Here Goes

Slowlydoesit

So, I have been lurking for a while now and seeing everyone else make progress has spurred me on.

I'm 38, with a 7 year old daughter and a dog, her dad lives abroad and flits in and out. He doesn't contribute anything financially. I pay every bill, activity,
Xmas amd bday, but when he does visit he helps with pick ups etc which saves me money in after school clubs etc. I do work full time.  

I've always been in a cycle of debt, which I really want to change. 

I am going to sit and do a SOA but for now I've got the following:-

Overdraft : £1000 being reduced at £100 pm every payday 
Cc1: £3890
CC2: £5800
Loan: £3200 paid back at £200pm
Mortgage: £32000

I'm paid monthly, £56k a year. I know I'm in a good position and shouldn't be in this mess, but have no idea how to budget, or save money. It's been a culmination of only recently being on a decent wage, historic nursery fees which crippled me, and trying for my daughters sake to keep contact with her dad ending up with flights etc on credit cards. 

I do have £44k in a pension and £1.5k in a lifetime Isa. I also took a pension out for my daughter when she was born which now has about £7k in, so I do have a sense of trying to point things in the right direction.

I've just downloaded an app, lifestage, in an attempt to learn to budget and will try NSDs particularly as I am so close to payday!

I'll post this SOA after work tonight and then any advice would be appreciated.

kazwookie

Why does the dad not contribue to the daughter?

tacpot12

What helped me was to identify the irregular costs that I needed to save for and to setup standing orders to pay a fixed sum away to a number of savings accounts immediately after I was paid.

I found a provider of savings accounts that allowed you to set up a number of accounts under the same user id; some people might call these savings 'pots'.

So, for example, I pay £110 per month for car expenses by standing order to my Car Expense Pot. Then when the car needs taxing, insuring, MOTing, maintenance or replacing, I have the money ready. (My last car cost £900 five years ago).
 
I have account/pots for Vets Bills, Home Maintenance (which covers replacing appliances, sofas, mattresses, boilers, etc), Christmas and Birthdays,  and a Miscellaneous pot where I keep money for holidays and money for me to spend on myself.
 

Slowlydoesit

He never did contribute financially, I was always expected to pick all the bills up, even before she was born. And he did work when he was here, but he left last year to Spain and did me a favour to be honest.

Would I need to have my Overdraft paid off to open an account with pots? Natwest definitely don't do them.

I can't get the soa to format but my finances are here:

Income: 3360 wages and 104 child benefit

Outgoings:

TV license £20
Gas and electricity £100
Cc2 £150
Disney £12
House ins £35
Daughters pension £60
Funeral policy £30
Cc2 £400
Life insurance £28
Water £76
Pet ins £23
Loan £200
Council tax £143
Netflix £12
Life insurance £15
Car tax £17
Mortgage £277
Park Xmas £20
Dental plan £25
Lottery £20
Savings Lisa £35
School dinners £50
Internet £36
Phone £30
After school clubs £200 
Activities for daughter- brownies, swimming, dancing, guitar £70

So that should, in theory, leave me with about £1380 give or take if I've not messed it up on the calculator.

I then have travel to work by train, i have to do the office twice a week and it costs £5 return, so about £20 a month. Then, any parties \ days out but I am really saying no to those now, we're doing more locally and cheaply. 

Food is what let's me down, I do a weekly shop mainly at lidl but invariably end up back in the supermarket midweek with another few quid gone. I also don't always make my lunch for work which is another leakage. I am planning on meal prepping and using the freezer up before Xmas. 

I have various insurances, I can see mine is insurance heavy, one life ins is attached to the mortgage and the other ive had for years. They both have different things one has critical Illness so I'm loath to cancel them. Same with the funeral cover and the dental plan, that's great as we lost our nhs spaces in covid, and our dentist is good. We get checkups and cleans included, with xrays, fortunately no treatment has been needed.

I've also got £100 coming off now for the Overdraft repayment. I usually also fill the car up on payday which is variable.

I don't have a water meter so maybe should look into that and my gas and electricity is prepay, it was on a meter when I moved in 7 years ago and ive never changed it. I quite like knowing where I am, I put £50 on each on payday but may be better off on a bill. 

The dog is an expense. He's a fussy eater, his food is £40 a month, and every 3 months is his flea and worm tablet at £40. He's a Maltese so every 5 weeks I have the groomers which is another £45 but in an effort to save costs ive just bought a grooming kit and made a start tonight, he doesn't look too bad if I say so myself.

In theory, from payday on 25th if I manage this right I should have a bit spare to throw at debts or put a little emergency fund away.

My car definitely needs a service and the drivers windows button hasn't worked for a while.

I spent £25 today, I help look after my aunty who isnt well and she'd not paid her cleaner so ended up paying that. I've packed a lunch for work tomorrow, my daughters going on a brownies trip tomorrow until Sunday so relatively quiet for me I think, probably housework and dog walks.