Converting salary from monthly to weekly

chkir

Hi all, not sure if this is the right place so apologies if not.
I'm really struggling to get on top of our finances and although we earn a more than reasonable amount, past overspending has led to me having to take out payday loans nearly every month. I'm in a circle of paying back a loan and taking one back out monthly and cant seem to get out of it. I've taken out a bigger loan to pay them off and then ended up with multiple loans to pay off.
I'm really trying to curb our spending this year and so far it's going quite well but it's not enough. We both get paid at pretty much the same time every month and it's becoming more and more unmanageable. I was recently discussing an app in work with someone and they mentioned that there are several companies who will manage your salary so that it's paid weekly instead of monthly. I have been looking into this for months and google gives me nothing.
Anyone heard of this? I'm assuming they charge a fee but depending what it is, it may still be worth it for me. Thanks

Browntoa

So basically you are struggling to clear your debts but are prepared to sacrifice a chunk of your limited spare income to a 3rd party . You are just ending up with less income to clear your debts , paying more interest on outstanding debt and lining the pockets of a 3rd party.

I'd look at Posting on the debt part of the forum for advice , in fact I'll move this thread there from the up your income board

middleclassbutpoor

I may have a suggestion that works for you without needing to pay for an app..

1 - Post an SOA so we can review your income/expenditure.

2 - You can then get confirmation of any further area that you are able to cut back

3 - Prepare a written budget and stick to it.

In terms of the SOA - use your bank statements to really look at your spending.

In terms of your budget - use an envelope based approach. You need to give every penny a job to do from your income. I would have all your direct debits/standing orders covered from your main account (leaving a small buffer if you have any variable payments- i.e. your phone bill may vary)

For everything that isn't on a DD/SO then I would get some plastic envelopes/wallets and then withdraw the cash out. Give each envelope a name life - food shop, haircuts, birthdays etc. Split the cash up accordingly into the wallets.

Remove your debit card from being available to use.

You should then be able to know what you can spend and where. If you get your SOA up, I would take it from there.

If you need to separate it into weekly amounts - just up the number of envelopes you use.

monetxchange

Agree with the advice to post an SOA.

This isn’t a problem with when you get paid. It’s about you spending too much compared to your income. Changing the date you get paid won’t help that. The only thing that will sort this is a proper budget that helps you live within your means, or looking into debt management routes if it’s become unmanageable. We can advise if you post an SOA.

Do not give your money to a third party company, whatever they offer. It won’t help and could open up to lots of things going wrong. What if they went bust and lost your entire months wage? Not worth the risk at all for something that won’t help your situation.

Getting this sorted is very doable and we’re all here to help.

sourcrates

Forget any notion of lining the pockets of some 3rd party app provider, you need to address the problem of the payday loan cycle you are in, I know its tough, during my divorce i went off the rails and did stupid things with my finances, you need to take decisive, positive action to stop this spiral now.

The continuous borrowing must stop, now, today, if that means defaulting on debts, then default on them, you draw a virtual line in the sand, and from this day on, you change your ways where money is concerned, living within your means is vital, posting an SOA is a must, but stopping this vicious loan cycle is imperative.

Remove their ability to take money from your account, and take your banking elsewhere.

Debt collection takes a long time, it will give you time to settle yourself, get used to living off your wage again, then, when the time is right, set up affordable payment plans to your creditors, payments that you can afford, without resorting to further credit.

Cold turkey is the only way to go in these situations, its all, or nothing, no messing about with sideshows such as salary management app`s, your credit file will be trashed yes, but whats more important, some irrelevant computer data, or you being free of payday loans, go figure.

chkir

Thanks for the replies everyone:

Here is my income and expenditure for next month:
My salary £2580
Hubby’s salary £1000

Outgoings: mortgage 200
Credit cards: 118 10.50
Capital one x 4 £60 total
Debt management companies £150 (previous credit card defaults)
Mobile phones O2 £200
Credit union savings £51 (never stays in for long)
Sky £46 (will be changing this to Virgin and broadband as soon as it’s live in area)
Broadband £30
House insurance (due for renewal April) £24
TV License 13
Water (meter) £54 (this has recently reduced from £72)
Postcode lottery £10
Kids clubs £75
EDF £180 (this includes some arrears but I do plan to look for a better deal when these are cleared)
Loan £175
Kids lunches £80
Boiler payment £300 (last payment from new boiler install in Dec 19)
Lending stream loan £365
Safety net credit loan £900 (this is what I’m reborrowing every month)

This leaves me with £656.50 we spend a lot on petrol (couldn’t put an exact figure on it) and I’m making sure I meal plan every day and do a couple of big shops as at one point I could have spent money every day. I take lunch into work and have the occasional lunch out.
It’s just not enough for us to live on so I end up borrowing again.
Every month we spend nearly all our wages in the first week and I don’t know how to get out of it. I’ve always been terrible with money and it’s not getting any better. With our income we should be living very comfortably but we aren’t. We also need to start paying an extra £600 towards shared equity on the house.
Any help appreciated, I can’t see where I can make any cuts apart from those I’ve highlighted

enthusiasticsaver

You only have two choices really. You cannot keep borrowing so you either have to live within your income by budgeting tighter or default on the debts and take on some sort of debt plan or bankruptcy. If you have a previous DMP you have breached that by taking on more debt.

The mobile phones is huge, you can get rid of the postcode lottery and cut back on kids clubs and give them packed lunches. £656 a month sounds a lot for fuel and food but it sounds like you are not budgeting or keeping track of spends. An soa would be a good start but first you need to go through bank statements finding out exactly where all your money goes.

middleclassbutpoor

My suggestions would be;

- Reduce your mobile phone bills if you can- ridiculous amount to spend.
- Go onto freeview for 12 months
- Stop saving
- Stop postcode lottery
- Kids Lunches - packed lunches to cut back
- Kids clubs - cut back if you can

If you can get control in these areas - there is an easy £200-300 saved a month.

You need to get control of your cash spend so here is what I would do..

Open up an account with Monzo or Starling.

Go through your bank account and write a list of all your direct debits and standing orders with the date they normally come out. Consider, any payments that may vary and leave a small buffer into account for this. Keep these coming out of your bank account.

You should then transfer the rest of the money into your Starling/Monzo account. This is for your cash expenses. This should be a standing order to go out on payday.

Within the Monzo or Starling account, set up pots and allocate the money you need for each area. So for example - groceries, fuel, birthdays, entertainment etc. Anything that isn't a DD/SO should come from here.

You should ensure that every £ has a job to do.

All you need to do now is ensure you don't spend any more than you have for each of these areas.

You may need to borrow still for a couple of months but you need to reduce this - so next payday aim to borrow £600 then £300 and then nothing. Month 4 - start repaying your debts...

chkir

Thanks all, mistake on the mobile bills it’s actually £140, that’s for 2 phone device plans and 3 data contracts. We also pay for 2 other phones monthly but this comes off hubbys wage before he gets it 🙈. I’ve just reduced the contracts a little but can’t do anymore with them.
Sounds like an excuse but I work long hours and don’t have time to make the kids packed lunches, my little one is a fussy eater so has packed lunch twice a week but if he had it every day, he would end up eating the same things all the time. My eldest spends between £2-£3 a day but he’s a rugby player, goes to the gym a lot and eats a lot so packed lunch is difficult and would probably cost me more. I send him in with leftovers occasionally.
Re kids clubs, I can’t cut this down, most of the expense is my sons gym memberships which he loves, he has two as one is extra strength training for rugby and it’s per session. He is nearly 16 and I’ve already told him he will have to contribute towards it when he gets a job.
I’m the main one who uses Sky, I have been thinking about cancelling it as we also have Netflix which I watch more. I don’t have access to freeview apart from what’s on sky box if I cancelled my contract, I don’t even know what this would be it’s been that long since I’ve had the basics! I’ll definitely look into this.
I was hoping to have a very frugal January and not have to borrow again but typically we had a car bill of £400.
I’ll cancel the savings and postcode lottery, every but helps I suppose! Thanks all, guess I’ll looking for a miracle but it’s not going to happen.
Oh I have also made an extra £170 this month already on eBay so going to try and keep that up. Need to give myself a massive kick up the !!!!

chkir

Forgot about my council tax £148 😬

warby68

Why does your husband only earn £1000?

Part time?

Can he do the packed lunches?

Any child benefit?

The reason you can't manage is the debt spiral not your income. About £1k per month in repayments which you are more or less funding from the pay day loan £900.

This is about getting to grips with ALL of your spending, setting a budget and being disciplined on the discretionary elements. Work out where every penny goes by a spending diary either from historic statements or starting now. This board will help you if you do a full SoA - lots of things missing on your current list such as insurances, medical, vehicle other than fuel, gifts, clothes, entertainment.

Don't make choices like £200 on phones when you are in debt. That's just a glaring example of a disproportionate spend.

You probably can't claw back £1000 a month from savings so a way of managing your debts will come in next. You have been there before and I don't know how the debt management companies react to breaches of previous plans though. Lets get a budget sorted first.

Fundamentally with income £3580 and a basic mortgage cost only £200 there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to manage a reasonable living standard though once you control your overspending. Even with another £600 pm on your shared ownership that won't be disproportionate.

Playing around with spending apps won't fix anything. Budgetting and a debt solution will.