raised this topic yet!

getmore4less

Forward_thinking wrote: »

......
OH said last night that he didn't want me to talk about this with people because he has buffered me from it all until now and has done a fine job!!! He says he has bought us another couple of years by juggling money and we would have gone under if it wasn't for him.

Can he tell you how much money you have each month or even for these two extra years so you know what you should be spending.

Hiding it is all well and good but you need some idea of what money there is available.

If on a daily rate he needs to decide how many days a year he will work minimum and how much of that is available to run the home.

if he works more you can decide, debt holiday whatever.

Best not to warn the inlaws that if it goes belly up you will be moving in with them

getmore4less

Forward_thinking wrote: »

But that would be agreeing that we have no break at all this year - he would be happy about that. I feel it is important we have a small break this year - very limited costs - but he would probably be ok to go without. So it's a subject I am totally avoiding at the moment as he knows I really value our holidays and would be happy to point out that if we are looking at our costs now we obviously won't be going anywhere this year. Actually, I'm surprised he hasn't raised this topic yet!

But thats OK there will be no holiday from his money but if you earn you get the choice how to allocate it.

You could do the ask once approach or just do what you planned anyway.

remember you will need to know your income from his business to do your own tax returns, have you been getting your annual tax credit statement from the company.

Forward_thinking

Thanks getmore - I will be getting a clear picture of the company accounts by mid-March. I asked about my tax situation and although I need to find out for myself, OH said I won't be in the 40% tax bracket.

Just looking into this CPP card protection plan....I don't need this anymore do I? So much to learn....

Forward_thinking

I receive £600 monthly from the company.

getmore4less

Forward_thinking wrote: »

I'm almost at the point where I have gone through all our finances and know what direct debits we now have and what comes in and goes out. I've still got to research our car/house insurance policies.

I now feel I want to be able to put all this information down somewhere but don't know where to start. I want to be able to track ingoings and outgoings in one place and be able to come along each day and see the whole picture. At the moment I have a notebook with notes all over it and as I said before I am a bit of a neat freak and it is driving me slightly crazy.

If anyone could suggest how and where to start making my overall picture I would be hugely grateful. I don't have time to start devising my own spreadsheets although I am sure that would be the perfect solution. I was going to look at YNAB but know that some have advised this may not be the right time or right tool. I will look at the MSE tool but wondered if I am going down the right path?

I think whatever you use there there will be a bit of a learning curve.
MSMOney is not easy to find as it is discontinued but works and is free the best option seems to be the last UK version from 2005.
this is a link to find it.
https://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/9149e11d-3093-4df5-bcc9-62c3aa4643f1/money-2005-updates-uk?forum=money

I use "Money 2005 UK - QFE2" link part way down the page.

Some people refer to the sunset edition that is US and has some business support.

If you want to give it a try, install set up one account and use the default catagories. the people you pay like sainsbury are created as you make transactions.

For a single transaction entry will have date,how much, who, what catagory,where from.

So for example I can have an entry for a sainsbury shop from account A, I paid £10, bought £5 groceries and £5nappies on 7Feb. (you can add notes like how many nappies)

once you have a load of transactions you can then do reports like between 1jan and 10June catagory nappies sainsbury and get a list of every nappy shop even if mixed in with other things on the same shop.

you can model your accounts CC etc and build up the catagories later as you go along(I delete a lot of the defaults I don't use)

then if you want a bit of fun do a budget from your paper sheets..

once you have done a couple of hours messing about you can delete and start again form fresh with a better idea of what you want to do

mumtoomany

Hi FT, a poster on these forums called cw18 has a spreadsheet she has devised for expenditure and income. I had a copy a few years ago, but can't now find it. If you search for her and private message her, I'm sure she will send you a copy. It may not be what you are looking for, but worth a try, and cost free, M2m.

getmore4less

Have you asked hubby what tools might be available to manage the household finances in a clearer way and help with budgeting/debt reduction.

KxMx

Forward_thinking wrote: »

Evening. Thanks for those pointers. Will look into those schemes welshlady. Getmore - you make a very valid point and one I have been thinking too. It's all very well saving 30p on a tin of sweetcorn etc but if I get my act together and get earning I will help our family much more. Perilico also made a valid point - I have been procrastinating too long work wise. Just when I was about to start up I decided to spend yet another year in uni. No more courses now. I have my medals and now it's time to prove it's all been worth it. Probably lack of confidence is partly at play. There is the worry that I won't make it. I need to kick myself into action and I suspect OH thinks part of my economising is an avoidance tactic. That isn't true really - I really want to give our finances a real going over before life gets even busier.

I think you need to do both. There is always the danger of an increase in income meaning the lifestyle rises accordingly. So focus on increasing income but always be looking for ways to save money.

Increase income, pay off debt, what's to stop things going back to square one in 6 months time? It may not be a 30p off a tin of sweetcorn but retaining a good financial attitude going forwards.

I do use spreadsheets and you're right a spreadsheet tailored to your needs is the perfect way. Just start with a few columns and auto sums. Tackle one column at a time and tweak here and there when you've 5 minutes.

I started one 6 months ago as a temporary measure to see where my on paper excess was going, it's so valuable to me that it's now a permanent measure and when you've got it configured how you want it it's dead easy. I also keep receipts and have a small notebook to track spending out of the house. I input when I have time.

enthusiasticsaver

Forward_thinking wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Just cancelled another tiny direct debit and have just noticed we are paying out £30 annually for card protection. It's about to renew - I don't think we need that anymore do we? Will have to investigate.

I'm almost at the point where I have gone through all our finances and know what direct debits we now have and what comes in and goes out. I've still got to research our car/house insurance policies.

I now feel I want to be able to put all this information down somewhere but don't know where to start. I want to be able to track ingoings and outgoings in one place and be able to come along each day and see the whole picture. At the moment I have a notebook with notes all over it and as I said before I am a bit of a neat freak and it is driving me slightly crazy.

If anyone could suggest how and where to start making my overall picture I would be hugely grateful. I don't have time to start devising my own spreadsheets although I am sure that would be the perfect solution. I was going to look at YNAB but know that some have advised this may not be the right time or right tool. I will look at the MSE tool but wondered if I am going down the right path?

Thanks for the kind messages - you are quite right and there is a complete inequality in power on the financial front. However, this is probably just as much my fault as I have had my head in textbooks and children for the last few years. Now that I have woken up from this coma I will sort this and OH hasn't put any real resistance to me getting the picture. He has now given me all access to all accounts including the business account and I do feel a lot more in control.

OH said last night that he didn't want me to talk about this with people because he has buffered me from it all until now and has done a fine job!!! He says he has bought us another couple of years by juggling money and we would have gone under if it wasn't for him. He says it isn't my problem - it's his to worry about and I am not a contributor. Completely oblivious to the fact that I am indeed involved and 'buffering' me from the situation is not the answer. If the pack of cards falls down tomorrow he is not going to be able to protect me from it anymore - or the children. We would be out on the streets and have to take them out of their stable and happy childhoods. Hopefully we will get through this as a team and out the other side. I won't hold any bitterness about the debts - I had a great time making this mess too. The only one thing I will always curse him for is not agreeing to buy a house many many years ago.

Right, off for meal two. Diet is going great : ))

It most certainly is your problem as you will be affected should his income drop or even finish if the company accounts are not all above board. You are also coping with the stress of trying to get out of the situation you now find yourself in. If you had foregone a few holidays or reduced groceries bill much earlier the debt on the cards would be a great deal lower and take less time to pay off. He has not done a fine job and yes he may have bought you time but addressing this 2 years ago would have made the task so much easier than it is now. Similarly with buying a house so you were not paying extortionate rent as you are now or the ridiculous situation of earning more than £100k and not being able to buy a second hand car or go on holiday without putting it on a credit card. Yes, part of this is the cost of having such a large family I would say but presumably this was a joint decision.

I use Personal Accountz software which is ok but not as good as MS Money but that is no longer available to buy. I also do my own spreadsheet but that is personalised for me and probably no good for you as it concentrates more on investments and savings rather than credit cards and loans. You will get there one day

Saw your post about holidays and would certainly advise you to budget for this if you intend doing one this year rather than put it on a card. Glad the diet is going well.