Trying to figure out spending limits on fun stuff

PinkTwirl

clearmydebts wrote: »

Hiya,

What do you spend on food? There seems to be a fair bit left over for you to pay off debts and have a good time as well. How much on treats seems sensible to you?

We will soon tell you if it seems unrealistic!

Hi,

Just looking at your signature. Do you still have about £21K left to pay or have you paid it?

Some people in the paper hat threads are aiming to pay about £30K in a year. I'm just wondering how they can do it, I'm going to be lucky to do £10K at this rate!:o

PinkTwirl

doodledo wrote: »

£20 a week isn't unreasonable I don't think on your salary.

£70 a week in groceries is high but depends how many you are feeding?

Hi,

I'm just feeding myself. It's the shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, wine and chocolate that gets me! I rarely cook meat (usually only chicken for curries or mince).

I really don't know where it all goes.

Maybe I'd be better going in with a list.

doodledo_2

If its just you then you could definately bring this down.

Do you brand shop? You can save so much if you drop a level. You don't have to go value either and you can save a lot of pennies.

Shampoo, conditioner etc I tend to buy in bulk when on offer or use my boots points.

I am budgetting £25 a week for groceries for me and my little girl at the moment. To hit this I rely a lot on farm shops for fruit and veg as so much cheaper than the supermarkets.

PinkTwirl

doodledo wrote: »

If its just you then you could definately bring this down.

Do you brand shop? You can save so much if you drop a level. You don't have to go value either and you can save a lot of pennies.

Shampoo, conditioner etc I tend to buy in bulk when on offer or use my boots points.

I am budgetting £25 a week for groceries for me and my little girl at the moment. To hit this I rely a lot on farm shops for fruit and veg as so much cheaper than the supermarkets.

I definitely do brand shop. Pizza Express pizzas, Hellmans mayonnaise.

£25 - if you can do it for 2 of you and one of them is a young child, then I can definitely do it for me. I only buy some tomatoes, bag of 3 peppers and lettuce bag each week so it's not a lot.

I guess with that then maybe £5 for one bottle of wine a week and shampoo (cost so much, £4 for shampoo and £4 for conditioner - I use pantene, aussie and brilliant brunette, my hair feels rubbish with other shampoos). I need to wash it every day so go through it like wildfire as it is fine but gets incredibly greasy. Too much detail maybe but explains a lot where my money goes! :rotfl:

Might see if I can get them cheaper in Superdrug than in Tesco.

doodledo_2

Rather than going down to £25 try going down to say £50 a week if you are spending £70 now. Then in a couple of weeks go down another fiver.

Each week try something in one of the cheaper brands rather than getting your normal brand. You may be surprised and find loads you like just as much.

dancingfairy

Definitely would keep an eye out and then stock up when shampoo on special offer. Do you rinse and repeat? Only I used to this and now only put the shampoo on once and don't bother with the rinsing and repeating and it has saved me soooo much shampoo and my hair is no different. Also instead of pouring a huge handful out a small handful seems to do o.k and I have long hair.
With regards to the treats - think of it like a new way of like not a short term fix. You need something you can live with for at least the medium term (18 months or more) and more likely even when you have the debt paid off you will still need to limit the amount of treats you buy. If you are too strict with yourself you are likely to go mad and start spending again - it's the same with a diet - slow and steady and if you go wrong take the items back if you can, learn from it and start afresh the next day.
df

~Beanie~

I agree that £70 is a heck of a lot for one person! I have a lodger at the moment and we share the shopping between us; including food for my cat, we rarely spend more than £50 between us, and that includes wine!

Do you buy ready meals or prepackaged stuff or do you ccok from scratch? It is much cheaper (and tastier) to make stuff yourself. Before the lodger, I would think nothing of spending over £3 on a Tesco Finest lasagne just for me. Now we buy the raw ingredients and make a lasagne to feed about 6 for less than one ready meal one!

clearmydebts

PinkTwirl wrote: »

Hi,

Just looking at your signature. Do you still have about £21K left to pay or have you paid it?

Some people in the paper hat threads are aiming to pay about £30K in a year. I'm just wondering how they can do it, I'm going to be lucky to do £10K at this rate!:o

Hiya,

No. I have 21k left to pay (unfortunately!!!). I am supporting my OH through uni but when he is finished he should be able to help me pay off this debt way quicker. On my own I could realistically pay about 6k per year but 1/2 the debt is his as well. My aim is to get rid of the debt by April 2010.

I earn a similar amount to you but do AQA to earn extra https://www.63336.com and I also do dooyoo and other survey sites.

bountiful

Hiya - it sounds like it is all whirling around in your head somewhat - in a bit of a spin?
You have a very decent income for a single person - have you read and done the budget planner :money: which is the first step? Then, a spending diary sounds like a very good idea for you if you don't know how the money is slipping through your fingers. Like someone else has said, you have enough money to allow yourself some treats - as long as you recognise what the treats are.
Coming on this site is a great first step - your SOA needs a lot more detail - and it sounds as if you will need to keep a spending diary for a while to really see where your cash is going. Really good that you have clear targets and goals - that's a great motivator.

bountiful

PinkTwirl wrote: »

Hi,

Well, I have been spending about £20 a week on treats I think. I seem to be spending in total baout £70 in the supermarket each week. Also, in terms of entertainment etc not much but clothes I would say before I was spending abuot £60K a month. I might cut out the clothes.

Need to try to stick to a food budget. I just wander in supermarkets though!

£60K a month? must be a typo?