Debt Advice- SOA Posted

westlothian

ViolaLass wrote: »

You're agreeing with a lot of the posts but not expressing any intention to change. What's the plan?

I am not sure, was hoping new school term would bring a new structure. It is hard to plan on your own I guess when it needs to be a team effort.

I think Sky/internet/electricity bills are something that I can sort myself so will do this. Anything I save on this will go to the Credit Card.

I think we are stuck with the mobile phones for a while longer. Food/entertainment/holidays are something that I would like to get to grips with and I think an attack on the freezer is the short term best I can hope for. Our next holiday will not be until April so I would imagine we will book in January time.

westlothian

tori.k wrote: »

Then don't and compromise make it every 6/7 weeks instead of every month gives her something to look forward too and save a couple of hundred a year.

Had I not bought the new car, I might have been able to make that point. Think it is something that is going to have to stay the way it is.

cms-help

westlothian wrote: »

Had I not bought the new car, I might have been able to make that point. Think it is something that is going to have to stay the way it is.

Well it's either a team effort or it's not. Simple as that. My husband bought a new car in January but that doesn't give me the right to fritter our money away on what is, quite frankly, a very expensive haircut. That's more expensive than London prices every month! However, your money, your call.

You don't seem terribly serious about sorting your debt out any quicker than you currently are.

Will your family continue to have your children if your wife returns to work full-time or will you have to budget for childcare? Free childcare is a bonus as I have to put mine into nursery for my 3 days a week of teaching. In all honesty, it's barely worth me working!

westlothian

cms-help wrote: »

Well it's either a team effort or it's not. Simple as that. My husband bought a new car in January but that doesn't give me the right to fritter our money away on what is, quite frankly, a very expensive haircut. That's more expensive than London prices every month! However, your money, your call.

You don't seem terribly serious about sorting your debt out any quicker than you currently are.

Will your family continue to have your children if your wife returns to work full-time or will you have to budget for childcare? Free childcare is a bonus as I have to put mine into nursery for my 3 days a week of teaching. In all honesty, it's barely worth me working!

I am serious, just very early in the process I think. I have already upped the payment to the Credit Card. We no longer use this and have agreed not to use it.

I think at the most my wife might pick up a day on supply from January. Fulltime is still a while off I think. Family would be fine with this. I know we are lucky to have family childcare.

MrsSave

I agree with others that there is a lot of "yes we spend a lot here" but no mention of how things are going to change. You mention booking your next holiday in January for April time. You need to decide how much you'd like this holiday to cost, have a look around, and then split that cost so you're putting a little away each month to pay for it.

Sky you've mentioned a few times now that you might get rid. They work on a Sunday, pick up the phone and call them. It won't take long. Decide what you want the outcome to be before phoning. If you decide to cancel, then make sure you do. If you decide to cut back, then don't fall for any of their offers etc.

You need to put money away each month for the holiday, clothes, gifts. Do you actually do that or do you just find the money when needed. Sit down with your wife this afternoon and write a food plan for the coming week.mgo through your cupboards/freezer first so you know what you've got in and base some of the meal plan around that. Stick the plan on your fridge so you both know what's for food and when. No excuses then.

Eating out weekly is a habit and not a treat. Cut it back a little. A treat for my son is grabbing a couple of bags of chips and sitting on the sofa to eat them instead of sitting at the kitchen table. It costs less than £7 and we do it around once a month or so.

theoretica

westlothian wrote: »

According to our SOA we do have a surplus. Sometimes we do have money left come pay day. It seems to disappear though.

Other posters have made very good comments about places where you could cut down on expenses, but for me this is the really big issue. Do not let your money just disappear - control it. You need good data to make good decisions.

Spend your money on things which are unavoidable or things which you have decided you can afford and are are worth the cost - but don't let it just disappear.

cms-help

westlothian wrote: »

I am serious, just very early in the process I think. I have already upped the payment to the Credit Card. We no longer use this and have agreed not to use it.

I think at the most my wife might pick up a day on supply from January. Fulltime is still a while off I think. Family would be fine with this. I know we are lucky to have family childcare.

It's usually momentum in the early stages that can make the bigger differences (e.g. cutting large bills).

You have very good salaries and surplus income. It shouldn't be too difficult to clear the debt down much quicker than you currently are doing. If you both want to that is. Why not compromise with your wife on some of these extravagances - the debt (and interest) will be gone if you work at it together - cheaper holidays, less eating out, etc. That holiday, entertainment, clothes, hair etc is all costing you larger interest payments than necessary. Perhaps looking at it that way will convince your wife to be more on board?

What you do need to think about is what if the washing machine packs in etc? You have no emergency fund savings.

Also, no union membership fees for either of you as teachers?

westlothian

cms-help wrote: »

It's usually momentum in the early stages that can make the bigger differences (e.g. cutting large bills).

You have very good salaries and surplus income. It shouldn't be too difficult to clear the debt down much quicker than you currently are doing. If you both want to that is. Why not compromise with your wife on some of these extravagances - the debt (and interest) will be gone if you work at it together - cheaper holidays, less eating out, etc. That holiday, entertainment, clothes, hair etc is all costing you larger interest payments than necessary. Perhaps looking at it that way will convince your wife to be more on board?

What you do need to think about is what if the washing machine packs in etc? You have no emergency fund savings.

Also, no union membership fees for either of you as teachers?

Good point, think I am £12.72 a month for EIS membership and wife also pays around half of that I think.

In the past anything emergency went on the card of we did not have the money to hand, or if it was just after pay day we paid cash and then relied more on the card.

I think that I need to present my wife with a plan to avoid adding to debt and to find maybe £250-350 a month extra to attack the credit card. That will involve sticking to a budget and planning which is something we have never had to do before.

westlothian

theoretica wrote: »

Other posters have made very good comments about places where you could cut down on expenses, but for me this is the really big issue. Do not let your money just disappear - control it. You need good data to make good decisions.

Spend your money on things which are unavoidable or things which you have decided you can afford and are are worth the cost - but don't let it just disappear.

It would be an eye opener to see where our cash goes. I can only imagine as there are lots of cash withdrawals made for between £10-40. It seems to just disappear.

westlothian

MrsSave wrote: »

I agree with others that there is a lot of "yes we spend a lot here" but no mention of how things are going to change. You mention booking your next holiday in January for April time. You need to decide how much you'd like this holiday to cost, have a look around, and then split that cost so you're putting a little away each month to pay for it.

Sky you've mentioned a few times now that you might get rid. They work on a Sunday, pick up the phone and call them. It won't take long. Decide what you want the outcome to be before phoning. If you decide to cancel, then make sure you do. If you decide to cut back, then don't fall for any of their offers etc.

You need to put money away each month for the holiday, clothes, gifts. Do you actually do that or do you just find the money when needed. Sit down with your wife this afternoon and write a food plan for the coming week.mgo through your cupboards/freezer first so you know what you've got in and base some of the meal plan around that. Stick the plan on your fridge so you both know what's for food and when. No excuses then.

Eating out weekly is a habit and not a treat. Cut it back a little. A treat for my son is grabbing a couple of bags of chips and sitting on the sofa to eat them instead of sitting at the kitchen table. It costs less than £7 and we do it around once a month or so.

We eat out and also have regular take aways. That is the habit we have been in for a long time. I am going to make a plan to be able to attack the credit card and discuss it with my wife. This will involve cancelling Sky and a few other savings including better meal planning. I spend about £4 a day on food at work. That is going to be a personal challenge to reduce.