If you are paid monthly how do you make sure you don't spend it all at once?

[BigginsforPope]

Dh and I have a lot of credit card debt which we very foolishly ignored until a couple of years ago when we started to tackle it. We were on the point of IVA/DRO but we pulled our socks up and began to organise our finances. Over the last two years we have paid off approx £4000 from a £21000 debt and I am quite proud that we have made a good start.
But where we are still struggling (and our finances are still quite tight) is making sure we don't overspend at the start of the month. Dh gets paid monthly and I am SAHM, we receive a little tax credits and CB. The first weekend after payday we do a big meat shop which always lasts us through the month and I meal plan week to week although the plan is always subject to change if circumstances do. For example DD1 (13) has recently become a vegetarian so we are getting used to accommodating that into our meal plans.
We have a joint account where most direct debit's go from and I have a personal account which also has some direct debit's going out. I also have a savings account which I put money in at the start of the month to cover the payments which go out later in the month from either account. So basically I make sure all the repayments and direct debits are covered by doing this. What I am struggling to manage is our weekly spending money for food, clothing, school bus fare and treat money.

I have a budget all complete on the moneysavingexpert site and everything adds up (just) but I can't work out a system to manage the weekly spends and how to ensure I don't overspend one week. Without fail the last week of the month the bank account is empty so I am going wrong somewhere.
What do others do to manage?

We use an envelop system.

The adults get an allowance as do the kids.
We put aside a small amount each month for annual bills.

We talk about major purchases (over $50)
We put a little aside for saving saving but we have virtual no debt. The loan we have we already over pay each month by about $200.

I have found ynab to be a lifesaver, it took a bit of time to set up but you can get a 3 month free trial and it makes you aware of how you spend money and where. Also of the dates payments are due.

Of your weekly payments how many are set recurring amounts? Eg bus/kids activities ?

My DB is crap with money and gets his pocket money in cash each week from his wife.

Me and DH are quite crap with money so we have pocket money accounts. Salaries, bills etc go through joint account plus a dd into our personal accounts each month for pocket money

Have you sat down and worked out how much each meal you make costs? I was amazed the other day to realise my lamb curry costs over £1 more to make than pork stir fry. Not just the different in meat cost either, it's cheap vs expensive veg too.

My mum used to chop up meat into really small pieces so we'd all feel we'd had some - one chicken breast to go round a family of 5, with plenty of potatoes / cauliflower etc to chunk out the curry. Can save a ton on meat that way

You need to work out how much of your income is disposable and how much needs to go on essentials (eg food, petrol).

DP and I have two joint accounts - one for all our fixed direct debits (which don't change from month to month, e.g. rent) and one for essential costs that vary (mainly groceries). We've worked out how much we need for each of these accounts to keep them ticking over, based on our past expenditure, so we each pay a fixed amount to these accounts immediately after getting paid. This means I have peace of mind that the direct debits are all taken care of, and I can see at a glance how much we have left for food shopping at any time.

We then each have personal accounts for our own day to day (non essential) spending and saving. I always add to my savings account right after getting paid, so basically whatever is left in my spending account can be spent freely.

It feels like a lot at first but once you're in the swing of it, it makes life much easier.

Hi there. I get paid monthly and DH gets paid weekly into one account, which our direct debits come out of. I added up our monthly bills and so I know how roughly how much needs to be in there and how much is left over.

I then divided what was left by 4.3 rather than 4. This is because there is an average of 4.3 weeks in a month. That is what we have spare (in theory) per week. I decided how much of this we would need for a weekly budget for petrol, grocery shopping. This gets transferred by standing order weekly. This is the account I use for shopping. I find keeping a note of what you spend helps massively when trying to stick to a budget, and only having to wait until Friday for more money also makes things easier than finding yourself skint two weeks off payday.

The amount that was left we save. It goes out to a savings account weekly. I save for things like Christmas, car maintenance, clothes fund, etc., so of the amount I save so much goes in the Christmas pot, so much for clothes etc. I keep a track of how much I have for each thing with a spreadsheet. It was a little bit of work to set up but once that's done it's easy. I like doing things this way because if the kids needs shoes for example I don't have to try and find the money; I've already saved it so just transfer the money from the savings to the cash account.

So I would say, separate your bills account from your cash account, and budget your spending weekly. Writing every purchase down makes you mindful of how much you're spending. Hope this helps :)

If I was jointly responsible for £17k debt I would be talking about it with the other debtor, often.
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