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Where is all my money going?
Vincygirl
Posts: 7 Forumite
I need to wake up from my slumber and find out where our money in disappearing to.
Hubby and I have pretty decent jobs. I take home £1140 per month and Hubby roughly £1500, we do not have a mortgage and rent and council tax is taken directly from hubby's salary.
we have a loan of £10k with a repayment of £279 and a credit card with £2k repaying £55
We try to be sensible and do our main shopping at Lidl with which usually comes up to approx £50 per week (hubby me and toddler).
We use oil instead of Gas and so I use comparison sites when purchasing and for my electric I have changed to a very reasonable supplier paying £34 per month
We have cut back to only have one car as we both work within walking distance to work and only need to drive to take LO to pre school, but we find we are putting at least £20 in the car each week as LO's preschool is 7 miles away plus we have other recreational travelling we do at weekends.
I dont have an OD but hubby has one of £200 and lives in it each month.
I am fed up of living like this we should be a lot better off than we are and mentally it is really affecting me as it is embarrassing.
I think we are living way above our means in someways probably spontenous spending and my hubby loves gadgets so purchasing lots of small buys from amazon.
i have done a SOA and it says we should have approx 700 extra each month but we are never even in credit of £100 at the end of each month. can someone offer some advise on how i can tackle this? I have downloaded ontress as a way forward but I am looking for more real life advice as this has to be sorted.
Hubby and I have pretty decent jobs. I take home £1140 per month and Hubby roughly £1500, we do not have a mortgage and rent and council tax is taken directly from hubby's salary.
we have a loan of £10k with a repayment of £279 and a credit card with £2k repaying £55
We try to be sensible and do our main shopping at Lidl with which usually comes up to approx £50 per week (hubby me and toddler).
We use oil instead of Gas and so I use comparison sites when purchasing and for my electric I have changed to a very reasonable supplier paying £34 per month
We have cut back to only have one car as we both work within walking distance to work and only need to drive to take LO to pre school, but we find we are putting at least £20 in the car each week as LO's preschool is 7 miles away plus we have other recreational travelling we do at weekends.
I dont have an OD but hubby has one of £200 and lives in it each month.
I am fed up of living like this we should be a lot better off than we are and mentally it is really affecting me as it is embarrassing.
I think we are living way above our means in someways probably spontenous spending and my hubby loves gadgets so purchasing lots of small buys from amazon.
i have done a SOA and it says we should have approx 700 extra each month but we are never even in credit of £100 at the end of each month. can someone offer some advise on how i can tackle this? I have downloaded ontress as a way forward but I am looking for more real life advice as this has to be sorted.
£15,522.29 Worth of Silly little debts........ Debt free I will Be!
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Comments
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OK for you as you've done the SOA the first step is probably to keep a spending diary for a month - both of you - and see where the surplus you should have is going. You could also post the SOA in here and we can take a look and see if there appear to be any gaps that perhaps you've not filled in. Maybe have an "Amazon Amnesty" for a month as well - where you both agree to no spur of the moment online purchases?
Have a proper think about what you actually spend on food to - you say about £50 a week but that's actually quite a lot for someone already shopping at a discounter - so maybe think about what you're actually buying, and also whether there are further shopping trips each week that you're not counting, or the odd trip out to buy lunch at work?
If an incentive is required, then think about that Credit Card that could be cleared inside three months if you could actually find that surplus!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned....................
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1146.11
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1500
Benefits................................ 80
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2726.11
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 107.5
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 34.6
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 50
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 44
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 51.6
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 150
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 46.76
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 150
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 21.02
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 19.94
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 50
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
CIMA.................................... 100
Scottish & Friendly..................... 71
Money to Parents Abroad ................ 200
Tithes.................................. 260
savings................................. 225
Total monthly expenses.................. 2143.54
Assets
Cash.................................... 1600
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1600
Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 3392.....(107.5)....10.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 3392......-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
next...........................290.......50........29.9
white goods....................528.......22.5......29.9
oak furniture land.............743.......37.74.....29.9
nationwide cc..................2091.29...55........15.9
loan...........................10000.....277.5.....15.9
Total unsecured debts..........13652.29..442.74....-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,726.11
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,143.54
Available for debt repayments........... 582.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 442.74
Amount left after debt repayments....... 139.83
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,600
Total HP & Secured debt................. -3,392
Total Unsecured debt.................... -13,652.29
Net Assets.............................. -15,444.29
I have attached my SOA - for credit cards and store cards I have written what I pay as I always pay slightly more than the minimum account.
We send £200 to hubby's mom abroad to cover her rent which she isn't able to pay at this present time this should end in the next 8 months (I hope).
There are times in the week when we have to pop into the super market to get more milk and bread and yes at times we may pop into starbucks or costa for a quick treat.... Treat to my tummy but not to my pocket.£15,522.29 Worth of Silly little debts........ Debt free I will Be!0 -
Have a look at your bank and card statements for the last two or three months and try to put everything that goes out into ones of the SOA categories for comparison with what you thought you were spending. That should show you where it is going, or if it is walking out of your pockets as cash.But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,Had the whole of their cash in his care.
Lewis Carroll0 -
theoretica wrote: »Have a look at your bank and card statements for the last two or three months and try to put everything that goes out into ones of the SOA categories for comparison with what you thought you were spending. That should show you where it is going, or if it is walking out of your pockets as cash.
I've just been going through and they all small silly purchases in coffee shops, boots, B&M
I think I need to try to stay focused and budget to the T as I'd like to decrease my debts and increase my savings.
I will attempt to do a spending diary as EssexHebridean has suggested and that way I will be keeping myself accountable.£15,522.29 Worth of Silly little debts........ Debt free I will Be!0 -
What are the "tithes" for £260pm,
Puzzled.0 -
Small purchases quickly add up, and from how even the figures are I assume that those are guesstimates? Start a spending diary, run it for month or three, you will see where the money syphons away.
And do you really spend 200 quid on clothes and haircuts every month? That seems very easy to cut down.0 -
Ok let's take a look - notes in red as usual...Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... Should be 1 here I think you said?
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1146.11
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1500
Benefits................................ 80
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2726.11
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 107.5
Rent.................................... 0 Might help people if you clarify - why no rent or mortgage?
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 34.6
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 50 I imagine you don't actually have £50 of oil put in the tank each month, so do you actually save this amount monthly towards filling the tank when needed? Personally I would open a completely separate account for this and set up an automated transfer into it for the £50 each month so it's there when needed
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 44
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 51.6
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 This is high - you can certainly knock £100 off this
Clothing................................ 150 How much?! Every month? That's nearly 2k a year!
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 0 Is it a new car that's road tax free or should something go in here?
Car Insurance........................... 46.76 Have you checked this is the cheapest you can get?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 Again - car but nothing for maintenance? Is this a lease agreement?
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 150 Assume you minimise the impact of this by using childcare vouchers?
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 21.02 If this is a regular thing then have you looked into pre-paid certificates for prescriptions?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 19.94 This is extortionate - get onto a comparison site ASAP and get a proper quote - you can definitely halve this, and probably knock it down a bit more.
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 You never buy any presents for anyone?
Haircuts................................ 50 This is high.
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 Need to start getting this sorted - presumably you'll be looking to save towards buying a home at some stage?
CIMA.................................... 100 What is this? Professional fees?
Scottish & Friendly..................... 71 Again, what does this relate to?
Money to Parents Abroad ................ 200
Tithes.................................. 260 ?
savings................................. 225 OK - this ties up with the cash assets below I assume?
Total monthly expenses.................. 2143.54
Assets
Cash.................................... 1600
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1600
Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 3392.....(107.5)....10.9 Is this a car loan?
Total secured & HP debts...... 3392......-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
next...........................290.......50........29.9
white goods....................528.......22.5......29.9
oak furniture land.............743.......37.74.....29.9
nationwide cc..................2091.29...55........15.9
loan...........................10000.....277.5.....15.9 what does the loan relate to?
Total unsecured debts..........13652.29..442.74....-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,726.11
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,143.54
Available for debt repayments........... 582.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 442.74
Amount left after debt repayments....... 139.83
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,600
Total HP & Secured debt................. -3,392
Total Unsecured debt.................... -13,652.29
Net Assets.............................. -15,444.29
I have attached my SOA - for credit cards and store cards I have written what I pay as I always pay slightly more than the minimum account.
We send £200 to hubby's mom abroad to cover her rent which she isn't able to pay at this present time this should end in the next 8 months (I hope). Maybe once you've sorted your situation out you can help her go through hers, as well!
There are times in the week when we have to pop into the super market to get more milk and bread and yes at times we may pop into starbucks or costa for a quick treat.... Treat to my tummy but not to my pocket.
There is a lot on there which probably needs more explanation. If my assumption that CIMA is professional fees then has whoever it related to checked whether tax should be being claimed back on it?
Are you still using the credit card? If so, stop - you have a surplus, you just need to get it properly tracked down. Similarly the Next account.
If it were me I'd start by hammering everything to the bone and also noting everything you DO spend. I bet you each withdraw some cash as routine spending money each month? Remember if so that's not shown on there so will be where some of the surplus is going.
Go over everything yourself in the cold light of day and decide what needs to change - I can immediately see over £200 of "effortless" savings that can be made - groceries and clothes mainly. Go through your cupboards, fridge and freezer and then shop for only what you actually need for the next few weeks. On the clothes front for a few months pin it to essentials only - pants and socks! Similarly haircuts - that's a hefty bill!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned....................
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1146.11
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1500
Benefits................................ 80
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2726.11
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 107.5
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0 nothing at all?
Water rates............................. 0 nothing ?
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 51.6 this is expensive, ask for a better deal or switch to freesat
Clothing................................ 150 every month?
Car Insurance........................... 46.76
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 you should have something here
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 you should be putting something here, they will happen every year
Emergency fund.......................... 0 you should have something here too
Total monthly expenses.................. 2143.54[/b]
Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 3392.....(107.5)....10.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 3392......-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
next...........................290.......50........29.9
white goods....................528.......22.5......29.9
oak furniture land.............743.......37.74.....29.9
nationwide cc..................2091.29...55........15.9
loan...........................10000.....277.5.....15.9
Total unsecured debts..........13652.29..442.74....-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,726.11
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,143.54
Available for debt repayments........... 582.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 442.74
Amount left after debt repayments....... 139.83
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,600
Total HP & Secured debt................. -3,392
Total Unsecured debt.................... -13,652.29
Net Assets.............................. -15,444.29
Next, White Goods & Oak Furniture Land are all on a horrendous rate of APR - have you looked to see if you can do a balance transfer to reduce the interest you are paying.
I've highlighted a few thoughts in red just in case they were overlooked.
As others have said, keep a spending diary...that means every penny - doing a SOA is brilliant first step.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Budgeting & Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Credit File & Ratings and Energy boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
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