Diary of a reformed shopaholic (I hope)

shoppingobsessed2020

£19/£250 grocery shop spent.

my friend got me some chicken snack things I love from a supermarket but they will have to stop going forward as really I can just cook a chicken breast every couple of days for a fraction of the cost and snack on that.

i have dietary issues ( due to surgery) so a high protein, low carb, high fiber diet is needed.  I can’t tolerate pasta or rice.  I can manage a wrap or slice of bread and a lasagne sheet plus the odd slice of pizza but only occasionally otherwise it causes me major issues.  So we spend a lot of money on meat and protein for me. Pulses and grains are an occasional treat as my body only seems to tolerate eggs, mince and white meat easily and it’s not worth deviating.

Drawingaline

I am also a fan of exclamation marks!!! 😁

Have subscribed and look forward to reading more about your journey. 

Moneywhizz

Had a quick look at your SOA. You do have a good income but high debt also and a lot of your repayments must be going on interest which means it is going to take you a long time to pay it off. You may want to have a look at getting some of your debt onto lower interest possibly by balance transfer to another card. Looking at what you have left over each month and the description of how you and OH spend money it is not surprising that you have managed to accumulate this amount of debt. it must be difficult dealing with this while he is away because you really need to get him on board with cutting back and tackling the debt. Having two cars when you only need one is such an easy win for you so I would make that a goal for his next visit home. Will he sit down and look at the SOA with you so that you can explain how anxious it is making you to carry so much debt. You need to get yourselves into a much more stable financial position so that emergencies don't see you reaching for the credit card or another loan. Hope you find a way forward with your husband. 

shoppingobsessed2020

Thanks everyone.  Today I have been applying for new jobs all with higher salaries and also longer commuting costs which will mean more childcare costs but can address that if I actually get offered any of the jobs I’ve applied for.  I’ve made the decision to apply for some health and safety roles, I know I’m out of date with legislation and things but it’s worth a shot.  I’m limited though as we have no local family to help with childcare and the industry I know isn’t based here so I’m not really expecting anything to come if it.  To cover all basis I also applied for some admin roles as well that are slightly more money so again will see although there are some very qualified people out there at the moment so it may come to nothing but it’s always worth an application.

the other thing is my natural shopping instinct kicked in when amending my supermarket shop!  It jumped by £20 by me just browsing instead of sticking to my favourite items as I usually do.  Tomorrow I need to sit back down with a clear head and my menu plan and freezer inventory and go through it and be ruthless.  I don’t need 5 bars of chocolate at £1 a bar even if I don’t eat the stuff I shouldn’t be buying it to bake with!  That’s where im binge spending right now.  Baking for me and monkey boy and giving most of the goodies baked to my neighbours which they love and appreciate it but really I can’t afford to be giving away full decorated cakes every week!  My inner domestic goddess has come out during lockdown, I don’t usually bake this much, usually it’s a traybake or some flapjack every couple of weeks but I’m literally making some I thing every other day at the moment.

savingholmes

shoppingobsessed2020 said:

Updated soa

[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]

Household Information[/b]

Number of adults in household........... 2

Number of children in household......... 1

Number of cars owned.................... 2[b]

Monthly Income Details[/b]

Monthly income after tax................ 980

Partners monthly income after tax....... 4000

Benefits................................ 82

Other income............................ 0[b]

Total monthly income.................... 5062[/b][b]

Monthly Expense Details[/b]

Mortgage................................ 321.4

Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 693

Rent.................................... 0

Management charge (leasehold property).. 0

Council tax............................. 135

Electricity............................. 60 Have you checked whether you can get a better deal via Quidco or MSE Energy club

Gas..................................... 60 ditto

Oil..................................... 0

Water rates............................. 35 Are  you on rates or a meter - if you went metered your bill may fall

Telephone (land line)................... 0

Mobile phone............................ 70 This is a lot - are your phones still in contract? Could you keep them at the end on a sim only deal to reduce this bill?

TV Licence.............................. 12

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 85 Could you move to Netflix or Amazon Prime instead? For 4 people Netflix would be £12. Does it include sports channels - if so can you pause them during this crisis? If you threaten to move away they may offer you a better deal anyway. 

Internet Services....................... 0 Is this included above? Vodafone are doing a great BB deal currently. Shop around and see what you can get. If you use a cashback site you could be paid to switch.

Groceries etc. ......................... 250 Is this an average? What is it in a peak month compared to a low one?

Clothing................................ 50

Petrol/diesel........................... 100

Road tax................................ 20

Car Insurance........................... 80 Can you shop around next time it comes up for renewal? Seems high

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50

Car parking............................. 0

Other travel............................ 0

Childcare/nursery....................... 250

Other child related expenses............ 150

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0

Buildings insurance..................... 10

Contents insurance...................... 10

Life assurance ......................... 45 good - make sure you both have cover

Other insurance......................... 0

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10 - is this really enough? Could you look at the 'make £10 a day challenge' to increase your income

Haircuts................................ 20

Entertainment........................... 50

Holiday................................. 0

Emergency fund.......................... 50 -I would want £500-1000 asap. What could you do to get that money together quickly? Is there anything you can sell?

Mortgage overpayment - can’t change .... 250

Union x 2............................... 50 Is this really necessary for both of you? I would be tempted to keep it more for him - I would question if you really need it in an admin role

Pension ................................ 45[b] good

Total monthly expenses.................. 2961.4[/b]

[b]

Assets[/b]

Cash.................................... 200

House value (Gross)..................... 115000

Shares and bonds........................ 0

Car(s).................................. 15000

Other assets............................ 0[b]

Total Assets............................ 130200[/b]

[b]

Secured & HP Debts[/b]

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Mortgage...................... 67715....(321.4)....2.79

Secured Debt.................. 11346....(146)......3.79

Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 12088....(336)......0<

Car 2..........................5367.....(211)......0[b]

Total secured & HP debts...... 96516.....-.........-   [/b]

[b]Unsecured Debts[/b]

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Next...........................2000......120.......30

Debenhams .....................2200......120.......30

TSB ...........................970.......30........30

Mbna...........................10000.....150.......25

Capital 1......................775.......25........30

Very - interest free ..........300.......0.........0

Loan 2.........................16250.....450.......17

Loan 1.........................15100.....362.......13

Barclays his 0%................5345......120.......0

Barclays mine .................6200......150.......30[b]

Total unsecured debts..........59140.....1527......-  [/b]

[b]

Monthly Budget Summary[/b]

Total monthly income.................... 5,062

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,961.4

Available for debt repayments........... 2,100.6

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,527[b]

Amount left after debt repayments....... 573.6[/b]

[b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]

Total assets (things you own)........... 130,200

Total HP & Secured debt................. -96,516

Total Unsecured debt.................... -59,140[b]

Net Assets.............................. -25,456[/b]

[i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com. 

Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]

Have you listened to Dave Ramsey at all? I don't follow all his guidance but I think he is quite motivating even when he rant. You have a good joint income and a relatively low mortgage. I've been where you are - although your mortgage is smaller than ours. We gave up our most expensive car - traded to a motorbike for £4K instead when the lease breakpoint came up - and more recently bought a £750 car that we've had to do nothing to in the 7 months we've owned it. I would be tempted to go that kind of route.... Good luck on your journey. Hope I've given you some food for thought. If you are not signed up to a cashback site yet - most of us could give you a referral link if you pm us and then we would get some money for free. Between different sites - since 2008 we've had over £2K in cashback. Food for thought.

shoppingobsessed2020

Thanks @savingholmes for the advice.

the car insurance is as cheap as I can get it I’ve had 2 no fault accidents so bit stuck with that one till dh gives in and lets me get rid of a car. 

i shop around for utility useage so it’s as cheap as can be.  We have an electric shower and I’ve noticed that’s where we seem to be hammered.  Plus tumble dryer but that’s been cut right back.  We also don’t have gas in the kitchen so it’s electric hob and oven.  

we are on a water meter so stuck with that cost.  

Utilities do seem high but we are a 2 person family for half the year out to work and school, but for the other half the year we are a 3 person house and the bills shoot up as there is someone in the house with lights on and tv on etc so it is what it is.  We have energy saving bulbs everywhere, a plus rated appliances and the house is well insulated but we just seem to naturally use a lot of energy.  We are not in debt in the utility bills though, our usage is covered and we are in credit at the moment (next bill due in June) so when our tariff is up for renewal I will shop about and see what I can get.

sky covers my landline which is needed for the house alarm, internet and tv package which also includes Netflix.  I negotiate aggressively with sky every year and at the moment we are tied into a contact for another year.  We don’t have any sports channels but we do have the movies and multi room (comes into its own when dh is home as we both watch totally different things)  We are new to Netflix, sky gave us it as a free add on to our package and I have to say we are impressed and considering just having Netflix when the contract with sky is up.

present budget I’ve reduced from
£100 to £10.  I’ve looked and we have £500 of park vouchers for a supermarket shop and department type store so that will cover a chunk of Christmas and birthday.  The £10 is the remaining balance on what’s owed to park for this years vouchers which I get in September.  i Have some Christmas and birthday presents bought already as In the past got things when I see them so even though we are just coming into may I am organised.

emergency fund has been started this month.  Only has £50 but it’s something!

union is necessary for us both, I would never be without them as I’ve had to use them in the past in a previous role when I got screwed over when I was pregnant.  It’s £12 a month for me and I’d rather cut £12 from a debt than be without that support having seen them in action in the past. 

Food budget we have been spending £400 ish a month.  I don’t know the exact figure as it’s done via multiple accounts depend on who was shopping.  I’ve cut it down to £250 as think that’s reasonable to start with and will hopefully come on under budget although doubtful tonight but I’m going to try.  £250 seems reasonable and I do bulk buy so don’t need washing powder, loo roll, cat food or dishwasher tablets for another 3/4 months so it’s purely food.  Im
hoping to bring it down so I can still do my quarterly Costco shops as they vary between £100 to £200 depending on what needs stocking back up.

i lived in the back of beyond as a child so we always had a well stocked cupboard and freezer which was needed to see us through bad weather so it’s something I’ve always done as an adult.  Dh thought I was crazy the first time I introduced him to Costco.  Yes I spent £30 on washing powder but it lasted a year compared to him buying those little packs of gel tablets at £5 every other week.  He finally saw the light after that.  I’m a cardholder on my parents business account which they pay for.  I do the odd bit of admin for them in return.

I suppose my ponderings are leading me to believe I have an ok handle on the utility bills and house stuff but food and shopping for luxuries (anything that’s not house bill related) is my downfall.  At least that’s what I’m taking from this, happy to be corrected if I’m still burying my head in the sand here.

we don’t have much to sell, for all I shop it’s personal items like toiletries and make up I have.  I don’t even have any jewellery to sell other than my wedding ring and a couple of pairs of earrings.   

When monkey boy outgrows his clothes they get passed on but to be honest he’s worn them to death so bar the odd item like a coat there’s nothing decent enough to sell.  Dh looks scruffy but he lives in joggers and T-shirt’s and rarely buys clothes and I’ve lost a ton of weight so sold lots of my clothes to buy new ones.  Nothing flash, next is as posh as I get but kitting our a full wardrobe wasn’t cheap and I’ve done it 3 times now as I needed everything bar socks and shoes!  I did sell each round of clothes to help fund the next round of purchasing so l just hope my weight stays stable for a bit.

house wise I lean towards less is more, I don’t like clutter so regularly purge but my last few purges have been literally paperwork and holey socks so nothing left to sell either.

I do have a lot of skin care and make up but it grosses me out at selling used skincare and make up so I’ll just keep my stash and use it and just replace as I run out of things although I never run out as that’s what I get for birthdays and Christmas.  Probably beauty treatments is where I’ll see a huge saving as I’m not going to get my nails or lashes done anymore so it really seems to be consumable things I’ve been spending on.  I’ve not had a new handbag since I stopped needing a changing bag for monkey boy so whilst it’s a “designer” bag it’s well used and loved (I have 2 handbags and a rucksack for days out) I’m not overrun with bags to sell.  One going out bag, one day bag and my rucksack for weekend walks.

i did warm everyone that I rambled!

savingholmes

I think the other thing to look at is the mse credit club to see if you or your OH could move any of your debt to cheaper rates. Your bank may also offer cheaper rates. Don't forget cashback sites may pay you to move debt...

shoppingobsessed2020

Been doing some pondering.  Our mortgage fixed term is almost up and I’m checking daily to see if I can switch to a new deal yet.  We have 2 parts to our mortgage and when I run the calculator our payment appears to drop by approx £80 to £100 depending on the house value.  Last valuation 115k when we remortgaged 2 years ago, valuation when we bought it 100k.  

We are staying with the same lender for a variety of reasons but importantly they don’t credit check for switching deals so feel it’s prudent to stay with current provider and we like long fixed terms!  Especially with the mess we are in I think fixing for 5yrs gives us time knowing things will not change and if things do improve we can overpay 10%.  Our payment if we are in the lower property value will be £377 for a 5 year fixed and if it’s the higher value will be £354 for a 5 year fixed rate.  

at the moment we pay £466 plus £250 standing order so it’s nice to see we will have a good drop in minimum payment as that’s another chunk free to throw at a bill.

small changes but getting there just waiting for the day when we can switch.  I’m hoping it will be by next week sometime.

savingholmes

Good luck with whichever mortgage route you decide to go. We've saved more by not fixing but were lucky enough to get a tracker rate in 08 that was 0.95% above base rate so have one alright - we fixed just before the crash so had 2 years of high bills but did well since then.

shoppingobsessed2020

Seriously how can a tumble dryer use so much energy?  Real time electric cost today £2.58!  That’s 2 showers, one meal cooked in the oven, 2 loads of washing and 1 load in the dryer!  18.3kwh if electric we’ve used today.

yeaterday we used £2.01 @13.77kwh with 1 shower, 2 meals cooked in oven and no washing or drying done.

ive not even ran the dishwasher yet today.  Madness and not actually sure how I can cut that useage as non of that is a luxury.  Ok I suppose the dryer is but having had major damp problems resulting in a new kitchen 3 years ago I can’t dry washing in the house.  (The kitchen was that damp that you could press your finger into the wall and the plaster would dent, it had to all be stripped back to brick and a new damp proof course on floor and walls) 

yeah I need to take a better look at our useage but then lockdown isn’t rally the ideal time when 2 of us are home all day. The madness is when we are back at work and school it’s 3 showers a day plus a meal cooked so it’s going to be interesting to see the difference if there actually is any!