Monthly bills

[lylabellablueyes]

Just worked them all out as we're always skint. I wish I hadn't bothered.

Comes to £1700 A MONTH!!!!!

Would you like a boring breakdown???

My partners work starts to slow down at this time of year, so now I'm starting to panic. What do your household bills equate to??

I need to get mine down :/(. Advice!?!

Thanks x

[ummmm]

£130 a month on food??? Seriously?

I spend that a week.....

[China Doll]

Yes seriously... we are both very good bargain hunters :c)

Big main shop approx £80 and then at top up shop never usually more than £50. Not having children probably helps as well!

[ummmm]

I'm mean.....I don't actually but any 'extras' for the kids :-)

Just looking at the steak he bought the other day...£8.46 for two. That's the meat for just one meal.

[Eve]

Wow, that's a few hundred quid more than I've got paid over the last 2 months...together!

My salary has over halfed during the recession and it's been very hard going financially. I am very picky about prices when food shopping and tend to go for own range basics items and check the reduced items section and offers on and check around the local pound and saver stores for what I can get cheaper there, for toiletries, household and other things too.

I try to only buy things I need clothes wise and preferably in cheaper shops or in sales and shop around much more.

There are deals you could look at to save money such as combining utilities, phone/broadband/TV etc... and things like prepayment prescriptions.

I taught myself to cook much cheaper versions of takeaway foods I liked so I can have a treat without paying takeaway prices.

Lots you can do.

[tiggerblue10]

£202 = mortgage
£60 = Oyster card
£100 = Credit card (sometimes more)
£564 = Childminder
£40 = Little Tiggs's savings
£76 = Gas/electric (per month)
£25 = mobile
£109 = Council Tax
£109 = mort., pet, and house insurance and mort. cover scheme thingy!
£12 = TV Lic.
£19 = Water
£65 = Virgin Media
£400 = Groceries

.......and RSPCA and Dogs Trust. Plus a few quid on the EuroMills and Lotto.

[China Doll]

Now steak in this house is a meal out... of which there's a nice harvester that does a good steak dinner for £20 for both of us not too far away so I wouldn't buy anything like that. But I guess we're just good at stocking up and finding bargains, like Aldi do really nice bags of tuna steaks for about £2.99, they're small but there's five in a bag, and I have an oyster card so it's free for me to nip down there... Oh yeah, my oyster card! Make that £1217 a month! I knew I'd forget something..

[Maydup]

I think you'll definitley be able improve on your car insurance next time round. Shop around well ahead of the renewal date to give yourself plenty of time to look. Mine was due this week - I paid £195 for the year. You're time will come!

House and contents ins can also be bought at a reasonable price online - combine them for best options and don't pay more than £200 all inc per year.

I think you should switch your mobile contracts as a matter of urgency. Use your free minutes/texts and use the free calls on the landline. Make a pact with yourself not to make any calls other than urgent ones if you're having to pay for them.

Get rid of sky - promise you won't miss it - and shop once a month. When you get home from the big shop do some batch cooking so that you have two or three meals per week in the freezer. This will help when partners work is slow or hen you'd be tempted to by a ready meal. Have a one pot meal at least once a week with lots of veggies and a few beans or pulses as they are really cheap. Oh and buy your veggies from a market if you can.

[LoftyLottie]

Do you realise that your mobile phones are almost 50% of what you spend on food? Incredible. Have you considered pay as you go mobiles? What is the talktalk bill for - phone/internet?

[whiskeryron]

I used to spend £78 per month for sky until we realised we didn't watch all that we were paying for so we cancelled Sky & went for Freesat, still using the Sky Dish & box which you keep. We still watch enough progs to satisfy us including HD & films ( True Movies, Film 4 etc) the only thing that doesn't work is the Sky+ facility ( rec & playback) so we bought a Humax HDD freesat box which connected to the Sky dish does all that the Sky+ box did.

W Ron.

[4getmenot]

we have freesat, still some good channels and more and more being added all the time

[owdhamer]

Mrs owd takes care of the family finances and although we are both pensioners never seem to go short of anything, she is careful,only just got her to visit MandS, for a little treat, the one that bugs ne is the price of a coffee 2 capos and a slice of cake a tenner.

[Andyvon]

Hi Lyla,

I don't know what our total monthly outgoings are as I never really look but they are a fraction of your list There's just the two of us and we don't have a mortgage. Our electricity bll is £30.83 a month (I've just looked), the gas is much the same, water is £25 a month and I spend about £40 a week on shopping.

You've got some very expensive luxuries there. As HC says, get rid of the Sky and the mobile phones. Rather than just watching TV there are plenty of pastimes and hobbies you can take up for very little money. Do you pay bills by direct debit or do you feed a meter? It's much cheaper to have a standard meter and buy your power from one supplier.

You obviously can't afford a car either. Despite what people like to think, cars are 100% luxury items. My car insurance after 31 years driving is £151 a year - £2.90 a week! The golden days of motoring are over. Recent governments have EU emissions targets to meet by 2018 and 2021 so they are quietly encouraging insurers push premiums up to price new drivers off the roads and onto public transport. You'll also have service and repair bills, road tax and fuel etc. If you haven't been driving for long then you just can't afford a car. It's much cheaper to get taxis, public transport or walk.

Your electricity bill is very high too. Do you cook with electricity or have any electric heaters? They cost a fortune to run compared to central heating.

As a general guide I would sit down and have a close look at what you actually NEED rather than what you want or would like.

Good luck.

[Kassee]

You could always stop eating !!

[erin-x]

I'm 20 and have only been driving for 16 months. My insurance was only £550 for the year when I renewed in April. I know monthly payments add up to more than a single yearly payment but it still sounds far too much! Who are you with?

[lylabellablueyes]

I'm with a company called my policy. I tried loads of companies, but couldn't get it cheaper. Plus I only renewed in June, so I'm stuck with them now.

As I pay via direct debit, its more money too. I need my car for work and taking daughter to nursery etc. Plus with new baby, I couldn't live without it to be honest.

I have tried to get my phone bill down, but I can't. I'm with Orange and they're useless :-(

[snags]

''£130 a month on food??? Seriously?''

lol... CD is way out...

[Andyvon]

Do you have a landline or are you relying on mobiles Lyla? That's far more expensive. Companies like Virgin bundle the three together - TV, internet and landline. Alternatively, buy a Pay-As-You-Go phone and decide that you will only use it to call someone in an emergency. If you use a mobile for chatting it will cost a fortune.

Are you sure it's not cheaper to use taxis or the bus to get around Lyla? Does your husband or boyfriend service and repair the car or do you have to pay someone? A large chunk of your monthly outlay will go on the car otherwise. That's fine if you can afford it but when you say you are struggling it's the car that should be one of the luxuries that goes.

[LoftyLottie]

I don't wish to be rude in any way Lyla.

However, you spend £220 on car insurance and petrol a month, £280 on nursery fees, probably £50 on your own mobile (which you probably need if you have a busy life with children at nursery/school). That is £550 spent out because you go to work. Take into account clothes that you need because you work, perhaps packed lunches, and a few other things. Might it be easier, less hassle, and put in very little less financial hardship if you stayed at home whilst the kids are young.

I realise I don't know your circumstances.

[boxtops]

I wonder if the premium is so high because of the car you drive - what make is it?