My SOA

Hey!teacher!

Thanks all, really helpful advice. I'm going to use the other link and from payday this month write down everything we spend. We have spent a lot on the house, we aren't budgeting for the big stuff so are just using the excess to pay for those things in that month like xmas, holidays etc so then find ourselves short.
At the moment we still get cb as I'm on 42 and OH is on 48. Next pay rise might push us over, for hin anyway, i havent had a proper pay rise in years! although when I checked on a calculator online we would still get some, as I say I'd rather save it all for the kids and we won't miss it.

We definitely need to sort this, your advice has been really helpful thanks.

[Deleted User]

While it is true, that you currently have a lot of expenses, you also have a decent salary, so you have quite a bit of wiggle room.

It all comes down to how able/willing you are to economise.

Dobbibill

Hey!teacher! wrote: »

J

I really need to write down everything I spend but the weakest link is my husband who just takes out cash and walks around with pockets of shrapnel and uses his card without thinking.

Ask you OH what 'he thinks' he should have to spend each month/week - how ever often you want to do it. He may be surprised by how much he is spending........some people don't respond well to 'tell' and need to experience a 'show' to understand the situation.
It might encourage his own LBM to get him on board.

The house costs need to be accounted for. The spending diary is a good start. You should be able to categorise everything and get the remainder down to zero to be accurate, with a job for every penny.......easier said than done - requires a fair bit of tweaking to the SOA - it's rarely correct first time for anyone.