I need to vent......

milliontoone

This is a statement of my intent to finally get my financial affairs in order. I am not working at the moment (I was made redundant in July due to ill health) and neither is my partner who is studying , we have significant amounts of debt behind us due to past overspending on credit and are currently only on a very low income at the moment around 860 quid a month and we have to pay 480 quid rent out of that!!

We don't spend a lot of money on going out at the moment, when we do I try and use vouchers which I obtain for free from paid for survey sites like Valued Opinions and Ciao and reward and cashback sites like ipoints.

We have had a lovely meal from Pizza Hut from and are going to the cinema with tickets I got for free from ipoints surveys and paid sign up offers just in the past month.
As well as doing paid for surveys, click throughs etc.. I also apply for tickets for free events, films etc...and send off for free samples of products etc, this all helps to boost our income and enables us to afford a little treat every now and again, I also do a bit of mystery shopping to boost our income when something comes up and do Slice The Pie as much as I can bear.

I have identified the main area we tend to overspend on, alcohol:beer: , we spend almost 6 quid a day on this most days when we have cash in the bank, which is absolutely insane I know and I have decided this has absolutely got to stop.:mad:

When we don't have money we don't drink because we can't afford to so I just think it's stupid to drink every night just because you have money, that's like pouring your money down the drain and is peasant mentality.

This issue also sometimes causes big problems between us because my partner wants to drink every single night when we have cash , although I admit that in the past I have spent a lot of money on alchohol as well probably more out of bad habit that I've fallen in to than anything else!!

Thing is I am really sick of not having any cash , we would otherwise be all right for now and even have a little money left over each week and maybe be able to afford some new clothes or even to go out a little more but as it is we even run out of food sometimes or have to eat a poor diet because of it which is just stupid.

Frankly it has to stop, I know we don't have to drink every night and we certainly don't have to spend 6 quid on booze every night, a bottle of wine costing 3 quid to share a few nights a week with maybe one night of heavier boozing is more than enough and probably even that is a lot more than most people on here indulge in.

I would like more money left over, I know we can achieve that, am sick of spending all we have and am sick to the back teeth of having no food in the cupboards sometimes when that could easily all be rectified.
We also both smoke and we want to kick the smoking habit not so much for monetary reasons as we only smoke roll ups but for health ones, I am sick of leading such an unhealthy lifestyle so plan to swap over to nicotine gum instead.

I worked out we must spend 40 quid a week at least just on booze if we just halved that would give us at least an extra 80 quid a month!!
Our other weakness is takeaway food but to be fair we are renting a room at the moment because of the location due to my partner studying, (I am also thinking of going back to college now) and we don't have access to kitchen facilities or a cooker so any food we buy has to be pretty much ready cooked or cold which can make things difficult and sometimes we do want hot food hence the takeaways. We can boil things we have a small ring in our room, saucepans etc...but no oven or grill so we can and do make things like pasta, boiled eggs etc...

I'd like to eat a lot healthier though, more fruit, salad etc, less takeaways, biscuits, crisps and junk processed foods.
So no takeways and we are going to seriously cut down on alchohol, kick smoking roll ups and replace them with nicotine gum, eat healthier and also we are going to try and boost our income further by doing as many surveys as possible, mystery shopping, slice the pie etc...
I've joined the make 10 quid a day challenge for November except my target is 5 quid and I plan to achieve this by doing surveys, slice the pie, ebay, mystery shopping etc...

My goals for the moment are to get a bigger place, hopefully a nice studio flat somewhere, go to college, quit smoking, reduce alchohol spend so we have money to go out a little more and enjoy ourselves and have money also to afford the occasional treat or even some new clothes, we both need new coats for winter at the moment. I'd also like to take up running, learn to sing and maybe start working out too.

I don't feel too bad as we are still fairly young I'm 29, he's 31 and we don't have kids so what we do spend we are entitled to spend on ourselves but at the same time I want and need desperately to get this sorted especially the ridiculous amount we spend on alcohol.
I enjoy a glass of wine or two as much as the next person but I don't need or want any more to drink a whole bottle of wine a night and neither does my partner.

On a positive note, I have got most of the christmas presents for family covered this year from freebies I have collected and vouchers from paid for survey sites or cash from Ciao etc, I got my brother who is at medical school a lovely solar powered desk clock from carbon creditz which I will give to him for his christmas present from me!!

My mother will be getting a 10 quid marks and spencer voucher (Valued Opinions), a bottle of wine (ipoints) and a piece of nice jewellery which I am going to order online cheaply (I've seen a site where they have some lovely pieces and you only pay the post and packing so I might get it from there if they can ship in time for christmas, it's a US based site I think). If anyone knows of any other sites where I can buy cheap but classy jewellery from please let me know, handmade would be preferable but I understand can be pricey and I am looking to spend under a tenner, cheapskate that I am!!

Other halfs father is getting an 10 quid amazon voucher from Toluna and for my OH's sister I got a nice book from KingoLotto and for her kids have been collecting some bits from freebie sites etc....and will probably buy a tin of sweets for the little ones as well. I'll probably give her a bottle of wine as well as hopefully I'll be able to afford to get three free bottles from ipoints soon.

OH's mother will be getting a 10 quid marks voucher from Valued Opinions, bottle of wine from ipoints and a nice recipe book I am going to order from a book club, her partner is getting some Virgin Vie aromatherapy Oils I got for free from a Virgin offer and an Avon Sleeptherapy balm I ordered from Avon but have never opened.

Father will prove difficult so I will probably have to buy his most likely somthing unoriginal like socks and a mug LOL, my sisters are getting 5 quid boots vouchers which I am getting for free off survey sites and my brother who is a complete film buff I am giving a dvd that I am hopefully getting from free dvd club and a blockbuster rental voucher, my other brother who is into art I will probably buy some nice watercolour pencils.

Well I know this is a really long post but I just wanted to post this so I am clear on what I plan to do now and have posted it here so it's all in writing and formalized which makes me feel a bit better about it all.

If you did read it all wow and I don't blame you at all if you didn't, I just needed somewhere to vent and the Debt Free board got it hahaha:rotfl: .....
This site is fab, everyone on it is really friendly and give seriously good advice and tips and Martin you are a money saving GOD!!!!!:T

Icewytch

Good luck milliontoone
It`s great to read such determination.

RAS

Hi

I was going to suggest making your own wine, but in your room that may be a bit of a challenge. It may be that your OH does not think about the booze because he does not miss the other things that matter to you.

Regarding the food, go over to the Money Saving Old style forum and they will provide you with links to old threads on cheap and simple food for students.

More importantly, are you signed up to https://www.freecycle .org? You may well be able to get a free minicooker, sandwich maker or even, the best option in my opinion, a remorksa, which is like a large casserole with a cooking element in the lid - does great roasts, casseroles, pizzas, cakes and even bread. Any one of those would increase your cooking options and would take up a little over a square foot and can be storred away when cold..

Only do find safe place to stand them which is not going to get damaged by heat.

carrottopsuk

Good luck with your challenge.

I agree with RAS, the oldstyle board is very good. Also, another option would be a slowcooker which you may find useful - although Ras's suggestion sounds great!!

firesidemaid

so, do you still currently have debts?

have you done an SOA which budgets for all your outgoings?

you need to work out how much 'free' cash you have and then decide what to spend it on.

are you getting all the benefits you are entitled to? have you checked www.entitledto.co.uk?

after your rent, you must be spending more than half of what is left on alcohol and cigarettes - more than on food. you should be able to get the gum free on prescription with such a low income?

i'll second the old style board and meal-planning - use vege mince and bulk out with lentils, tinned beans, tinned toms eg. make a chilli (will do for 2 nights running) serve with rice, value tortilla chips (18p) and sour cream.

beer might be a cheaper option if you do want to drink - scan the supermarket shelves for the best deals, including the little bottles of belgian beer etc