Can anyone review my outgoings and advise on any cutbacks I can make?

[dovegrey18]

I think I've cut back what I can but I've listed everything anyway just in case I've overlooked anything.

Mortgage - 673 (100k on base rate and approx 100k on fixed rate per staff discount)
Council tax - 258
Factoring - 10
Electricity/Gas - 55
Tv, phone and broadband plus 1 mobile contract - 43
Tv licence - 19
Food - 200
Cleaner - (3 hours x 3) - 90
Sofa Finance 0% - 48
Nursery - 522
Car 1 - 453
Petrol x 2 cars - 400
Road tax x 2 cars - 40
Mobile - 30
3 x CC on 0% - 396

Car insurance x 2 is paid until July 2019
Home insurance is paid until November 2018

How big is your house/how much time do you spend in it?
I’d look at moving the cleaner to 1hr pr week to do the floors and bathroom (or something) rather than spending 3 hours less often.

Few cleaners will be thrilled with a 1 hour shift though...

It’s interesting your fuel bill for car is the same as your food bill? Is that correct

I would look at alternatives? How far is your commute? Can it be done another way? Would an electric car be a better option and lease the car? Would an electric cargo bike be a much cheaper option if the commute with toddler is under 5 miles - no tax, fuel bills but bigger outlay

It’s hard to tailor advice if you’re not going to say what your income is. If you’re sat on a large inheritance and have savings, for all we know you could have loads over - in which case the advice over the cleaner would be different. There are also lots of missing lines of expenditure so really hard to tell. Your food bill is pretty small but if you’ve got takeaway etc on top then the figure is misleading. There is a template budget on money saving expert that includes the detail that you need to make things meaningful.

Join a cash back site and buy anything you can (as long as it isn't more expensive) through it. I do this for take aways and I get about 10p per takeaway back - but it adds up.

Also use it to shop around for insurance when it runs out. Eg I have just gone via top cash back to you switch and will get £26 for those 2 extra clicks.

Also use it to check you are on the cheapest tariff for gas and electricity.

The second mobile - £30, convert that to sim only at the end of the contract and shop around. My bill went from £30 to £11 for the same unlimited texts and calls.

Your TV licence - do check, £19 is what you pay if you are starting from not having a licence, or you used to pay upfront and have gone to monthly.

What is factoring?

Meal plan.

Check out local shops, they can be cheaper than supermarkets, I have recently discovered a butcher and Green grocer next door to each other about 1/2 a mile away.

Yesterday I bought

0.5kg mince
2 x pork chops (which are huge)
1/2 shoulder of lamb

And a free 1kg of cooked meat scraps for the cat (and hedgehogs)

Total £12

I have just looked at Tesco, the same would be £16.

Just to add, the local butcher is open 7am to 7pm Tue-Sat, I'm not working at the moment but if I was I would still be able to shop there.

Giffgaff for mobile?

If you have a large inheritance then it makes sense to clear some of your debts especially if you are paying interest on any of them.

Are you both working full-time?

If you add up the cleaner, childcare and second car, is it worth it?

I was also going to suggest a one hour weekly clean, this cuts the number of hours down to 4 from 9. Quite a few cleaners I know do one hour cleans weekly in private houses, the regular top up of cleaning would help with your anxiety and maybe you could do a few more bits yourself.

If you have savings you should also pay off all your debt before starting a business, being self employed is likely to leave you in debt a bit so it's best to be on a safer footing debt wise before you start a business.

Does your £200 food budget include takeaways and meals out?
It would be helpful to know what you spend on food in total incl Takeaways and coffees/lunches/meals out.

I have no idea how you can keep your food spend so low unless it doesn't include meals out and takeaways? Are you vegetarian?

It won't help now but in future buy the mobile yourself then have sim only card with it. I pay £10 per month and get unlimited text 300 anytime minutes, 2000 3 to 3 minutes and 8 internet data. I'm on 3 sim only but i have got loyalty discount.

Have cleaner for 1 1/2 hour each week saving £30 month.

Limit takeaways to one each fortnight and instead cook delicious meals from scratch which is actually therapeutic. Batch bake so if making fish pie do 2 and cook at same time thus saving electricity.

Look up cheap and nutritious recipes e.g. home made soup

Turn heating down 1 degree. If on timer take off 15 mins each day.

Sell off any baby stuff you no longer need.

I am assuming you do not have grandparents/sister etc who could look after toddler for 1 day each week? Check out rates for childminder as that could be cheaper one or two days each week.

Buy water bottle and don't buy bottled water or lattes.

Both you and dh take packed up lunch rather than buying lunch at work. I know this takes effort but your dh could do it while you bathing toddler or vise verse.

In longer term do not take on any more debt. Save up for things before you have them. If you need something like a sofa you could get one from ebay.

Save your cc for emergencies only. If you need a bit of help do not be too proud to ask family for help with child care etc.

Actually my cleaner does 1 1/2 hours and during that time she cleans and hoovers child room including removing finger marks on mirrored robes. Cleans bathroom including vac and steam mopping floor. Vac along landing and downstairs, hall, dining room, lounge, kitchen and cloakroom. Then steam mopping wooden floors in hall, dining room and lounge and tiled kitchen floor and cloakroom. Cleans cooker top and work tops, bleaches sinks x 2. Polishes dining room table and coffee table, tv unit and large unit in lounge and dining room. In addition she does 1 other job each time which changes each visit e.g cleans silver, cleans inside of lounge window, irons a few shirts for dh etc. She is very good and likes housework, but it is surprising what she can do in 1 1/2 hours. I do our bedroom and en suite, load/unload dishwasher, laundry and clean doors, mirrors etc. bits of ironing and I make older AC do their own bedrooms and laundry and if they make a mess cooking they must clean up mess after each meal.