I have massively fucked up our finances

[Skintorama]

I've just been scooting along with my eyes shut for ages. I bit the bullet and sat down with DH to go through stuff a couple of months back and we were 14k into the credit cards, and paying interest.

We have a 13k bank loan which we took out to clear the last lot of credit card debt, there are still three years on that.

I also have a car loan that was around 14k, I think that's down to 12.5k now, 4.5 years to go. I am looking into selling the car back to the garage next month and buying a cheaper, smaller car (needed a 7 seater for work but don't anymore).

We then took out a new 0% cc and shifted stuff around, so we're not paying any interest now, but having totted up all the balances today we are now £16k into the cards. I know some of that is fees, but it's also that we've managed to piss £800 away over our budget in the last two months, and we have paid the balance of our holiday (£700).

It's completely unsustainable. About 6k of the debt was court fees, and 5k was our kitchen overspend. The rest is just spending.

Help me. Please give me all your best advice and tips. I seem to just be failing miserably at this. We have over 4k a month coming in and I don't understand how we overspend every single month, it's nuts.

Sounds great Bad

Am praying for good weather!

I use the Tesco credit card as spends every month and pay it off in full. Except some months when I've overspent i don't quuiiiiiite pay it all off.

We use the Tesco points for days out and Christmas so I'm going to keep using it, but I;m just going to keep a much tighter rein on what's going on it, incidental shopping (milk etc) will be done with cash to avoid impulsively buying extras wine and I'm leaving it in the freezer unless it's to buy petrol. The weekly (or fortnightly now) food shop is online and goes on that card.

I made an excel spreadsheet and went through our monthly statements to work out what we were spending on.

I broke it down into 4 columns: regular unavoidables (bills/mortgage etc); one-off unavoidables (car tax, MOT etc); supermarket shops; other (frivolities such as clothes, haircuts, toys for the kids). We looked at the unavoidables to see if we could pay less anywhere (switching utilities providers, for example); then got the shock of our lives when we looked at how much we were spending on food and drink, so I set myself a challenge to do a weekly shop and I'm not allowed to 'pop' to Waitrose/Tesco for other items during the week unless they're vital!

We realised that if we cut down the ridiculous amount we were spending on food we could justify the occasional treat and still be within budget.

That's us exactly, Giddy.

Roughly £600 a month in Ocado, and then maybe another £400 on popping to the shop for wine, extras, fags (I don't smoke often but occasionally when I'm drinking I'll go through twenty in a night), specific meals (ie I'll fancy a paella so get the ingredients extra to the weekly shop, could easily rack up £40 on crap in Tesco while I do).

Fair enough Skint. But the not paying it all off sounds like a slippery slope....we're here the crack the ship on you LOL

PS also do things like online food supermarket shop with Sainsbury's so get nectar points. When our buildings and contents insurance were up for renewal last year Sainsbury's were offering a deal (which I think they are again at the mo) where you get 50% discount for no claims PLUS double nectar points every time you shop. So I swapped to Sainsbury's. The nectar points add up really quickly and can be used for loads of things - they normally pay for all the kids' and their cousins' birthday and Christmas presents and the occasional one-off, like when our phone handsets broke recently.

Ship? Whip I meant! Damn auto correct! At least it will have made someone laugh...

No, no more overspending, from now on I will be BELOW budget and teh extra will go to paying off the previous overspends...

Yes, that's more like it!

Minimalist I did wonder what you were on about!

Skint, the other thing I've started doing is a bit geeky but:

before I do the food shop, I plan our meals for the week. I try to make them balanced nutritionally ish!) band also ensure that we have a couple of meat free days, and also that if I am buying something that I won't be using all of in one meal, it will be used up in another meal to minimise waste. I write them on a blackboard in the kitchen (anyone reading this who knows me will instantly know my real identity from this).

Then we are not allowed to deviate from the list, although I don't specify which day we will have which meal so there is an element of allowing for what you feel like eating. It doesn't always work (ie if we've had a glass of wine on a Saturday evening and suddenly a takeaway looks a lot more appealing!) but it really has saved money from the days when I just used to buy loads of stuff and decide what to cook when I opened the fridge.

Put a notebook and a small plastic bag in your handbag. Make a note of absolutely every penny you spend. Keep all receipts in the plastic bag. Ideall transfer the spends to a spreadsheet with the same categories as your budget. Then compare the two every week.
A bit of a faff but you will probably only need to do it for a couple if months to realise where all the money is going.

Skintorama we have £70k of unsecured debt on top of our mortgage. What you have is eminently manageable on your income. I would swap places with you tomorrow.

Been following this thread with interest (and think you're doing really well Skint). We aren't in debt, in fact we have savings but not enough to buy a house and I'm on a very low income and DH is unemployed. We live in a bit of the eurozone with massive unemployment so bugger all prospects for DH. We manage but need to keep a really tight rein on our outgoings.
What I'd like to know is how to do an excel spreadsheet...is it easy?

Cut the cards up

then plug your numbers into my spreadsheets - they are on the Site stuff board
and see what you need to do to clear the bills ASAP
(paying the minimum will take you up to 18 years to clear them by the way)

Ha!
I was just going to ask the same thing gtbb!

goodtobetter
would you like me to write one and put it on google docs?
post onto the site stuff thread what you want and I'll have a go ...

DH handles it at the mo by literally writing down EVERYTHING we spend every day and then plotting it all out by hand. Even down to 75cents on sweets for the dc.

This is a really good basic (free!) Excel course. It's really simple once you get the hang of it.

That would be great Talkin. I'll look on site stuff now. Like I say, we aren't in debt and we have savings but I only earn 1170 euros after tax and there is no unemployment benefit (or any other benefits for that matter) and we spend a little over my salary (rent , bills, food etc) every month. I worry eventually we'll run through our savings and be sitting still on one v low income and still renting. Hence the iron fist on spending.

Thanks Skint. I'll have a look.

Skint can I just go at £400 popping to the shops. I don't think you should be allowed to pop to the shops now...

I know. It's hideous.

I'm just looking at last months statement. It is literally £20 here, £35 there, a couple or more times a week. All on stuff we could well do without or that should be accounted for within the household budget.

I had just got into a habit of not counting the 'small' spends. But of course they're not that small when they're all added up.

if you knuckle down you will be straight in no time.

just need to stop spending

good luck op

you can sort this

skint I completely get the supermarket thing. I'm at home all day on mat leave at the mo with 2 small children and I walk to the supermarket as a reason to leave the house. I go I for one thing and come out having spent £15-20 quid.