I think I am fairly bright. I can add, I can subtract. Why are my finances such a constant pile of CRAPOLA? It's the beginning of the month and I just know it'll be the same old at the end of the month...

[dejags]

Ok.

Every month, I do my utmost to do a budget. I work out what's coming in. I work out what's going out. I put it all in a spreadsheet.

I know exactly what's going on billwise and keep my paperwork in good (not pristine) order.

Why is it, that no matter how hard I try, I never have enough money to make it through the month (we then aren't able to save any money or repay any of our overdraft - despite my sums at the beginning of the month saying that there should be a little left over for debt reduction).

I despair of ever being straight.

So hit me with it. How do you manage your finances - do you use software or do you use a manual process. What are your best hints for actually being able to put a dent in the debt at the end of the month

PS:

In the past year we have had a lot of unforeseen expenses:

1.Medical for DH - a lot of the expense has come out of our pocket - No NHS in SA

1. Car - boths cars broke down in the same week. Cost a fortune to fix them
2. Pet - the cat got run over and cost a small fortune in vets bills...

sorry-no advice,only empathy.i write everything down(wouldnt know about spreadsheets)but i do plan the in/outgoings perfectly,and on paper it always looks like i will have some left over to save.but in reality it never happens.

i know that th ability to go to the supermarket and only get the things i need would be a big help though

something always comes up,though,some sort of unexpected expense.every flipping month!

whihc bit's going wrong?

are you spending too much on random crap sundries that weren't in the budget? If yes, maybe stop taking your purse out with you.
Or are there big unforseen surprises every month? If yes, add in a contingency for surprises and cut back in other areas.

If you can't figure out where the money's going the alternative is to accept that you'll always be out by £50 or whatever and allow for that at the beginning of the month.

Thanks.

It's a combination I think of unforeseen big expenses and smaller contributory expenses.

DH and I have a joint account - so it's not that easy in the month to keep a hard and fast track on the exact balance - not that he overspends.

We don't spend a lot on clothes, we don't drink or smoke or go out much.

We spend a lot on repaying debt (mortgage, credit card, overdraft). It's this that I am really struggling to get to grips with. I just can't put a dent in it.

Has anybody consolidated their debt into their mortgage - what are your thoughts on this?

I am just in the process of starting to do this as we were so overdrawn on a regular basis for so long it was really depressing me. In the end I went to this website monesavingsexpert.com and implemented some of his suggestions including piggybank saving.

I started seeing that the small amounts I was spending/frittering were really making a difference and it was really difficult to keep track of this when we just had one main joint account and one (very empty) savings account.

I use a spreadsheet and put absolutely everything on it. I started with all the Direct debits which I downloaded off my online account. I then added monthly budgets for all things like main food shop, commuting, car costs etc, petrol,cleaner,. I also add any one-off payments which I hadn't thought of as they come in, though I'm hoping those will get less.

This then leaves a certain amount each month, some of this I allocated to the new piggybank accounts and set up standing orders to that effect.

what is left each month gets put (by standing order) into into a new 'spending account' This is to pay for things like entertainment,gifts,snacks,coffee,food & household consumables (not the main shop), stationary,entertainment & meals out, gifts,clothes, toiletries and anything else you can think of that is not on my main budget. The sorts of things that are paid easily by cash and which are everyday sort of expenses.

This spending account is our cash money and has no overdraft so I know very clearly what our weekly budget is. We also write down everything we spend out of the spending account in a book so we can keep track of what all those cash withdrawals are being spent on.

I also joined this website www.quidco.com for £5 a year you get lots of good deals and get money back. I've applied for a couple of credit cards (cut them up as soon as they arrived) and made £65 just for applying.

We have also been really careful about our holiday budget this year and are having 1 week in the UK and no other major holiday
I am hoping that by the end of the year we will not be overdrawn and we will have some savings.

So far it is going to plan, and I really do think about everything I spend much more.

Once you have worked it out on paper leave the correct amount in the bank for everything to come out. Then remove in hard cash the amount for food booze travel etc. Then hide BOTH bank cards.
This cash has to last 4 weeks.
If you find yourself running out of cash slow down, if you find yoursel needing to use the card you have overspent.
Very simple

I consolidated my overdraft into a bank loan, at their suggestion...because I didn't think I could make a dent in it. I'd never owed before. So my repayments were £100 a month for 5 years, which I could manage.
However I racked up my O/d again through silly spending, head in the sand lark...when it reached the limit again, I decided that if I couldn't pay it off myself, I would never learn to manage money again (used to be fine, don't know why it happened) so I started to pay it off by cutting back on everything.
It was hard work but I made some shifts in my thinking/habits and actually am paying it off steadily now.
If I'd known I could do that last time, I wouldn't have taken the loan.
Still, we live and learn.
If you are not managing to pay off, then I think consolidating is a good idea - especially if it is under a lower rate (my loan is 8.9%, my O/d was about 18%.)
Write a list of all your debts and the interest rates applicable. Start with the most expensive rate, pay that off first (or consolidate it) and work your way down through the others.
That is the best way I know. It doesn't sound as though you have a spending problem, just an income/outgoings issue.

Good luck xx

We were always having 'something extra' every month. We always had a reason for being overdrawn 'The car needs fixing, the ffridge/TV broke etc'. That is what the piggybank saving helps with. We save a certain amopunt each month into different accounts. That way when an unexpected expense comes in you have money to cover it.
Eg
1 - savings/unexpected expenses
2 - holidays/christmas
3 - Food
This is because we use a tesco clubcard to pay for all out online shops (which gives 0% interest for 13 months and gives you extar club points - which we are saving to help pay for our holiday this year).

Because we are using the credit card to pay the bills we will pay off the minimun (no interest) for a year but at the end of the year we will have enough money in this account to pay off the card and will have earned interest on the money in the meantime.

The way I cut back was to STOP spending on ebay, which was a big habit - it all added up quickly, which was deceptive.
I started selling things I didn't need on ebay, too - that netted quite a bit. (considering I had bought SO much, it was bound to! )
I took cash out of the machine, and when I had to take my purse out, I only got what we needed - not a certain amount so I could use my debit card in the shop.
I just paid bills (Direct debit) and things like shoes for Ds, no clothes for me unless I needed something or it was ridiculously cheap in the sales and I needed it!
Didn't take purse out quite often.
I don't drink, smoke or go out socially much.
Petrol and food were the only other things - insurance and all that is already dd.

Finally I started looking at the bank statements online. I am only able to do this when I know I've been 'good', so the fact things are improving means I log in every day and check what I'm spending.
Things have really improved but it was difficult \at first.

Once I have paid off the O/d I plan to carry on, and put everything into a savings account online, with the same bank, so I get interest and can then transfer money for essentials, while saving up to pay off the loan early and save some interest there too.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I am so determined to start managing my money this year. It always seems to be the other way around - the money manages me.

The overdraft and credit cards are millstones around my neck - we can consolidate onto the mortgage if we choose, but I am so scared I'd end up going down the same path - like you Flightattendand.

Lazycow - I like the piggybank system. I will definitely start this. Even if I put a small amount away each month it will add up. I have never considered this because I felt like I was pinching money from the overdraft. But it seems that this is the only likely way I'll save for anything unforeseen.

Does anybody use Microsoft Money? Is it any good?

dejags

I know what you mean about pinching money from the overdraft but for me it was important to know I have put some aside for emergencies and also to know exactly what I have to spend each month on daily stuff.

Before I would just have loads of entries in my accountwhich said 'cash withdrawal' and I didn't know what they were going on. Writing down everything I spend money on and having a set weekly budget for that is what is helping to keep my weekly costs down. That is the way to reduce the overdraft.

The saving for emergencies and christmas etc helps me see that this is money I have to account for too. Otherwise I just forget about it and put it on a credit card when the expense comes around which makes the whole situation worse.

I would also say that once you have the system of saving and budgeting in place I would also look at consolidating your debt into one loan. You need to do both things. Consolidate your debt and also change the way you manage your money.

If you just consolidate your debt so your monthly payment is lower but don't change the way you manage money things will just go back to how they were before very quickly.

When i was younger and had a 750 overdraft that kept getting extended. i would pay my wages in and then they would automatically take me back to overdraft.

I started to go into the bank every week and ask them to reduce the overdraft my 10 a month or week so i could eventually get out of it and i did.

10 years on and i am sort of doing it again but i am trying to spend less so i can not think of using the overdraft.

Either way it worked for me then, good luck

Don't know if this idea is helpful but what we do is add up how much all the bills are over a year i.e. electricity, gas, AA renewal, house and car insurance, car tax, something for car servicing etc - all the stuff that we don't pay monthly. Then divide by 12 and put this sum into a special bill account each month. We put £200 each month into a bill account and then the bills don't hit quite so hard as they always seem to all come together.

We still run out of money half way through the month but this does help...

I have just opened up accounts (online only ones) to do the 'piggy bank' saving thing. I have one for car, oil, christmas/birthdays, holiday. I have just opened 2 more one for dd's new ballet classes and one for ds' preschool fees. Now the one for ds really is forward planning as he's only 10 months but I know when they time comes there won't be enough so if I start now saving £10 a month that'll be a fair bit in 18 months (spet 09) when he'll start. well £180 I guess but that'll cover a term or more hoepfully. I am a planner normally but money has taken a backseat in planning as before dc we were ok. Not well off but had enough IYSWIM. I now realise I must plan. It's all thanks to mn threads and although i've not read much myself, the advice of Martin Lewis(money saving expert)

I guess I need to go back to the way people used to operate pre credit in abundance. My mum had sections in about 3 purses for everything housekeeping/child benefit/her money. I didn't realise it at the time but you have to do it. It's not a choice. When you have a family budgeting is so important. Or you end up in a mess like I have atm it's fixable and I entend to do that asap. Hoefully by christmas. That'd be nice.