New to OS

cozzie

recovering_spendaholic wrote:

I have also put together an excel budget of all household and other expenditure and I was amazed at how much spare cash I SHOULD, but don't, have each month!! QUOTE]

I know exactly what you mean. I did the same when I started taking control of our finances rather than them controlling us. It's the really silly stuff that costs the money like the OH buying 2 bottles of coke per day when he's at work = £7.50pw, now he takes a bottle of made up cordial each day which costs 10p pw. It doesn't sound like much, but, if you look at it over the period of a year then it's well over £350, which to me is the cost of christmas.

To me OS means looking at everything around the house and thinking to myself "How can I make that cheaper, but, just as effective?" and when I really can't be bothered I convert everything into a wage and say things like..."By doing an extra 10 mins work I am saving £1 (eg), if that were an hourly wage it would be £6ph."

debbym

I am getting back on the wagon again after 6 months of coping with my son starting nursery (still can't leave him there on his own 'cos of his behaviour) so crept back to the more expensive type of meals. One thing I have kept up with though is the laundry gloop! I made a big batch (I'm talking nearly a years supply for about £1.30! ) in about an hour one evening and have stored it in washed 4 pint milk containers. I use it for the towels and sheets and that kinda thing and it halved my laundry bill- no more effort to use than normal liquid you just have to shake the bottle to break up the lumps of gel before you measure it out.
I'm starting again with the groceries and for this month writing down everything I spend - 'proper' budget next time to reduce it by a little at first.
Good Luck

Bargain_Rzl

I'm glad I'm not the only one that's fallen off the wagon a bit!

Michelle - one of the main reasons I'm not doing as well as I might is that I continually forget to defrost meat

I don't think I'm ever going to be the sort of person who enjoys hardcore self-sufficiency (chickens, allotment etc) but certainly if I can ever afford a place with a garden I'll have a veggie patch .

joannasmum

Hi and Welcome

As lots of others have said I started with my shopping budget, and cooking some meals from scratch. A couple of months in I would say that I'm cooking about 85% of our food a month which is up from about 45% when I started. Also reading and posting on the daily thread gives me inspiration to try new things ie I make my own bread afew times a week now and only have HM biscuits and cakes in our house as my family wont eat shop bought now. If you need to convert your family then I recommend HM pizza as a starting point.

HTH

MATH

It's great to have so many newbies on board. I hope you all feel welcome and at home. I would echo what most other posters have already siad. I doesn't matter where you start but pick only one or two things to change that may be slashing your DW and washing costs or it may be using an airer instead of the TD and packing your own lunch. Stick with with it until your new way of doing things feels completely normal and then step up a gear and make more changes as you feel ready. It's great fun and very empowering to know you are taking control and are in charge.

Best of luck and have fun

flis21

What a lot of lovely welcoming posts.

Well, I think I will start by writing down everything me and Hubby spend for the next couple of weeks and see where we could cut back (I am sure there is a lot, like bars of chocolate!!).

Will also look at the laundry 'gloop' (sounds interesting!) and at using my slow cooker (i don't have a bread maker, so thought I would start with the slow cooker).

Perhaps I could save up all the Boots points I am now earning to get a bread maker in the future!

Well, thank you all for making me feel so welcome, I think I have a lot of reading of all the posts on this site to do.

flis

rchddap1

Some people set a grocery budget.....and if they spend less than their 'target' amount they then put the 'savings' towards something else old style that they need or want. Like a breadmaker.

couteaux

I have been reading this board for ages and love all the OS tips. I l really enjoy cooking so pretty much always cooked from scratch, but bought far too much and cooked enough for a small army when there are only 2 of us, so I am trying to calm that down.

Also joining in the Feb Use up challenge and not doing a big shop this month, I have enough to last 2 months I think, and have written up menu ideas with everything I have in stock.

I have a 6 month old baby, so can't always post, but read all the time and wanted to say a HUGE than you to everyone that posts such fab advice, I love this board!! :T

OOooh, also after reading a thread last night, I will be trying the soda crystals and vinegar in my washing too.

I am on additional maternity leave so on zero money at mo, saving as much as poss is big priority.

Happy Old Styling

Rebob

One of the easiest ways to start is to make a bit more when making curry, stew, bolognese etc and freezing the extra. This way you have healthier/cheaper ready meals.

Instead of going to the takeaway buy a takeaway bag from the supermarket so you get your special meal for half the price.

Not all OS is cost cutting though. In many cases you get better/healthier food etc than the store bought item for similar cost.

btw - WELCOME NEWBIES!!!!!

Boomdocker

Hello,

I am fairly new too and decided to attack my food shopping budget first. I used to buy what ever I fancied round the supermarket, Id grab ready meals on the way out and eat rubbish in the canteen for lunch.

Now I do a rough meal planner for the week and shop that. Saves me time and money.

I have started to make some meals from scratch, not all of them but its a start. I am now eating healthier meals that I actually enjoy. No more ready meals or packet convenience stuff for me. I just made a chilli tonight from scratch without having to reosrt to a packet mix, I suprised even myself.

I take a packed lunch to work. This has saved me about £4 a day and even if I get there late at least I have something decent to eat now.

These small changes have really required no effort and I am seeing the benefit even after just taken 2 weeks.