Debt free me!

nbinblack

You could try keeping a spending diary to see where every penny is going, especially as you say you don't have anything left at the end of the month.

EssexHebridean

Spending diary is a must., makes sense to work out where that amount is going.

Can you mentally adjust your thinking to being "paid" monthly, rather than at the odd intervals? Probably too late for this month, but once your overdraft is sorted it becomes easier as you're starting from the perspective of *some* credit at least. To do it you need to effectively ignore all income until your chosen point in the month. Remember also that over the Christmas period things may be paid on different dates to normal, so that's worth bearing in mind.

Have a look at the main MSE site for information on changing suppliers after a smart meter installation, but I can't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to. As a starting point though why not go round the house room by room working out what might be able to be switched off, where you can make savings etc? Have you got low energy lightbulbs installed? What temperature is the thermostat set at? Do you leave stuff on standby? You could also sign up to the MSE energy saving club which will check your tariff for you and alert you in there's a cheaper option.

Selling stuff you don't need is a good idea. As I say surveys work for a small boost to income too - there's plenty out there and what they pay and how suitable they are for you really varies person by person. Remember to use cashback sites for anything you buy online too - Martin also has a guide to this on the main site.

On your car, if it's not being used enough to justify its costs then you may as well get rid, and make the savings. But on the other hand if it affords you a degree of freedom that you wouldn't have otherwise, it may be worth making sacrifices to keep. On the road tax question though it would make sense to start a savings account with a small amount each month to allow you to pay either 6 months or 12 months upfront as there is a small financial penalty for paying monthly. Similarly if you can work towards doing the same thing with the insurance so much the better.

On OH's car - does the servicing deal include the MOT test as well or is the car not old enough to need one as yet? Either way I assume tyres, wiper blades and bulbs etc aren't included in that so you may want to think about budgeting a bit extra to cover stuff like that when it comes up? If it doesn't get used in the space of a year you can shift it to other savings.

On the savings for the holiday - have you checked you're getting the best deal you can on the interest on that? If it's of any help there was a thing in the MSE email a few weeks ago about interest paying paying accounts - Tesco bank have one which pays 3% on up to 3k I think - might be worth looking at. And yes - sort the travel insurance pronto!

Bobarella

Good luck with your diary Perryface lots of great advice already

Perryface

Thank you bobarella!

After getting feedback from Essexhebri,

I have looked at getting a water meter... Hubby seems to be liking the savings we might get there (@£140 per year) and is willing to ask our provider for more info.

I have done some research into holiday insurance and will be doing more about that tomorrow.

I also did the utilities comparison but found I was already on the best tariff boohoo!

I even looked at remortgaging but there seems to be as many reasons to go for it as not???

Talked to hubby about selling my car, but as it would only save us @£50 a month (tax, mot, petrol, insurance) I will keep it until hubby retires then we will only need 1 car anyway.

After looking again at our grocery bill, I have realised that I calculated it at £60 a week, when in fact it is £60 a fortnight (silly mare). So that's another £120 saved! I need to do my soa again. Grrr

I have put a few bits on my local FB selling page and will add more tomorrow. I also have loads of clothes under the spare bed in vacuum bags that I was hoping to slim back into.... But they have been there over 2 years now lol. I will go through them and sort out what can be sold and what is going to charity.

To do list:
Contact mobile provider and try to get a reduction.
Contact water provider for meter info.
Organise holiday insurance pronto!
Contact virgin media to see if there is anymore leeway, if not, search for cheaper alternatives.
Organise vacuum bags into sale and charity.
Look into swag bucks and surveys.
See if I am entitled to council tax reduction - I doubt it but might as well try!
Contact fire brigade about replacement fire alarms, all mine seem to be beeping grr.
Research cheap meals, shopping lists etc
Organise a spending diary!

Btw I haven't spent anything today!

Nighty night for now x

Perryface

Hi diary,
I haven't done anything from my to do list today. My Fil had an appointment at the hospital and has been told he has stage 4 cancer, so the whole day went to pot!
My GP rang this morning to tell me I am booked in for a chest X-Ray on Monday to rule out anything sinister causing me chest pain and breathlessness. I think it is just Pleurisy but he wants to cover all bases.

I did, however take the £130 out of my account and divide it up into its relevant places.

All Xmas gifts are wrapped and cards are written too!

Tomorrow I will tackle my to do list!

EssexHebridean

Ah that's tough news about your FIL - not surprised your day was a bit thrown off track.

well done on your christmas cards and presents - you're ahead of me there for sure!

On the utilities if you're already on the best tariff then it probably comes down to looking at where you can cut down on useage. The plug in monitors are quite good for seeing which appliances use what.

Perryface

I don't ever switch anything of at the plug.

I do power down the tv and virgin box.
The internet is always on and so is the phone landline cradle.

We usually sit in the dark cuddling under blankets by candlelight in the winter so lights are very rarely used, unless we are eating, I can't eat in the dark lol!

basically everything that has a plug is plugged in constantly. If I switch what I can off at the plug will that show on my electric bill even if it is not actually in use?

If that is the case I could switch of:
Dishwasher
Oven
Microwave
Washing machine
Dryer
Kettle
Toaster
Twiggy light thing in hallway
Printer

This may be a stupid question but if I switch my virgin box and tv off at the wall that will stop it recording right?

EssexHebridean

Definitely no to eating in the dark - you'll just spend more on washing powder anyway! :rotfl:

As to the rest of your list I can tell you what we do:
Dishwasher Stays switched off at the machine AND off at the plug unless it's actually set up to run. We're on Economy 7 so run some appliances overnight - this is one so it's plugged in via a timeswitch
Oven DElectric ovens are power-guzzlers, no question. Probably not alot you can do about that and you'll constantly be resetting the clock if you turn it off at the plug, too
Microwave Ours stays plugged in/switched on as we use the clock a lot. If we're away for a week or longer we do switch off at the wall
Washing machine Stays plugged in and on at the switch, machine itself is turned off unless being set on the timer to run overnight
Dryer Another power guzzler - give a lot of thought to what you *need* to tumble dry and what you don't. We basically only tumble dry towels and bedding routinely.
Kettle No benefit to switching it off at the plug unless it's a fancy one with lights always on or something. Do remember to only put in the amount of water you need to boil though - and try boil once and use the water immediately rather than keep reboiling.
Toaster As with the kettle - no benefit to turning off at the wall other than the safety aspect
Twiggy light thing in hallway Assuming this is a regular lamp of some description, if the bulbs aren't lit I don't imagine it's using power
Printer Lots of debate about these. Personally ours is plugged in right underneath the desk so it (and the computer) stays plugged in, but switched off at the items themselves.

This may be a stupid question but if I switch my virgin box and tv off at the wall that will stop it recording right? virgin box = correct, this is one item that does need to stay on standby. You should be able to just turn the TV off at the set though.

Electric showers are exceptionally power hungry - if you have one it might be worth bearing that in mind. On the flip side though our electric towel rail and bathroom extractor fan use very little. Immersion heater if used during the day costs 50p an hour.

Our electricity DD is currently set at £30 p/m and we've just gone into the cold months in credit. The ONLY thing we run on gas is the cooker so the DD for that is tiny too.

It occurs to me - as you are on smartmeters I assume you can play about with turning things on and off and see what is affecting your use as you go along? Might be as good a way of doing it as any!

Perryface

I really appreciate you taking the time to help me �� I will do some research using the smart meter and post my findings on here for everyone to benefit.

But.... I have good news.......really gobsmackingly good news!

I just sold my first painting for £200 on Artfinder. I have only been published on the site for 3 weeks too! I am amazed!

Anybody out there who has the slightest creative streak should start to paint, you don't need to have qualifications (I don't). I just put my feelings down on canvas and voila!

So chuff with my little self!������

Bobarella

I'm very sorry to hear about your FILs diagnosis. My own FIL was diagnosed in the spring, but in his case he is doing well under his treatment plan, it is so upsetting trying to get your head around it isn't it.

Oh we cross posted, congratulations on your painting sale!