Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Original poster

I really had no idea that this was our financial position

27 replies

ComradeJing · 10/08/2012 08:38

This is really a follow up to a thread I wrote a while ago about not being sure of our next financial move WRT mortgage, credit cards, etc.

Someone suggested YNAB (You Need A Budget) and it has completely changed my view of our financial situation. Thank you to who ever suggested it.

Dh earns a good wage but it always felt like we were just staying afloat. We have expensive holidays (on the credit card), buy nice things (on the credit card), do home improvements (on the credit card), DH spoils me (on the credit card), and generally spend too much money.

Having actually put all of our expenses into a budget, seeing what has to be paid each month and seeing what I need to save each month in order to pay yearly bills has completely changed my opinion of our financial position. It's in black and white that we couldn't actually afford the holidays, nice things and home improvements. We certainly can't afford to use credit cards any more.

So thank you MN and thank you to those of you who gave me a kick up the arse on my last thread. Thanks

OP posts:
ClaudiaSchiffer · 10/08/2012 08:40

I need to do exactly that Comrade, both dh and I work we earn ok money but always live from paycheck to paycheck, I have NO IDEA where it goes.

What is this YNAB of which you speak is it on line?

FermezLaBouche · 10/08/2012 08:40

It's really shocking isn't it?
I've recently done a budget after seeing people recommend it on here, and was equally shocked. After everything, EVERYTHING has been paid for, including food and fuel, I should in theory have a good amount of disposable, but I'm always skint by week three. Why? Because I spend it on shit.
So, next month I will be taking out X amount ever week in cash and THAT IS IT!

ClaudiaSchiffer · 10/08/2012 08:41

Also I've just been told that our aircon is bust (live in oz) and it'll cost about $10K to replace. I am practically hysterical at the thought of trying to find that money.

FermezLaBouche · 10/08/2012 08:51

Oh Hell Claudia! :(
I will email you mine if you like? It's not exactly hi-tech but it's really helped me...

ssd · 10/08/2012 08:51

op, this is a genuine question

I'm really tight with money and always have been

what I cant understand is someone in your position saying they just realised they cant afford the holidays, nice things and home improvements

why did you once think you could afford them, is it because they were on a credit card you felt you could have them?

I know what we can afford and if we cant afford something then |I don't buy it or save up for it if I can, I don't understand someone saying they just realised money only goes so far, surely that's obvious?

are credit cards a smokescreen for people not wanting to admit they cant afford everything they want?

for a tightwad like me this is very confusing

ssd · 10/08/2012 08:53

or maybe another way of looking at it, did you always leave the financial stuff to your dh and kept out of it all? I've always been too mcu of a control freak to give that stuff up

Original poster
ComradeJing · 10/08/2012 08:54

Blush I realise it makes me sound a bit dim not realising that you can't just live the high life on credit. I mean more that I see that we will never get out of the debt trap unless we get rid of the credit cards and acknowledge that we can't afford to buy stuff on credit.

OP posts:
ssd · 10/08/2012 09:00

dont Blush, I didnt mean it like that

sometimes I wish I could be a little less tight, its a drain always being sensible, but we are on really low wages so I dont feel theres much choice

I think credit cards are really evil, just like those awful wonga/pay day loans, they encourage people to spend what they dont have

I'm glad you're in control of it now, you'll probably feel much better

ClaudiaSchiffer · 10/08/2012 09:01

Ooh, Fermez would you? That would be awesome.

Original poster
ComradeJing · 10/08/2012 09:03

Oh sad sorry... X post and I hadn't seen your comment. Hang on, just on the phone and then will reply!

OP posts:
Original poster
ComradeJing · 10/08/2012 09:03

ssd not sad!

OP posts:
FermezLaBouche · 10/08/2012 09:03

Yes of course, just PM me your email. It's really nothing special though!

bumpybecky · 10/08/2012 09:14

Ynab is you need a budget - it's a fantastic piece of software for helping you budget. It focuses on the budget and planning rather than monitoring what you've spent after the event. Can't praise it highly enough. Not sure how much it costs now but they have a free trial version. Can't link as on phone sorry.

So glad it's working for you Comrade :)

Crocodilio · 10/08/2012 09:17

Would you mind emailing me too? We're just about to move house and I'm determined to get organised with bill paying and finances from now on. The trouble we have is being self employed, and so we have to use cards if clients don't pay us on time. I need to budget to enable us to build up a buffer to use instead.

ClaudiaSchiffer · 10/08/2012 09:20

Just googled

Thanks for this everyone and well done Comrade!

notactuallyme · 10/08/2012 09:20

Hi - we were in the same position, massively overspent because the house we bought needed loads of work; gave up work due to ds being ill, etc, never really knew what we both earned etc etc. Spreadsheet was shocking - i now have a master copy, change it each month and work out what's left for food and fuel. Nothing usually!
But at least we are making sensible decisions now. One day we will start saving not repaying....
Good for you.

FermezLaBouche · 10/08/2012 09:22

Yes crocodilio - can you pm me your email?

ClaudiaSchiffer · 10/08/2012 09:31

Got it, thanks Fermez

Cancels credit cards

FermezLaBouche · 10/08/2012 09:34

Oh BOLLOCKS! Just realised a fairly major outgoing is missing on my budget. Bugger bugger bugger. All part of getting organised though I spose.

Original poster
ComradeJing · 10/08/2012 10:16

Yes, YNAB is a piece of software available online. You get a 60 day trial I think plus online support, a forum for questions and free online seminars to show you how to do it. There is also a free pdf about the theory behind YNAB and how the guy came up with it and why it is so important and the 4 rules of YNAB/budgeting. That probably makes it sound really, really complicated and like some kind of crazy cult but it means you get a LOT out of the software. It's the first budgeting/banking software I've used that has actually changed my thinking on money.

Obviously I feel very evangelical about it. :o

We have always had a rough budget - I've always known what bills were due and when in the year and each month but we were never paying the credit cards down and then we would get a bill for car insurance and even though I knew all year it was due I would feel like I suddenly had to pull 1000 pounds from my bum.

ssd to answer your question I think the problem is partly because DH earns so much. On his wage we can afford nice holidays and the like. We just can't afford those things and the to have so much debt. I think that I just always looked at our credit cards as money available and not debt. So DH would ask if we can afford X or Y and I would say, "Yes, we have $6000 space on the card." Where as the correct answer should have been along the lines of, "No, not whilst we owe $4000" or "not until we've saved up for it" or whatever.

My dad, who was also an expat for years, says that often expats in crappy parts of the world give themselves permission to buy stuff or go on nice holidays as they "deserve it" because they don't want to be where they're living any more. That's definitely been true for DH & I.

My new motto is, "Is this helping me reach my goal" which has (so far) massively helped me to curb spending. I want DH & I to be free from credit card debt and to have a months worth of salary saved. I know we can do this though being credit card debt free will take about a year.

Thanks again everyone for the support!

OP posts:
Original poster
ComradeJing · 10/08/2012 10:19

Oh gosh, sorry that was so long!

OP posts:
Original poster
ComradeJing · 10/08/2012 10:21

Oh and my car insurance isn't 1000 pounds! That was my brain in neutral!

OP posts:
ssd · 10/08/2012 12:47

thanks for coming back and answering Smile

probably explains to me why I'm always so tight, we are on a combined salary of £25k, and this is the most we've had since ds was born almost 15 yrs ago, so money has always been something I've had to control and double check constantly - so much so our mortgage is on £17.5k, no credit debt, savings in the bank.....but its been hard going being this tough and I wish I could let go a bit, but I just never have and wouldn't know how to, which is a bit sad

invicta · 10/08/2012 12:54

Martin Lewis's website, Moneysavingexpert also has a budget planner on it. It's also superb. I did one years ago ( must do another one) and remember being shocked how much haircuts cost - not so much their individual costs, but the cumulative costs over time. It's little things like that that add up over time.

MrsMiniversCharlady · 10/08/2012 17:28

With any regular cost (down to buying a few of bottles of coke a week) I work out how much I spend on it a year - when I realised I was spending $150 on coke a year I decided that it wasn't worth it! So much more scary than $3 a week.