*sigh* this may take a while

ohdearhowdidthathappen

I've started using the Money D@shboard.  I like it!  I'm too lazy to do spreadsheets, YNAB baffled me and Monzo isn't intuitive enough.  Money D@shboard has allowed me to set up all the categories I need and because all our income and expenditure goes out of one account it seems to do all the work for me.  Have set up budgets on the categories etc.  This is only our second month using it, so a work in progress, but it's definitely already had an impact.

- I had got into the bad habit of buying lunch at work (I know, I know, basic MSE error)... seeing all the transactions add up was a reminder

- our 'kid' category was eye watering.  Honestly, DH and I were a bit horrified... a lot was dribs and drabs - £10 here and there, lunch when they were in town, tickets for various things, clothes that were wants rather than needs etc.  We have been more careful this month and it's been a saving

-back to school - hammers us every year.  DD1 obviously out of that equation now, but the other 4 were expensive.  DS1 is going to a college for 6th form that necessitates suits, shirts, ties, smart shoes and a laptop with a decent spec. He's over 6 foot now with big feet. The other 3 all needed kitting out head to toe as they'd all grown too.

- merl!n passes - they've been great this year and overall I think they've saved us money.  If the cost of the passes is split across the year, they cost us £83 a month. We eat out when we're there, but have sussed out the cheapest places to go and we all eat for around £30.  I pack drinks bottles and snacks, so that's our only expense. Parking is free with the passes and kids know we don't go to the shops there unless they want to spend their own money.  We've been to 12 attractions so far this year.  Obviously it would be cheaper to not have them and not got to attractions, but we've spent less on days out than a normal year. 

- NT - debating cancelling this now.  DH and children just never want to go!  So although it's only £11 a month, it actually seems a needless expense.  I need to see how many times we go, if it's less than 3 times a year, it's not paying for itself.

- gym membership - I am paying £35 a month and that covers myself and the 3 youngest children.  Again, pretty good value, but I'm just not sure if I use it enough.  I average one class a week. I'm thinking of signing up to an online thing instead that is £8 a month and offers the same classes.  As I'd be doing it at home, I wonder if I'd actually do the 2-3 classes a week that I should be as it would be more convenient.
DS2 and DS3 do swimming lessons and aren't really interested in using the gym pool.

Think they're the main findings for now!

mark55man

Wow looks like it is working for you.  Can you explain a bit more about the dashboard.

I do XLS (geek) but a different visualisation is always handy

lucielle

It's always an eye opener when you look at all the little things that leave your bank account.
L

DancingInTheRain

Interesting to see your findings, I think you get really good value from the Merlin passes and the additional costs of a day out given the size of your family. It looks like tracking things has really worked for you though, I really need to get back on board with this and having a more set budget as our savings have dwindled this year so once I start the new job it'll be time to knuckle down and stick to a budget and hopefully boost savings. 

savingholmes

The dashboard sounds interesting - as do the passes. 

It does sound like you could save on NT and gym as you say... 

ohdearhowdidthathappen

mark55man said:

Wow looks like it is working for you.  Can you explain a bit more about the dashboard.

I do XLS (geek) but a different visualisation is always handy

It's an app that connects to your bank account.... you set budgets and it tracks your transactions, putting them into the categories you set and then letting you know if you're under/over budget in those areas.  It can see your scheduled payments, so predicts how much you'll have left over at the end of the month.
We've set it to reset on DHs payday as it's the most predictable date and he gets paid the most!  The categories available were quite broad, so I don't had to set 2 extras to make it relevant for us.  DH and I both took all other cards etc and put them away, so can only use the current account for purchases.  If we do pay anything on credit card (for protection), we immediately transfer the amount and label it for the right category.  Likewise, if we get cash out.  
It probably all sounds very basic, but there's nowhere for us to hide where our money goes - not in a sneaky way, but in a denial way 

ohdearhowdidthathappen

lucielle said:

It's always an eye opener when you look at all the little things that leave your bank account.
L

It is... once we cleared the debt, we'd become quite lazy at budgeting.  As long as we stayed in credit, we let stuff slide.  But we still weren't saving, despite having a predicted surplus each month 

ohdearhowdidthathappen

DancingInTheRain said:

Interesting to see your findings, I think you get really good value from the Merlin passes and the additional costs of a day out given the size of your family. It looks like tracking things has really worked for you though, I really need to get back on board with this and having a more set budget as our savings have dwindled this year so once I start the new job it'll be time to knuckle down and stick to a budget and hopefully boost savings. 

Thanks DITR
I think we do too, when they're up for renewal, we might tweak it a bit.  DH broke even on his this year, but not sure he always would as it tends to be me taking the children during the holidays.  DD1 def got her money's worth this year, but now she'll be working full time, I'm not convinced it would be good value next year.  With the passes, you can buy subsidised friends and family tickets, so if we did a family day out I could buy DD1 and DH those.  
Tracking has definitely been insightful (if depressing).  Congrats on the new job and yes, perfect time to set a new budget

ohdearhowdidthathappen

savingholmes said:

The dashboard sounds interesting - as do the passes. 

It does sound like you could save on NT and gym as you say... 

I've frozen my gym membership for 3 months now, if I don't miss it in that time, I'll cancel.

NT, I'm in two minds about... I might keep it for a few more months and make a concerted effort to use it.  If that doesn't happen, I'll cancel.

savingholmes

Sounds like a plan ☺️