HUGE challenge for you all!

gemmaj

I'm going to second (or fourth!) cloth wipes for babies. My little one (9 months) only gets disp wipes for big messes - other than that I have a total mix of little flannels, bits of towel, even fleece (best for poop rather than drying) and I only use water with them (free, except the spray bottle!).

EssexHebridean

Possibly slightly longer term but Pigsback, Quidco & survey sites can make a difference if you're not already using them. Also audit your cupboards for toiletries and vow not to buy ANYTHING in that line until you're desperate for it. (Desperate means you've rinsed the bottle out at least twice / cut the end off the tube and scraped the last dregs out with a spatula!) Substitute value bubble bath for normal, if you buy professional range shampoo switch to Tresemme or an own brand budget range. Personally I wouldn't venture down the line of value loo rolls but try telling the family to halve the amount they usually use if they want to go on holiday - that should focus the minds and help the budget a bit! Check out the "sneaky ways to save the pennies" and "Don't throw food away" challenge on here too.

Good luck!

Beki

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

(Looks disapprovingly at OP for booking holiday when signature says 'only just scraping by'

i wrote my sig after we phoned them tonight lol :rotfl:

we were never 'flush', but the holiday seems to have pushed us to our limit :eek:

some fabbbbbb suggestions everyone! thank you SO much!

i think i'm going to go down the no-wipes route, and use up everything in the freezer/cupboard before buying anything else!

i'm keeping a spending diary ona daily basis now, so i know where every penny goes!

i looooooooooove this OS board! feel totally at home here! thanks guys!

Beki

oh, and as for the council tax, water rates etc... my parents pay them at the moment

as we've had a hard time financially over the past year or so - we kind of live with them, as in we bought a big house with them last year and split it into 2 semis. we live in one, they live in the other. we were supposed to split the bills down the middle but they've taken over everything except the mortgage (only we have a mortgage, as they paid cash for their 'half')

we have our own phone and pay for that, we pay the insurance etc, but the council tax, tv licence, water rates, electricity etc they pay for

Beki

lauren_1 wrote: »

Check out the stardrops thread to see what you can substitue around the home.

we already changed to stardrops last week! it's FAB! :T

pretz_2

ok i don't know if this is going to help but its a suggestion

if you are with natwest bank and have a gold advantage account there is actually a number you can call and it takes you through to thomas cook or thompson can't remember which and because your with natwest they take off between 10-30% of the price and you get travel insurance with natwest too
i hope this helps otherwise use every last bit of food in the house and try to only buy milk, bread etc until you really have to do some shopping

and defo get some stuff on ebay its amasing what you can sell on there lol

princesstippytoes

Beki wrote: »

oh, and as for the council tax, water rates etc... my parents pay them at the moment

as we've had a hard time financially over the past year or so - we kind of live with them, as in we bought a big house with them last year and split it into 2 semis. we live in one, they live in the other. we were supposed to split the bills down the middle but they've taken over everything except the mortgage (only we have a mortgage, as they paid cash for their 'half')

we have our own phone and pay for that, we pay the insurance etc, but the council tax, tv licence, water rates, electricity etc they pay for

Goodness, you are lucky to have such wonderful parents! I suppose if it came down to it you could always realise that you have overstretched yourself and just lose your deposit though it would be disapointing. The deposit is alot cheaper than the holiday and that's before your spending money is taken into account.

I can't see tax credits or child benefit on your SOA. Are they included elsewhere?
I agree with everyone else. The storecupboard challenge is the only way to do it.

donny-gal

Maybe not totally approved of, but if you pay for this in total in November with a credit card, you should get another month before the Bill is due and that would give you another months earnings to pay off the bill in full? As long as you clear it then it will cost you nothing,
DG

moo2moo

Cut down on the chicken feed. There are tons and tons and tons of fallen apples around at the moment put a wanted on Freecycle or ask around your friends. All the ones that people won't cook with because they are maggott infested are exactly what you're after. Hens love maggots! That should allow you to reduce your feed bill by at least 1/3rd.

See what your farm shop has in the way of dog food. You can usually buy a 20kg bag which works out much cheaper than the ones you get from Tesco.

Cook as many meals as you can meat free or using mince (2 packs of turkey mince £3 at Tesco) value mince is much cheaper but ofeten has bone in it.

Good luck!

lauren_1

Maybe you could ask on freecycle for cloth nappies, i dont know how old the baby is but size 2's seem to fit from 5 months and size 3's from 18ish months (depending on how big)

We freecycled ds's old size 2's. Even if you get 5 or 6 you are saving 10-15p everytime you use them,they are quite easy when you get the hang of it and they dont require everything that is recomended.

Have you signed up to freecycle already?