My SOA - all advice appreciated

sharon2510

Thanks everybody,

Here is a response to some of your suggestions.

Council tax - This may seem high but I only live in a 3 bedroom house.That's the Lake District for you!

Mobiles - will go PAYG as soon as contract ends

Bank ac fee - yes, will change accounts

Electricity - This may seem high but it used to be £100! We have no gas and 2 ancient storage heaters which eat electric. We try not to use them but we live in a draughty old cottage. Also struggle to get washing dry without using tumble dryer. Will try Uswitch.

BT - unfortunately we are stuck in a contract for the time being

Sickness Ins - pays out a lump sum eventually which my husband says we will lose if we cancel. Will speak to him about this again.

CTF - will cancel this

Turkey APT - a nightmare! Been on the market for 3 years. Have reduced price from £55,000 to £45,000 but still no takers.

Petrol - Is high due to living in a very remote area and commuting to work. Car sharing is difficult as we both work strange shifts and because of our location. Will try to cut out any unessential trips.

Food etc - I didn't think £300 was that high! We do shop at Aldi but sometimes top up at our local co-op (20 miles to nearest superstore). Will try not to do this and will look at cutting back. I have no idea how you manage on £75 for the month, I am very impressed!

Coal / wood - this is our only source of heating other than rubbish storage heaters that I try not to use.

Childcare - this is actually the cost of sending my son to Pre-school. He goes 2 mornings a week. There are no other children where we live so I want him to mix. His place will be free after Xmas however.

Hairdressers - I don't go every month but when I do it's pretty expensive. I am slightly obsessed with my hair but I am trying to get over this and find a cheaper alternative!

Car ins - I did this through confused.com and it was the cheapest option.

Barclayloan - this is a pretty low interest rate over 10 years (8 left), but I will look at debt consolidation to see if there are other options. Can't get a secured loan as I don't own property in this country.

I don't know when I will be going back to work.My husband is about to lose his driving licence and I will be pretty tied up taking him to work! Also, my baby will not take a bottle at the moment.At a rough guess I would say Feb - March. Childcare will not be needed.

Thanks again for your time.

Lavendyr

lauradora wrote: »

Council Tax £126 - wow thats a lot!! do you live in a mansion??

That's not actually all that high at all, even if it's over 12 months rather than 10. We pay £120 per month over 10 months for a Band C property in the south-east.

tyllwyd

Its a fairly drastic idea, and probably you've got good reasons not to follow it through, but I just thought I'd float it just in case ... you say you are renting in a remote area, and paying a lot in petrol to drive to work, and struggling to heat the cottage. Would you consider moving somewhere closer to your husbands work, with hopefully lower fuel bills?

sharon2510

That would seem logical and we would consider it. However, I have lived in the same area my whole life and we are part of a tight knit community, that's a hard thing to leave behind. Most people who live around here travel to work. Furthermore, we are paying a pretty low rent that would be hard to match. We are hopeful that a property in the nearby village will be available soon. It has double glazing and gas central heating - luxury! Moving there would cut down on petrol costs quite a lot as we are always popping into the village and my son also goes to pre-school there (it's an 8 mile round trip). However, the rent is likely to be higher.