I really had no idea that this was our financial position

[ComradeJing]

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.

I've also done a "Budget Brain" on Martins Moneys Savers. It's a really good tool because it does all the calculating for you and you can save it and edit as much as you like. Like so many of you we should have plenty of money left each month but obviously we just fritter it away because there's nothing really to show for. You'll find the link on this page Definitely worth doing and easy to use.