Hi all,
I don't know how to keep going the way we are financially.
My husband and I have over $3000 in bills each fortnight. Everytime we seem to get on top of it all something happens. We have had our car broken into then brakes needed replacing. School starting so booklists, uniforms etc. Kids birthdays and Christmas. It has us all f'ed over.
Does anyone know what I can do? How to get ahead of everything?
I have a budget and we stick by it but interest etc just keeps getting us.
Please help. I am so stressed constantly and it is starting to affect our relationship and my kids too :(
8 Replies
Only two choices. Earn more or spend less. See if you can get a better deal on electricity, internet, mobile phones and insurance. Meal plan if you aren’t already and cutback on non essentials. It’s amazing how much you can save if you have a list and stick to it. Look at refinancing mortgage/loans and if you have credit cards look at moving the balance to an interest free balance rollover card and cut the new cards up. I would recommend reading The Barefoot Investor. Sadly the cost of living is just going up and wages are not. You are not alone in your struggle, lots of us are barely keeping our heads above water.
Can you break down your bills? I have no idea how you can live when you’re outlay is so high.
When I was a single mum I had a strict budget. That I had to stick to. If my car broke then I had to use my legs. Maybe if we knew what your fortnightly income was and what your bills are filled with we may be able to give some extra advice. If you have cars on finance you may have to give one back to the financiers and get a cheaper car. You may need to restructure your mortgage or other bills/loans.
If you can’t spend less than he question is why not?
I’d suggest consolidating bills, move somewhere cheaper, sell a car (yep get by one one!!)
Start a little savings account and put away the scrap change (like .5c etc)
Write down EVERY bill you have and work out how much it costs you EVERY week and put that weekly amount into a labelled envelope. So you’ve got your bills sorted every week.
Shop around and find cheaper everything. Cheaper insurance, cheaper fuel, cheaper credit cards, cheaper phone plans (or get rid of them and go prepaid) cheaper food, fruit, electricity.
And if all else has failed, Get a financial advisor to handle all your accounts
Very hard to advise without knowing what you are spending money on and how much you are earning.
It’s time to cut down your expenses. Look at what can be cancelled and cut back on.
Are you saying between you, you are spending $6000 a fortnight?
It sounds like you would benefit from seeing a free Financial Counsellor for advice. The website www.ndh.org.au will help you find someone in your area.
Wow 3000 a fortnight? How long until that's paid off? Get out of that hole, spend bare minimum, earn maximum, and then you can look at working out a budget.
Look at your bills. What can be cheaper? If you have private health, do you need extras or just hospital cover? Is some insurance already included in your super? Do you need to downsize your mortgage or car? Do you have subscriptions that aren't necessary? Are some costs almost paid off so this isn't long term?
What I have done is record every debt that has to be paid every month. Only pay the minimum on all debts except the smallest. With the smallest pay as much as you can afford (minimum requirement + some more, even just $10 it all makes a difference.) Once you've paid that small debt it builds some enthusiasm in wanting to pay out the next one. With the next one, pay the minimum + the amount you were paying on the second. Keep going with this method. It may seem slow in the beginning but it does work. I find recording it monthly really helps me see where it's all going. As I wasn't able to pay out my 4th debt early without being penalised, I was then able to start putting the first debts money into savings, within a couple of months all accounts were starting to look better.
Hope that makes sense. Googling debt payoff will give you heaps of ideas.