My SOA - please look

Bismarck

Give yourself a break...you've done well posting...it's a necessary pain and something to work with.

Re the gym membership...do you have to pay when you go as well or is it free when you've paid your fees?

I'm a huge fan of Amazon when it comes to shifting stuff....you stick it on ( it's pretty easy!) and then keep your books etc safe (from the kids) and it stays on until you sell it or is de-listed after 60 days...you don't pay a thing til it's sold....I find it less hassle than ebay and a nice surprise when I get some extra money to help wioth the mortgage...also makes you REALLY understand the value of groceries when you imagine yourself bartering a couple of CDs from your collection for 3 boxes of cereal and a bottle of milk!

all the best

TotallyBroke

Here in London we can get a card ( a bit like the old mobile phone top ups ) I'm not sure if they are available nationwide or what they are called. They are normally sold in internet cafe shops that have phone booths. You pay £5 and get about £7 worth of call credit or more depending on the country being called. At home you dial the telephone number printed on the card, then type in the code that is printed, you then dial the number you want to dial. It's a little bit money saving as once the credit has run out the call is terminated. It also tells you when there is so many minutes left so may stop your OH from spending just that bit too long on the line therefore reducing the bill. Also makes you think if you have to pay the phone bill before using it rather than the other way around. There is somewhere on this forum a "saynoto 0870" alternative number you may find that useful when activating the card.

SuzySu

RAS - don't know what the train fare will be yet, but if I get the job we will be selling our car which should even things out a bit as we will be saving on petrol (£40ish per month), insurance, tax and maintenance.

No childcare costs (thank goodness) as they are old enough to let themselves in and my partner should be home soon after them most days (their time is split 50/50 with us and their father).

Does turning everything off really save that much....? Sorry to sound so stupid, I just never realised.

Bismark: no, once you have paid the monthly subscription then that's it....we can use the gym, all classes, and the pool. I suppose I should use it but can't until we're up to date with the payments and I can't see that happening any time soon.

Totallybroke: yes, we have used those cards too. We were using 18866 which works out cheapest, but now we are cut off we can't even do that. We also use 'say no to 0870'. Thanks for the suggestions.

TotallyBroke

Change your council tax to be spread over 12months saving £22per month, change water rates to 12months saving £10per month. Do this before this 1st months payment is made it's easier to arrange with them then. It's not a lot but will help towards something you have had cut off. Then with the savings you will make by switching your utilities (as suggested) and switching everything off. You will see those benefits in a couple of months time. Also this week do not go shopping unless you need milk or bread. Use up everything you can in cupboards and freezer.

Burlesque_Babe

Bismarck wrote: »

also makes you REALLY understand the value of groceries when you imagine yourself bartering a couple of CDs from your collection for 3 boxes of cereal and a bottle of milk!

Another person who does the same as me!! :rotfl:

Bismarck

It explains why I go berserk if one of them comes back with a b****y magazine...I can't eat it, I can't wear it and I can't (easily) use it to heat the house....and it costs 3 quid!

SuzySu

Well according to my bank balance we have £170 to last until the end of the month. This might sound like a lot, but apart from the mortgage and secured loan (which have been paid this month thanks goodness) no bills have been paid and we all have to eat.

My total bills for the month should be £513 :eek: , that is not even counting food/overdraft/credit cards/other loans.

Not sure what to do at the moment. Think I'll go and find that nice patch of sand and stick my head back in.....

tallyhoh

Bismarck wrote: »

It explains why I go berserk if one of them comes back with a b****y magazine...I can't eat it, I can't wear it and I can't (easily) use it to heat the house....and it costs 3 quid!

I know where you are coming from here!

:mad: My OH wonders why I get so angry--- He's up to his eyeballs in debt & marked his magazine subscriptions down as a priority direct debit when we tried to sort his affairs out:mad:

Bismarck

I suspect a big pile of magazines could provide enough heat for a barbecue...or it could fuel an argument!

If he's not read them first it could be a really hot one!

RAS

Hi again

here is Chevalier's really good list of links nicked wholesale good way to get vouchers for presents etc. Some people here reckon that they can get £50 per month for clicks, surveys etc in vouchers mainly.

Also get onto the freebies forum here, http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=37 sometimes more useful for pressies but also samples of stuff that make life more interesting.

Chev wrote:

Here are some survey sites, which will increase your income a little. Hope they help.

Good luck
chev

www.lightspeedpanel.com - this is a survey site, where you get points which turn into vouchers (you choose). May not help with the cash flow, but the vouchers could be saved towards birthday/xmas or given as presents.

www.ciao.co.uk - survey site that gives money. A bit fits and starts ie no surveys for a couple of weeks, then three or four the same day.

www.yougov.com - again paid surveys. However takes a while to get to the minimum payout level

www.mytns.com - again this is a survey site, but it pays you in points that convert into Nectar points at Sainsbury’s.

www.pigsback.co.uk - this is a points site, ie they give you points for buying things via their site. BUT you also get points for signing up for news letters (some of which are even interesting!), and also for clicking on adverts with pink borders. I have spent NOTHING with them but got a £10 voucher through this week (only been registered since January). There is also a thread in the freebies section, of www.moneysavingexpert.com which gives you all the daily answers to the competitions so you can have a better chance of winning on them.

www.mutualpoints.com - another points for clicks site. You can also buy things via their site and get points too. For a long time, I just clicked the links in the emails they send you, and that gets you 5 points. At 3000 points you get £20 I think. You can do searches via their site and that gets you points too.

www.quidco.com - this is a cash back site, so very good, for checking if any potential new insurers (ie if you have checked your contents insurance say and found a new provider), are offering cash back. Eg Lloyds was offering £120 cashback on new policies at one point (the offers do change). You can also get small amounts of cash again for doing searches via their site. You can earn 52p a day by doing this. Every little helps.

www.greasypalm.co.uk - another cash back site, where you can do searches and get small amounts of money. But it all adds up. I think you can get about 50p a day on there for nothing. Minimum payout is £20 I think, but you can sign up to survey sites via there, and get extra money that way for nothing.

And check mystery shopping, here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=454437 - but this does count as income for tax and benefit purposes