Life Unexpected: Top 5 ways to get out of debt

Money can be a real worrier, and sometimes there is just to much month left at the end of the money. This month has been one of those months, and it seems that if something can go wrong...It will go wrong. It's been a month of car troubles, starting off with car tax and followed closely by brake pads, a funny creaky noise on the left hand side, and finally the left hand wheel not retaining air... It has been one of 'those months'.

In fact it is months like this that make getting into debt so very easy. I like to spend as much as the next person, but I haven't budgeted for any of these eventualities.. 

With the month of money grating on me I wanted to share my top 5 tips for staying out of debt. Let's face it, no one wants to get neck deep in money worries.

1. Map out your essentials: Do you really need to spend? If the answers no and it isn't one of the 'musts' for the month. Put it back, add it to the wish list and focus on your bills. I know this is so much easier said than done..

2. Keep track of where your debt actually is: How much do you owe? Who do you owe? How much can you afford to pay back a month? Chart everything and keep a spread sheet so that you can see exactly where you are and how much expandable money you have this month,

3.  Leave some money aside for things you enjoy; I think worrying about money is one of the worst things that you can do. Where there is a will, there is a way. Once you have mapped out what you owe and how you are going to re-pay, you need to remember to save a bit for a day out, something fun, taking the kids to the cinema and not take life to seriously. 

4.If you need help..Ask: Sometimes pride gets in the way, we don't want to ask for help. We want to stand on our own two feet and show the world that WE CAN do it. When it comes down to it though, family will want to help if they can. Talk the situation through with them, it may be the best thing you ever did.

5. Smile even through your darkest days: This has to be the most valuable piece of advise I can give you. Smiling is a proven way to make yourself feel better, surround yourself with people that you can't help but smile around. Leave the stress and worries for a while.

This month may have got under my skin a little, but I know I will get through it and that in the months to come all will be back on track. Once the car is sorted, then that's done and dusted and I don't have to worry about it (Crosses Fingers) for a little while. 

Redundancy

For years I didn't have the time or inclination to treat myself, I didn't feel overly great about the way I looked and this put me off buying clothes. Of course as we were living in our own home, we didn't really have the expandable income to just buy things willy nilly, and for those years Leo was the only one who really befitted from any lovely new clothes. That was because Leo needed new items, he was a growing boy, and as fast as I could kit him out for the one size, he was moving on up into the next one! Leo is turning 4 years old in 2 months time, and I have been buying age 4-5 for the last few months now, just so that he can get the maximum wear out of his wardrobe.

It just so happens that yesterday I was made redundant from my job, so now money is looking to be a little tighter again. With that being said though, it is always down to budgeting, and it just means that I need to be a little more refined with my spending, which these days seems to happen much more freely than back in the days where I didn't feel I could pull of anything I wore...  

Of course it's times like these that you see all the items that you would just LOVE to buy. It sods law, and it literally is as though someone is having a really good giggle at your expense. Trying to tempt you to purchase that gorgeous new dress, or those shoes that would go perfectly with that bag you already have at home... But you know that you need to save. You need to be a grown up and make sure all of those bills of yours are paid each month, because you don't really know what is going to happen over the coming months. When will you be back in work again? Will you be able to cover all of your bills until you get back on your feet?

It's times like these that you really think about what you would do with an extra £100, and right now I can think of so many different things, from necessities that I really should be focusing my full attention on to all of the shiny items that capture my attention without trying. However right now my main focus is on my little man's birthday. Leo has been promised a Nintendo Wii U for his upcoming fourth birthday, of course this was before my job was on the line. An extra £100 right now would work wonders towards making my little guy's birthday. Leo is Mario mad at the moment, so he is hoping for Mario Kart 8 to accompany the console, and Mummy is going to be cooking up a storm in the kitchen baking a Super Mario Kart Birthday Cake!

I may have to have a look into the TSB Plus Account!

For now I am applying for jobs and deciding what I want to do with myself. I left my position yesterday after finding out that my job was now redundant, as I felt that I would be in a better position to think the situation and make the changes that need making from home. I feel like I have had a productive day, and I have even looked into the possibility of returning to college. One thing is for sure, I certainly have some decisions to make over the coming weeks.

What would you do with £100 extra this month?

Disclaimer: This is a featured post.

Save Money With Hive

It’s only when you fly the nest that you begin to realise just how expensive everything is. Everything has a price tag and that includes all of the necessities you will need. Having water running through your taps is one of those essentials and of course having heating in those cold winter months.

I know that we pay a pretty standard rate throughout the Summer and the Winter, so that even though we don’t use any heating in the Summer months, we have a reserve in the Winter for when it is getting a regular work out.

You may have recently seen a advert on the television introducing Hive. Hive were set up back in 2012 by British Gas, and they are introducing a state of the art technology into our homes that can help sync our homes… with our day to day lives.

Everything these days seems to run through an app on our smartphones, Hive have used this state of the art technology of theirs and turned it into a range of easy to use products, for you and I to manage our heating and hot water remotely… from our smartphone, tablet or laptop!

Hive Active Heating ultimately helps you save energy and money on your heating bills. It puts you in control of the energy you are using and with the guidance and advice offered by Hive, you can begin to reduce your bills.

There are times when you are out and about during the winter months, and you long to get home to your warm abode.. But you suddenly realise that you neglected to set the heating to turn on… With Hive you can simply use the app to turn the heating on (or the hot water for that matter) so that when you do arrive home, the house is toasty warm and fit for business.

When I first heard about Hive I was really interested, but as we rent we would have to jump through hoops in order to actually get it. In reality it all comes down to whether the land lord will approve it. One day when we do own our own home, we will certainly be looking to save pennies wherever we can. Hive claim that the average family could save up to £150.00 a year! When it is laid out like that it is a great saving, and one that could potentially go towards that Summer holiday we have our eye on…

Hive offer a professional installation by one of their trained engineers, they come out and do all the nitty gritty work for you and show you how to use your new system. All of this only takes around an hour to get installed and it actually runs off your existing heating system, regardless of who you are signed up with. This is not just for customers of British Gas.

How does Hive work?

Hive works by means of a wireless receiver, thermostat and hub. The hub actually gets connected up to your broadband router so that your thermostat is online in order to correspond directly with your online dashboard.

How much does Hive cost?

Hive costs £199.00 including the installation. If you take into account what the average family saves per year, then the initial investment isn’t actually that steep and very quickly pays for itself.

If we owned our home this is exactly the kind of measure that I would be looking to implement. I am awful when it comes to turning the heating off before I leave the house, there have been days I have left it on all day and not even been at home. If I had an app in my life that would let me log on to check, then I know that Luke would certainly rest easier…

Disclaimer: This is a Featured Post