Help me with a spending diet and pay credit cards!

[Nomorecakes]

I need to start saving and paying off my credit cards.
Currently have £3000 on credit cards.
I shopped around last night and already saved £250 on the car insurance.
After all bills I have about £1000 for food/petrol/kids activity money/general spending and saving.
So thinking £80 per week for food - £320
Kids activity money £120
Petrol -£150
Day trips/general day to day spending £150
So that technically leave £250 leftover.
Does this sound ok? I think withdrawing the money in cash should be what I do and leave cards at home. That way can only spend that weeks cash and once it’s gone it’s gone.
There’s no manoeuvrability on our bills as we have shopped around recently for new insurance, gas and electric etc.
Thanks!

Sounds like a very good start. I like saving money so this kind of thing is fun for me and other peole like spending it and there is nothing wrong with either mentality.

Using cash works for a lot of people as they can see what they have to spend. Could you also earn a bit more too as I always found that easier than cutting back? May be one of you do an evening job once the children are asleep even just once a week? It sounds like you have a car so may be even some casual driving - my son just registered for Uber Eats delivery for example and you can do that whenever you like and he does Deliveroo by bicycle.

Once the schools go back I’m going to start putting more hours in over the winter so should earn another couple hundred from September, that should help a lot.
We’ve just had a lot of outgoings recently - big car repair, upfront swim lessons for the whole summer and a much larger childminder fee due to school holiday cover. Just seemed to have all come at once.

Are you paying interest on the debt? Go to money saving expert and you'll find heaps of advice. Get a balance transfer to an0% card so you can see it coming down.

Before paying all the £250 do you have a contingency fund in case of a one off expense. Otherwise the temptation will be to use the card again.

No contingency the 250 should be all that’s left.
I’ve recently put the majority on a 0% interest card for 30 months and £100 coming off every month which I’ve included in my bills.
Sometimes at work I get a bonus or if I’ve done extra I get paid more so was planning to use any extra towards the card as well.

If the debt is being paid off on 0% I think your going in the right direction.
Put the 250 into a different account and there's a contingency fund.
If you've any left after the end of the month decide if you want to pay down the debt a bit more or save it...even if it's £10 off the debt it will drop quicker

I definitely find doing overtime works really well to overpay debt. I put every penny of overtime straight into paying off my cc.

time for a massive cutback until the debt is gone and you have six months expenses stashed.

no: adult clothes (you have plenty, everyone does), takeaways, coffees, books (use library), magazines (all crap), cinema (DVDsa available in charity shops), adult presents (ever again - declare a tat ceasefire and save a fortune in time and money)

think before you move the car. Clear out extra weight, drive properly, use feet if at all possible.

normal showers are five minutes, turn stuff off when not needed. Don't waste hot water. Not an issue now but think about winter insulation.

your insurance may well go up if you join the gig economy.

If you find using a card convenient I put all my leftover money on a Monzo card. You download an app and it only lets you spend what's on there. You get a notification straightaway so don't have to try to work it out. You can top it up from your bank account but obviously you have to have ready cash in the first place. You can attach picture of receipts as well so you can keep track of what you've spent money on.