I want to stop drowning

System · 20 November 2017 at 8:47PM

Ditto what is said above , down is better than up. Stop being hard on yourself .

117pauline · 20 November 2017 at 9:01PM

I will add my voice to those above. Balance down equals success.

You have to find that happy place where you are reducing the debt but still managing to live a life.

Completing your spreadsheet is always such a pleasure when it is going down.

Enjoy the rest of the week
Pauline

debtaghh · 23 November 2017 at 3:18AM

I’ve not been feeling that great lately hence being awake at this time. I also don’t feel very positive with the money front due to constantly spending, I know it’s due to Xmas etc. I’m feeling pleased with my food budget as I’ve been spending on average £80 and that includes Xmas bits, I’ve been using money off vouchers. Sales are also going well this week, let’s hope it continues!

wishingthemortgaheaway · 23 November 2017 at 6:53AM

Small steps and just a few days ago you shared that your debt is going down. So keep hold of the positives.
Keep posting, keep sharing and keep swimming.
It might be a long road, but it's not eternal.

debtaghh · 24 November 2017 at 7:39AM

Morning,

I’ve got a busy next few days with meeting friends and having family over. Unfortunately it will include spending money. I love Xmas and this time of year but for the first time I in a way just want to get back to normal spending. I’m finding it very hard to have a budget. I think the biggest issue I have is that I don’t allocate enough for entertaibment, Xmas, car and holiday funds. This then means they are not realistic. For example I allocate £100 for entertainment for the household but this needs to include haircuts, sch trips, clothing, school books, school lunches (ds has it once a week we give dd on her account about £20 per term) any advice on how to work it? How much do ppl allocate for car expenses ( mot, servicing , new tyre). I think if inaort this issue out I’ll be able to then manage my finances better!

glass_half_full · 24 November 2017 at 8:33AM

debtaghh wrote: »

I’m finding it very hard to have a budget. I think the biggest issue I have is that I don’t allocate enough for entertaibment, Xmas, car and holiday funds. This then means they are not realistic. For example I allocate £100 for entertainment for the household but this needs to include haircuts, sch trips, clothing, school books, school lunches (ds has it once a week we give dd on her account about £20 per term) any advice on how to work it? How much do ppl allocate for car expenses ( mot, servicing , new tyre). I think if inaort this issue out I’ll be able to then manage my finances better!

Hi there,
Been following your diary, I think your doing great as others have said above. On the budgeting front, it took me a while to sort this out. One thing is to break everything out. I have a category for hair (me), hair (oh), clothes, books, dental etc etc. Every category I know I treat separately even if it is less than £5 per month. General categories never work I find. Using YNAB (budgeting software) helps to track all these more easily. Some categories are hard like the car. The only option here for me was to estimate the total, add up insurance, tyres (based on your annual mileage), repairs etc etc. Then divide by 12. I put in £100 per month for the car (in addition to tax and insurance). Then track every single spend every day. At the end of the month/year then you know exactly how much you have spent on a category. Its a work in progress but over time you can be more confident that your budget is realistic. Hope this helps! :beer:

debtaghh · 24 November 2017 at 9:29PM

glass_half_full wrote: »

Hi there,
Been following your diary, I think your doing great as others have said above. On the budgeting front, it took me a while to sort this out. One thing is to break everything out. I have a category for hair (me), hair (oh), clothes, books, dental etc etc. Every category I know I treat separately even if it is less than £5 per month. General categories never work I find. Using YNAB (budgeting software) helps to track all these more easily. Some categories are hard like the car. The only option here for me was to estimate the total, add up insurance, tyres (based on your annual mileage), repairs etc etc. Then divide by 12. I put in £100 per month for the car (in addition to tax and insurance). Then track every single spend every day. At the end of the month/year then you know exactly how much you have spent on a category. Its a work in progress but over time you can be more confident that your budget is realistic. Hope this helps! :beer:

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea. I think I will try that.

enthusiasticsaver · 24 November 2017 at 11:07PM

I agree having one general category is unworkable. Calculating how much was spent on the car last year then adding 10% to allow for the fact it is getting older is the way we do it with our cars. We have separate savings for replacement cars but just dealing with maintenance is probably best in your case. Divide it by 12 and put that away monthly. Haircuts, dentist, optician and prescriptions is also budgeted for separately as is entertainment which covers our gym membership, NT membership, theatre and very occasionally cinema or concert. We then have personal spends for each of us . Meals out is included in food budget.

Ultimately though the budget is restricted by income so if once the essential outgoings are deducted there is very little left then there are certain categories which have to be dropped and each person is different as to what they are willing to forego.

debtaghh · 25 November 2017 at 8:36AM

Thanks for the replies. Do people physically cash the money out or have lots of different bank accounts? If I have it in one lot in the bank it just gets confusing. I think this is def an area I need to sort out as I want to be able to stick to a budget but also having some entertainment money whereas now we end using the ‘entertainment ‘ money on sch trips, ds lunch etc but then if we have something arranged like a meal out this causes a problem as we have no budget for it. Life feels very manic at the min but I need to look at all figures again as even my signature doesn’t seem to match my spreadsheet and I have no idea why. I need to look at all credit cards etc.

debtaghh · 26 November 2017 at 8:58AM

Morning,

I’ve woken up feeling exhausted! I was out all day yesterday and spend a bit but it came out of my allocated budget. W have ppl round today so should be a nsd. Before they come I need to;

Dust
Clean the glass
Load the washing
Defrost puddings
Listen to ds read

Have a lovely day everyone.

I want to stop drowning

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