An Avalanche of Austerity for April - Mumsnet frugaleers continue!

[MissAnnersleyismyhero]

Thought I'd start a new thread for April

Hello

I wondered if I might join you on here in the hope of picking up some tips/ ideas and forcing myself to realise I can't bury my head on the sand! Lying here awake again in the middle of the night worrying.

Currently v anxious about CC debt that I owe- around £11,000 This has basically been caused by me returning to work PT, paying childcare & somehow trying to keep the same lifestyle I had pre-DC bit on a lot less money. Very silly even worse when typed out.

I've cancelled things now like gym membership I never use but payments for CC are so high - around £200+ each month that I've found myself making min payment then using CC to tide myself over. Until recently I hadn't told my DH about this I felt really ashamed & stupid. Now we have £500/ month going into a joint acc he pays mortgage, utilities, cars etc out of his salary so I am able to use the joint acc money to buy the food shopping, things for Dd.

I feel now I am not quite sure where to start. Of course it would lovely if it could all just be paid off but that's not going to happen & I need to learn to live within my means & bring my dd up to do the same. Things where I could definitely save money on are lunches at work & parking. I currently work 3 days & pay £6 per day to park- it's a central location though not central but close to London. On top of that petrol etc makes my commute expensive before I've even started! We both earn a decent salary I've just been very irresponsible with how I have spent it. So what's the best way forward when my outgoings seem so high & I don't have much left over at the end of the month to pay off CC?

Thanks for any advice, you all seem such a supportive bunch

ohhelpnoitsa that's what I make now on a slimming club class similar to WW but I've spent 2.5 years building it up prior to this I made about €40 on two nights! And have had nights when I was in minus figures. The company take majority of the money but most of the expenses fall back on me. Also pay tax out of it too,

Lizzard is it just one cc? Is it on a 0%? You need a plan so you know how long it'll take you to pay it off and to stick to it. They advise paying at least 10% off each month in order to clear it, are you able to do this? There's some far more knowledgable people on here than me

Welcome Lizard

Start with the basics. What are your outgoings each month? Can you lower them? Food bills, dual fuel, water, mobile, sky/virgin can all be lowered by either ringing the providers and haggling (sky, virgin, mobiles) or by using less (dual fuel/water if metered).

You can pay council tax over 12 months, it doesn't save you money but the monthly payments are lower. We just used to fritter the money away on the two "free" months.

Foods an easy one to start with. Meal planning and shopping in Aldi saves a fortune over a year (saved us £1200 a year and we've not got kids). Don't worry if you hate the idea of shopping at aldi, I thought I'd failed when I realised sainsburys was out of our budget but I'm slowly converting the family to shop there too. People like the food and the gin when they don't know what they're eating. Packed lunches and picnics on days out save lots of money. I have a wicker picnic hamper from tk maxx and it feels very posh to have a picnic out of that.

If you set up a standing order to pay the cc off each month it will pay down quicker than if you pay the minimum payment. See if you can balance transfer to an 0% card. Talkinpeace does a spreadsheet for cc payments, I will find it for you, I'll lose this post if I click out.

Have a look at moneysavingexperts forums, brilliant advice for running the home cheaply and lots of debt advice threads.

If you set up a topcashback & a quidco account you can get cashback for setting up car insurance, house insurance, general shopping, swapping BB providers, new dual fuel tariffs etc. I got £600 in the first year on things I would have bought anyway.

YNAB is an app that lots find useful on here, it's free on trial and worth a look.

I was just coming back to suggest topcashback.

Fluffy have you seen they're doing £5 something on another credit report? I haven't signed up yet but might do

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1600030-Small-money-saving-habits-petty-even

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1543785-your-top-tips-for-money-saving-and-a-more-frugal-life

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/2032247-SPREADSHEETS-for-Debt-Control-Budgeting-Mortgages-etc

www.topcashback.co.uk/logout

www.quidco.com/. I don't use them very often, I get topcashback to price match them because tcb pay out quicker.

www.youneedabudget.com/

Ooh which credit report?.

I can't find it on the app but on desk top it's under 'free cash back'

Found it, I've done that one before. It would charge me £15 to sign up again but the rest of you could benefit.

www.hotukdeals.com/deals/free-sky-line-rental-existing-customers-1877778?page=2#comments Mixed results on this one but worth a try.

Thank you both for those helpful ideas

Well do you know I thought it was just one CC but in my half asleep state posting in the middle of the night I "forgot" I also have an Overdraft on my current account which is £1850. . Shit

So spotty with the 10% is that 10% of the balance?

Fluffy thank you for all of those ideas too- hadn't ever looked at cash back sites.

Would def be up for doing out shopping in Aldi. We have a Lidl that is closer to us although I could fit in a trip to Aldi on my way home after work to save going back out again. Is there anything you really can't get in Aldi? Catfood? I realise I am spending a bomb in petrol. Even when I take Dd out on my days off it tends to be by car but recently when whether has been better we have walked/ scooted a 6 mile round trip to town.

I am fortunate that DH does earn a good salary & is able to pay all of the main bills out of his Salary- mine is supposed to cover food, nursery fees, some treats/ days out but this is probably where I've focused my spending on. Then months like this month where there are school holidays & we don't get the nursery funding I really feel it.

I changed my mobile phone a while back using a website where it analyses your mobile phone data usage by looking at your last 3 months bills & then suggests alternator tarrifs. Wracking my brains to think of the name of it but it's been really good for getting my phone down from £45 month to £20 a month all calls/ texts data included.

I think sometimes stuff throws me when I try to had a good month- like in may for example Dd has been invited to 2 bday parties one for a set of twins and another for another little boy so will be to but presents. I think once I've been paid I will buy presents we need/ things for that month but somehow before I've had a chance I've run out of money. It's a shit state of things basically because I know that people manage very well on a lot less & I feel spoilt for having been this way.

Welcome lizard well done for taking the first positive steps! talking to DH, deciding to tackle the problem and posting here!

Could you park further out and walk or cycle the rest of the way to work? This may sound horrendous but keep with me! For the first year that I returned to work I did just this, I saved on travelling costs, got incredibly fit and lost weight and it meant that DH dropped DD in at nursery an hour later saving childcare costs. My work pattern has changed now meaning that I'm back to the car and I actually miss the cycle ride - time to myself in an otherwise hectic day!

Keep lots of supermarket snacks at work and bulk make and freeze lunches (soup, pasta salad, couscous etc) take one out in the morning and it will be defrosted by lunchtime.

If you go to groups, meet up in cafés etc on your days off with dd can you cut back here? Lots of free/cheap groups out there or now the weather is improving a morning at the park. Invite people home for tea and biscuits rather than cafe.

Good luck

Yep 10% of the bills.

For presents have a look in the entertainer, the works or the book people you can get a book bundle for £10 and split them up throughout the year etc

Oh crossed post lizard! Most importantly don't feel crap. You're doing something about it. Also I know that I find it hard to not spend what I have so even in months when I earn more from overtime I still have the same left over at the end of the month !

Hi lizard and welcome. You need to have a very long talk with your dh about money. You have a child together because of this you work part time. It's no longer realistic to say money is 'yours' or 'his'. You are a family unit and he is just as responsible for your child as you are. You paying for childcare enables him to work full time. I am a sahm but everything my dh earns and the child benefit is ours to share.

All our bills come out the joint account and we each take the same amount of pocket money for personal spends. If you have frittered money away on crap and run up the debt it may be worth suggesting that you use a little of your pocket money to help pay it off but if the debt has been made up of childcare and you buying the family a day out/lunch etc then your dh has enjoyed the benefits of your debt and needs to work with you to pay it off.

Having children has a massive impact on finance but it should impact you both equally. I hope your dh is supportive. Stick with this thread, we like to help and we all know how much of a tough journey getting debt free is but it's doable.

Aldo do cat food, it's cereal free in the pouches afaik and in the 42p tins in salmon, tuna and chicken flavour but not rabbit and turkey. The vet always comments on my cats coat. The multipack tins contain cereals.

Anything I can't get in aldi I either look for an alternative or shop around. Eg red lentils are cheaper in tescos ethnic food aisle than in the dry pulses section, esp when they reduce them to half price each autumn. Lidl do excellent half price weekend offers. Aldi do good super six fruit and veg offers but lidl do huge bags of big apples for £2.

I couldn't get coconut milk in aldi so I bought a block of creamed coconut, you cut a bit off and mix it with hot water. Same result, much cheaper.

If you have a poundshop and a homebargains they are good for kids birthday presents, card factory do cheap cards and gift bags/wrapping paper.

Hi lizard and welcome. You need to have a very long talk with your dh about money. You have a child together because of this you work part time. It's no longer realistic to say money is 'yours' or 'his'. You are a family unit and he is just as responsible for your child as you are. You paying for childcare enables him to work full time. I am a sahm but everything my dh earns and the child benefit is ours to share.

All our bills come out the joint account and we each take the same amount of pocket money for personal spends. If you have frittered money away on crap and run up the debt it may be worth suggesting that you use a little of your pocket money to help pay it off but if the debt has been made up of childcare and you buying the family a day out/lunch etc then your dh has enjoyed the benefits of your debt and needs to work with you to pay it off.

Having children has a massive impact on finance but it should impact you both equally. I hope your dh is supportive. Stick with this thread, we like to help and we all know how much of a tough journey getting debt free is but it's doable.

Apologies for double post, my phone has a mind of its own!

Fluffy- thanks for that- my cats literally eat anything so I am sure will be happy with Aldo catfood. I don't have a home bargains nearby buy we do have a good pound shop- the other day I put back a new peg bag is Tesco as it was £3.50 which I thought was a lot & picked one up in the £1 shop which had actually gone down to £97p! Good for wrapping paper in there too.

Nugget- you are right about the debt & me having paid for the childcare/ food shop & going out as having got me into debt it's the things I used to pay for but I would say that things are more expensive & our good shop is more expensive than before we had Dd plus childcare is expensive. So now I have my salary plus £500 from DH's salary to use for all of this stuff- roughly £1500/ month. I need to budget/ plan this better. I thought the £500 would be loads but I seem to zip through it in no time.

Think I forgot to add that Cc is not 0% so I should really look into switching shouldn't I?

I've been thinking about this more- my own parents are really terrible with money, not saying that's an excuse but I can see how much misery it causes- my DH's parents on the other hand are quite frugal, not tight, but not OTT. Have paid off their mortgage both with regular jobs, FIL is a mechanic & are now in a potion to be doing little things to their home & changing their car so that when they retire they don't have to worry.

My aunt is an accountant & her husband an architect - have 3 kids, live a beautiful house in a v lovely location which will have made a fortune on but they have always shipped in Lidl/ Aldi/ Tesco when things have been reduced to put in the freezer. Are in early 50's & have just paid off their mortgage now looking to decorate their home "nicely rather than just to make do" as my aunt put it. Other people took the piss out of them for their "money pinching" but they always had noise family holidays, enough food etc whereas my parents were v sporadic with what we had. Sorry this has turned into a brain dump but it's helping me to think more consciously about things.

Definitely switch there are some good deals about. Make it your mission to complete by Tuesday. Halifax have got £10.50 cash back on topcashback on a 30 month 0% deal. You could pay 200 a month(?) and clear half your debt before the 0% runs out then you can switch again.

Lizard I love that 'brain dump', I'll use it in future. It's really useful to write this stuff down. The only way you'll change your situation is to change your attitude to money. Like your aunt you need to realise that if you spend money on one thing it can't be spent on something else. That is amazingly obvious but took me over 10 years to understand!

Sometimes I do have in laws take the piss about our spending but saving even £25 a month shopping around means £300 a year which is a 4 night self catering holiday by the beach in Wales for us with spending money for a few treats. The dc love it. No ones suffered it just means we've eaten own brand beans not the nearly £1 a tin ones and we've eaten homemade cakes biscuits which the dc love making as cheap entertainment so win/win!

www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lloyds-credit-card-0-purchases-0-balance-transfer-31-free-monies-1881105 this would get your cashback account started off.

Shop around though, moneysupermarket will have a section on this, as will moneysavingexpert.

Have you checked your credit report? Most offer a free trial for new customers & you can get cashback.

I would STRONGLY recommend going through household bills with your dh, there was a mner last year who had left everything like utility bills and insurances to her dh. His idea of keeping an eye on them was to file them neatly and never shop around/ring up threatening to leave.

She went through them all and saved loads off the household running costs.

I'm like your aunt, people in the family take the piss out of me but ultimately I think they know I'm right.

£16 yesterday on hand cream . It would have been over £30 on amazon though.

Today will be NSD.

I was just about to say nsd here but I've just remembered I bought a bag online about five minutes ago I need it though

I could kiss you all! Thank you! Spotty when you just did the maths on that 30 month card I thought of course it makes sense! I haven't checked my credit rating so will do that- should I do that before applying for a CC? Barclays couldn't wait to increase my limit each time but there have been a couple of occasions where I have gone over my OD by a couple of pounds & been charged a few of £22.50

You are right about going through bills with DH- lots of things are online but if he gave me the login details I thinking would be easy to shop around. He has been reluctant to let me have access to his account. I know he had nothing to hide in terms of what he is spending his money on but I think he has seen how shit I am with mine over the years & has always been the one to rein things in or find cash if we need it for a rainy day. We had a massive leak between Xmas and new year, insurance paid but the amount is piddly so it's costing us a lot to replace things at the moment- it's resulting in us needing a new bathroom- tiles etc & DH & his dad have been doing it all themselves.

I have had some luck before with selling stuff on eBay but have noticed that things like clothes etc don't sell as well- I think everyone is on to the idea now and eBay take a portion of postage fees if I'm right?

I think this evening I will look into the CC & get details of bills from DH. What if the limit I am given doesn't cover the full balance of the credit card?

Then I will meal plan for the week and we can go & do a food shop tomorrow at Aldi.