400K mortgage to shift

kassytbag

Oh yes how familiar that sounds - also why was i so soft on the kids when they were little - more toys than they could have ever played with - i know everything is easier with hindsight but i wish my parents had taught me more about money - we were working class - my dad managed to save up enough for a deposit on a house but we never had any spare money - i hated my teenage years until i could get a saturday job because i hadn't got any 'trendy' clothes to wear etc - when i got my saturday job i just blew it all on records and clothes - i wish parents/school etc gave some guidence - seems so daft that they still dont - if i only do one thing for my kids its going to be to teach them to budget:money:

setmefree2

You're not my twin are you?:eek: Maybe we were separated at birth. I've started a little personal challenge to use up the "stuff" I've wasted money on. I barely buy any clothes now. I have a wardrobe full to bursting point, how can I possibly need anymore!:p Last year I spent only £48 on clothes all year. Yes ALL YEAR. This year I've spent about £60 as I needed some new shorts for my hols as I put on weight:o. I'm trying to read everything that I havn't read , so I've stopped buying Mags - and using up things that people have given me like candles. It's making me feel a little better about the waste....because then it was more like savings for the future:rotfl:or something?!

kassytbag

:eek: Oh my god we are twins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been doing just the same - i feel ashamed now to say that i have spent about £130 on clothes this year - but i have sold some of my old stuff on ebay to even it out:j and i am now using up all those toileties my girls got for xmas last year that they turned their noses up at i have a different smell every week lol i am also so concious of food shopping whereas before i just bought on a whim, now i menu plan etc and i must admit i do get a kick out of doing it for so much less even if it is sometimes hard

what i do find difficult it trying to tell the kids they cant have all the new clothes they want - my eldest who is 17 has a part time job that helps to pay for hers but the 13 year old is just super cool and clothes mad - any advice on how to deal with this would be gratefully received (unfortunatly the 13 year old is a good 6 " shorter and two clothes sizes smaller than the 17 year old so they cant even really share apart from odd t shirts!

setmefree2

£130 is good:money:

...I have 2 boys. The 14 year old loves clothes just as much as a girl - honest. However, I try to wait until I'm visiting family in the Northwest and go to Cheshire Oaks outlet village. :AIt's fantastic. Outlet villages are great. And there's always TK Max which has great stuff which is cool. Girls are quite happy to shop in Primark these days, aren't they?

My 11 year old doesn't care about clothes (much to the disgust of some of his friends) so I can still buy him anything. I'm enjoying him while he's still cheap.....

So my budget for the kids is quite big (can't remember how much but maybe about £100 per month - I'll check) but that includes School uniform and shoes (which they seen to wear out in months no matter what brand I buy.)

Clothes shopping with kids who love it is fun though, isn't it?(still not fun with my 11 year old who hates shopping) and I remember fondly some of the clothes I enjoyed wearing when I was younger. In fact my Mum was quite naughty. Even though she was quite thrifty with money, she would say "oh go on - buy it - you're only young once". I think she was right! and who can resist all those lovely clothes when kids are babies.....no, I'm glad I bought all those lovely cute outfits when I could....honest:rotfl:

zekepes

kassytbag wrote: »

what i do find difficult it trying to tell the kids they cant have all the new clothes they want - my eldest who is 17 has a part time job that helps to pay for hers but the 13 year old is just super cool and clothes mad - any advice on how to deal with this would be gratefully received (unfortunatly the 13 year old is a good 6 " shorter and two clothes sizes smaller than the 17 year old so they cant even really share apart from odd t shirts!

Ummm...give them a clothing allowance? As to how much is appropriate I have no idea! I think that would take a family discussion to decide. This way they learn how to budget and buy wise and you know where you stand with your own budget.

Hime

Hi Kassytbag, I am a relative newbie to this site, but read it regularly and feel for you. Anyway, the kids. You may have considered this, but can you give them a portion of their child allowance as pocket money? I have been saving mine, (it is the only MY money I am allowed!!) But I am thinking of splitting half of it between my two girls, 13 and 11. From their allowance they have to buy their own books, CDs, clothes (within reason, coats, shoes etc we would have to pay for) and phone top ups (older daughter only). They also have chores to do at home, which if not done, results in money being withheld and going to the general pool. I find both of my daughters already shop for books, games and music in the local charity shops. They also use the library a lot. They are also expected to save a portion each week. We aim for 10%. I find they manage money better when they know that much of what they want must be paid for from their own pockets. They also can save up for things. They are pretty savvy though, as we were very income reduced for many years...! Hope this helps take that feeling away that YOU as a parent are depriving THEM the children. If they can control the money a bit, they then can take some of the responsibility...

Jonbvn

setmefree2 wrote: »

Clothes shopping with kids who love it is fun though, isn't it?(still not fun with my 11 year old who hates shopping) and I remember fondly some of the clothes I enjoyed wearing when I was younger.

Trust me even some of us "bigger" kids (40+) still hate shopping as much as your 11yr old. I think my mother and sister killed it for me. At least I have some solace (:beer:) when I now go shopping with my OH.

wilburpig

My girls are 12 and 14. I buy school uniform, underwear, one pair of trainers and one pair of school shoes. They get a £20 per month clothes allowance and they have to buy anything else they want from that, including accessories. They love it. They hit Primark and similar shops for bargains and if they want something more expensive they save up. They are very concious now of prices and I don't get any more pestering for expensive stuff. I would definitely recommend it. They are both growing pretty fast at the moment, so older or younger kids could probably manage on less. It also encourages them to share, especially accessories.

kassytbag

thanks everyone for all the hints and help:beer: i am trying to put it all in to practice at the moment - as i said before the eldest does have a part time job and trys to pay for a lot herself - my youngest still thinks it grows on trees and i only have myself to blame for that because in the past she has had a lot and its difficult for 13 year olds to understand why it has all come to a halt but she is great and is getting to grasps with it all really well!!!

thank you all so much
:T

kassytbag

Hi all,

I'm hoping some of you financially savvy people can help me out as my brain is about to explode

My mortgage is with C&G via LLoyds Bank - my sub account 1 has a balance of 206K and is on a tracker deal at the moment which im not tied in to at 0.45% above bank of england base rate

my sub account 02 has a balance of 132K which is on a deal due to finish in jan 08

C & G are offering me a deal on another tracker rate for sub account o1 at 0.14% over base rate which is 5.89% but the conversion fee is £995 - is it worth me swopping to this? its for two years until dec 09

normally i would try and work this out myself but my eldest daughter is going through a really tough time at the moment and i have been up half the night with her and my head is really crap at the moment

i would be so grateful for any advice you could all offer

thanks!