Calling people who are clever with their money. HELP! I'm forking out like a fool every month, bleeding money in all directions. Help me make it stop.

[spidermama]

I'm a fool with money and always have been.
I need to get better at it as dh has had very little work recently and we're struggling.

So I'm looking for tips. Things like ...

How do I know I've got the best mobile tarriff. I try to read their bumf and my head swims with panic and confusion. Can anyone help with this?

How about my energy bills. Is there a way of finding out my cheapest supplier?

What about broadband supplier. I'm currently paying AOL about £20 a month. Could I do better?

Also, I'm still with BT. Is that very foolish.

I just get the feeling I'm leaking out money and I never seem to be able to catch up no matter how little I spend on a weekly basis.

Please give me your tips.

Thanks for that one Gillian, have added to my favs for next time I shop online!

The best way to really get a grip on your spending is to track everything going in and out - either with a spreadsheet (I think MSE has one?) or something like MS Money. It's a bit of a hassle getting it set up but once it's up and running it doesn't take much effort to keep it updated, particularly if you use internet banking. That way you can see exactly what's due to go out, when, etc. You may find all sorts of things you can trim or adjust, and MS Money will also let you set up budgets so you can track spending against specific targets (I haven't done this yet but I really must).

I really must look into changing our ISP and phone, we are with BT and are £55 a month!

I do that too, DollyP (cash for the week not cycling to work!).

Really like the MSE website whoever suggested it, I've signed up too (can;t resist a bargain)