2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

mumzyof2

hopeless_spendthrift wrote: »

I have had a ridiculous day of it today!
Had budgeted for the 2 DD's I knew were due out 2day and made sure there was enough in the bank to cover it. Checked my bank balance online this morning....£49 overdrawn!!:eek: :mad: !!
The funny thing is - I have started this Challenge and have been so careful about my spending etc over the past week for the first time in my life - and I go overdrawn by more than I ever have done b4!!??!!
5 big DD's all going out on the same day was reason for going overdrawn (must spread them out a bit!), Called the bank and was told that if I deposited CASH into bank b4 3:30pm, I would not incur any bank charges. Advised to then call back and ask for all my DD's to be honoured.
So...RAIDED all my little jars and pots I started saving in around the house, INCLUDING my £2 saver jar AND the sealed pot (which u are not supposed to open at all til end of year)!!!??!!! :rotfl: Scraped £50 together from these and shot off to the bank to deposit same.

When I called customer services on my return as directed, they had no record of my deposit and kept me on hold for about 20mins (my phone bill! :mad: ) and then asked me to call back later which I did. Encountered same scenario when I called again - another 20min hold and still no joy in honouring the DD's - instead advised that there will be no charges -hallalujah:j - but all 5 DD's will be returned :rolleyes: so will have to contact those companies to explain my blip!
What a palava!!!
So glad I payed my Asda delivery out of my Virgin card - not ideal, I know, but fully intend to pay that back in full b4 any charges incurred.
Have overspent on the budget I set myself for travel expenses for the month, but twas the school holidays and took the kids out again on Sunday for a final fling b4 end of hols, so hopefully things will even out from now on - although school dinners, trips etc are always costly during term-time
Have just realised that I don't necessarily have to include entertainment and leisure activities in the £4000, so, bc I seem to have overspent wildly so far,I am going to chicken out on including everything as originally planned and just include the stuff on the 'Things That Should Be Counted' list. I don't wanna fail!
Am hoping that it is only down to my lack of experience in all this that things are looking very dire at the moment - keeping to budget-wise - and that those that know better will reassure me that things will even themselves out over time...
Anyways, my spends since last update are: £7.90 travel on Sunday + £7.00 gifts for others ( £5 dvd and £2 worth of sweeties for the kids:p ).
Total spend for week 1: £80.54
Still not sure what total of my Asda order is, as I ordered for my neighbour too, so combined. Will post just as soon as I work it out properly. It arrived today, so will add it to this week's budget .
Q: Are charity donations counted as Gifts For Others?
Also plz tell me what dd, ds and dh stand for...?
Well done to you all for doing so well in this challenge. And thanks for all your help and support.
Best Regards,
Thrifty

Hiya, DD stands for Darling Daughter, DS stands for Darling Son, And DH stands for Darling Husband. Thats how i see it as anyways..other people might read them different

mumzyof2

fizzel81 wrote: »

Thank you for having me here.

few silly questions as there is alot of posts ive missed but going to try daily to ctah up

how much approx does 4000 work out to be weekly? i work weekly as such as im on benifits and thats how they pay them, i also need to x my childbenifit (im capping mine off at 42 and leaving the pennies behind) for 52 weeks so i can keep better to the challenge.

im looking forward to the idea of having something in my bank account, i would like to learn to drive so if i manage to complete this that should give me a very good chance at this.

not sure what i do when i move time, i have all my furniture but where do i cost the van hire and possible carpets and any decorating from would i need to include this in what i have to budget from?

sorry for the silly questions.

and today i have spent grand total of 4.17 my local shop is very expensive but a bus to town for the few bits i needed is £5.10

Hiya if i have done this right £4000.00 divided by 51 (51 weeks left in year) = £78.43.

not sure about your child benifit as i dont know if you get it weekly or monthly. I get mine £120.80 monthly.

mumzyof2

nykmedia wrote: »

Nothing has changed, so long as you know how much you have going out and know that you have enough in the bank to cover it. The main thing is that you don't risk getting any bank charges. Keep your spending diary up to date, especially your 'everything else' spending as that's what has to be cut back in order to meet debt payments and regular household bills when money is tight.

Contents insurance - have you gone through the comparison sites to look for the best quote? Ours is only about £1 a week and that's with 3 of us named on the policy.

I think it's great that you are taking the time to sort out your finances and aim to become debft free. You have your entire life in front of you, the world really is your oyster. Plus, you'll be well ahead of the game as your children grow up :T

Yup i went through quidco and got £65 cashback.. think it works out at about £11 something a month, but nationwide who i was with previously was £18.

fizzel81

thank you
when i had mine monlthy was just over 160 (have 3 kids)
on bank statement i get 42.30 a week i need to be aiming for 120 a week/480 a month

my positive thought for this month is with what i would save from rest jan into 1st week or febuary i could pay my provident loan off (worse mistake i ever made getting one from them)

bails

Hi all, I've caught up, so hard to keep on top of my threads! Have to be honest and say I'm feeling a litle bit blue about my spends so far - the logical part of my brain tells me the savings I've made in the sales will pay off, but when I look at my sig I go :eek: I do have LOADS of food in though, have menu planned the rest of the month and have a lot of presents in my present box... It'll all be alright I'm sure Wish my OH would share some of the mental load though - he's happy that I'm saving us money but not really helping me out with any of it yet (he is revising for final year MEng so fair enough at mo) and had the cheek to say he's feeling I'm busy all the time; of course I am, I'm trying to sort all this out! :rolleyes: Anyway, sorry for the whinge, will feel better with a few NSDs.
People are doing amazingly well on here, so well done everyone - I'm soaking up all your tips and learning from the masters! :T

BTW, I notice that there are a number of people trying to lose weight on here too - if you're not already part of a group then come on over to WEIGHT LOSS 17 where everyone is very supportive and would love to see you!

wornoutmumoftwo

Hello to you all, :beer:

I am working my spends out weekly too as we're on weekly wages and benefits.

I need to change my yearly amount to £5753.80, that is the total yearly amount of my child tax credits and Child Benefit, if I can pay all the daily spends and bills out of that I'll be laughing, also means hubby's wages goes on debts and savings. I will try and reduce the figure through the year but for now I need to go with it.

Also I would like to say thank you to everyone involved it is keeping me going on day's like today when I have £5 in my purse to last me to Thrusday. :eek:


Here goes: Week 1, 1-7 January = £111.73

Food: 25.13
Other goceries: 3.03
Cigarettes: 52.11 (For 2 of us, but both planning on stopping soon)
Electric 21.00 (On a meter)
Gifts 5.46
Savings 5.00 (In tesco's xmas club - part of save £1 a day challenge)



Slightly over my weekly budget which works out at about £110 a week, but if we can stop smoking would be able to do the live off £4000 a year.

I am looking forward to the new week now, remaining as positive as ever.:T

slowlyfading

:hello: everyone! Had my specsavers DD go out this morning, so I need to update my sig a bit also might go to sainsburys this afternoon at some point (if it ever stops raining!) I've got an essay to finish today so other than that, i shouldn't be spending anything!
have a good day everyone x

Protogenia

Afternoon peeps :blushing:


Thrilled to bits...joined Grass Roots mystery shopping on Thursday last week and my first assignment has just come through...an hours work for £45!

It's wet and miserable here today (East Yorks) so I might stay in and clean the bathroom...then spend the next few hours perusing MSE. :rotfl: This MSE malarky is giving me an aching knee. I sit for so long reading with one leg crossed over the other I leave the p.c hobbling like an old woman.


Everybody seems to be doing well, no rash expenditures or big blow outs...it gets quite addictive all this penny watching.

Yesterday my teenage son came in from Tesco with a prawn wrap...I could have passed out...it was from the reduced section...£2.49 to 49p and he was thrilled with his bargain. This is a kid that normally refuses to associate with anything that doesn't have a designer label or top brand name.
I wasn't too thrilled that it was a pre-packed sandwhich when he had a cooked tea at home and choosing a prawn sandwhich that is close to its use by date is always a bit dubious but he is starting to think before he purchases rather than just buying in a sheep like state, which I am pleased about.

I'm off to prepare lunch now...have a yummy day y'all.

Genia X x X

mumzyof2

fizzel81 wrote: »

thank you
when i had mine monlthy was just over 160 (have 3 kids)
on bank statement i get 42.30 a week i need to be aiming for 120 a week/480 a month

my positive thought for this month is with what i would save from rest jan into 1st week or febuary i could pay my provident loan off (worse mistake i ever made getting one from them)

I have one and worste mistake i made, i wanted to pay mine off in one go but they put so many charges on if you pay in full. So i just carried on paying £10 a week and im still paying!

mumzyof2

fizzel81 wrote: »

thank you
when i had mine monlthy was just over 160 (have 3 kids)
on bank statement i get 42.30 a week i need to be aiming for 120 a week/480 a month

my positive thought for this month is with what i would save from rest jan into 1st week or febuary i could pay my provident loan off (worse mistake i ever made getting one from them)

£42.00 x 51 = £2142 (i hope this is right)

So if i am correct you should have £120.43 a week

Yup i am correct as i just did this

£120.43 x 51 = 6141.93 minus that by 4000.00 = £2141.93 which is what u get in child benifit a year woohoo!!!!

(but i have worked it out over 51 weeks and not 52 weeks)