Be ruthless!

PeonySugar

Hi everyone,

So I am technically in debt, but in about 2/3 weeks we will be completing on our new house and will be paying off the credit card and furniture loan coming to a total of around £4000.00. However, going forward in our new house, I want to have as little going out as possible, so I can maximise paying off the mortgage.

My pay averages around £1450.00 although I am currently doing overtime this month and next month.

Here are the outgoings:
Phone Bill with Three - £29.00 a month - this is unlimited everything and on a monthly rolling contract so I am not tied in.
Parking for work - £47 a month
Specsavers contact lenses - £25.00. - I not too long ago had an appointment to see if there are any cheaper ones suitable for my eyes and these are the cheapest.
Virgin active gym £51.30 - I got this on the corporate monthly rolling contract so I am not tied in.
Weight Watchers £19.95 - stupidly took out the 3 month deal and I hate it, think there is only one more payment to go
Lotto - £5 a month, my friend gives me £5 a month , something we do together
Phone £56.45 a month with Apple my one and only luxury, I got the iPhone X
Netflix £5.99
itunes music £9.99 a month - I use this everyday on the way to work on the way back, whilst I'm on my lunch break
Ancestry £19.99 - researching my family tree.

i currently get through about £120-140 a month in petrol
I contribute around £80-90 a month in food

I get my hair cut around every 4 months (hate getting it done) £35 every 3 month
I'm terrible at budgeting for presents but would say around £30 a month would cover it.

The following bills are joint with my partner, we pay half each, I currently pay £453 a month towards bills.
Furniture loan - £143.58 this will be paid off with equity from the house
Gas £97.65 really not sure why this is so high, there is only 2 of us in a 2 bed. We are not on a tariff as it ran out and we are moving as I say in the next few weeks.
Elec £57.73 ditto
British gas - £9 - Hive thermostat
British Gas £18.60 - Homeserve
CC - £150.00 again this is getting paid off in the next few weeks
mortgage £237.27 - this will be going up to around £650
Council tax - £101
tv license - £12.37
Virgin TV broadband and phone - £35
Water £38.40


Please can you give me advice where I can cut back. I don't want to be living with absolutely no fun in life. At the very minimum I need to keep my gym membership as that is the cheapest for everything I need in my area, and reasonable travel distance, and is where I see my personal trainer which was a gift to me for 3 months. Thanks

Pixie5740

That's what you pay out monthly, or some of it at least. What about the expenses you incurr quarterly or annually such as insurance, Christmas and car maintenance? You really need to complete a full statement of affairs for meaningful advice.

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

fiisch

PeonySugar wrote: »

Here are the outgoings:
Phone Bill with Three - £29.00 a month - this is unlimited everything and on a monthly rolling contract so I am not tied in. Landline and Internet I'm guessing?
Parking for work - £47 a month
Specsavers contact lenses - £25.00. - I not too long ago had an appointment to see if there are any cheaper ones suitable for my eyes and these are the cheapest.
Virgin active gym £51.30 - I got this on the corporate monthly rolling contract so I am not tied in. Much too high - do you have a local gym group? £19.99 - unless you really need that pool and those classes, a straightforward gym is about £20/month
Weight Watchers £19.95 - stupidly took out the 3 month deal and I hate it, think there is only one more payment to go. Get rid
Lotto - £5 a month, my friend gives me £5 a month , something we do together. Get rid
Phone £56.45 a month with Apple my one and only luxury, I got the iPhone X. Go SIM only when you can - save money and buy handsets outright going forwards
Netflix £5.99
itunes music £9.99 a month - I use this everyday on the way to work on the way back, whilst I'm on my lunch break. Deezer/Spotify/Similar are always giving away cheap/free trials - have a look around
Ancestry £19.99 - researching my family tree.

i currently get through about £120-140 a month in petrol
I contribute around £80-90 a month in food

I get my hair cut around every 4 months (hate getting it done) £35 every 3 month
I'm terrible at budgeting for presents but would say around £30 a month would cover it.

The following bills are joint with my partner, we pay half each, I currently pay £453 a month towards bills.
Furniture loan - £143.58 this will be paid off with equity from the house
Gas £97.65 really not sure why this is so high, there is only 2 of us in a 2 bed. We are not on a tariff as it ran out and we are moving as I say in the next few weeks.
Elec £57.73 ditto
British gas - £9 - Hive thermostat
British Gas £18.60 - Homeserve
CC - £150.00 again this is getting paid off in the next few weeks
mortgage £237.27 - this will be going up to around £650
Council tax - £101
tv license - £12.37
Virgin TV broadband and phone - £35
Water £38.40

You did say to be ruthless...

Why are you paying twice for phone and broadband i.e.: iPhone, Three and Virgin.

I sincerely hope you're not paying £86 / month for your iPhone X + Three SIM only, because that would be sheer madness. I love my Apple devices as much as the next man but.... wow.

Your gym is way too high - you can get a good gym for about £20/month. If you love the "health club" benefits i.e.: pool, classes etc., you should still be able to do quite a bit better than £51/month outside of London.

macman

Why do you have an iPhone at £56 and a 3 contract at £29? A SIM only contract should be a third of that.
Energy: it's assumed that you must be in heavy arrears, as £160pm is absurdly high for a 2 b/r flat. It should be £100 tops. You are on a tariff by default: Standard Variable, which is the most expensive.
Homeserve: not cost effective or necessary. Save £18pm and self insure.
Virgin TV: use Freeview or Freesat, at no charge.
Netflix, iTunes, Ancestry are all luxuries, it's up to you what to keep or drop.
As above, you have nothing budgeted for building and contents insurance, motor insurance. servicing, road tax, spares, MOT.
Overpaying on the mortgage is only a good idea if you are not doing it at the expense of other debts: which are likely to be on a much higher APR than your mortgage.

Mnd

You need to sort that gas, it is surely wrong and you may have a decent credit built up.
Presumably this will be sorted when you move house but I would check that out now
Same really with your electricity bill

Niv

PeonySugar wrote: »

Hi everyone,

So I am technically in debt, but in about 2/3 weeks we will be completing on our new house and will be paying off the credit card and furniture loan coming to a total of around £4000.00. However, going forward in our new house, I want to have as little going out as possible, so I can maximise paying off the mortgage.

My pay averages around £1450.00 although I am currently doing overtime this month and next month.

Here are the outgoings:
Phone Bill with Three - £29.00 a month - this is unlimited everything and on a monthly rolling contract so I am not tied in.Why do you have this along with an Iphone bill and a virgin BB and phone bill?
Parking for work - £47 a month Any oppurtunity to share the drive in with a work mate?
Specsavers contact lenses - £25.00. - I not too long ago had an appointment to see if there are any cheaper ones suitable for my eyes and these are the cheapest. Is this disposables? Any oppurtunity to get some glasses and only use contacts when you go ona night out etc?
Virgin active gym £51.30 - I got this on the corporate monthly rolling contract so I am not tied in. Waste of money - get rid, unless you use it alot i.e pool and multiple classes every week. Take up running / cycling
Weight Watchers £19.95 - stupidly took out the 3 month deal and I hate it, think there is only one more payment to go I tihnk you have already decided to get rid
Lotto - £5 a month, my friend gives me £5 a month , something we do together
Phone £56.45 a month with Apple my one and only luxury, I got the iPhone X Not really uot only luxury as you then go on to name netflix, itunes and Ancestry (but I am splitter hairs ). Get out of this as soon as you can and go sim only when the handset is paid off
Netflix £5.99
itunes music £9.99 a month - I use this everyday on the way to work on the way back, whilst I'm on my lunch break This could be done cheaper if you used Spotify free but if used alot its probably worth it
Ancestry £19.99 - researching my family tree. How long does this need to go on? Do you use it every month. Is it worth droppin git for a bit then getting the odd month here and there? I expect they wil offer you a deal after a fw months is teh cancel it teperarily

i currently get through about £120-140 a month in petrol
I contribute around £80-90 a month in food Could be shaved a bit for two people but not terrible

I get my hair cut around every 4 months (hate getting it done) £35 every 3 month
I'm terrible at budgeting for presents but would say around £30 a month would cover it.

The following bills are joint with my partner, we pay half each, I currently pay £453 a month towards bills.
Furniture loan - £143.58 this will be paid off with equity from the house
Gas £97.65 really not sure why this is so high, there is only 2 of us in a 2 bed. We are not on a tariff as it ran out and we are moving as I say in the next few weeks. Odd that it is so high but sounds like it will sort itself out pretty soon.
Elec £57.73 ditto
British gas - £9 - Hive thermostat
British Gas £18.60 - Homeserve
CC - £150.00 again this is getting paid off in the next few weeks
mortgage £237.27 - this will be going up to around £650
Council tax - £101
tv license - £12.37
Virgin TV broadband and phone - £35
Water £38.40


Please can you give me advice where I can cut back. I don't want to be living with absolutely no fun in life. At the very minimum I need to keep my gym membership as that is the cheapest for everything I need in my area, and reasonable travel distance, and is where I see my personal trainer which was a gift to me for 3 months. Thanks

Just a few thoughts, it depends how far you really want to cut back.

Willing2Learn

I'm just wondering about your gas and electricity. Do you submit meter reads on a monthly/quarterly basis to ensure you are paying the correct amount?

macman

Submit reads now, get an up to date bill. You are either paying off large arrears following a catch up bill, or your account is in substantial credit. And get off Standard Variable. There is no exit fee when you move house, the contract is voided, so you can pick any cheap fix you like with the existing supplier.

MallyGirl

I have a care plan with an optician, as checkups are important and I have had issues in the past, but then buy my contacts online at a fraction of the price. You need to shop around.

I would submit monthly meter readings to get your energy usage visible and tracked.

kram

I totally agree with Pixie5740.

You need to do a full statement of affairs im afraid, you can't wing it.

Here's the link:

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

Sicily1991

Daysoft lenses are only £5.99 per box and all done online. I've saved over £400 a year on my previous subscription with Vision Express! highly recommend as good quality lenses (disposables).