First Steps to Solvency

amanda_p

Show  your wife the basics on a piece of paper.
Left hand side income
Right hand side expenses detailed out:
mortgage.  £
school fees £
council tax £

Bog standard easy way to see the months income and outgoings.
She should understand that especially if there is little left over.

Don't forward predict over months in case this is what is confusing.
This way it is down in black and white, no fancy spread sheets just the bare bones of a months income and expenditure.

alt80

Just finishing up work for the day will have a think about dealing with my Mrs. @Sun_Addict two of her friends use her to get designer stuff/ makeup 100% I know that but she can’t see it.

Thanks all. She doesn’t like numbers tbh. I’ve based everything over a 5yr projection - it is all broken down into annual, quarterly and monthly intervals with estimated and actual data feeding in. As actual data becomes more readily available I use that to more accurately forecast and reconsider/ assess cashflow. I’m more confident about the accuracy of predicting when 0% purchases will need to be made and she’s not !!!!!! it up massively but enough to start tripping me off - it’s slightly shifting points and messing with the projection tbf I should perhaps just take an av and effectively call it contingency. Real issue is I have a timescale target in mind I suppose. Each item is costed out and she has a basis to work from ultimately aim is for it to come right in the round. Told her one month over is fine but every is an issue - it just needs to balance over 5yrs ultimately. She has the sheet and it’s cloud based so it’s always up to date with real time figures literally no excuse whatsoever.

stymied

@alt80 now I understand why she doesn’t get it! That’s far too complicated for most people. What you have there is essentially a black box that’s spitting out a ‘meaningless’ number. I know they’re not actually meaningless but that must be how it feels. The numbers can’t change each month, that’s too confusing. Simplify it, explain it to us and we’ll tell you if you need to simplify it more 😂

enthusiasticsaver

The way you talk about your budget and projections/cash flow is far too complicated for most people let alone your wife who does not have a head for figures. 5 years is also too long a time for a household budget. I get you want to organise your household finances probably in the way you sort out your business finance but you seem to Like messing about with numbers and she doesn’t. I also feel a personal account just for her spends is a better way to go but at least simplifying the budget into bills, debt repayments, living costs etc may keep her toeing the line more. 

alt80

Day 70, made it through despite my ex-best mate I am really trying to avoid getting a new !!!!!! number to call me. Apparently he's coming to NG for the weekend to meet some girl 20 years his junior he's found on an app. Fml listening to him even for 5 mins tbh biggest !!!!!! incentive to stay off the !!!!!! today lol. 

@stymied I don't understand what's complicated about it - I'll give you an example think that will help tbh. Taking food budget as an example my non-adjusted benchmark is for food to cost £24k/5yrs so: £4.8k/a £1.2k/quarter, £0.4k/m. The real data for food spends is fed into the sheet on a weekly basis usually and on a monthly basis all categories are updated and compared to the target/ estimated spend with appropriate cumulative adjustments made to the projected cash flow if required. Ultimate aim is to meet the 5yr target and some fairly basic adjustments for inflation have been considered taking av ONS data for the past 5yrs, other assumption I've made is securing same rate for res mortgage (relevant for last few months of payoff).

Very open to suggestions but tbh I thought this is basically how everyone would do this when aiming for a timescale and also to ensure 0% is sought at optimal time. Feel free to tell me I'm doing something dumb if I am but I don't think so.

alt80

@enthusiasticsaver I'm not sure why 5yrs is a problem when adjusted accordingly and is the timescale I'm aiming for? It is work in progress tbf so I'm not saying it's perfect but generally I think I've covered most bases in terms of what needs to be considered and appropriate assumptions.

enthusiasticsaver

alt80 said:

@enthusiasticsaver I'm not sure why 5yrs is a problem when adjusted accordingly and is the timescale I'm aiming for? It is work in progress tbf so I'm not saying it's perfect but generally I think I've covered most bases in terms of what needs to be considered and appropriate assumptions.

It isn’t a problem. I am just trying to find a simpler way for your wife to understand the budget. You can still do a 5 year forecast but maybe just use monthly budgets for your wife. She doesn’t need to know the whole plan as you seem to be in danger of blinding her with the details when she just needs the broad plan. 

KxMx

If your wife isn't good with numbers then your system isn't going to work for her. 

You may be working on a 5 year plan but she needs something visually simpler. 

Go back to basics: 
This is debt figure as of today. A
This figure is our income for the month. B
These are our expenses. CDEFG
This is your personal budget. H
This is what is left I
This is our debt free day presuming we stick to the budget each month. DATE

Each month you can make adjustments for one off bills, stuff paid for quarterly, once a year etc if it falls in that month. 

No reason you can't have your 5 year master plan while producing alongside a condensed simple monthly version for your wife. 

Another view is, how would you explain it to your son? Think the simpler the better for your wife.

PS a huge congratulations on your recent drug free milestone! 

alt80

@enthusiasticsaver you've just said and I quote '5 years is also too long a time for a household budget' now state 'it isn't a problem' so which is it? 

I've been working on this for !!!!!! ages having never done anything in the way of personal budgeting prior to deciding I was going to sort this !!!!!! mess out once and for all. Taken advice from you and others on here also spent a bit of time with my accountant and put the roadblocks in place to prevent the self destructive stuff; I'm really !!!!!! serious about getting my life straight.

enthusiasticsaver

I should have said a 5 year plan is too much for someone who isn’t mathematically minded to understand. You can do a plan for however long you want, there are no rules, we all tailor our budgets according to our own needs. I am just saying your way may be too complicated for her to understand.