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

aliasojo · 9 February 2013 at 5:27PM

Good grief! Are they ok? Was there much damage done? Were they caught?

Spendless · 9 February 2013 at 5:46PM

aliasojo wrote: »

Good grief! Are they ok? Was there much damage done? Were they caught?

No culprits caught. They live in a detached bungalow in a cul-de-sac full of other bungalows (ie they are few 'younger people living around there) in a 'decent' area. They back on to a stretch of green land, not a playing field, just a grass strip inbetween where various housing estates were built and had conifer trees all around their property. These were stuffed with newspaper and set alight. An off duty policeman who lives not far away, returned home from a night-club saw smoke in the air and went to investigate. He got them out of bed and called the fire-brigade who said they were 10 minutes away from the nearest tree setting the roof of the bungalow alight, though it's over a decade ago I also *think* they said that their smoke alarm wouldn't have worked (or not worked till too late) as it is set off from smoke rising. The damage was purely to the trees which have now been replaced by fencing.

CH27 · 9 February 2013 at 5:54PM

aliasojo wrote: »

I've been to B&M Bargains, Aldi and FarmFoods today.

I was surprised (and ticked off as I'd already bought it!) to see certain prices. Cod in Butter Sauce for one....£3 at Tesco, £1.50 at FarmFoods (same make / same 4 pack size). Not my most favourite meal ever but a good cheap standby to have in the freezer. Add potatoes and veg and you can have a meal for 4 that only costs around £2 / £2.50 in total.

I spent £35 at Tesco yesterday and had 2 carrier bags (granted £6.29 of that was wine, but even so).

I spent £54 in Aldi today and had 7 carrier bags worth, including chicken (fresh and frozen), beef, sausages, cold meats etc. I also got shed loads of cheap veg there, I'm going to make loads of soup for the freezer.

I must do a once a week or once a fortnight trip further afield more regularly, it's worth the cost of petrol as long as it's a big shop.

I also bought 2 bottles of Aldi pear cider. 89p each. That's £8.07 I've spent on booze this week. I don't care, I don't do it every week.

OP...the good thing about shopping in Aldi/Lidl/FarmFoods and the like is that these places don't carry all sorts of stock like supermarkets do, so you're less likely to spend money on non food/perhaps non necessary 'bits'.

That's why I shop at Aldi

Soundgirlrocks · 9 February 2013 at 6:21PM

Hi, sorry you have had a bit of a battering by some people on here! I might have missed it but no one has suggested making your own cleaning products, these can be soooooo expensive but there are loads you can do with bi carb, vinegar, essential oils ect worth a bit of a google and might help with the allergies as some people find the cemicals aggrievate their symptoms. Keep up the hard work and little changes you'll be amazed how much it mounts up.

lady1964 · 9 February 2013 at 6:38PM

Hello, I have been lurking on these boards for some time now and thought I'd stick my head above the parapet and post my thoughts

I want to say how brave I think people are who admit to debt and then post their SOA for others to help them, to post your private financials, stuff that probably isn't even discussed with family and/or friends must be a really hard thing to do. To all those who offer information and help, you're great. Confession time: I'm not in any debt, we have a comfortable lifestyle, however, from lurking & reading this board, I have cut back on certain 'extravagances', have signed up to Quidco and enjoy seeing cashback appearing on my page there and have actually taken information given on these boards and acted upon it so that I'm simply not spending as much as I used to, which is actually quite enjoyable. I realise I'm very fortunate to be able to say it's enjoyable to cut back, I'm not having to do it out of necessity, but I'm gaining such a lot from this site.

Anyway, back OT: I do think the OP on this thread has been given a hard time and shouldn't have had to, over & over again, defend herself, fair play to her, she has taken so much of the information on offer and seems determined to cut back to improve their financial situation. Enjoy your wine OP, we spend about half what you do on groceries for 4 of us and that includes a bottle of wine a week for me, I usually spend about £4 on one from Tesco. I did, at Xmas, go in Tesco and stock up on their offer at the time which was 20% off a case of 6 bottles, I looked for the ones at half price, then got an extra 20% off, basically, I got my bottles for just over £3 each (I confess, I got more than 6 so am still drinking that supply!). Could you do that when Tesco do that again?

Sorry to have kind of butted in on this thread, but I just find the advice and information on here brilliant, I do feel for the OP as well, some people were really harsh but well done OP, you've turned it around and I hope you continue to post on here, I will be keeping an eye on this thread to see how you're getting on.

ScrimpingandSaving · 9 February 2013 at 6:53PM

Ok so quick update:

Bought a leg of lamb from the butcher today for £5.80 - probably cheaper than the supermarket. Bought 2 tins of curry sauce and some frozen chicken mini fillets from Iceland for £2.50.

I made some pizza dough for dinner and was able to freeze some for next weekend.

Tomorrow I will make a batch of curry with the chicken and sauce which should be enough for 2 weeks. 89p per jar and £2.50 for the fillets which is around £4.30. As supermarket curries cost more than a fiver for 2 curries I reckon I've done well there. That's £2.15 for tomorrow's tea.

I've filled up the washing up liquid and soap dispenser with water to make it last longer. I've also instructed Mr S&S (ooer!) that we are on a budget so no more trips to the newsagents for treats. He was most put-out and complained that he felt bad just going in for a 20p newspaper but tough.

Monday will be shopping day. I've got a great list of good stuff I can get in Aldi from Maman (the poster, not a French mother) so I will pop in there, making sure I haven't already got the stuff in the cupboards first and anything I can't get in Aldi I shall get from Asda.

I've also got a voucher for a £12 off a £60 shop for new online shoppers from Sainsburys. I won't need that next week but might use it the week after.

Oh and I've suggested that our trip to the pub might be cheaper if we chose a Wetherspoons pub. I know that won't help local pubs but who on earth can afford £4 for a pint of Guinness these days?

And how do you lot get those huge smilies? I want some!

katsu · 9 February 2013 at 7:00PM

I too am pleased that the OP stuck with the thread and has got useful advice. The opening post explained that whilst they are not in debt, they are having to use savings to supplement their income but thought they had cut what they could. Responses to such a post are always going to involve challenges to the way the OP thinks and lives - otherwise they would have already changed on their own and not needed to post for advice.

I've changed so much over the years thanks to MSE. I love seeing people reflect and accept suggestions that they do not like at first, then increasingly they take control and become happier.

ETA - smilies - if you hit the "go advanced" tab you get the ones installed on this site. The others are from web based sites - watch out for getting ones that come with loads of dodgy spam installs to your PC.

Alchemilla · 9 February 2013 at 7:09PM

Hello OP.
As a sad addict myself I have had great fun brewing wine from wine kits. The quality is comparable with what you can buy for a fiver and cost per bottle two quid at start up and a pound thereafter. This includes a corker and so on. Easy and fun even when the grape juice explodes over self and dog!!

eco · 9 February 2013 at 8:33PM

I'm a long time member on here and a bit of a lurker, but I originally came here cos I'd split from my ex and had to start running a house on my own, which at the time seemed daunting, and I wasn't doing too well at the budgeting.
Now I've had a load of ideas from this site, I personally don't worry about money, I spend a bit and save a bit, Op it is difficult at first but does become easier in time, I've even helped my sister become MSE and when you get to grips with it all it gives you such a great feeling knowing your in charge of your money, stick with it at first it feels like your treading water but you will get there.

[Deleted User] · 9 February 2013 at 9:20PM

bess1234 wrote: »

She knows that bob. She's cutting back .

I wasn't addressing the OP.

My figures were in reply to merlot123's post.

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

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