Tips for staying focussed

FunLovinCriminal

Hi all sorry for a long post.
Advice needed. Turn 50 next month, wife same age. We have 10 and 12 yr old kids.
I work for a supermarket where every little helps, wife works in a school.
We never seem to have enough money. On paper we have £300 left over a month.
This includes us paying a relative £170 a month for a loan, and £100 in to savings.
I need a new phone, preferrably an s25 as I love tech, and taking pics of the kids
We have several projects to do to the house also.
We also would like a holiday to take the kids away in 2026.
Fact is £100 a month cannot do the house renovation, the holiday and the phone.
Currently have an s8, and it will not work when the 3g signal is turned off in sept. So you can see I hold on to tech, not just a whim.
I lose focus though, get in my head a plan, then f it, and go on a splurge.
A holiday is likely to cost £2k for a week.
New phone, if its s8, £700
Renovations, no idea, getting a quote next week.
£100 a month is £1200 in a year.
I do surveys to try and earn more for xmas, and there is never any overtime at work.
Help

FunLovinCriminal

Hi all sorry for a long post.
Advice needed. Turn 50 next month, wife same age. We have 10 and 12 yr old kids.
I work for a supermarket where every little helps, wife works in a school.
We never seem to have enough money. On paper we have £300 left over a month.
This includes us paying a relative £170 a month for a loan, and £100 in to savings.
I need a new phone, preferrably an s25 as I love tech, and taking pics of the kids
We have several projects to do to the house also.
We also would like a holiday to take the kids away in 2026.
Fact is £100 a month cannot do the house renovation, the holiday and the phone.
Currently have an s8, and it will not work when the 3g signal is turned off in sept. So you can see I hold on to tech, not just a whim.
I lose focus though, get in my head a plan, then f it, and go on a splurge.
A holiday is likely to cost £2k for a week.
New phone, if its s8, £700
Renovations, no idea, getting a quote next week.
£100 a month is £1200 in a year.
I do surveys to try and earn more for xmas, and there is never any overtime at work.
Help

CliveOfIndia

FunLovinCriminal said:

We never seem to have enough money. On paper we have £300 left over a month.

A very useful start is to complete an SOA - https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php

Fill it out, select the "Format for MSE" option and past the results up here.  This will allow us (and you) to see where your money is really going, and where savings can be made.

FunLovinCriminal said:

I need a new phone, preferrably an s25 as I love tech

From the limited budget you've given so far, you can't afford a whizz-bang new phone.  You can buy a perfectly good new phone for an awful lot less than £700, combined with a SIM-only package for around a tenner a month (check if your employer still offers the "staff special" deal for SIM-only - £10 a month for unlimited data, calls and texts).  I'd love a Ferrari, but I can't afford one.

Start off with SOA, see what your budget really looks like.  You can then prioritise the "needs" (food, mortgage/rent, bills, etc.), then decide which of the "nice-to-have's" are more important to you, and which you can realistically afford.

FunLovinCriminal said:

I do surveys to try and earn more for xmas, and there is never any overtime at work.

One option might be to see if you could pick up a few hours in the evenings doing bar work, cleaning, that sort of thing.  I appreciate it can be a big ask if you're already working full-time, but it's something to consider if you want to try and bring in a bit extra.

RAS

Start by going to the stickies on the front DFW page, bottom one contains links including the SOA on stoozing.com. Format for DFW and copy and paste.

And accept that some way you've got to cut your coat according to the cloth, or get more cloth.

CliveOfIndia

I've also added a comment in your duplicate post in the Boost Your Income board: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6619948/tips-for-staying-focussed#latest

RAS

The stoozing and lemonfool SOAs are very similar. You may not be in debt but your wants exceed your income.

kimwp

Sounds like a refurbished phone and then either holiday or house project, but not both. Understanding your SOA will help figure out what you can do.

elsien

And keeping a spending diary, both you and your partner, so you can track down where that elusive £300 is vanishing off to. 

ManyWays

when does the loan payments to a relative end and how much do your £100 a month savings add up to? 

FunLovinCriminal

ManyWays said:

when does the loan payments to a relative end and how much do your £100 a month savings add up to? 

Owe £10,000 currently paid back £3200
Have £600 in savings, £100 more in august

kimwp

FunLovinCriminal said:

ManyWays said:

when does the loan payments to a relative end and how much do your £100 a month savings add up to? 

Owe £10,000 currently paid back £3200
Have £600 in savings, £100 more in august

To clarify, do you still owe your relative £10k or do you now owe them £6,800?