HELP! Have cut back all I can but am still over-spending!

pigpen wrote: »

Before buying anything consider do you WANT it or NEED it?

Print this out and stick it inside your purse

kitschkitty wrote: »

A smoke alarm doesn't stop a fire, it gives you time to get out before you die in your sleep from smoke inhalation (and your house burns down).

I assume you live in a detached home then, and that you live somewhere with no local wildlife such as squirrels or mice, and you live on a private road.

It truly amazes me that people underestimate the cost (never mind the stress) you would face if your entire home did burn down.

We don't own any hugely valuable items, and are on a much lower income than you yet I have always made sure that my budget covers contents insurance as just adding up the value of our contents, from furniture, to clothes, to DVDs and everything else was much, much more than I would ever have envisioned.

If I had kids I would find it even more important, because if the worst did happen I couldn't imagine the kids being faced with no home, no clothes no toys & no money to replace them.

Or your boiler explodes. Or the joint in a water pipe goes. Or a pipe freezes. Or a plastic valve on your toilet cistern goes. All of which can cause a significant flood in a very short space of time and take your belongings with it.

My income is around the same as yours and i save a minium of £1000 a month, yet you seem to feel if you cut things out you'll miss out.

Like you i allow £25 a month for days out but thats it no shopping from home, no drinks in or out. Drinks in our opinion are for special ocassions and even then usually come from meal deals or lidl.

We spend £200 a month of food most month but i have a serious overbuying problem so my mission for the start of this year is the thin things down, i'm limiting myself to £40 for the month which really only covers milk, fruit and veg and using the many thing i have in up, if your spending £650 i'd be willing to bet money you have tons of food in.

With regaurds to your kids socks, i'd buy your daughter several pairs at once then tell her you won't be buying anymore until sep if she loses them she replaces them from her pocket money.I would suggest stop buying your son asda socks and switch to something better, i buy my kids m&s ones they last much better.

I think giving pocket money to teens is acually a good idea if it teachs them to value things and money.

As for walks howabout a thermos of soup/hot chocolate.

is this thread a wind up....op do what u always have and u will get what u have always had....some excellent advice as always

mrsd wrote: »

Not had a chance to read through all the posts, but if you are getting child tax credit and NOT working tax credit, can you get free school dinners? if you are eligible you could also be entitled to a uniform grant for your children too. To find out go on your local authority website (whicherver deal with local schooling), its easy to apply and you get a response in minutes.

You only get free school meals when you are on income support. Child tax credit and working tax credit doesn't count.