Getting prepared for a New Year.

Jaydee92

Good afternoon,

I have been on and off these threads for a long time and I have gone to start a diary many a times. I am just going to go for it and I am hoping that even if no one reads it, it will help me day by day to keep myself on track.
My husband thinks the month before Christmas is a funny time to start really keeping track of our budget but good a time as any!
Luckily, I have nearly finished our Christmas spends anyway as I do it throughout the year. We both usually get a Christmas bonus that will come in handy, but cannot be guaranteed.
So, a bit of our story..
We are a family of 4 and have been on a DMP for a couple of years now and currently owe just over £20,000. We have had to put our monthly payment down as DH was made redundant the beginning of this year when the company went into administration.
Because we have to give StepC the lowest possible wage he can earn, we do sometimes have extra money and while we have had good intentions to put this aside, that never seems to happen.
I write a budget every month and we rarely stick to it
My plan is to really stick to our budget from now on and if it is not budgeted for, to wait until it is. 2018 I would like to be more prepared for all eventualities and to not have to go month to month waiting for the next pay. I am hoping to have lots more NSD'S. My DH needs a bit of a kick up the backside in this area and recently asked what I meant when I challenged him to a week of NSD'S :cool: he did not do great, but better than normal. To be honest, the next few days are not going to be great for any of us as it's only a few days away from DD'S birthday and we need cake, balloon and a couple of bits and bobs. She is having a party but that was paid for long ago and was saved for.
I love the fact we have had no access to any credit since starting our DMP journey. Some months have been worse than others but that's life.!

If anybody does read this, HELLO** I do plan on coming back everyday and keep myself on track and if any of you have any ideas, please do let me know.

Have a wonderful day.

JD xx

P.S hoping this is now on the right thread (debt free diaries) takes me a while to get a hang of these things

!

DebtFreeDuo

Happy new diary! It is in the right place now, good luck with your journey. Have you taken a look at the statement of affairs (SOA)?

Jaydee92

Yay. Thank you DebtFreeDuo. Your help is appreciated! As our monthly incomings do vary I always do a budget for each month. Tomorrow is pay day and will know then what we have to work with for the month.
Must dash, school run and appointment after to attend. Will be back tomorrow

JD x

EssexHebridean

Might be worth you filling out the SOA anyway - just base things on the lowest income you have in any one month - then when it's more, you have extra to save. (NOT spend!)

Think about things like saving for annual expenditures as well - and things that perhaps are currently a monthly spend but you'd like to be able to do annually - insurances are a good example, they usually cost you more to pay on a monthly basis so it makes sense to make them annual as soon as possible. Car road tax is another example.

Definitely a good plan to revisit any budget regularly though - when I started budgeting I used to keep a spreadsheet showing exactly what we'd spent on food for example so I could keep track more easily - that really helped.

enthusiasticsaver

Christmas is exactly the time to concentrate on keeping track of budget as this when it is hardest along with the summer holidays.

Saving an emergency fund is the way to be prepared for all eventualities. More important when you have no access to credit.

DebtFreeDuo

I agree with EH about the SOA, I would base it on the minimum and then you can look at where best to put any extra each month, whether it is savings or overpaying on your debts. An SOA also helps others to advise you better both on outgoings and on debts, for example the best way to make overpayments, both EH and ES here are fantastic when it comes to advice on an SOA.

Jaydee92

Good morning,

Here goes....

Income -
Wage 1 - £1640
Wage 2 - £150
Child Tax - £396.60
Child Benefit - £137.60
= £2324.20

Expenditure -
Rent £558
Council Tax £155
Shopping £445 (£85 a week + £20 a month for toiletries)
DMP £210
Petrol £100
Gas/Elec £88
Water £30.51
Mobiles £26.50 (DH £13 MINE £8.50 DS £5)
Car insurance £36.98
Car Tax £23.62
BT £21.37
TV £37.37 (sky £25 including broadband. £12.37 TV License)
Opticians/Dentist £20
Clubs £14
Prescriptions £10.40
Contents insurance £9.76
Hair cuts £10
Emergencies £80
Savings £60
Clothes £50
Trips/Hobbies £30
Work Petrol £40
Prime £9.99
DH £60
Christmas/Birthdays £120

= £2246.50

Leaving a surplus of £77.70


This is a standard budget for us. Although the Christmas/Birthday pot is nowhere near as high normally. But then, things like Emergencies and savings and sometimes even the clothes budget get wiped out on things that are non essential :mad: this is where our problems lie!as when things do go wrong, those pots are empty. My wage is at the lowest it can be as I only work part time a few mornings a week. It will be over the £150 this month, but I never put that down until I know what it will be. This is what I usually save through the year for christmas/Birthdays/treats.

This month there is £77.70 unaccounted for and I am really hoping this is the month we can stick to our budget, have money pots full at the end and have this £77.70 to go towards debt. (We are with StepC who do not like you paying additional payments to one creditor. Do you think opening a new savings account to put this money in, is a good idea?)

I am sorry I do not how to do one of those fancy SOA's you all do please let me know what you think or any tips you may have, it would be very much appreciated.


I have work this morning and then will! walk to town to get the last few bits for DD birthday on the weekend. I have £40 that I managed to keep by (this was from our last £50 of Novembers money. £10 was given to DS yesterday to have his hair cut) that needs to get cake, party bag sweets, birthday cards, balloon and hopefully a new top for her party. I am pretty sure I can get all I need for under that, so may have a few extra pennies for the saving tin.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

JD x

Jaydee92

Evening,

Unsuccessful trip down town after work this afternoon. Apart from ordering a balloon, I could not get anything else I needed. So, ended up going to the next nearest town 20 minutes away. Managed to get all the last bits for DD's birthday there. Managed to stick to my list too. Had £2.11 left over - I have asked to join the sealed pot challenge on here, so that will be going into the tin.
After school me and DD went out to meet friends. She was treated with a cake, drink and a present to start the birthday celebrations early, I got treated to a lovely hot cup of tea too
Then, this evening I have been to my SW meeting. I am still in a countdown so do not pay until the New Year again. I have lost over 2 stone in 4 1/2 months and feel much better for it. I am aiming to get to my target in the New Year, so can then go for free.

Tomorrow I am hoping to start December, with a NSD.

Have a wonderful evening

JD x

DebtFreeDuo

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Go here if you want the one we all use, you can copy it here by selecting MSE at the bottom and pasting it here I believe.

Jaydee92

Evening,

Thank you DebtFreeDuo, I will take a look at that.

December is here, advents are out and it's the weekend, happy times
Wanted to start the month with a NSD, which I did Had work this morning and got to put up the Christmas tree which cheered me right up. Had a lovely visit with my BF and then home from school to do party prep
Weekend is a busy one, am hoping for some more NSD'S. As it's usually in the middle of the month we blow the budget because we aren't that sensible at the beginning. I am really determined to go for it this month with our best efforts.

Have a lovely weekend

JD x

beanielou

Great weight loss :j