That old chesnut again. Our finances are close to dire- can someone help me with an incoming/outgoing spreadsheet that will help us???

[tiredemma]

Dp has discovered this morning that we have massively overspent over the fast few weeks and as such are massively overdrawn.

It seems to be a regular occurance and tbh- we are very lax with keeping an eye on what we are spending) the children think that if you want money- a computer box in the wall will just give it to you - wonder where they get that idea from????)

Anyway- we really need to knuckle down, spend less- not be so frivolous with money because quite simply we cant afford it.
Dp has a lot of debt which is not at all unmanageable but if we continue to ignore our finances, we will suffer

So- can you help me devise a spreadsheet type thing that I can write every singleincoming and outgoing into, also any money saving tips please ( does online shopping really help?)

at your mercy.....
thanks

anyone?

moneysavingexpert.com has a spreadsheet you can download

ta

Make a list of all your regular molnthly/annual outgoings. Use your bank statements to help you as I can guarantee that there will be things that you will have forgotten about!

On top of that you need to work out how much you spend on other things, e.g. food, petrol, eating out etc - you may have to make estimates here.

Work out how much this comes to each month, and compare this with money coming in each month. Hopefully money going out will be less than money coming in (!) but if not, then you need to work out what you can cut out/down.

Switching your utilities can save you money, as can your car insurance.

Shopping online can be much cheaper as you are less likely to impulse buy, but be careful who you buy from. I had to stop buying through Ocado as it is just so expensive.

Meal planning is saving me a lot of money each week - I reckon at least £25 - and switching to Sainsbury's own stuff (sometimes their Basics range) is also a big help.

Pay as many bills as you can via direct debit - this can often save you money, and has the advantage of spreading the cost across the year.

Get rid of any credit/store card debt before you do anything else (if you have it!).

Sure others will have more ideas, but hope this helps!

As well as the moneysavingexpert download (fab site) you will probably also need to do a spending diary. This is a very uncomfortable process whereby at the end of the day you both confess what you spent and write it all down. If you are anything like us, you will find out that you are spending obscene amounts of money on chocolate, fancy coffees, newspapers, magazines and takeaway pizza.
But it will make very clear how you're spending the £100s that disappear out of the cashpoint every month, and then you can decide properly what you think it worth it, and what you can easily cut out to save money.

tiredemma, do you have excel? I have a simple something I have done that helps me. I am happy to email it to you if you like.

mud24 at hotmail dot co dot uk