Planning ahead

Hubby and I have been forced for the first time to think ahead and plan our finances. I believe in the real world this is called a budget ;-)) As Dave Ramsey says, your first budget is a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions. LOL.

I know that I have some expenses coming up that we will find tough to cover if hubby has to once more cover shortfall at the end of the month so I'm planning now. We are determined we will NOT default on anything at the end of the month.

We split our expenses pretty simply - I pay the fixed costs (the mortgage, buildings and contents insurance and the council tax) plus my debt payments and hubby pays all the irregular expenses, which is pretty much everything else. It all evens out at the end of the month, but it means I get to pay the fixed expenses so I know what I have to pay and by when. I simply couldn't face juggling all the little bits and pieces throughout the month with an irregular income.

My expenses look pretty simple:

Mortgage + buildings and contents insurance £631.77
Council Tax £125.00
Credit card 1 ~£165.00
Credit card 2 £ 11.75
Loan £189.08
Private health insurance £ 23.87
Charity £ 18.00
Savings £ 5.00
National Insurance Contributions 2 £ 10.40

Total £1169.72

This morning I canceled my health insurance policy as the new job will provide me with that so I can strike 23.87 off my budget, and I intend to cancel my charity contribution. There's no point giving to charity if it tips me into an unauthorised overdraft or is rejected by the bank and I end up charged. That means my expenses are reduced by £41.87 to £1127.85.

I only realised last night that life would be sweeter and I would only need to work part-time if I had no debt payments, hence the LBM. My essential expenses are £756.77. My debt payments are £371.08. That's 33% of my income. I have become a stupid goober, as Dave Ramsey might say.

Over the next two weeks until the end of the month I have the following expenses cropping up:

Current account 1 interest ~ £20 on 19th PAID
Father's day ~£10 - card and present on 19th
Brother-in-law's birthday card due 18th
Travel expenses for new job unknown but due next week
My mother's birthday ~£20 due on 26th
Sponsorship for family fund-raising efforts ~ £20 payable after 27th
My sister's birthday ~£15 first week in July


Tonight I transferred the only £20 I have in a pathetic savings account to current account 1 as there is not enough to cover this interest payment. It's just pure luck I haven't looked in here for four months and ravaged this already. That's one bank charge averted.

Next, Father's Day. I currently have a few pennies around the house I will scrape together and I usually get lucky when I raid hubby's trouser pockets before washing them ;-)) However, I have a feeling my father is going to ask me buy him a book or DVD from amazon, which will entail a card transaction. A potential disaster looms. I intend to head this off with a bottle of wine or horribly lie and tell him the book or DVD is out of stock. Doesn't debt force you to make horrible decisions...

To cover the next thing due - my travel expenses next week which I would usually 'charge' - I put a set of rockery stones on ebay tonight which I'm positive will go for at least £30 - they are very old and of historical interest. I have plenty more sets where they came from so for a while I have some money for travel. The tentative plan is that hubby will be taking me in with him very early (6am) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week and I will sit in the car and read until I have to leave and walk to the office nearby. My friend works in the same office so I will try and get a lift home. If I cannot, I will use the money from the rockery stones I sell on ebay.

As for the sponsorship money and mother's birthday...more thought required. I have more than two weeks for the former and a week for the latter.

Now to income - the crucial part

Client 1 - outstanding invoice £200 PAID TODAY!
Client 2 - outstanding invoice £337
Client 3 - outstanding invoices $200 past due
Client 4 - £100 deposit being transferred by BACS now

Client 4 - work to start when deposit clears to be billed £100
Client 5 - work in progress to be billed £1150
Client 6 - work in progress to be billed £200

That's around £737 if the money from the US client comes in leaving me short £390.85. I cannot say whether the clients who have work in progress will pay anything promptly if I bill before the end of the month.

I have no idea if I will be paid at the end of June for the three days I do next week or whether my first salary will be at the end of July. If it's next week, I could be looking at about £250 according to this nifty little salary calculator, making me short around £140.

Of course the word is IF. And this planning doesn't include taking 30% for taxes and class 4 NICs, which should be £221. I simply can't do that this month.