Question:
Do you have a budget? How do you do your budget?
To make a long story short, we are behind in our bills!! (Rent, Car, Phone, Electricity) We are at a very bad point financially, and somehow i have to pull us out of this.
So how do you go about it when you are DROWNING?
Hi Manda,
I would ring the people to whom you owe money, tell them you are having difficulty. If you can afford a little each week, most companies will work in with you. Phone and Elec shouldn't be a problem. Give it a go, it has worked for me, when I had my DH out of work. Fingers crossed for you.
Try not to let it get on top of you, and it helps to keep with basic meals til it's over.
I have an account book, which I have had, since we first bought our house.
I write all my accounts down on one side, then have how much I am paying,
the date and also the due date and the Balance. I have done it in months,
so I can tell at a glance what bill is coming in, and when I need to have it
paid by.
It has worked well for me.
Hope I was helpful.
I agree with Cherie, I would get in touch with all the people that you are behind with and let them know your situation, they deal with this kind of thing everyday and usually have some kind of procedure in dealing with this. I find having everything written down like Cherie suggested is helpful too.
good luck with it all Manda
I agree about talking to the people you owe money to. What we did is write out exactly what we owe every month. First we pay the bills, then we set aside a certain amount each month on what we spend on extra stuff which usually isn't too much since we very rarely go out anymore And if we want to go out and we've already spent what we set aside we wait til the next pay day and do the same thing. That way we're always a little ahead Hope everything works out for you.
Manda seeing as you have access to the internet (duh Patric ) have you thought about paying a certain amount each pay day to each of your big bills.like power and phone etc .then when they become due you might be very pleasantly surprised and find that you are in fact ahead with your payments
I do that Patric it is great.
My ex, Ty's dad, ran up a very big debt in my name so when I was pregnant I got a loan from GE to cover that debt plus to start getting baby stuff, it was $1500 and therefore I paid no fee thingo and the repayments are nice and slim and I can easily afford them GE is great, I was surprised I got it cause I dont work etc but they were fine with it.
And now to stay ahead or at least up to date bpay is my best friend, I pay my bills online and when I dont have many/any I pay extra off the bigger bills so Im usually advance in a couple things
Im planning on doing that when i move out (pay X ammount each week off the bills) but for now.its kinda a shambles as everything is in his name but hes off work atm and not getting any money im the only one getting anything so im trying to pay what i can.
Ill get him to ring the companies and see what they say, but i highly doubt they will do anything considering we are already behind..not like we getting behind
Manda sounds like shutting the gate after the bull has run. You or Mark should have rung the companies immediately. If your behind in the rent it wont be looking good for you trying to get another place.I take it you are still trying I get confused as you say you want out but you are the one doing everything for him staying there paying the bills
We have a budget that everything is paid weekly as soon as I get up Tues morning which is our pay day I jump on pay the bills I made up a list in excell have it printed off for 3 months at a time it goes like this:
Rent
Car1
Car2
Credit card
Foxtel
Insurance
small loan
lotto
Kids pocket money
bank-kids
Tina pocket money
Bob pocket money
phone
electric
As I pay then I tick them off write the receipt #'s in the diary on the corrosponding date. Whats left over is for groceries spending. We have been doing it this way for as long as I can remember have never been behind in anything. When we first set it up it was hard as we went from having lots of money each week to not much, but when the bills came in they are either in credit or very minimal. Even with the car loans we set them up on monthy repayment then I work out the weekly round it up to the nearest 10 so we are paying extra off them.
Maybe all luxuries, like smokes, takeout,(not sure if you do spend on the first 2 just using for examples)alcohol, internet etc need to be stopped until you are on top of your situation. Are you guys on benefits? As I know you can have certain things like rent taken out before you get your payments.
Manda as Marks not working atm can he go to centrelink and ask for help like a lump sum as his family is in crisis. Not sure if they do that or not just a thought.
Nope, no budget here, you peeps seem to be very organised. I think it would scare me too much to have it all written down in front me.
To make a long story short, we are behind in our bills!! (Rent, Car, Phone, Electricity) We are at a very bad point financially, and somehow i have to pull us out of this.
So how do you go about it when you are DROWNING?
Answer:
Hi Manda,
I would ring the people to whom you owe money, tell them you are having difficulty. If you can afford a little each week, most companies will work in with you. Phone and Elec shouldn't be a problem. Give it a go, it has worked for me, when I had my DH out of work. Fingers crossed for you.
Try not to let it get on top of you, and it helps to keep with basic meals til it's over.
I have an account book, which I have had, since we first bought our house.
I write all my accounts down on one side, then have how much I am paying,
the date and also the due date and the Balance. I have done it in months,
so I can tell at a glance what bill is coming in, and when I need to have it
paid by.
It has worked well for me.
Hope I was helpful.
Answer:
I agree with Cherie, I would get in touch with all the people that you are behind with and let them know your situation, they deal with this kind of thing everyday and usually have some kind of procedure in dealing with this. I find having everything written down like Cherie suggested is helpful too.
good luck with it all Manda
Answer:
I agree about talking to the people you owe money to. What we did is write out exactly what we owe every month. First we pay the bills, then we set aside a certain amount each month on what we spend on extra stuff which usually isn't too much since we very rarely go out anymore And if we want to go out and we've already spent what we set aside we wait til the next pay day and do the same thing. That way we're always a little ahead Hope everything works out for you.
Answer:
Manda seeing as you have access to the internet (duh Patric ) have you thought about paying a certain amount each pay day to each of your big bills.like power and phone etc .then when they become due you might be very pleasantly surprised and find that you are in fact ahead with your payments
Answer:
I do that Patric it is great.
My ex, Ty's dad, ran up a very big debt in my name so when I was pregnant I got a loan from GE to cover that debt plus to start getting baby stuff, it was $1500 and therefore I paid no fee thingo and the repayments are nice and slim and I can easily afford them GE is great, I was surprised I got it cause I dont work etc but they were fine with it.
And now to stay ahead or at least up to date bpay is my best friend, I pay my bills online and when I dont have many/any I pay extra off the bigger bills so Im usually advance in a couple things
Answer:
Im planning on doing that when i move out (pay X ammount each week off the bills) but for now.its kinda a shambles as everything is in his name but hes off work atm and not getting any money im the only one getting anything so im trying to pay what i can.
Ill get him to ring the companies and see what they say, but i highly doubt they will do anything considering we are already behind..not like we getting behind
Answer:
Manda sounds like shutting the gate after the bull has run. You or Mark should have rung the companies immediately. If your behind in the rent it wont be looking good for you trying to get another place.I take it you are still trying I get confused as you say you want out but you are the one doing everything for him staying there paying the bills
We have a budget that everything is paid weekly as soon as I get up Tues morning which is our pay day I jump on pay the bills I made up a list in excell have it printed off for 3 months at a time it goes like this:
Rent
Car1
Car2
Credit card
Foxtel
Insurance
small loan
lotto
Kids pocket money
bank-kids
Tina pocket money
Bob pocket money
phone
electric
As I pay then I tick them off write the receipt #'s in the diary on the corrosponding date. Whats left over is for groceries spending. We have been doing it this way for as long as I can remember have never been behind in anything. When we first set it up it was hard as we went from having lots of money each week to not much, but when the bills came in they are either in credit or very minimal. Even with the car loans we set them up on monthy repayment then I work out the weekly round it up to the nearest 10 so we are paying extra off them.
Maybe all luxuries, like smokes, takeout,(not sure if you do spend on the first 2 just using for examples)alcohol, internet etc need to be stopped until you are on top of your situation. Are you guys on benefits? As I know you can have certain things like rent taken out before you get your payments.
Answer:
Manda as Marks not working atm can he go to centrelink and ask for help like a lump sum as his family is in crisis. Not sure if they do that or not just a thought.
Answer:
Nope, no budget here, you peeps seem to be very organised. I think it would scare me too much to have it all written down in front me.