Talk to Barclays about budgeting - £200 voucher prize draw! MORE QUESTIONS ADDED! NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Barclays have asked us to find out how Mumsnetters approach budgeting and what banks can do to make the process easier.

Here’s what Barclays say, “Raising a family is no walk in the park and presents its fair share of challenges (from how much TV the kids should watch to making sure they get their 7-a-day) and budgeting for childcare is probably one of the biggest challenges mums and dads face, especially if you’re a working parent.

The Government’s planned childcare subsidy for September 2015 means that working parents can join a new scheme offering a 20% rebate on childcare costs, worth up to £2,000 a year. For many working mums and dads this is big news – but a long way off. So, how do you handle budgeting in the meantime?

We’d love to find out more about the budgeting challenges that you’re up against as a working mum or dad – and what could be done to make managing your money easier before the subsidy is introduced in September next year.”

So, how do you manage budgeting within your family? Maybe you have a comprehensive spreadsheet which you use to keep track of spending? Or perhaps you are a keen voucher collector to help save money? Do you have any ideas on how your bank could help you make budgeting easier? Whatever they are, we’d love to hear them.

Everyone who adds their thoughts to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

We have a joint account and monthly bills are all on direct debits. Any other bills which don't have fixed payment dates, we pay by cheque which gives s more control and flexibility.

We keep a spreadsheet to track the monthly income and outgoings, but it's the 'surprise' costs which make it hard, like replacing a punctured tyre or a broken down washing machine! Also, we have 4 children and I always seem to be in the supermarket or buying thins they need for school and it's easy to lose track of what you are spending.

To reduce costs so far we have switched insurance and mortgage providers, swapped to lower utilities tarriffs, cut down unecessary costs like satellite TV, reduced the amount we eat out, switched to store brand products and used vouchers/discounts wherever possible.

It would be good to have a dynamic visual view of how our spending breaks down emailed to us weekly e.g fixed home costs (mortgage,bills)/ fuel & travel/ shopping/ school & child care/ eating out & entertainment etc. That way we could easily see at a glance which are the areas of high spending, so we could better balance it out in the following week. This could be linked to special offers or vouchers in our areas of highest spending- so there could be an opportunity there for the bank too.

I am due in May and we both work full time as teachers. Until September 2015 we will be using the help of family members until around April next year then we will have to use a nursery or some form childcare. The rebate scheme will help us but in the meantime we've tried to save some money for childcare costs.

I have a grocery budget and stick to it - if my online order exceeds my budget I remove items until its ok. I meal plan. We have standing orders to savings accounts to make sure we can afford specific things like replacing the car etc.

we use vouchers where possible, especially for days out, and stock up on things on offer. Also shop at lidl when possible.

it would help,if I could split our savings account into different categories when I view it online - I.e. Holidays, car, long term savings etc instead of having multiple accounts. Obviously I do want some separate accounts but I would like to split them down further.

All bills are set up as direct debits and we've aimed to time as many as these to come out of the account just after salaries have gone in.

We have standing orders set up to transfer a set amount each month into savings - accounts for each of the children, an emergency fund for household repairs and a fun fund for holidays and birthday presents etc.

We don't have a strict grocery budget but are quite frugal and take advantage of vouchers and offers on the products we buy.

Re: childcare we have taken full advantage of the childcare voucher scheme available to us.

We are frugal. We hardly ever pay full price for anything; using sales and offers wherever possible.

And I make totally sure that we never pay bank charges by going overdrawn or not paying credit cards off in full each month.

I don't really budget , however all the main bills are paid by direct debit, so we can only spend what's left. We spent a fortune on childcare and I don't really know how we afforded it at the time.

I do buy a lot of reduced items in the supermarket and am always on the look out for a bargain.

It's always a bit of a surprise at the end of the month to see how much or little we have left, but if there is anything left it gets transferred straight into a savings account for future emergencies or unexpected purchases.

We don't really have a budget per se...I just check the bank account frequently to see how we're managing. For major purchases, like a car, or home improvement, we save for these and plan to purchase when we can.

We budget from the point of view of having a spreadsheet with all our incomings and outgoings but could use help planning the periodic expenditures, e.g. tax disc, MOT. I think a Q&A program that put everything into a monthly tab for you would be helpful.

We don't have a spreadsheet but reading this thread has made me think that it might be a good idea. Like the idea of exporting data from bank account, online shopping etc. We'd not use paid for child care atm but that will also be a consideration soon. Currently just have a,metal budget and check balance to ensure we aren't deviating from it.

We have a strict monthly budget that we stick to.
Once a month we do a shop to make sure we have a months worth of cleaning products, loo roll, dog food, that sort of thing.
Weekly shops are then only food, and it's easier to work to the budget.
If we want to go out, this comes out of that budget and we then cut down to allow for it.

I write down everything spent on my diary so I know how much is left of the budget.
The last week of the month often ends up with plenty of cheap rice/lentil teas, but it really helps us financially to know exactly where we are at any time.
If we've done well and have managed to save some, we put it into my bank account (that doesn't get used much) to hopefully gather up and allow for a short break away sometime.

I have a spreadsheet of doom with a sheet for monthly bills, a sheet for yearly bills (broken down to show a monthly equivalent cost), a sheet for Dh's personal outgoings (e.g. mobile phone bill) and a sheet for my personal outgoings.

Dh then pays enough into the joint account to cover both sets of bills (monthly plus the equivalent monthly cost of the yearly ones). The amount for the yearly bills then goes into a savings account and I move money around at the right time. I could set this up to do automatically but as some of the prices vary it is easier to do it manually (e.g. the car service cost varies with how much work is needed).

I'd like to have a savings account divided into 'pots' for different things rather than needing multiple savings accounts accounts.

We're still learning when it comes to budgetting. I try to collect vouchers for things we buy. try to get as much stuff from home bargains and aldi as possible. we still have some issues every few months but we're getting better

We budget pretty tightly though things are starting to get easier at long last.

We have an account each into which goes my salary and my dh's income. We also have a joint account; a chunk of my salary goes in there for bills, and it's also the account that receives our child benefit. Chunks of my salary go into separate accounts for holiday saving, non-monthly expenses (ds's termtime activities, presents, Christmas, clothes and haircuts) and the Contingency Account which is a cash ISA. We are working towards having six months' outgoings in the Contingency but are a long way off that as things keep breaking... I also unfortunately have a loan account which will be paid off early next year. DH does the food shopping and has a standing order from the joint account into his account each week.

The single biggest step forward for me as a budgeter was acknowledging the size of the non-monthly expenses. Even when things were tightest for us, I never managed to get the cost of Christmas below £200 (this is partly because ds's birthday is very close to Christmas so I budget for them jointly). If you add up the full cost of Christmas (including cards, postage and the fuel to get to anyone you are visiting), clothes costs for everyone in the family, haircuts if you do them, and birthday presents including those for other children who invite yours to parties, it works out as a surprisingly large chunk of money that needs putting away every month.

Spreadsheet and planning.

Banks - can help by

higher interest on savings
Free overdraft and if you don't use it you get a fiver.

I don't really have a budget. When I split from my ex and was trying to work out finances, I did put together a spreadsheet detailing all outgoings which was a helpful exercise but that was nearly two years ago now! However, I have no debt apart from my mortgage and never go overdrawn so I must be doing something right.

I have several bank accounts, which help me to manage my money. The first is my current account where my salary gets paid into. I transfer a portion of that into my second account (the old joint account) which also has child maintenance and tax credits paid into. Anything left in my current account is to cover my personal expenses (clothes, meals out, haircuts etc) for that month. Straight after payday, I make a credit card payment (if I have any balance on there). I've also got a SO set up into my cash ISA at the start of month. All my DDs are set up from the household account on the 1st of the month, so again I know that anything left in that account will cover household expenses (incl food) that month. I like keeping the money separated this was so that I know that all bills and expenses to do with DS are covered. Also, paying all bills (and putting some away for savings) at the start of the months means that I am rarely hit by an unexpected bill

I also have several savings account. One short term (for things like holidays, Christmas). I bank with Lloyds and use their "Save the change" feature on my current account so every time I use my current account, it rounds it up to the nearest pound and transfers the difference to a savings account. Those small amounts really add up! I've also got a medium term savings account which is really for house maintenance kind of things. My ISA is my long term savings which I don't intend to make a withdrawl from if I can help it. It is pitifully small!

With regards to the new savings on childcare, I get Child Tax Credits currently anyway so won't get them. Anyway, as DS is now in school and only needs breakfast/after school club twice a week, my childcare costs are quite small anyway. It would have been welcome when he was in full time nursery!

We have a food budget of £65 per week (for 4 of us) although on a special occasion we might go a little over.

We always talk through any big purchases and never spend on credit so we only spend what we actually have.

I buy the kids clothes a little bit at a time so it spreads the cost out and isn't a shock bulk buy.

We always look for the offers, shop around and compare anything before buying do we always know we are getting the best value for money.

I have three separate Barclays account.

My wages go into my main one but then a load of money goes out of that on pay day and into my bills account. All direct debits go out of my bills account. So the money I have left in my main account is what I've got for the rest of the month. I now also have a "savings" current account where I put £150 a month by direct debit into it.

Meant to say with what's left in my main account I just divide it by 4.5 and think well that's what I've got to spend a week and try not to go over that figure.

Pay bills. Buy food. Make sure I have toiletries etc. Rest is money I can spend (very limited) I write down what I have to spend on what and do the most important things first.

I budget like mad, everything I buy nowadays will have been price compared/vouchers used etc. Car insurance, energy, broadband are all compared annually and the best deal taken.

I use TopCashBack and Quidco to get as much cashback as possible whenever I switch provider/make a new purchase/buy insurance/etc

I clear out stuff regularly to sell on ebay/car boot etc - it's not much but provides a little extra now and then.

I have a spreadsheet with various pages within it all linked to monitor every bit of spending.

I have a set monthly budget for groceries and stick to it. I use vouchers all the time, and try and maximise the savings and get free stuff whenever possible - for instance Tesco magazine had a voucher for £1 off fabric conditioner, it was priced at £1 in store = free I've got about 2 years worth in the garage.

I use the MSE forums, loads of knowledge and tips on there. I get as many 1p items as I can from Tesco (such as reduced seasonal stuff, xmas chocs etc) and either use them or sell them. Buy stuff on ebay and in the Jan sales, especially items for presents throughout the year.

I do as many product tests as I can get on (MN, BzzAgent, Orchard, SSM etc).

These are all small things but combined they start to add up over time.

I designed a cash flow forecast on excel. It runs 18 months ahead at all times. There is a page for every month and each month is broken into weekly columns. Each week has estimated and actual expenditure. All regular expenses are put in and sub totalled, then below that are the ad hoc exps.

I've done all the formulas so that it always carries forward, calculates surplus/deficit and gives me a total annual spend to date.

I can compare estimated expenditure to actual and see where I might be going wrong. I can plan to move money about as required.

At the front is a notes page, where I have my monthly income broken down, payment dates, list of DDs and other bills with due dates. It also holds my credit card balance information and projects when they will be paid off.

Of course, the downside is that if I ever lose access to the internet, I am royally screwed.

I'm not really sure what barclays could do to help me with my budgeting, unless they feel like giving me a great big wodge of cash?

Another one with a spreadsheet - ours lists all outgoings with annual costs (e.g. car insurance, MOT, Christmas etc) split into monthly amounts so we then know how much money we need to put into the joint account each month, with a bit extra for savings. We each keep a small proportion back in our separate accounts for personal spends but the majority goes into the joint account or savings. We're less good at looking back on what we've actually spent on variable costs such as supermarket shopping, but every so often we get a download from online banking and go through it all to see where we might be overspending or need to adjust what we put in the joint account.

We have a monthly budget, that we can mostly stick to for things like groceries, mortgage and bills.

What we have left over usually causes disagreements. I want to save it and Dh wants to spend it.
We'll always shop around before a big purchase.
I also look on MSE for tips and deals.
I used to have a few savings accounts - one for emergencies, one for savings. Emergencies have occurred so I closed that one. Need to start saving again.

I use a free app on my phone to track my spending, but although there is a budgeting option I don't really use it. My spending only covers my personal account, and all direct debits, mortgage and annual costs come from DH's account. I don't like the idea of strict budgeting as I often buy in bulk during promotions, or during sales, so sometimes I'll spend quite a lot in one month but that will last me for months. We are both sensible with spending and always think about whether we really want/need something, and shop around for deals. We're not the type of people who'd just buy more things because there is money in our accounts.

We always have a pretty big surplus in both accounts, have ISAs and no credit (except a credit card which is paid off monthly) so it seems to work. We put the surplus into the mortgage and have a vague aim to halve the mortgage term, which is going to plan so far but if we needed to increase that for any reason we'd be able to.

how do you manage budgeting within your family?

I do the budgeting. DH is of the (shudder) school of 'see it, spend it' and does my tree in spending money just because its there. I do a same cost budget and a changing cost budget and I do not spend money until other things are paid, or I am 100% certain that I know how much all the monthlies will cost.

Maybe you have a comprehensive spreadsheet which you use to keep track of spending?

A pen and paper. More specifically, a book where its all written in monthly so I can always go back and check last months and make sure I have not missed anything. Also, I think its good to try and keep my own mental arithmetic working despite technological advances.

Or perhaps you are a keen voucher collector to help save money?

I would love to be but with work 4 kids and commitments its difficult. I would love to do the couponing like in America. My cheap tricks are about grabbing the 10p meat, veg and bakery items, freezing what I can and making filling meals with the rest to keep costs down

Do you have any ideas on how your bank could help you make budgeting easier?

This may come across as a bit nanny state and I dont think I would use the tool but perhaps there could be an online banking tool where you could cap your spending, so that if you need, e.g. 800 for your monthly bills, but have 1100 in your account, you can 'block' the 800 and only spend the 300. I would not use this tool as I keep a running jot of spending in my head and book and prefer to use my willpower but for others this may be useful. Or perhaps a 'bills' account that this money was moved to, within the current account setting

Of course, the other suggestions are reduced interest rates, cheaper bank insurance / product deals, longer access to statements online