My life

Living on a budget

Budgeting has become a big thing in my household.  We only have one small income coming in so living on the minimum has quickly become a skill of ours.  The biggest difference that we have made is not popping out to the shops when we find we need a couple of things.  Tescos can be a dangerous place to wander around if you are trying to save money, before you know it you can have a basket full of good deals the looked nice.

 think that the most important thing with keeping your money in check is planning your finances well.  Making sure you know how much your bills are going to come to every month.  I love my online banking for this, I pay all my bills by direct debit so by just logging on to my account I can see all my monthly outgoings in one simple list. From that I know how much I have to spend on other things like food and petrol.

The problem I have at the moment is that I am breaking even every month, giving me no extra to save for other expenses such as car insurance or paying more than the interest on the money I borrowed for the house.  I know it is an extra expense but I am considering some form of protection for my finances just in case the unforeseen happens.  I have looked at cover for critical illness and cover for mortgage life insurance but I haven’t decided yet.  I think it is important to make sure that you get the right cover, not just the right price, which is why I look at the latest reviews for things like home insurance.

When I do actually have to go shopping or I am looking for a new financial product I always look at the website Money Supermarket.  I get the email update and it is always packed full of good ideas and the latest offers.