Budgeting starts now!

[ThriftyWitch]

Ok, dry run this month as we are not yet in an IVA (but praying we will be soon!!)
Please can you look this over and feel free to point out obvious flaws. Yes there may be the odd stupid question that I am sure my husband (hello hubby) will have a good laugh at me for!! [^]

Ok, we are not paying any creditors this month as we have rent arrears to clear up. The amount we are paying out on rent arrears is 'roughly' the amount we are likely to pay out if/when the IVA is approved. So in a nutshell, this month is not to disimilar to how the next five years will be, so the rent arrears is our mock IVA payment. I understand this may need some tweaking though as an IVA figure is not yet in place.

Ive just sat and worked out what needs to be left in the bank for regular DD's, water, Mortgage, Council tax etc
Based on the budget we discussed with Tina (thank you Tina) my thoughts were to draw out in cash the food budget, school dinner budget and Petrol budget for the month. I have just labeled up three jars with those things on, so tomorrow im going to go into the bank and draw out the cash which pays for those things as per the budget and spilt them up. That way I figure, I can't overspend when the offers scream at me in the supermarket! Left in the bank will then be enough to cover all our regular DD's plus any overtime earn't (which in the IVA would then pay the percentage amount to my IP) and any budget allowence for car tax/MOT we have. Also, since the MOT only comes round once a year, if we saved our monthly budgeted amount for this in our account, is this then going to make it look like we have 'extra' funds - I have visions of me screaming "leave it alone!! Ive got my MOT next week!!!"

Can I manage our money like this when (if) I am in the IVA or will food shopping be expected to be itemised on the bank statements in order to check we are working to our agreed budget? I would much rather do what my dear Grandmother used to do when she was alive and draw out the housekeeping and use cash to stick my budget. Basically this would mean that had I been frugal with my shopping budget, I could then put the surplus in another pot to use for clothing, xmas etc when needed....is that ok? Is that allowed or would surplus from the shopping budget have to be paid into the IVA?

Also I have a huge worry that im not going to get my essential DD's transferred to my new coop cashminder account in time! We get paid tomorrow (hence the budgeting today) and coop have taken a while to get our account number etc out to us. I phoned them yesterday and they said to leave it until Tuesday and if nothing had turned up they would have to re send everything. The account is open though, but we can't use it yet! aarrgghh!!! We need to get the money out of our Nat west account before they want their loan payment on the 11th July. Most of our DD's (essentials) come out after the 11th so if its not transferred by then should we just phone up and pay water, electric, cars etc I don't want a charge for a failed DD, but I can't leave the money in Nat West for them to take as, then the loan payment will come out and thats what we need for out rent arrears.....


If you have managed to stay with me, can make any sense of the above and would care to comment, it would be appreciated! I need a LARGE coffee now, my brain is fried!

[welch9]

God im tired reading that lol.

Good luck

[Shining]

Hi there, a real good plan to do the dry run and in the process the rent arrears get cleared.

I draw out my housekeeping every week and use cash, I do have a debit card but prefer it this way as I can see what's what, if anything is left and sometimes it can be 20p right up to a couple of quid, it goes in a pot when we've enough money we go out for a 2 for a tenner meal at the local pub, it personally keeps us going.

Make sure you take any cash out of the Natwest as you say and you can cancel all DD's and either set them up or pay them over the phone for this month only.

You're certainly entering this with your eyes open which is commendable and I hope it goes really well for you x

[GettingHelp]

hello there, hope you are still breathing there I think for the first month this is an excellent way to start whilst you get into the swing of things with your allowances. Fear not, any surplus that you save is yours to keep to spend on what you want, that cannot be taken away from you, so alls well there.

You are correct with your overtime, I am with Melanie so I know that they would have explained that to you in full. I think its a good idea to take your money out of the Nat West account, and put it into your co-op account, before you re-set up your DD I am sure come Tuesday this will all be sorted. As far as I am aware you will not be asked for shopping receipts so if cash is the way you feel that you can budget for food and it works for you then i would say go for it.

Good luck with your IVA proposal, I have nothing but praise for Mel and her team, my IVA was approved last week and I know I have made the right decision with my choice of IP, let us know how you get on, and keep posting, there are lots of helpful tips and encouragement on here, I know how scared you must feel but Mel would not put an IVA forward if she didnt think there was a strong possibility of it being accepted. Keep smilling x

[ThriftyWitch]

OMG, Ive just realised how long that was[:I]

Sorry all, and thanks to those who read! Im covering all my bases![8D]
Im having a bit of a fruit loop day and am panicking!

Mind firmly at rest now...phew, and b-r-e-a-t-h-e!

So all I need worry about paying out extra each month is the overtime percentage thingy (yes it has been explained by Tina [:D]) this will be obvious as they know our basic, so will be identified by the amount transferred by employers - correct. So assuming I ate air pie all month I could keep my shopping budget?!?! (as if I'd ever eat air pie but in theory right?)

[Skippy]

Yes, that's right. If you can save from your shopping budget you can use it for other things x

[ThriftyWitch]

Thank you. I feel MUCH better now! So scared im going to miss something but its sinking in.[:D]

[GettingHelp]

hey dont worry, you wont miss anything, you can always come on here and ask away. I have read this forum well into the middle of the night after my decision to go down the IVA route, i have to be honest and say its a little addictive, so be warned

[666]

co-op are a bit slow when it comes to getting your account details out (think it was 7 working days before I could start transferring stuff.
You could start taking cash out of natwest once you're paid though so you have it ready to deposit when the coop paperwork comes through.
I don't think its worth worrying about a failed DD charges etc ... you'll be incurring a few charges in the next couple of months while the IVA stuff is sorted out but that's the way it goes - not worth worrying about.
well done for getting on top of things - this site really calmed me down when I was trying to get things clear in my head and the guys that constantly watch the boards to reassurer people deserve a medal

[Skippy]

If you don't think the DDs can be set up in time it might be worth cancelling them and paying them by another method. I did that when I went BR so I knew everything would be paid.

[ThriftyWitch]

Thank you GettingHelp and 666. Totally agree about it being addictive - both myself and hubby has pretty much exhausted reading all the threads on here over and over to check we get it.

Well, im going to draw out my food, fuel and kids dinner money budget tomorrow.
My mortgage comes out tomorrow anyway, and im going to pay my rent (shared ownership house hence rent and mortage) and rent arrears online in the morning, then just have to sort the DD's out by phone.

Coome on Coop!!

[ThriftyWitch]

If you don't think the DDs can be set up in time it might be worth cancelling them and paying them by another method. I did that when I went BR so I knew everything would be paid.

Yep, im thinking this would be best. As mentioned most come out after the loan payment, so I will need all the money out by then which means unless I actually cancel them, they will be trying to take money from an empty account. I think thats best. See what tomorrow brings with coop and then get the money out, cancel DD's and phone up to pay regular bills. Thanks Skippy x

[GettingHelp]

dont worry about the co-op they will come good for you, just get your money out of the Nat West and sort your DD's out later, you can go online and cancel all you DD's and pay them over the phone when you call and set up the new ones. Just make sure you get your money so that you have enough to live on until next pay day

[Jodara]

I have just done exactly what you have decided to do - I have all of my money in jars for the different things I need. I have just started my IVA (1st payment next week!) so I want to make sure I start as I mean to go on!
I have put aside money for yearly items and labelled envelopes with 'Car Tax' etc and I have written on the date and how much I've put in and I am going to do this every month.
Things might change as I get used to this, but seems like we are following the 'newbie' thing and getting well prepared lol
Good luck with the next few weeks. I paid a few things over the phone while waiting for my IVA to go through and it wasn't a problem.

[ThriftyWitch]

dont worry about the co-op they will come good for you, just get your money out of the Nat West and sort your DD's out later, you can go online and cancel all you DD's and pay them over the phone when you call and set up the new ones. Just make sure you get your money so that you have enough to live on until next pay day

I am sure you are right about coop. Quite exciting to say 'enough money to live on until next pay day' hasn't happened in a long time, normally after paying all the creditors its mid month and im shopping in Tesco courtesy of credit! To actually have cold hard cash we earn't to habd to the cashier this month makes me so happy....although wait until the letters and the phonecalls start and I may have to retract the happy statement!