SOA - go for it!

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Thanks for the replies, I will try and answer everything but apologies if i miss anything.

@EssexHebridean
Council tax - Single person paid over 10 months
Elec - I've just swapped from British gas, I've signed up to the MSE Energy club with notifications.
Gas - Yes it will burn wood, I have a deal with the local recycling center to get wood cheap
Telephone - the line rental is paid in full annually (I put £13 away for this in a high interest account) the bill is therefore around £11 a month. Unfortunately i live in a "out in the stick" place so there's not many in way of choice. That's the cheapest on I have found (checked when contract was up for renewal)
Petrol - I spend around £30 a week in petrol, this is going to work (40 mile round trip), heading to stable (15 mile round trip) and ferrying the kids around (swimming, brownies) - I try and follow the "not a full tank, not a full boot" but its a 17 year old car so that doesn't help I'm in the process of saving for another
Car insurance - yep, money in TSB earning 5% then paid when due. check renewals through comparison and head through quidco for cash back
Road tax - again, in tsb earning 5%, paid annually when due
MOT - £30 put away each month, "spare" money is used on repairs / put in savings account if not used (Thankfully cars passed every MOT since I've had it but my dads quite handy and does the repairs for me and only charges me for parts)
Credit card repayments - Each month i transfer £130 into Nationwide (5%) the direct debit for the minimum comes from there, the spare stays in nationwide earning interest until needed. I have an amazing excel spreadsheet that keeps track of "what" the money is set aside for so i don't get confused as i have multiple accounts to earn the interest. If the minimum payment decreases, my £130 doesnt, the spare money is still in the high interest account "locked" away until needed if that makes sense

@Copperclock
Horse - yep he definitely is the biggest luxury. I look at it this way, I don't drink/smoke, I don't go out often in the evening (babysitter costs a fortune!) neither do i have sky. I suffer from anxiety but horse riding seem to help plus we're out and about in a field rather than sitting in front of the TV. The stables is rather large so there's always someone around to socialise with. I rode as a kid, I've been "back at it" since i was debt free but lessons are £20 an hour. then when the kids both wanted to ride it was £60 a week for 3 hours. It was a hard decision to buy but when ii look at what we "get" it doesn't seem too bad

My kids are 10 and 5, still little ones. I'm saving at the moment as much as possible / getting the house sorted before maint etc stops but i work PT at the moment, when the children are older I can go FT to make up the money plus the stables have a "working livery" (so basically, they use my horse for lessons and my costs are reduced) plus i can always work there on a weekend in lieu of stabling.

Pocket money - They don't get any. Santa gets them a magazine subscription and the house is always stocked with sweets (Halloween is awesome for that haha) They do know I put money aside for them and my eldest checks her account, checks her interest etc. She asks for gift cards for her birthday and uses them to buy clothes etc. When we go shopping (even grocery) we speak about cost vs weights etc ad whether its cheaper elsewhere etc. When shes a bit older and wants to go into town with her friends we will discuss whether i stop putting the money away in her bank and if she has pocket money instead.

School Trips - at the moment £10 is enough, although I'm aware this will increase. I just don't know what to yet

For those who have focused on my situation - Yes, I know I am fortunate. That said there are a few things you should know. My house was inherited, i didn't buy it, that's why i have the savings I have. I've been there counting pennies to buy a loaf of bread to have toast for dinner whilst hiding from the bailiffs who are banging on the door, hiding my car a few streets away so they don't take it. I KNOW how tired you are because you aren't sleeping because you are worried. Yes, I have my horse, he is the only luxury I have but if it came to the point that i am struggling to afford him, He'd go, without any hesitation. I haven't had "new" clothes for years, If mine break, I repair them. I check charity shops, i buy from ebay. I don't buy new from shops because i often feel guilty and return the purchase a few day later. The only "new" clothing my kids have are school clothing, everything else is hand me downs from family and friends. We meal plan, we use jack monroe recipes, we all eat pack lunches every day, I shop in aldi's, i use vouchers and coupons, I dry my clothes outside/in front of my fire rather than use the tumble dryer, I dont have heating on when the kids aren't in / are asleep. Quite often i will light the candles in my front room and turn the light off. I buy reduced food and freeze everything (christmas dinner last year cost £3.25 as i got everything xmas eve when it was reduced) we "kon mari" everything - and anything that's sellable, is sold. Clothes that aren't are taken to a weigh and pay. I'm not "flush" - I'm careful. I had to be when my ex walked out and (minus the horse!) my spending habits haven't changed. I'm still spending like i still have the £35k debt. The house has had repairs but these have been researched, costs have been haggled and I've tried to do as much as i can myself. I've learn to tile, paint, wallpaper, fix things, bodge things, actually bodge quite a lot of things Anything i need (for example my kettle broke earlier this year) i ask for it for my birthday / Christmas. Its hard being in debt, but when people have their "lightbulb" moment, it never really leaves you. You're still cautious, you still worry, which is what my OP was about.

EssexHebridean

Mimi - bravo, well said. It's a shame that people couldn't simply read your OP, where you clearly stated the purpose of posting, and had to turn it into a "well you're fortunate so why are you here" type thing.

It seems to me as though you have stuff well under control - keep doing what you're doing if I were you - and keep enjoying the wonderful experiences you & the littlies are getting with that horse! :T

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

EssexHebridean wrote: »

It's a shame that people couldn't simply read your OP, where you clearly stated the purpose of posting, and had to turn it into a "well you're fortunate so why are you here" type thing.

It was always going to happen I suppose, good job I have broad shoulders


Thank you for taking the time to reply constructively - I'm looking into life assurance (well, trying to, there's so much to look at :eek:) I'll bob along to the "other" MSE board later and ask for advice there, hopefully that will be sorted in the next few weeks. Funeral plans etc are already in place with my solicitor, as is my will. I've also named some people that I want to manage the girls finances but I'm not 100% sure that will happen tbh as their dad can over rule this I believe but that's another thread for another time

Potbellypig

Narcissism can be a funny thing.

Dataless

I came across this post looking for another, very interesting, where do you get these SOA things, I just use spreadsheets!

Mimi there is nothing wrong with using zero percent cards back to back to beef up your credit score if you have the discipline to maintain the balance, I know psople that have £10k on such facilities to buy into company share option scheme which they told me works out at 20% typical growth per annum.

What sticks out for me is that you as asset rich and cash poor, I wonder if you had considered using your house to buy into another property for buy to let, maybe outside the UK?

The horse is obviously the elephant in the room, it will come with an emotional attachment and vet bills, these may prevent you thinking rationally. I do not know much about horses, can it be sold?

The horse cost would fund a car and more besides.

Other than that very impressive but you know that!

EssexHebridean

Potbellypig wrote: »

Narcissism can be a funny thing.

Yes....and so can jealousy.

EssexHebridean

Dataless wrote: »

I came across this post looking for another, very interesting, where do you get these SOA things, I just use spreadsheets! bThe link to the SOA we recommend can be found in the "sticky" post at the top of this board. It works well as it's a prompt to get people to think about expenses they might otherwise not remember.


Mimi there is nothing wrong with using zero percent cards back to back to beef up your credit score if you have the discipline to maintain the balance, I know psople that have £10k on such facilities to buy into company share option scheme which they told me works out at 20% typical growth per annum.

What sticks out for me is that you as asset rich and cash poor, I wonder if you had considered using your house to buy into another property for buy to let, maybe outside the UK?

The horse is obviously the elephant in the room, it will come with an emotional attachment and vet bills, these may prevent you thinking rationally. I do not know much about horses, can it be sold? The OP did mention that she has savings in place to pay off the 0%
cards as and when - thus she's following the path of "leave the money in savings earning whatever interest it can" (and it seems she has a fair bit of it at 5% which is a stonking rate,
currently) and paying the minimum off the cards each month. I'm not sure that there is a need right now for her to consider selling the horse - although they are indeed very sellable should it be needed - especially the sort of "bombproof" family friendly beast that can be trusted with one's small people!

The horse cost would fund a car and more besides.

Other than that very impressive but you know that!

Animals of any sort come with emotional attachments, you're right - but the OP has said that she would sell it if needed. As things stand though, the need doesn't seem to be there. Long may this continue.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

The horse, he's definitely an emotional attachment however if it came to the point of 'horse vs kids needs' - he would lose. Vet bills, touch wood I haven't had any (other than the initial to check he was OK to buy) but he's insured so I have that to fall back on.

I wouldn't become a landlord. I looked into it around a year ago and I just don't have the funding. It would be insane to venture down that path knowing I couldn't afford property repairs / the mortgage if the property was vacant.

Potbellypig - not really sure where I've come across as a narcissist. It wasn't ever meant to be a bragging/look at me post but more of a check that I am still on the correct path and to see whether there was something i was missing (which as you can see, its been pointed out I should have life assurance). If you prefer, I'm sure you can search my threads (maybe search for Lowell or BC&W) and you can see what sent I went through, see the advice people Gave me and read as bit by bit I got back on track. Equally, the advice ghat was down to me I've passed on to others who are in the same situation I was.

So, Yes, I'm fortunate that a little old lady died and left me her house, but hey, I'll let you in on a secret. I'd have rather of had the little old lady.