Where do I start?

Belt-tightener_2

I need to shave 9k a year off our outgoings 2 adults 2 children

I can cook I'm veggie so don't cook meat I try to plan and budget but my hubby pops out for milk and spends £20, this han to been a problem, a issue yes, but now he is swapping jobs.

I have started buying washing liquid from local saving shop £2 for 5ltrs, I'm trying to bake bread, we have stopped take aways, I'm on a diet so try not to buy junk but I need to be strict with the family, hubby has issues with food as it was iffy when growing up nice for adults tat for kids. We only buy aldi cereal and own brand.

My big thing is waste I hate it there is so much I try to buy what we need but we still get waste.


I need to get the weekly shop to £50 which shold be easy I could feed 8 for £6 at uni, I grew up with a dad who can make meals out of nothing but my kitchen is full of food and hubby thinks we have nowt.

As of today I plan not to shop unless I need food I think I could easily feed the family for 3 weeks on what i have in just buying milk and eggs.

Any tips and willpower welcome.

zarazara

Hi there and welcome aboard the MV Money Saving Challenge.
I find it helps immensly to look at it as a challenge, a competition which I want to win. If I look at it as "having to" because we are skint then depression sets in.
Shaving off bits here and there is a good idea. previously i would have had the lights on on this dull day but I havent now. Home cooking and baking is great. very satisfying. Weezl has a great thread going with recipe ideas. its vital to get your OH involved too, so as not to have your good things undone.
Try no t to change too much at once, otherwise its asking for failure. Maybe taking public transport or bikibg to work once a week, then building in another day, say in a months time, then another day and so on. same with lunches, my DH started taking sandwiches once a week a couple of months ago, now its every day and he actually prefers it to the worksd canteen, especially as the lunch box contains HM bread, spreads,cvake fruit salad etc etc.
I found buying a breadmaker was something i wish i'd done years ago, and tomorrow I am picking up a yoghurt maker from Freecycle,#.
Freecycle is goos too, you can ask for things and offer things. its interesting.
I f your bored and feel like spending start de-cluttering instead. it gives satisfaction and fills the nesting instinct, I find since I've been de-cluttering and giving stuff away I buy much less and am more satisfied.
Walking is very good too, both for the mind and the body, maybe a paid for leisure activity could be replaced with joining a local walking group.
Keep us all posted about how you are doing, were all interested in new people and ideas.

Plum_Pie

When a mod finds this, they will post all the links necessary for starting out. Have a look at the index at the top of the board though. Good luck!

OrkneyStar

Have you tried the Grocery Challenge Thread? It's really friendly and helpful. You can lurk for a while and just read the posts if you don't fancy jumping right in :eek:
Good luck and hope to see you there.

dixie_dean_2

I would seriously suggest, if things are very tight, checking out Matched Betting in the thread here...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=325861

Depending on how much time you want to put in you could make between £5k-£10k in your first year and making £50 a week would probably only take 90 minutes or so and would double your shopping budget!

Good luck.

Belt-tightener_2

I sadly can't afford to do this gradualy it has to all be inplace for the 1st September as that is when the money will be gone. I need to take the children to school by car as it is a 40 minute walk away twice with out children and 1hr 4 times a day with children there is just no way I can spend over 5 hours doing the school run I do try to walk it once a day though.

My hubby will not be able to bike to work in his new job as there is nowhere sequre to leave his bike and plus its a shirt and tie job with no changing facilities - he does bike at the moment.

I'm ok with petrol i know what it is and can budget for it it's mainly the food and household running costs.

My bread maker is a life saver with the prices at the moment and plan to use it daily.

I have been reading links for a few weeks but its being able to do it, I fear debt we have a small credit card balance I will clear this month and next - the washer broke Saturday night.

I am thinking cash will be easier and hide any cards.

I have 6 weeks to sort this out, it's a very scary thought

RHYSDAD

You need to save 9k a year? £173 a week saving! Crikey! That's gonna be tough but, if you don't mind me asking, what's your new annual income to manage on?

weezl74

belt-tightener, have you thought about posting your typical supermarket spend and how long it lasts for, then we can all have a look-see, and maybe make some useful suggestions? All the best with your target, you're in the right place.:D

We believe in you! :T:T:T:T:T

Belt-tightener_2

Thanks but I do not gamble and we can afford to live if we stick to budget we will have enough sadly we have had a very good income and have lived to the max we don't have debt as such a small loan for the car and home improvents it was cheaper than remortaging (£150 per month as opposed to £179 per month over more years)

Its more help on how to budget and stick to it as we have never had to

A typical shop is whatever and whenever several times a week.

I know the hardest thing will be having no money for holidays or luxuries my hubbe will find it hard not to be able to buy MP3 players gadgets and other stuff as he does now, this is the biggest downfall he had.

I spend about £70-£100 per week on food and its far too much.

My daughters school insist on school meals so no savings there as it's £8.25 plus she is a fussy eater and never eats packed lunches she likes proper food

RHYSDAD

Budgetting is pretty easy IF you stick to it. My wife and i draw x amount from the bank each week and that's our budget. We put petrol in the car so i can get to work and we then go food shopping with what's left (do a weekly meal planner and buy accordingly) and whatever's left is luxury money BUT if it's all gone by Wednesday, that's tough. We don't draw any more cash. We work Friday to Friday and it works well for us. We are currently on £75 living expenses for a family of four. That is £30 for fuel and £45 for food and anything else. I should add that all other monthly bills are taken care of via DD so this £75 is actual weekly living costs, not rent, CT, electricity etc.
There isn't much room for a bottle of wine or a takeaway but it is easily manageable. Good Luck!!

EagerLearner

Meal planning and batch cooking are the key. Try to buy spices and things at Asian stores and don't go shopping hungry. If you can shop online do so - always make sure you get a voucher code to get money off say your Tesco or Asda shop etc - see the Voucher codes section for all the latest codes.

See my signature for a spreadsheet that may be useful to budget with.

You can join cashback sites to make more money also, as well as Pigsback etc.

Buy whatever is on special offer that's cheapest and try not to be restricted by your meal plan - it's a guide but if you spot something in the supermarket reduced due to expiry date etc it's worth getting that instead.

Use your freezer to best capacity with batch cooked meals etc.

Review all your bills and see if you can switch or cut down. Any extras need to be removed.

Make sure you don't cut back on vegetables on fruit.

Join the Grocery Challenge thread here on MSE - one challenge per month

Hope this helps...