Positive Balance: Focused on Budgeting

PositiveBalance

Shelbi wrote: »

Hi Positivebalance

Just thought id pop over *virtual coffee in hand*:coffee:

Ooh, is that a cappucinno, Shelbi?! If so, I hope you brought a second one and that they have not gone cold! I've come on here so. Many. Times. Topost since you did but every time something has happened and I've only got a few sentences in to my reply!

Shelbi wrote: »

Darn I hate it when the computer eats the posts, I like to thing they are just to good for posting and get snapped up

Yup. Eaten like socks in the washer!

Shelbi wrote: »

Lovely to have a house guest, I dont get many of those but I was thinking maybe switch to minimum payments to ensure your covered for the increased costs (food, tv licence) and not stressed. Youll be able to enjoy said houseguests company more- Id throw in batch cooking and meal planning it may give the elastic a bit more stretch

I totally agree but this month was literally the absolute worst to get a guest as I had to pay off the remaining £381.64 off my CC to stop me having to balance transfer the difference.

Don't get me wrong, they are very welcome, it's just a question of timing, that's all.

Shelbi wrote: »

If you have a laptop can you get netflix free membership for a month and then cut it off when they're gone- will give them plenty to watch and be cheaper then getting into the paying for tv licence in the long run- unless bbc is a must of course. Anyway I hope all is well with you and you have a fab weekend..:beer:

Alas, it's an oldie who likes soap operas in real-time and isn't too hot at setting up laptops on their own! To top it all off, I'm not actually sure that my house has a working aerial! There's a really old satellite dish on the front of my house that I need to take off sometime when I have ladders high enough but the aeriel plugs into another room and I've never actually tried using it! It would be good to know for my own uses, but I don't know if I could even get it in the room I have set up as my lounge. How annoying!

PositiveBalance

Hello hello hello!

I've been trying to get on here to post for aaaaaaaaaages but life has been conspiring against me: I've been working absolutely stupid amounts and trying to fit a (very) small amount of social stuff around it. As for the housework, I'm sure I could keep on top of it at some point in my life. It must be 'cos I generally work 6 days a week, right (not 'cos I'm lazy)?!

There's quite a bit of news: firstly, I should be relatively rich this month as I have been paid the most I think I have ever received in any one month due to working stupid amounts of overtime, but, as usual, it has not worked out as hoped.

The good news: I successfully transferred 95% CC of my balance over to my new CC and paid off the remaining balance meaning thatI haven't needed to transfer anything over to my new MBNA CC! :j

Annoyingly, I did make a small spend on my new CC as I had to book some concert tickets unexpectedly at the end of last month for the beginning of this month. I paid it off straight away this month but I am annoyed at having had to do it.

What's really surprising is that I didn't have a minimum payment to make on my new CC this month so I used the money I had set aside to do so to make the payment for the concert tickets. There's a fiver's worth of difference which I will pull from elsewhere.

Apparently, the first payment of the card won't be until next month. I'm not sure how that works, but I'll roll with it.

The bad news: the travel fare for my guest has been half-paid by a relative and I need to pay the return fare. I wasn't aware any of this was happening so that's anything up to £180 which I'll have to spend. I've put the money to one side.

I'm really going to have to create a sinking fund for this kind of thing for the future.

So, despite the massive wages this month, it has all flown out the window!

I'm getting places, I know, but I really need people to stop dropping unexpected large expenses on me.


This month's tally:


Income: £1650.92
Mortgage: £267.06
Council Tax: £88.00
Water: £29.28
Gas & Electricity: £50.00
Food: £200.00
Internet & landline: £29.94 (this really annoys me. Don't every go with Post Office phone!)
Mobile: £8.50
Public transport: £73.00 (might vary this month – will see)
Old credit card min payment: £111.00
Old credit card remaining balance: £270.64
Union subs: £8.96
Martial art: £28.00
Exercise class: £26.00
Clothes: £50.00 (probably not but might need some cooler clothes in this weather!)
Presents: £50.00 (present-heavy month!)
Fun: £50.00
Cat flea treatment: £4.00
Work lottery: £10.00
Mobile insurance pot: £20.00
Work coffee kitty: £7.50 (spent £5.00 so far – probably won't spend any more)
Charity contributions (really can't avoid!): £38.20
Martial art insurance: £15.00
Cat innoculation pot: £4.60
New phone case £3.99
Replacement part for coffe pot: £5.99
Rich Dad, Poor Dad book: £4.79 (totally guilty of an impulse purchase here as was buying the audiobook as a gift for someone. It's finance-related so not a total blow-out, right?!)
Return travel for guest: £180.00
New CC min. payment: £29.45 (not needed so paid off the amount spend, plus an additional £5.00)
TOTAL: £1663.90

Hmm...now this doesn't tally with the calculations I did earlier. It does all work out in reality, honest!

Did I mention I'm not 100% with budgets?!


Honestly, I can't believe it's only the 8th of the month. It feels like so much later. I have a horrible feeling that it is going to drag something horribly....:eek:

enthusiasticsaver

Well done on clearing the old CC. Guests seem to be a thing which throw your budgets out so that should be yet another thing you save for seeing it has happened twice this year and it is only July. Not sure why you have to pay their travel and v annoying having to fork out for a tv licence but I cannot imagine my mum coping with Netflix and you need a licence for on demand tv too now so best go with that. You could look at the payment plan and pay monthly by direct debit to save paying the whole £145 in one go and cancel it once the guest has gone?

PositiveBalance

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Guests seem to be a thing which throw your budgets out so that should be yet another thing you save for seeing it has happened twice this year and it is only July.

Yup! I'm not too worried about food, gas, electric etc (maybe food a little) but I guess I spend a bit more socially and on the occasional takeaway as this is not something I do so much otherwise. I may relax next month's budget a little when I get there so it's not so squeaky tight but I need to get on creating a bit of an emergency fund and this will detract from that...

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Not sure why you have to pay their travel and v annoying having to fork out for a tv licence but I cannot imagine my mum coping with Netflix and you need a licence for on demand tv too now so best go with that. You could look at the payment plan and pay monthly by direct debit to save paying the whole £145 in one go and cancel it once the guest has gone?

An agreement made a few years ago to pay for this once a year. December/January was out of last year's budget and this is this year's. It is going to be awkward if there ti's a repeat trip for Christmas. I may have to use to N word!

I considered the paying for what I used with the TV licence but I'm not sure what the consequences of starting and then stopping paying would be. Any ideas? And that's exactly my problem with the other solutions plus you can't get the soap operas! (Although you can watch ITV and Chanel 4 catch-up for free so not all is lost.)

Also, I still have the aerial problem even if I did pay and can't really afford to have someone come out to install oe.

But do I even need one any more with the way technology has evolved? I have a box I can get channels through that attaches to my TV.

Most importantly, is this how I start to fall out of touch with technology?!

Anyway, high-ho, high-ho, it's off to work I go....see you later, ES!

PositiveBalance

So...an emergency with the person who lent me the money in the first place means that I've had to make a £150 unexpected repayment.


My pots are raided, but at least I had the money; next month and the creation of the emergency fund can't come quickly enough!


The up side: I have now repaid 54% of my debt to the source.


Happy weekend, everyone!

PositiveBalance

Forgot to mention that I opened two savings accounts yesterday - one for the EF and another for savings pots. One was with the Post Office whose customer service has proven to be rubbish. I don't know if I will trust them with my money after yesterday and today's experience, TBH.


We'll see how it goes....

PositiveBalance

Hello all,


So... I've spent £102.88 since my guest arrived, including a special event meal out. Pots raided again including much of the money I put to one side for the the travel arrangements has gone with it. This will be paid next with next month's salary as will, thinking about it, half of my house insurance. And hopefully some emergency fund.

There will definitely be a line in my budget for future guest-related activity.

I have applied for promotion at work. I doubt I stand a chance but cross your fingers for me!

System

PositiveBalance wrote: »

An agreement made a few years ago to pay for this once a year. December/January was out of last year's budget and this is this year's. It is going to be awkward if there ti's a repeat trip for Christmas. I may have to use to N word!

? Confused by this

PositiveBalance

Sweetcake wrote: »

? Confused by this

I made an agreement a while back to pay for travel for a family member once a year as they would struggle to pay for it themselves.


However, it's the first time they have used it so early in the year that a return journey may present itself later this year which I would struggle to afford at the minute, TBH, so I would have to think strongly about saying as much, even if I didn't want to.

enthusiasticsaver

I don't think there is any harm in being honest about your financial limitations. If this person is elderly is it because they are on a fixed limited budget? I know it is difficult as presumably you enjoy having this person to stay but making it difficult financially is tough and will have a knock on effect for future trips. Maybe they have no idea your finances are limited or you are paying off debt.

Glad to see you managed with just one balance transfer card. How is the insurance pot looking for September?