TVI Needs YOU... to help control her spending

[TheVillageIdiot]

Firstly I should say I am not completely unable to manage my life I spend my working life managing schedules, people, finances etc however when it comes to personal control I just seem completely unable to manage my life (or at least control my moeny and food intake) right so that's a bit of an intro, forget the food lets talk about money..

Today I have taken out a loan to pay off my massive overdraft and my credit card (which I have been trying to apy off for about 9month - keep shifting interest free to interest free). The loan is a fair size and the repayments are set at what I was paying for my CC payments. The problem is that I don't want to start getting overdrawn again as I don't want to get another CC or anything

I need some help to curb my spending and save money and I thought maybe if I started managing keeping a diary on here you might be able to help me stay on the straight and narrow, give me a kick up the bum every now and again and make me take things back when I do fall off the wagon - at least until I've managed to change my life style a bit..

will you help me?? this is my last resort before I seek professional help (which of course I can't afford)

Have you tried the budget thing on moneysaving expert? It's really good, counts everything IYKWIM. Found it useful for figuring out why it kept going wrong for us, we have finally cleared the debt and am trying hard to not go back there!

Do you know what it is that sends you over?

Yes, my mortgage (on tiny house) and dd's nursery take up roughly 2/3rds of my net salary each month.

then there's running my car - petrol, tax, ins, tyres (2 bald at min), dd's clothes and shoes, food, bills, nappies, toiletries, cc (or now loan) payment all to come out of the last 1/3. Then all the sundries - trying to give dd a decent weekend every now-and-again, I try and take her swimming (35 per week) and do free stuff but it soon adds up

also I have a small shopping problem (I am working hard to control it). I like the finer things in life, but, I am TRYING to control this and have been quite good the last couple of months

Whats the 35 a week?

sorry that should be £5 per week (missed the shift)

Do you have cable? If so cancel it. Any magazine subscriptions? Kill them. Are you paying extended warranties or credit card protection insurance? Waste of money. Do you buy lunch? Drinks? Try cutting these out and bringing something from home. Have you checked your utilities (gas elect phone) against other providers? There may be a cheaper way. Is your mortgage interest rate competitive? Its easy to change these days. Can you shop on the internet and use tesco vouchers? Saves you heaps on impulse buys. Do you have a mobile phone on contract? Probably cheaper these days to go pay as you go. Is your home phone bill high? Have you looked into 18866? Just a few thoughts, but they might help.

I think you keeping a diary on here would really help, help you see what things you really could go without comfortably.

Can I suggest you check out the Dealing with Debt board from The Motley Fool?

There are loads of people on there sharing tips and experiences, and they have a section on how to live below your means as well.

It's a great site.

hello vi{WAVE WAVE} missed you.x

I use cheap phonecards for all my calls. You have to pay up front so its easier to control.

Hi thanks for the comments so far (ps "Hi AAA")

I have a mobile on contract but the price covers all the calls and texts I make so it works quite well, also contract ahas a while to run yet so can't cancel it.

Home phone bill is line rental only most of the time (I was thinking of cancelling this but am unsure)

Food - I think I could definitely cut down the cost of food. I am going to start meal planning.

Other bills I'm not so sure about, I don't really understan dthe cost of gas and 'leccy. All the houses in my road are on water meters an dI already get my 20% discount on council tax.

I've tried to cut down on things like petrol but can't seem to get below £20per week

Hi! Have you written an exact budget of all your outgoings and incomings before you spend any money at all? I just don't think I could live on 1/3 of my salary if 2/3 went just on mortgage and child care... it might just be your incomings are bigger than outgoings!! You must be able to calculate your monthly outgoings if you are to control spending -- get gas and elec on DD (direct debit)

The best thing to do is get a diary and write down everything you spend money on get it into a spreadsheet so you can do some analysis try taking your weekly money out in cash and then you can not over spend -- get the bank to cancel your overdraft so you can not take out more than you have...

It is hard but if you keep track of how your loan is reducing every month, it does help you focus and at least see the benefit of living frugally!!

check you have claimed for everything you are entitled to (WFTC CTC CCTC)

Hi, on Friday I applied for a loan, it's big but it will pay off my credit card and my overdraft - my boss has also wangled me an extra bit of money this month.

I intend to pay the loan off over 3.5yrs and I will be paying the amount I currently pay off my credit card each month - the downside is that I will be paying interest where as I am not with the Credit Card.

All my bills are paid by DD (direct debit not dear daughter)

I am beginning to hammer down the financials so that I can get a handle on exactly what I am spending, it's really hard. I just don't know where I can cut back, I have already done little things like buying 2-in-1 washing powder/fabric conditioner and shampoo/conditioner etc

I'd echo frogs, you'll find masses of help on the Dealing With Debt board from people who are experts in squeezing every last pound coin til it squeaks (if you know what I mean).

Moving your debt from interest-free CC to a loan doesn't seem to make sense on the face of it, since you will have more to pay back as a result. I assume though the interest rate on the loan is lower than for your overdraft. If you really wanted to go for the loan you could only borrow the overdraft amount and keep the credit card at 0% but if you do roll it all up into a loan, please make sure you cancel the credit card so you aren't tempted to run it up again.

Having a mobile phone contract that covers all your calls and texts isn't really saving you anything if you're spending a vast amount of money on it, it just seems like it cos the calls are 'free'. A service like 18866 will genuinely reduce your monthly spend on calls. You may not be able to cancel your phone contract but you should be able to reduce it to a lower tariff. Depends how much we're talking about really, do you make a lot of calls?

Ultimately you need to get a grip on your spending and your budget, this takes hard work but you can do it, a lot of people post spending diaries on Dealing With Debt, which helps keep them on the straight and narrow. No reason why you can't do the same on Mumsnet of course!