Treading water and never getting anywhere!

strummergirl

Thanks everyone. My DH will calling sky today to discuss lowering the package and also fibre optic options. He got a letter saying BT sport was up to almost £30 a month so he's going to cancel that too albeit reluctantly!

Out of curiosity I did some car insurance quotes today and was very pleasantly surprised!! Aviva multicar will insure us both, with the two cars for £91 a month- yaaay! Dh is going to call Admiral today and see if they will match it and if not we will change to Aviva. Quote seems freakily low so I'm a bit confused but I definitely answered everything correctly. What a huge saving - £90 a month. Very exciting! Spending diary starts today.

hannahroberts1985

Hey stummer,

Thought i'd return the visit. Your still very early on in your journey and seem to be taking all the feedback on board well. :T But you are hear and thats the starting point so well done. It will get easier and a lot clearer I promise.

I was going to comment on the insurance but seems you've already been looking at this. Have you put DH as the main driver on both cars and you as named? This helps to bring down the cost for new drivers.

Re Water we rent and when we moved in were being charged £80 a month. I called water company and it seems if you donot have a meter they go on an estimated cost for your postcode. We have a three bedroom house 2 adults 1 child but live in a post code with a lot of big 5/6+ bedroom houses. I contacted my landlord and asked if we would mind a water meter being fitted. Its free as my landlord said of course it wouldn't be a problem. They turned up to asses the property but turns out the pipe you connect the meter too was consealed. So the did a survey. Asked us how often we shower,flush,washing,water plants etc etc and worked out a monthly price of £40 based on this. May be worth a few phone calls.

SKY I know everyone has mentioned this but definatly call and cry wolf and leaving. They will half your bill for a year or so then repeat once it goes back up. They woulf rather give you sky for next to nothing than lose your custom.

The spending diary sounds like a must for you and DH. Plus a serious chat to get him on board. Have you checked your credit scores? we are saving for a mortgage and although saving for a deposit is the main stress keeping your scored in line is also important. Clear score and Noddle are both free. I check mine and DP's each month as any thing untoward can three years not be taken into account where a mortgage is concerned.

Hope some of what i've said helps you. Good Luck

nkkingston

£117x12 = £1404

If your husband is getting Sky/BT for the football, point out to him that if you guys cut it he could afford a season ticket and see the games in person (unless he's a Spurs or Arsenal fan and feels the need to fork out for the gold plated prawn sandwich seats). Heck, if you're Hammers, the whole family could get season tickets and still have change for a pie each at every game.

strummergirl

hannahroberts1985 wrote: »

Hey stummer,

Thought i'd return the visit. Your still very early on in your journey and seem to be taking all the feedback on board well. :T But you are hear and thats the starting point so well done. It will get easier and a lot clearer I promise.

I was going to comment on the insurance but seems you've already been looking at this. Have you put DH as the main driver on both cars and you as named? This helps to bring down the cost for new drivers.

Re Water we rent and when we moved in were being charged £80 a month. I called water company and it seems if you donot have a meter they go on an estimated cost for your postcode. We have a three bedroom house 2 adults 1 child but live in a post code with a lot of big 5/6+ bedroom houses. I contacted my landlord and asked if we would mind a water meter being fitted. Its free as my landlord said of course it wouldn't be a problem. They turned up to asses the property but turns out the pipe you connect the meter too was consealed. So the did a survey. Asked us how often we shower,flush,washing,water plants etc etc and worked out a monthly price of £40 based on this. May be worth a few phone calls.

SKY I know everyone has mentioned this but definatly call and cry wolf and leaving. They will half your bill for a year or so then repeat once it goes back up. They woulf rather give you sky for next to nothing than lose your custom.

The spending diary sounds like a must for you and DH. Plus a serious chat to get him on board. Have you checked your credit scores? we are saving for a mortgage and although saving for a deposit is the main stress keeping your scored in line is also important. Clear score and Noddle are both free. I check mine and DP's each month as any thing untoward can three years not be taken into account where a mortgage is concerned.

Hope some of what i've said helps you. Good Luck

Thanks Hannah! My six month old has been a fusspot so this is my first chance to reply. It's hectic having two kids :rotfl: when are you due?

The insurance we have managed to get for £95 a month for both of us and with business use :j this is with aviva which has shocked me, thought they would be megabucks! So that's a saving of £86 a month. We are not allowed to get a water meter so that's not an option. Plus I think with two kids and the amount of washing I do these days, it could be worse haha. Sky definitely won't reduce the bill anymore but we have cancelled the movies which is an £8 om saving. Also going to go for their fibre optic broadband which will save £31 per month compared to the £51 paying virgin currently. We are both doing spending diaries now so that's keeping us in line a bit more and DH is now on board.

Our credit scores are looking good atm so we will just have to keep it up!

strummergirl

nkkingston wrote: »

£117x12 = £1404

If your husband is getting Sky/BT for the football, point out to him that if you guys cut it he could afford a season ticket and see the games in person (unless he's a Spurs or Arsenal fan and feels the need to fork out for the gold plated prawn sandwich seats). Heck, if you're Hammers, the whole family could get season tickets and still have change for a pie each at every game.

Haha he does support a London team but we are in the North so I definitely will NOT be suggesting a season ticket :rotfl: thanks tho!

hannahroberts1985

Well Done a few phone calls has saved your £116 a month and £1368 a year! Not bad going!

I'm a little scared at how I'm going to cope with two! Due 16th October DS was 2 in June and will be home full time with me as I don't want to pay childcare costs while I'm off work! If your not constantly entertaining him he gets so bored and tantrums which should be fun with a newborn! We have discussed a few mornings preschool if it's too bad but for budget reason we will avoid if possible. Must remember to stock up on Prosecco I think I may be needing it!!

Pixie5740

I know an intervener connection is necessary for working from home but do you really two? You could have one fiber optic connection and then a dongle to use in case of emergencies (using a 30 day contract as an when you need it). That also gives you a backup in case there's an issue with the physical connections to your home.

sourcrates

Just regarding the sky TV package, I've recently ditched sky as they have become massively expensive.


My broadband is with Talk Talk, so I now get my TV from them too, you can get sky movies and/or sky sports, on a rolling monthly boost, so basically one month at a time, its a 12 month contract for the basic TV package, but the boosts you can take on a monthly basis, and the cost is half that of sky.


Only difference is it comes through your broadband instead of a dish, and you get HD for free too.