Help needed

EssexHebridean

Stripping the bones out of this - your comments in bold, my thoughts in red again

Dm73 wrote: »

Electricity............................. 49 This is quite high When you get home tonight go round the house, into each and every room, and turn off everything you find that is switched on, or on standby, but not in use - obviously you will want to use judgment on things that are left in standby mode to retain settings, but beyond that, be strict. the new rule needs to be that if someone is the last person to leave a room, they turn the light out after them. Check whether you're using low energy lightbulbs throughout too - these can save more than you think.
Gas..................................... 99 This is incredibly high - for a three-bed sem you're looking at around 60-100 tops for both fuels.
] we live in a four bed 3 story house if we change supplier the monthly charges are start low but soon seem to shoot up OK - time to target useage then. Check where your thermostat is set for your heating as I have a suspicion that you could be faling into the "heating on/windows open" trap - worth investigating. I take it your boiler heats your bath/shower water on demand? if so set a shower limit - and also set some rules about showers - ie not more than once a day unless there is a specific reason.
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 49 Again - are you on a meter - you could knock £20 off this a month on a meter. not on a meter Worth looking into then - again subject to time limiting showers etc.
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 91 You KNOW you've done something you shouldn't have here, don't you....?
this is for 3 phones wife 2 kids contracts up in december How old are the kids - do they REALLY need mobiles or is this something they have because other people's kids have them? Start now getting them used to the idea that in december they will be keeping the same phones, and gently point out that they might not want to break them either as there won't be replacements unless they buy them themselves, if they do...
TV Licence.............................. 39.87 Should be about £12 sorry put in quarterly amount are you paying this quarterly? If so switch to monthly - quarterly is more expensive.
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30 Do you need this?
Internet Services....................... 45 This is expensive. I have Virgin's fastest service for a tenner less than this.
this is for internet and my mobile So in real terms you're spending over £100 a month on mobile bills? Ouch - remember that feeling for the future, won't you!
Groceries etc. ......................... 320 Too much - consider knocking £100 off this
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 110
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 43 This is high
cheapest I could get at the time up for renewal soon 21 days before renewal set time aside to go through the comparison site procedure in the guide on the main site and see how much you can get this down
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40 You spend £500 on maintenance a year? What's wrong with your car?

nothing it was a gift from my parents and not due to be serviced yet Keep saving the money for when it needs it - but make sure you really DO save it - once it has been serviced you'll have a better idea of costs going forwards. remember to budget for tyres and consumables too.
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 80 per month??
both my boys train at a boxing club it keeps them off the street and healthy is this a monthly membership fee then? If it's "per visit" costs can you come up with something for them to do in place of one visit per week that costs nothing - maybe all go for a run or a bike ride together, or investigate whether your local park has fitness equipment you could use with them?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 13
Buildings insurance..................... 12
Contents insurance...................... 0 you need this. Building and contents shouldn't cost more than around £15-20
contents is included in the building cover well done then - that's a good price for both!

You can do this - I promise - there are a lot of savings you can make on here if not immediately then going forwards.

DCFC79

So the £91 is for 3 mobile phones, what contracts ( or the price breakdown )are they all on ?

Haggle with the network operator when the kids phones are up or switch to payg, Tesco do £7.50 12 month contracts and you can cap them so no expensive bills, thats just an example as other Networks are around.

Yellow_mango

So the £91 is for 3 mobile phones, what contracts ( or the price breakdown )are they all on ?

Haggle with the network operator when the kids phones are up or switch to payg, Tesco do £7.50 12 month contracts and you can cap them so no expensive bills, thats just an example as other Networks are around.

I’ve been looking at mobile SIMs recently and I’m not sure why anyone would want a contract any more.

The one I find most interesting is VOXI (runs off Vodafone). £10 a month gets you 8GB of data, with unlimited data on social media sites, plus unlimited calls and texts. That’s more than enough for most people tbh, but definitely for kids. I’ve just ordered one for my husband, as his contract is just up.

My son has a SMARTY SIM. They have some very good value packages starting at £7.50, and they give you a discount in the next month for any data you don’t use from the allowance, so it could cost as little as £5. So good for kids who mostly use their phones at home on the WiFi.

All with no contract, no credit check, and can be easily managed online.

elsien

] we live in a four bed 3 story house if we change supplier the
monthly charges are start low but soon seem to shoot up


That sounds as if you're basing your decisions on direct debit amounts rather than usage. It might help if you start taking monthly readings, submitting them to the energy providers so your bills are accurate and can then calculate whether it's worth changing on amount used.
What is your heating thermostat set on when it's cold? Dropping it by a couple of degrees and sticking on a jumper can make a big difference.

System

Dm73 wrote: »

Electricity............................. 49 This is quite high
Gas..................................... 99 This is incredibly high - for a three-bed sem you're looking at around 60-100 tops for both fuels.
] we live in a four bed 3 story house if we change supplier the monthly charges are start low but soon seem to shoot up

So what are you going to do about it then? Start uploading meter readings once a month. Don't use the heating all the time. Close windows, put an extra top on.

Dm73 wrote: »

Water rates............................. 49 Again - are you on a meter - you could knock £20 off this a month on a meter. not on a meter

Might be worth getting on one then...

Dm73 wrote: »

Mobile phone............................ 91 You KNOW you've done something you shouldn't have here, don't you....?
this is for 3 phones wife 2 kids contracts up in december
TV Licence.............................. 39.87 Should be about £12 sorry put in quarterly amount
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30 Do you need this?
Internet Services....................... 45 This is expensive. I have Virgin's fastest service for a tenner less than this.
this is for internet and my mobile

Four phones and more than £100pcm - I understand it's for your family but what can you do about it?

Dm73 wrote: »

Car Insurance........................... 43 This is high
cheapest I could get at the time up for renewal soon
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40 You spend £500 on maintenance a year? What's wrong with your car?

nothing it was a gift from my parents and not due to be serviced yet

Again - what can you do about it? You seem to be quite defensive. Can you sell the car and get a cheaper one? You haven't answered my question really - why is it £500 to service it?

alan_d

On the phone thing... My wife and 2 kids all have iPhones, bought second-hand unlocked.
They each have a GiffGaff sim in them. Kids £8/month each and wife £10/month. This includes enough data - when at home they use WiFi.
https://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-plans
So 3 phones for £26/month.
Once your contracts end you should move the numbers to GiffGaff and save yourself some serious money.

alan_d

andydownes123 wrote: »

Might be worth getting on one then...

We're a family of 5 in the south-east on a water meter, and currently pay £27/month.
The cost dropped considerably when the meter was fitted

MalcRH12

I totally agree with the water meter tip. We moved into a 3 bed semi in January and had a water meter fitted. Our bill has gone from £45 a month to £19 now that the first set of meter readings have been provided. We also have 2 years to change our mind and have the meter removed although I doubt we will be doing that now. This is in the east midlands if that helps.

katsu

Well done for getting started. Step 1, is there somewhere you save the money like £40 for MOT & £30 for presents? If not, are you spending more on other things than you think?

You want to be able to save that £30 and £40 etc so working out where your money is going is a good place to start

System

alan_d wrote: »

We're a family of 5 in the south-east on a water meter, and currently pay £27/month.
The cost dropped considerably when the meter was fitted

Every house I've lived in, we've had one put in and literally halved the rates we pay. Not only is it cheaper, it tends to focus the mind on not being wasteful.