How can I manage our money without being a complete idiot?

[OhNoTheMoneyGoes]

Does anyone have a step by step guide to how to run the household finances?

Our situation is that my husband has a good income, we pay rent, we don't smoke/do drugs/gamble/eat out, but still there is no money left at the end of the month and it DRIVES ME NUTS

What do people do? Do you have all your money paid into the one account? Do you have a bills account and pay a certain amount into there each month? How do you prevent the money slip sliding away into NeverLand?

We must be doing something wrong but I have no idea what it is and no idea how to stop doing it!

No response/information too small - I am looking for as much practical "do this, and then do that" type information as I can get my hands on as I am aware that we need to save for retirement and also buy a house eventually

TIA

Have no brilliant suggestions as we are in the same boat. Very glad you started this thread!

i'm at my wits end - we need help - am often in tears over it

What about starting with writing down everything you spend on in a month, no matter how small, on a spreadsheet so you can see where your money goes?

thanks surfermum - am starting that today using "Quicken" (am trying to work out the software as we speak)

Moneysavingexpert.com has free budget planners.

Put all of your dd's onto a spreadsheet so you know exactly how much goes out each month. We then have a notebook where we write wages down each month and then immediately take off all the DD's so you know how much you have left, then set up a savings account with the same bank that you are in and transfer a set amount, say £100 into it (you can transfer it back later if things get really bad) but then try to forget about it, it will add up if you can leave it.

Trawl through the housekeeping tips on here for meal planning etc

hth and good luck!

I have 2 accounts

1st account all Direct debits (everything I pay is on DD, incl minimum payments on all cc's)
Then I add up a whole year divide by 12 cal this figure [DD money] (so quarterly and annual amount are included)

then I leave a small bit in (maybe £50- £100) to cover any shortfall

2nd all money goes in - transfer the amount [dd money] and then split the rest into the number of weeks in the month

Take out cash for each week and only spend that amount - anything left when the end of the week comes goes into savings

HTH - good luck

When money was really tight a few years ago I wrote down all my outgoings by direct debit for bills, mortgage, car tax, insurance, etc. I got a Tesco Clubcard plus and paid an amount into that account each month to pay for food and petrol. What was left was what we had as fritter money. It wasn't a lot, but we kept our heads above water and kept our house (my then partner had been made redundant).

I think your best plan is to start by writing everything down too.I don't know how much you would like there to be left over every month, but you'll probably find a few items on the list that could easily be halved with no hardship: simply make a rule that whenever you buy x or y, you must match that amount and pay it to the family savings.

If you need to really save hard, then you need to get a bit more complicated - set amounts for each type of expenditure and stick to them. Easiest way to do that is to live in cash - withdraw the limit for your weekly shopping/day to day expenses at the beginning of the week and don't draw any more out.

Ise the microsoft money program that came with my computer which helps a lot. I also will occasionally write down every single purchase no matter how small to check on what I am spending my money on and to stay in budget or check to see where the budget needs to be adjusted.

agree with surfermum - sometimes its the small regular spending that you dont even notice. like buying sandwiches at lunchtime or having a coffee in starbucks or buying magazines and sweets at the petrol station every time you fill up or parking charges

if you write down EVERY PENNY you will see where it all goes

I was looking on Amazon for a book like that last night (we are possibly going to lose my income in a few months). Came up with one I am thinking about here .

On the budgeting side, try this from the Money Saving Expert. A real eye opener!

oh wow - I'd forgotten that you can regulate dds in the uk. You can't in spain - the leccy company just take a random amount from my account every other month. makes it really hard.

"I use"

Oh god, SP, that must be difficult!

gillian - luckily - or perhaps not so luckily - I have a very large credit card allowance.

All our money goes into a joint account. And it's a good thing, too, b/c by the time we get the pay packets, the money's already gone.

We have a joint account too. Also set up direct debits for the same day each month, as fas as possible. Then you'll know how much you have to "spend" when it's all been taken off.

I think the first step to household budgetting is always to check your bank and credit card statements against your receipts and always get a receipt when you withdraw cash from an ATM. Doing this builds up a picture of your spending and you know that things without a receipt are those little cash buys (lunches/coffees/playgroups) that really start to add up.
In the past I have had friends who've been paid twice in a month and spent it without noticing and had a council never collect DD for council tax for a year and then bill all in one go.
Other ways that money 'disappears' is by utility companies taking out too much DD each month leaving you £100's in credit and by having debt on credit cards at say 19% when you have savings (may be small) in the bank earning only 5%.
By the way reading 'Money' in the Sat Guardian keeps us on our toes!!
Good luck.

these are all fantastic tips - thank you so much for taking the time to respond - please keep the tips coming - i need all the help i can get! at the end i will compile them into a "10 top tips for not stuffing up your household finances"

I'd just set up a spreadsheet showing income, necessary unchangeable expenditure such as rent, bills etc and then expenditure that could be changed.

Writing down everything is meant to help as you can identify areas where you can save. It's amazing how much you can save per month just by making own lunches etc rather than buying them.

Also (don't know if this is relevant) but everywhere seems to suggest paying off any loans/credit card debts before starting to save and to also clear as much off credit cards each month as possible.

Another thing that several people I know do is to buy a gift card thing for their supermarket & top it up with their budget for food for the month. They say this stops them being tempted by frivilous items.

God I need help too. Not just that there is no money at teh end of the month, usually there is a deficit of some sort, ahem.

Katymac I think you idea sounds good - I have been trying to do the cash thing but doing it monthly, and the cash runs out too quickly - weekly sounds much better.

But I was wondering how to you budget for expenses like the car?

For e.g. this month I need 2 new tyres, plus a service - but no spare cash. I "budget" for a certain amount for the car each month but in reality it gets spent.

Put it in a savings account - if you can't trust yourself put it in your mum's name or a friends name

How much have you spent on the car in the last year (divide it by 12 and out it into your DD account)

so, to sum it all up then:

1.a. to see where it all goes, write down everything on a spreadsheet
1.b. always to check your bank and credit card statements against your receipts and always get a receipt when you withdraw cash from an ATM
2. Moneysavingexpert.com has free budget planners
3. write down your wages, and take off all your direct debits (and non discretionary spending), to work out what your savings are
4. transfer a set amount of savings each month into an account and forget about it
5. have 2 accounts - one where everything goes, and one where you transfer money for expenses
6. set amounts for each type of expenditure and stick to them - easiest way to do that is to live in cash - withdraw the limit for your weekly shopping/day to day expenses at the beginning of the week and don't draw any more out
7. get a Tesco Clubcard plus and pay an amount into that account each month to pay for food and petrol
8. make a rule that whenever you buy x or y, you must match that amount and pay it to the family savings
9. pay off any loans/credit card debts before starting to save and to also clear as much off credit cards each month as possible
10. put money you need for big yearly expenses into in a savings account - if you can't trust yourself put it in your mum's name or a friends name