Trying to figure out spending limits on fun stuff

PinkTwirl

~Beanie~ wrote: »

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!

Hi Beanie,

I make everything from scratch. chili con carne and pasta with veg, baked potatoes, curries (well I buy the sauce in jars and then chicken), etc. The odd pizza. I don't really like ready meals too much.

Home made lasagne is much nicer When my dad gets a proper fridge freezer I will make that again, spag bol and buy packets of salmon etc.

PinkTwirl

bountiful wrote: »

£60K a month? must be a typo?

:rotfl: Yes, for that I'd be wearing designer pants!

PinkTwirl

clearmydebts wrote: »

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 www.63336.com and I also do dooyoo and other survey sites.

Hi,

We owe the same amount then. I aim to be clear by April 2010 also.

Maybe we could race each other :rotfl:

PinkTwirl

bountiful wrote: »

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.

Thanks.

I will try the budget planner, I will have to stick to this once I'm debt free. I have an Excel spreadsheet that I'm entering daily spends.

I will never, ever use credit cards again. Once I've paid this off and have saved for a car, then remortgage my flat and rent somewhere for myself to live in, I will save the £8K I will need to extend my leasehold, even if it takes 10 years big deal.

Learning the hard way!

SuSu1871

Hi PinkTwirl

When I started DFW'ing, I hammered my debts by throwing every single bit of spare money at the debt. Do you claim expenses? If you do, throw them at your credit cards. Do you have a piggy bank? Throw all loose change in there and bank every full bag - then throw it at the debt. Really, every little helps.

However, I couldn't do this DFW thing if I didn't treat myself, but like others have said it depends what you call a treat. I don't drink, so my treats are the Sunday newpaper and some chocs, and I'll buy maybe one new book a month. I still go out with my friends and am out about once a month with one pal or another, and we usually go for lunch or dinner and we have a lovely long chat together. Can't put a price on that really.

As long as you don't resent your DFW'ing, you'll stay on track.

SuSu

clearmydebts

PinkTwirl wrote: »

Hi,

We owe the same amount then. I aim to be clear by April 2010 also.

Maybe we could race each other :rotfl:

Ooh, I like a good challenge. It motivates me, your on then!!!

PinkTwirl

clearmydebts wrote: »

Ooh, I like a good challenge. It motivates me, your on then!!!

Good! It would help to motivate me too!