I Left You and Now I'm In A Mess

Naomim

So years ago I was a fervent MSE'er. I lived on and by this website. I was making huge dents into the debt but now it's gotten all completely out of hand. I'm so angry with myself for letting it get so bad. I know my reaction to most problems is stick my head in the sand and ignore them which is what I have done here.

So below is my new SOA.. I'm sure I've probably managed to leave off some things but I've tried to be as honest as possible with it.

A few background notes. DH was made redundant in 2014. He got £30k but didn't find a job as quickly as either of us thought. he temped for a while but we used £14k to replace the lost wages. We are in the middle of having major work done on our house. We took out an extra £50k mortgage and used up the rest of the redundancy. It's gone over budget and schedule. We are living at my in-laws and have been since the beginning of July. DH is completely stressed and on anti-depressants and sleeping tablets. I can't lay the burden of debt on him too.

Please be gentle. I'm already feeling very fragile, I'm at work and don't want to cry here.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1607
Partners monthly income after tax....... 2004
Benefits................................ 132
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3743

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 519.8
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 274.20000000000005
Rent.................................... 260
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 167
Electricity............................. 44.93 - This includes gas. I'm a member of MSE Energy club
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 46.49
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 67.25 - This is 3 phones and includes the handsets and mobile data
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 109.15 - this includes landline rental and internet
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 475
Clothing................................ 40 - Two growing children
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 36.3
Car Insurance........................... 41.66
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50 - I've just spent £560 on my car to get it past the MOT
Car parking............................. 0 - We park at in-laws and walk to train station
Other travel............................ 335.6 - Two monthly Travelcards. We both work in London
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 79.21 - DH has regular prescription but not monthly so not worth getting pre-paid certificate
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 25 - Insurance is £17.51 but dog has hip displaysia and needs regular medications
Buildings insurance..................... 20.85 - This includes contents insurance
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 105.9 - I have just applied to replace this with a decreasing term mortgage life insurance so hopefully will come down to about £25 per month
Other insurance......................... 10.99 - SKY Protect.
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 60
Haircuts................................ 15 - DH & Son probably every 6-8 weeks and my DD every few months
Entertainment........................... 0 - Don't really know what to put. We have Merlin Passes but these don't run out until August 2017.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Children's Savings Account.............. 50
Netflix................................. 6.99
Son's lunches........................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 3023.44


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 400000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 2000 - I inherited jewellry but don't know how to go about getting it valued!
Total Assets............................ 404000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 98000....(519.8)....2.25<
Mortgage.......................55000....(274.2)....1.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 153000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Tesco Credit Card..............3979.21...77........15.75
MBNA - me......................4823.78...65........0
MBNA - husband.................2223.24...60........20.9
Overdraft......................3000......45.46.....0
Barclaycard....................7583.74...147.......0

MrsTinks

Welcome back to the fold I returned recently too after a few years hiatus so it's good to see others returning too :T

I've added a few comments below:

Naomim wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1607
Partners monthly income after tax....... 2004
Benefits................................ 132
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3743

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 519.8
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 274.20000000000005
Rent.................................... 260
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 167 - if you don't live in the property can you get a reduced rate for a period of time until you move back in? Years ago I had a fixer upper and I think there was 6 months free or 25% of council tax then it was a discounted amount for x months... Worth checking
Electricity............................. 44.93 - This includes gas. I'm a member of MSE Energy club More jumpers? If you don't live in the property at the moment is this being paid to your inlaws? Or do your builders use a LOT of heating and electricity?
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 46.49 This feels high?
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 67.25 - This is 3 phones and includes the handsets and mobile data
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 109.15 - this includes landline rental and internet - how much would it be without the Sky? You need to remember you're paying £10 on top of this for your sky box insurance... which I think is a rip off anyway...
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 475 Time to do some grocery challenges! You can bring this down
Clothing................................ 40 - Two growing children Use FB selling groups to sell any outgrown clothes and buying replacements - only buy when you've sold
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 36.3
Car Insurance........................... 41.66
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50 - I've just spent £560 on my car to get it past the MOT
Car parking............................. 0 - We park at in-laws and walk to train station
Other travel............................ 335.6 - Two monthly Travelcards. We both work in London
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 79.21 - DH has regular prescription but not monthly so not worth getting pre-paid certificate
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 25 - Insurance is £17.51 but dog has hip displaysia and needs regular medications
Buildings insurance..................... 20.85 - This includes contents insurance
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 105.9 - I have just applied to replace this with a decreasing term mortgage life insurance so hopefully will come down to about £25 per month
Other insurance......................... 10.99 - SKY Protect. Uhmmm:eek::eek: buy a second hand one if it dies - that's £130 a year!
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 60
Haircuts................................ 15 - DH & Son probably every 6-8 weeks and my DD every few months
Entertainment........................... 0 - Don't really know what to put. We have Merlin Passes but these don't run out until August 2017.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Children's Savings Account.............. 50 I would argue that right now you can't afford this... make a note of what you miss paying in and when you are debt free then you can treat it as a debt and top it up? Otherwise you are in effect paying apr on this money if any of your debts have APRs...
Netflix................................. 6.99
Son's lunches........................... 50 Can he have packed ones?
Total monthly expenses.................. 3023.44


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 400000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 2000 - I inherited jewellry but don't know how to go about getting it valued! You can take it to a jewelers but they will charge you and usually quite a lot. If you feel you would like it valued for insurance then you would need that kind of valuation. If you are just looking to sell it then take it to a few places to ask them what they'll pay - both gold weight and antique dealers.
Total Assets............................ 404000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 98000....(519.8)....2.25<
Mortgage.......................55000....(274.2)....1.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 153000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Tesco Credit Card..............3979.21...77........15.75
MBNA - me......................4823.78...65........0
MBNA - husband.................2223.24...60........20.9
Overdraft......................3000......45.46.....0
Barclaycard....................7583.74...147.......0

anna_1977

Naomim wrote: »

So years ago I was a fervent MSE'er. I lived on and by this website. I was making huge dents into the debt but now it's gotten all completely out of hand. I'm so angry with myself for letting it get so bad. I know my reaction to most problems is stick my head in the sand and ignore them which is what I have done here.

So below is my new SOA.. I'm sure I've probably managed to leave off some things but I've tried to be as honest as possible with it.

A few background notes. DH was made redundant in 2014. He got £30k but didn't find a job as quickly as either of us thought. he temped for a while but we used £14k to replace the lost wages. We are in the middle of having major work done on our house. We took out an extra £50k mortgage and used up the rest of the redundancy. It's gone over budget and schedule. We are living at my in-laws and have been since the beginning of July. DH is completely stressed and on anti-depressants and sleeping tablets. I can't lay the burden of debt on him too.

Please be gentle. I'm already feeling very fragile, I'm at work and don't want to cry here.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2you're living at in-laws so do you really need 2 cars as it says you park there & walk to the station

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1607
Partners monthly income after tax....... 2004
Benefits................................ 132
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3743

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 519.8
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 274.20000000000005
Rent.................................... 260
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 167
Electricity............................. 44.93 - This includes gas. I'm a member of MSE Energy club
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 46.49
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 67.25 - This is 3 phones and includes the handsets and mobile data
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 109.15 - this includes landline rental and internet I'm sorry but I really think this needs to go. Or at least basic package with BB & phone which is about £30 if you threaten to leave
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 475
Clothing................................ 40 - Two growing children
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 36.3
Car Insurance........................... 41.66
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50 - I've just spent £560 on my car to get it past the MOT
Car parking............................. 0 - We park at in-laws and walk to train station -
Other travel............................ 335.6 - Two monthly Travelcards. We both work in London
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 79.21 - DH has regular prescription but not monthly so not worth getting pre-paid certificatesurely the annual pre-paid is worth it £104 for th year and you've stated it's £79.21 per month
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 25 - Insurance is £17.51 but dog has hip displaysia and needs regular medications
Buildings insurance..................... 20.85 - This includes contents insurance
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 105.9 - I have just applied to replace this with a decreasing term mortgage life insurance so hopefully will come down to about £25 per month
Other insurance......................... 10.99 - SKY Protect. cancel
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 60
Haircuts................................ 15 - DH & Son probably every 6-8 weeks and my DD every few months
Entertainment........................... 0 - Don't really know what to put. We have Merlin Passes but these don't run out until August 2017.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Children's Savings Account.............. 50maybe you need to put a temporary stop on this for a few months?
Netflix................................. 6.99do you really need this?
Son's lunches........................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 3023.44


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 400000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 2000 - I inherited jewellry but don't know how to go about getting it valued! take it into a reputable jewellers and pay for a valuation
Total Assets............................ 404000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 98000....(519.8)....2.25<
Mortgage.......................55000....(274.2)....1.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 153000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Tesco Credit Card..............3979.21...77........15.75
MBNA - me......................4823.78...65........0
MBNA - husband.................2223.24...60........20.9
Overdraft......................3000......45.46.....0
Barclaycard....................7583.74...147.......0

Hi
PLase see my comments in red. I have done the same as you, paid debt off and here we are again

Good luck

JustAboutThere

Welcome back.

There are others who are more skilled at looking at SOA's and seeing where savings can be made, but I'll start with a couple of quick points / questions:

1. Can your food budget be cut? I'm sure you know about the Old Style MoneySaving forum? If not, head over there and I'm sure people can suggest some ways to scrimp.

2. Satellite/Cable TV (£109.15 - this includes landline rental and internet).

How much of this amount is landline rental / internet and how much is cable TV? You know what the next I'm going to say is, don't you? Yep - 'fraid some things have got to give and the TV part of it is probably going to be 'it'. Sorry.

All the best.

Naomim

We are due to move back into our house within the next three weeks. We were originally only meant to be out the house for 10-12 weeks it's been almost 20. With hindsight I wish I had cancelled SKY at the time. This does mean the rent will stop as at the moment we are paying the in-laws to cover extra electricity, heating, washing etc.

The cars are a tricky issue. When we are at home, our normal routine is: we drop the kids at the in-laws in the morning then walk to the train station. I finish work at 4pm so I'm home earlier. I collect kids from Grandparents drive home and cook dinner, do homework etc with kids. DH finishes work at 6pm so he drives home later. We don't live near the train station and there's no bus service from our house to the in-laws. It's about an hour's walk to our house from theirs.

Netflix I definitely need to cancel. the 7year old is the only one to use it anyway.

And yes need to stop the kids savings, although their savings account is a Halifax high interest one where I think I have to put something in every month. I'll check the minimum.

Prescriptions - that's a mistake!! I think he spends around £80 a year.

Water Rates: We're not on a water meter. this is the amount we are charged from South East Water. We have no arrears.

Gas/Elec: I pay by monthly DD so although we're not there, the DD still goes through. We are in credit but this will get used up in the winter I guess.

Sons Lunches: he probably could take packed lunch but I'm guessing he'd chuck them away and eat me out of house and home when he gets home from school. I give him a snack pack; drink, crisps & biscuit to try and keep his spending down. Secondary school is cashless now so he takes no money to school.

Shopping: I used to to the shopping challenge. I was a staunch Tesco shopper (I use clubcard points for days out) but an Aldi opened near us a year ago and I have been a convert although there are some things I have to buy branded or face a revolution from the family.

I forgot to add the dog's food: Probably about £12-£15 a month. I buy own brand dog food from Pets at home.

enthusiasticsaver

OK. Positives first are that you have plenty of equity in your home and your incomes cover minimum payments just about and there is room in the soa to economise.

I am not sure where the bottom of the soa is but from adding it up the monthly payments on your credit cards are £394.46 leaving you a surplus of £325. Do you have £325 spare or are you putting that towards the debt?

I am sure you would rather not know but the total of the unsecured debt which should be on the bottom is £21610.47 but £15407 is on 0%. Can you get the Tesco and your husbands MBNA on 0% too or have your credit ratings been affected?

I appreciate what you say about your DH being depressed but unless he gets on board with debt busting this will be difficult for you. Maybe he is aware (hard not to be if you have overdrafts and credit cards in his name too) and the depression is caused by the fact you have not been dealing with it plus the worry and stress of the house renovations. If you make a plan together to deal with it then this may help his mental state.

Your groceries bill is high so can that be reduced by going to Lidls or Aldi which are much cheaper than the other supermarkets?

The sky definitely should be cut back or ideally got rid of and what is sky protect?

If you both work in central London and catch the train to work do you really need two cars? The petrol is high considering you get the train to work so can that be cut back?

Savings accounts for your children should wait until the debt is gone.

Can you change the mobile contracts to sim only or are you still in contract?

Can you cut your sons lunches down and he have packed lunches?


Did the debt arise because of the overbudget work on the house or is it living costs?

Is the rent because you are living at your inlaws while the work is being finished and how are you paying for the rest of the work? Is the house totally unliveable in?

Lots to take on board but if you are able to make payments of between £500 -£650 per month to the unsecured debt you could be free of it within 3 years if you get the other 2 cards on to 0%.

Do not be tempted to consolidate debt on to your mortgage by the way. It never works unless you change your spending habits and get rid of the cards and as the debt is mostly on 0% this would be a massive mistake.

Katzen

Just a little thought but could your DH cycle home from the station? It seems like that one journey that he makes home in the evening is not really enough to warrant an entire car right now. Plus, exercise is a brill antidepressant

EssexHebridean

welcome back on Board - you know yourself you're definitely in the right place to get things sorted out. Comments in red as usual...

Naomim wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1607
Partners monthly income after tax....... 2004
Benefits................................ 132
Other income............................ 0 Start looking at ways to increase income - surveys, eBay, all sorts of possibilities out there
Total monthly income.................... 3743

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 519.8
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 274.20000000000005
Rent.................................... 260 So this will be freed up when you move back into home?
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 167 Ask the council whether you can retro-claim for relief for the time the property has been empty?
Electricity............................. 44.93 - This includes gas. I'm a member of MSE Energy club
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 46.49
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 67.25 - This is 3 phones and includes the handsets and mobile data
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 109.15 - this includes landline rental and internet Others have already said it haven't they. Bin the satellite TV in favour of freeview
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 475 Time for a visit to the Old Style board - I reckon you can knock at least £150, possibly more, off this though
Clothing................................ 40 - Two growing children
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 36.3 Do you pay this monthly?
Car Insurance........................... 41.66 Is this being paid monthly?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50 - I've just spent £560 on my car to get it past the MOT I feel your pain. Make sure you keep stashing the money away so you have it ready should anything else need doing.
Car parking............................. 0 - We park at in-laws and walk to train station
Other travel............................ 335.6 - Two monthly Travelcards. We both work in London Have you investigated whether there are any alternatives? Maybe another local railway line where the fares work out slightly less? It may even be worth driving slightly further to pay less on the train fares.
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 79.21 - DH has regular prescription but not monthly so not worth getting pre-paid certificate We've established that this should read £6 or thereabouts a month, I think?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 25 - Insurance is £17.51 but dog has hip displaysia and needs regular medications
Buildings insurance..................... 20.85 - This includes contents insurance
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 105.9 - I have just applied to replace this with a decreasing term mortgage life insurance so hopefully will come down to about £25 per month
Other insurance......................... 10.99 - SKY Protect. Got to go!
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 60 I know it's tricky with kids but I think you have to trim this at least a bit. That's currently £720 P/A
Haircuts................................ 15 - DH & Son probably every 6-8 weeks and my DD every few months And you?
Entertainment........................... 0 - Don't really know what to put. We have Merlin Passes but these don't run out until August 2017.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 You need something here unless you intend to use that jewellery as an emergency fund?
Children's Savings Account.............. 50 Reduce this to the minimum the account will allow for now
Netflix................................. 6.99 If you're binning Sky, I;d argue that it *might* be worth keeping this and calling it your "entertainment" budget for the time being
Son's lunches........................... 50 *
Total monthly expenses.................. 3023.44


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 400000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 2000 - I inherited jewellry but don't know how to go about getting it valued!
Total Assets............................ 404000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 98000....(519.8)....2.25<
Mortgage.......................55000....(274.2)....1.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 153000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Tesco Credit Card..............3979.21...77........15.75
MBNA - me......................4823.78...65........0
MBNA - husband.................2223.24...60........20.9
Overdraft......................3000......45.46.....0
Barclaycard....................7583.74...147.......0

* Son's lunches. I'd suggest doing a deal with him. He takes packed lunches, AND EATS THEM, 2 days a week. The credit on his card reduces to £30 a month and it's his choice - but when it's gone, it's gone, and then it'll be packed lunches all the way. That's a compromise he ought to be able to see the value of. Oh, and tell him if he doesn't eat his lunch, beyond a usual small snack when he comes home, nothing more is to be touched.

So from what I can see, the good news is that you have a surplus each month. So the first question - DO you have a surplus each month? According to the figures, it looks as though once everything is take into account, you should have around £300 spare each month - so the first thing is to establish where that is going. A spending diary ought to help.

The REALLY good news however is the slack you can free up in that SOA. Allowing for the rent to the inlaws not being paid once you've moved back in to home, I reckon you will have in excess of £650 a month there that you can use to throw at the cards.

You know about snowballing to prioritise the order you pay things off in I'm guessing. watch that overdraft though - is it REALLY 0%? No fees at all? They have a habit of proving more expensive than a lot of credit cards!

ReadingTim

Your car and transport costs are far too high - you simply don't need 2 cars if you're also using public transport to get to work. Get rid of either the one which is worth more or the one which is likely to cost you more.

You also don't need and can't really afford the sky, sky protect or netflix. Bin the lot and go freeview, BT line rental and cheap broadband (plusnet or something) - do that any you'll have your outgoings in this area. If the phones are out of contract, 3 giffgaff sims will also halve those outgoings, and still give reasonable calls, mobile data etc.

Food can come down, and your son ought to get packed lunches. I'd also knock the kids savings accounts and life assurance products, at least until you're back in the black.

EssexHebridean

ReadingTim wrote: »

Your car and transport costs are far too high - you simply don't need 2 cars if you're also using public transport to get to work. Get rid of either the one which is worth more or the one which is likely to cost you more.

You also don't need and can't really afford the sky, sky protect or netflix. Bin the lot and go freeview, BT line rental and cheap broadband (plusnet or something) - do that any you'll have your outgoings in this area. If the phones are out of contract, 3 giffgaff sims will also halve those outgoings, and still give reasonable calls, mobile data etc.

Food can come down, and your son ought to get packed lunches. I'd also knock the kids savings accounts and life assurance products, at least until you're back in the black.

The transport thing - the theory is good, but when two people work different hours it doesn't always work out in practise. We have a similar situation - we can car-share some of the time, but not always. These last few weeks MrEH has been working a lot of extra hours and not getting home until 8pm or later. I finish at 5. That's a LONG while to sit in a freezing cold car waiting for someone! :eek: If the OP's situation was that they were leaving home and arriving back at the same time, or that they were nearer to their public transport links, I'd agree that the second car was a luxury, though.

Bearing in mind the level of surplus that the OP can free up, I'd be inclined to look at the two cars thing as a necessary evil for the time being, personally.

MrsTinks

Naomim wrote: »

We are due to move back into our house within the next three weeks. We were originally only meant to be out the house for 10-12 weeks it's been almost 20. With hindsight I wish I had cancelled SKY at the time. This does mean the rent will stop as at the moment we are paying the in-laws to cover extra electricity, heating, washing etc.

The cars are a tricky issue. When we are at home, our normal routine is: we drop the kids at the in-laws in the morning then walk to the train station. I finish work at 4pm so I'm home earlier. I collect kids from Grandparents drive home and cook dinner, do homework etc with kids. DH finishes work at 6pm so he drives home later. We don't live near the train station and there's no bus service from our house to the in-laws. It's about an hour's walk to our house from theirs.

Netflix I definitely need to cancel. the 7year old is the only one to use it anyway.

And yes need to stop the kids savings, although their savings account is a Halifax high interest one where I think I have to put something in every month. I'll check the minimum.

Prescriptions - that's a mistake!! I think he spends around £80 a year.

Water Rates: We're not on a water meter. this is the amount we are charged from South East Water. We have no arrears. - But why isn't there a reduction whilst the property has been uninhabitet? Have you checked to see if a meter would work out cheaper?

Gas/Elec: I pay by monthly DD so although we're not there, the DD still goes through. We are in credit but this will get used up in the winter I guess. How much in credit?

Sons Lunches: he probably could take packed lunch but I'm guessing he'd chuck them away and eat me out of house and home when he gets home from school. I give him a snack pack; drink, crisps & biscuit to try and keep his spending down. Secondary school is cashless now so he takes no money to school.Involve him in making the lunches... I know it's a tricky one but £50 a month is quite a lot, if you could start by convincing him to help make his lunch for mondays on a sunday night then one day a week is a start

Shopping: I used to to the shopping challenge. I was a staunch Tesco shopper (I use clubcard points for days out) but an Aldi opened near us a year ago and I have been a convert although there are some things I have to buy branded or face a revolution from the family.Yeah there are brands we're sticking with too - don't feel too bad unless you think you can sneak it in by changing the wrapping hehehe I've snuck stuff in before and no-one noticed, when I left the original box they tasted it and declared it disgusting... they hated me when I told them I'd get the same they had last week and swapped the box infront of them... and declared "there you go, exactly the same as you had last week"... apparently that's deceitful though

I forgot to add the dog's food: Probably about £12-£15 a month. I buy own brand dog food from Pets at home.

A few comments