£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Treadingonplaymobil

Have had a very clear text message conversation (which mostly consisted of me messaging him going "£67,031.92!!!") so hopefully the message has gone in now.

Macey1510

Hope you have a great day!

armchairexpert

Oh, I feel you - my OH's usual response to the We Need To Buckle Down chat is to still buy things, but look a bit guilty while he does it. A guilty look doesn't make them cheaper!

Good luck getting through the next few days - beans on toast for Mr Playmobil!

mumto2girlsandaboy

Good luck with your journey, i'm not self employed but my income does change each month and its taken us ages to find a workable budget, nowadays once all the monthly set bills are paid we save different pots for annual bills and things like kids spending, birthdays etc although these are the ones we are more flexible with. You may find if you get a better wage one month you can allocate some to debt and some to topping up your clothes 'pot' if you know the kids will need new shoes etc soon.

motivated

Hi TOPM

I too have a DH that hasn't quite got the hang of this 'we cant spend money willy nilly' attitude. Lots of reminding from me and then he may just get it

Keep working on him
M

Bird.Heart.Mouse

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

ARGH. Just went to update YNAB and saw that DH had spent £11.40 in the supermarket... I can't get too cross with him as he's only doing exactly what we've always done - declared we need to knuckle down on the debt then carried on exactly as before.

I know the feeling! Unfortunately changing the behaviours / ways of thinking about money can take time, but this is a team effort so keep at it, then you'll be able to lean on each other when needed!

Also, this line is a really good sign:

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

my £30 top up shop is now down to £18.60 to keep us on track with the budget.

Thinking about how it impacts your budget keeps the focus - great work! :T

Bird x

kirtsypoos

I've just popped in to read your diary and am in awe of your organisation! You've done so much in such a short space of time.

I was quite like you in sort of expecting the novelty to wear off, but the joy of this forum is I feel accountable to everyone who reads or comments on my diary, rather than just myself and I hate letting people down - I'm sure it will be the same for you.

Best of luck, I've subscribed and will be reading along and wishing you well

mfmaybe

Hi TreadingonPlaymobil (is it less painful than Lego )

You're doing really well so far. Just thought I'd add a few things/ideas:

Yes - keep posting on here, every day if you can. Doesn't matter if it's "NSD. Bank looks fine". This forum is like your conscience on your shoulder. I really notice a difference when I'm not posting.

Your clothes - you said you needed a certain standard. So does that mean you have a nice wardrobe of expensive clothes? If so, either you don't need any more for now or, if it's important they are "current", get flogging the old stuff! FB and Fleabay aren't just for kids clothes.

And on that subject - you can buy second hand stuff for your kids too you know . My DS is only 18 months so it's a bit different, but I bought his wellies, rainsuits, shoes etc off fleabay. I just took him to get measured then ordered online. I realise it's not so easy as they get older, but things like wellies could be easily done.

What I would do in your overall position is start, asap, to save that £150 your parents asked you to. Firstly, it's not fair to lie to them, in all honesty. But more than that, the discipline will be good for you. Unless you can overpay the Tesco loan without penalty, you may as well stooze as much as you can each month into savings. Then when that first 0% card runs out, you could use that lump sum you've saved up and put it against the debt at that point. Hopefully you'd get another 0% then but, financially speaking, there is no benefit to overpaying on a 0% as opposed to saving it elsewhere. This does need discipline though, you'd have to know that you wouldn't spend it on something else, and if that's an issue, just target £150 overpayments instead. At least that way you are improving your position by that £150 every month.

Good luck with the journey, I will subscribe and cheer you on :j

themarsbargirl

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

Entertainment budget definitely up for negotiation though - that is 95% DH's spend as it's on weekend activities (I usually work on the weekend) like swimming, national trust membership, cafes, cinema etc. I will get him onside with cutting £50 off it as a starting point and take it from there.

so immediate current savings:
£50 from entertainment budget
£50 from groceries budget
total £100

longer term savings:
£40 from council tax in May (might be more like £50, but would rather estimate under than over)
£70 from childcare in May
total £110

Um, haven't you covered the national trust membership twice? I thought I saw it under child related expenses in your budget? Or is there a seperate child and adult membership?

Treadingonplaymobil

themarsbargirl wrote: »

Um, haven't you covered the national trust membership twice? I thought I saw it under child related expenses in your budget? Or is there a seperate child and adult membership?

You're right! Well spotted.