New year Old Style resolutions...

Rainbowchild

My list to start with is:

Menu Plan – I did this before when going to Slimming World - it worked for losing weight so sure it will for reducing cost and waste. Cook each meal from scratch and take pack-up to work – no more going to the supermarket for an overpriced sandwich. Buy veg from local market and give bread making a go.
Grow Vegetables and Herbs – I cleared a small space in the garden but nothing planted yet. Thanks to mumof4 for the planting plan.
Mortgage – I need to find out exactly what we owe and how much we can overpay
De-clutter – I’m a complete hoarder and have to break this habit! Going to sort out the spare room, sell what I can on eBay, freecycle/charity shop the rest.
Spending Diary – Buy a diary, get OH to keep receipts and monitor spending so hopefully can reduce it.
Organise - Get into a routine for doing housework, bills etc

Am feeling very inspired, thanks Lalaladybird.

Susan

NoahsPennilessMummy

my list
To clear remaining debt and continue saving.....getting married xmas 2010 :rudolf: and need to get on with saving more for that:j
To get organised and get on top of the housework. Really I need to clean and clear totally one room at a time and sell whatever I don`t need anymore.
To continue with meal planning and cooking from scratch.
To get raised beds sorted in garden and grow our own veg....had a go with containers this year but I think raised beds would be more successful.
To make own preserves...made chutney and pickles at the end of this year but plan jam too next year......ds gets through tons of strawberry jam;) .
To get big diary and get organised....maybe do my food lists there etc to keep it all in one place.
Get more stores in of foods likely to go up in price.
Bake every week..no more shop bought biccies.
Start getting bulk meat delivery and freeze it in an organised way.
STOP BUYING COOKBOOKS! and use the library instead...this must be my main one...Like Thriftlady I have a serious addiction.
Look into whether or not I would use a Remoska.
Get Ds sorted re his autism and school problems.
Make more quality time for me and OH...he is fab and I don`t show him often enough how much I love him:o

supersavingsharon

I will try very hard to shop for essentials only, no impulse buying. I live in a small town where every shop apart from charity shops seem to be closing, a real sign of the times. I am torn between shopping locally and helping small businesses survive or saving money by doing one big shop at a supermarket. A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL YOU MONEY SAVERS OUT THERE.:beer:

Softstuff

On the theme of shopping locally vs shopping at a supermarket, I wonder what would happen if things got really tough now. I can't see asda running a tab for people in dire straits so they could give their kids milk or accepting barter as a form of payment, both of which I'm led to believe old fashioned shopkeepers used to do in times of crisis.

Might be worth supporting local shopkeepers even as a form of insurance for future troubles.

Linda32

To follow flylady on here, I'm sure I've got time to follow at least half of it and that will really help alot.

lil_me

Softstuff I seen exactly that, a local butcher arranging a tab with a customer who's hit difficult times, last week, it was done very quietly and discrete. I think you have a very valid point there.

Well I looked through last years, I did really well actually there is a few I didn't do so well with of course, specifically the weight loss one.

In 2009 I plan to

Keep grocery/food bill low - this will be achieved by reducing waste, shopping better, finding cheaper cuts of meat to use and keeping steak etc for treats, shopping locally where possible to improve on quality just using supermarkets for basics, reduce takeaways, grow more in pots again
Pure Money Savings- sealed pot to use again, plan savings for holidays/Christmas (no debt, only use CC that is paid off in full each month) use my bank accounts wisely ensuring the balances are heaviest in high interest one, keep track of my accounts to make sure they are running best for us, pay bills early, keep spending diary more up to date, help DP be better at managing money
Energy watching to reduce costs - reduce petrol I use by doing several jobs at once, plan where I am going and when better, when I am having expenses paid do what needs doing in that area, reduce electric/gas usage where possible.
Be more organised - Keep up with Flylady better, get more organised, organise paperwork better (which saves us money) make sure I use coupons etc before they go out of date, organise my time better to fit my studying in.

tealady

Hi. What a great thread.
My aims are to waste less food, buy less junk food (biccies especially) and to do the jobs that need doing round my house without spending a fortune.
That means I have to bargain hunt and plan ahead.
I hope to get my household costs down as well.

KITTY_2-2

Hi everyone - great thread

I make a list of things I want to achieve every year - funny how they are all very similar every time. However this year I am determined to do things differently, so my list is.

1. Stick to grocery challenge. I post my total each month but rarely meet my goal.
2. Throw less food away which means I need to plan our meals, and this will help with no 1.
3. Lose weight !!!!
4. Organise the house and cleaning routines. I have too much stuff every where.
5. Spend as little as possible on non-essentials and save as much as I can.
6. And the biggy - GET MORE ORGANISED!! This would make all the above so much easier.

Topher

I'd just like to thank everyone on this thread for the kickstart I needed. I've had that twitchy "Must-get-my-head-round-the-New-Year-New-Start" feeling for a few days now, and reading all of your resolutions has really sparked me back up again. Thanks to all.
As for my resolutions, having read others on here just makes me want to copy all of them, so I'll go back through and try to curb my enthusiasm into something realistically achievable for me.
Looking forward to a more active new Year. Happy 2009 everyone
Love, Topher

EssexHebridean

Does anyone else fancy keeping this thread "live" so we can measure / report on our progress as the year goes on?