I need help here are my stats.........(help please)

doodledo_2

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You have had some really good advice already.

I would definately recommend keeping a diary/spreadsheet of all your spends as its really scary when you see in black and white what you spend your money on.

We also find that having a weekly cash amount works for us rather than sticking it on a card. It never seems as bad when you are just sticking your card in a machine.

Good luck

moneypanicker

Hi, this is my first post on this thread! We've managed with looking on these boards to reduce our outgoings considerably - so stick with it!
How old are you children? When they are 3 they will get childcare vouchers which should save you some money. We certainly noticed it last year gave us an extra £120 or so a month.
Do you both need cars i notice that you have a train pass can you therefore not get away with 1 car - can your wife drop you off at the train station?
Hope this helps - Good luck

blackangeluk

Hi, just another thought, if you do shop at Tescos try the discount board. I have managed to reduce my food bill to £60 a week from £100 :eek: :eek: by doing the online shopping and hunting around for discounts vouchers, e.g. I got £10 off my shopping this week which has paid for the delivery and I haven't been tempted. Menu planning has meant that we don't waste any food. Also I have put a bit aside and gone to a costco store and stocked up on basic supplies, have saved a fortune.

Quidco is a definate must when you come to renewing house insurance etc etc. Also try pigsback, I have just asked for £20 in vouchers which will pay for two xmas presents.

I think a spending diary is a very good idea, it is amazing where the money goes and you just don't realise it. I now withdraw £30 a week, put it in a tin and once it's gone it's gone.

As I think someone else said, it will not be a quick fix and it will take time but the peace of mind of letting it all out and facing the debts to me is undescribable. If you visit the snowball calculator at www.whatsthecost.com and put your debts in you might just see some light at the end of the tunnel.

whizzing

Hi. Happened to see your post yesterday and was thinking about it. Firstly I think you are feeling a bit disallusioned at the moment and I think that is pretty normal when you have two little ones, and life seems struggle, struggle, struggle. What age are your children? They must both be pretty little and that is hard going for you and your wife - trying to work and look after the kids and the house etc etc.

You are probably right when you think sorting your finances will help you to feel more positive. Get your kids to bed one night at the weekend or even better get a friend to babysit for the day and sit down with a wee treat food and drink wise and expand you SOA on the computer or on paper. It does need to include all your income ( child benefit etc.) and all your outgoings(personal spending of you and your wife). Be assured you are not trying to reduce the amount of spending money you have ( it is probably all that is keeping you sane) but choosing how you want to spend that money. That involves working out where it is going and where you would prefer it to go, so may take a couple of months.

I can see a couple of things in your SOA. I think you could get cheaper Home Insurance. Both you and your wife can get childcare vouchers. The maximum per calendar month is £243 each so if childcare is more than £486 a month which it seems to be you should both be getting some of your salary in Childcare vouchers. Do you also get childcare vouchers from the government? I don't know much about this bit but you need to find out at what age you can claim this. Try to deal with one thing at a time.

Repost as often as you can to keep people interested in what you are trying to do, and how you are getting on and ask for advice on specific areas.

Dumb_Blonde_3

Do you get child benefit? if you have 2 children thats around £120 per month isn't it?

Really the little things add up like menu planning - taking packed lunches to work - stop buying newspapers when you can read them online or get free papers - don't buy magazines - hire books out of the library instead.

Do you have anything you can sell? how about a car boot sale.

I'm there with you - my husband works all the hours god sends and I stay at home and look after our 2 year old son - I am looking for a part time bar job in the evenings - that way son will be at home asleep while my husband works in our home office. My son doesn't go without - he loves nothing more than going to the park and we take a packed lunch - he really is an outoorsy kinda little dude.

Have you tried dealing only in cash and keeping a spending diary? I know that when my husband and I were 20k in debt we used to pay ourselves (self employed) each friday and then put the various money into accounts where it had to go and take the rest out in cash - I.E our allowance - this worked well for both of us and at the end of each week we usually had a little money over as we both knew that once it was gone it was gone and it made us think about every purchase we made