I really am C**P at budgeting

jellycat40

Thought I would go through my receipts so far for Jan.

£150 tesco
£13.98 tesco
£40.75 Cadbury garden centre (cross stitch kits and candles)
£47.98 Light shades, mirror, table lamp, oven gloves. table cloth
£26.74 Lidl
£4.63 Headache pills
£60 DD2 glasses
£5.38 M&S (had £5 voucher and got carried away)
£45.24 Tesco
£87.75 tesco
£36.82 tesco
£16.29 tesco
£8.84 farm shop (filet steak)
£60.47 tesco
£11.47 medcine
£9.47 Aarons Pets (dog deodorant, shampoo and toy)
£36.86 sainsburys

£677.77 total

6 adults, 1 child, 2 dogs and 2 cats.

Started 1/01/06

We don't waste anything, we eat huge amounts of fruit, this is including cleaning products and stuff like a support bandage for DS1.

Let me know what you think.

Louise

hueygeorge

Hi
Grow your own veg/fruit! I used to have an allotment and the amount of stuff that you can grow is unbelievable. Unfortuantely we moved so I had to give the plot up but I'm in a property now that has a decent sized garden so I'm turning a corner of it into a small but still substantially sized plot - give it a go - gardenings great!
I don't know what medicine you buy but can't you get some sort of discount on medicine if you need to get regular prescriptions? I'm sure I've seen adverts for it on the TV - Lloyds Chemist maybe?
Also if you are a big cross-stitch fan like me, try the seller on ebay - littlemissdotty! they sell cross-stitch kits at bargain basements prices - worth a thought.
One final thought - how does the dog deodorant work?! Does your pooch really need it!
Anyway, Good Luck! The main thing is that you are trying so keep at it.
Karren

chinagirl

yeh, I also want to know, does dog deo really work, I've got a stinky dog and never thought of that before.

hattie_pea

The first thing that I noticed was that you have already spent over £1000 on food this month - what sort of things does this inculde. Also, you have made a number of trips to supermarkets which may mean that there is more opportunity to pick up the added extras/treats that you might otherwise do without? I may be being unfair so apologies if that is the case - would happy to advise on where savings could be made, food be my favourite department!

hattie_pea

gosh my maths is rubbish! Apologies! Am paying for my hangover in braincells! I would still suggest that you limit your trips to the supermarket to limit the potential for add-ons. Also do big stock ups for bulky larder type items in Lidl/Aldi (tinned toms etc.) Keep the peeling/tops and tails/stalks of veggies to make soup - your family need never know! This is what the hotels do and once it's all wizzed up its scrummy! (p.s i promise i never make any serious money saving decisions with a hangover or a defective calulator!)

in*the*red_6

Hi Jellycat

Just wondering who the six adults are, is it yourself, hubby and four grown-up children? If so, are any of them contributing to the housekeeping either in monetary terms or meal-planning etc? It seems to me you are taking too much on yourself and then feeling guilty for finding it hard. If it is kids who are used to a certain standard they need to accept that you have now got to budget and will have to compromise on certain things or you're never going to make it.
Also, remember you are new to this and it does take time. I've managed to cut our food bill down a lot but still not as much as others on here. My hubby was a bit of a food snob before and didn't think you could buy from places like Lidl or cook with Value tomatoes etc and still eat well but he now admits he was wrong. We still have nice meals (we've always cooked from scratch) and are spending about half of what we used to so it can be done.

Meal planning is definitely one of the biggest things that cuts your food bills - have you been doing this? I think it would help if you only go to the supermarket once a week and stick to a list, as the more visits you make the more you will be tempted.

Good luck, you can do it!

ITR

magentadreamer

I think your prob is you go to the supermarket too often!!! I've counted up 9 visits so far this month. To remove temptation shop online. Next month I've decided to stop going every week and finally budget my shopping. I'm having one big stock up shop and then it's off to the likes of lidl or aldi to buy the veggies/fruit/yoghurts/cheese/eggs stuff.

With there being 8 of you one big stock up shop might not work but you might find if you shop online you can stick better to a budget. Give the amount of discount codes etc for Tesco you'll probably not have to pay for delivery either and should you run out of anything then try lidl and not Tesco's.

MD

ps I think you were most constrained with the M&S voucher - I had one for a tenner and spent £30

frosty

Hi jellycat40,

I used to spend a fortune at the supermarket,I use to pop in nearly everyday I think I was addicted to all the bargains. :eek: Since joining this site I now go once a week and I have cut our food bill from well over a £100 a week to about £50 a week. :T There are 5 adults (3 men :eek: /2 women)3 large dogs and the cat.My eldest son takes a packed lunch with him everyday and this is included in our food bill.The supermarkets love the people who just pop in because they know most of us will buy a lot more than what we came in for. :mad: If you want any meal ideas pm me and I will gladly help you.

hattie_pea

I agree with frosty on the packed lunch front! My flat mate and I spend £30 (£15 each) and that includes packed lunches for both of us. I too used to be a bit of a food snob but then thought most of the brands in Lidl etc are the same sort of things that you'd buy on holiday in a french hypermarket - I gave 'em a go, some I wouldn't buy again but most I didn't notice the difference in most! Also economised in Lidl on washing powder, washing up liquid, toothpaste (dentalux in green tube =49p and tastes quite nice!) and toilet roll (why literally throw money down the drain!)

chilli_dog

Hi Frosty,

You really inspired me with your post on shopping.

We have 2 adults, 3 kids and 2 dogs at the mo.

If you dont mind me asking, what shops do you visit for your weekly food shop?




"Since joining this site I now go once a week and I have cut our food bill from well over a £100 a week to about £50 a week. There are 5 adults (3 men /2 women)3 large dogs and the cat."

frosty

Hi chilli-dog
I shop at lidl,Asda and a local farm shop,I go once a fortnight to the farm shop,I buy all the veg from here,its straight off the fields and into the shop :j ,the best bit is everything is 50p so you can choose the largest item there,which makes it very good value and I buy a sack of potatoes for £4.00(25kg) this lasts us about a month.If lidl have their half price fruit and veg offer on I will also go there aswell.I also have a bedding chest which has a lock on it and I hide food in there :rotfl: ,I find if I put a multi pack of crisps or biscuits in the cupboards my sons demolish them in no time :mad: so I just put a few things out every couple of days that way they are not grazing on junk food and all my bargains last a lot longer.Iceland is a good place to stock up the freezer,they had a lot of things reduced,I got multipacks of hula hoop (12s)for 25p and Robertsons mincemeat (750g)for 25p a jar the date on the lid was 08.