Dodgy debts - is my debt a MAJOR problem?

Jesthar

[quote=[Deleted User];21168711]Appreciate what most of you are saying that it is cheaper to cook proper food rather than relying of pre-packed food.

Trouble is I work full-time, my wife works part-time and looks after our son, and we just dont have the time/energy to do this....

Anyone in our situation who still finds time to cook - I take my hat off to you !!!! :A[/QUOTE]
Heh, I'm single, work full time, and I'm also out two or three evenings a week. I also work long hours, as I have a VERY nice boss who lets me do my hours for the week over 4 1/2 days, so many days I'm in the office before 9 and there until 6pm - well, I do manage to dodge the traffic that way, too!

I'm also a 'reluctant cook' - I cook because I like decent food and need to eat, not because I love cooking! So you won't find me spending hours in the kitchen, oh no - the quicker in and out the better! However, the only shop bought ready meals you will find in my freezer are mini pizzas, which I buy when the two packs are on offer/BOGOF, and those four pizzas usually last me six months!

it has to be said, when I first lived on my own I wondered how I was going to cope, as I'd never really cooked before. However, once you get into the swing of things, it's really pretty straightforward. Potatos, carrots, broccoli and other assorted veg take but minutes to prepare (I just wash pototes, as I like the skin)), and under 20 minutes to cook, as does rice. Pasta cooks even faster! And you can cook an awful lot of meals with premade sauces and suitable other ingredients.

Then I also discovered the joys of slow cooking - it's fantastic! I can get up late on a Saturday morning, stick a kilo joint of meat in my slow cooker at about 10am, add about an inch and a half depth of boiling water, set the slow cooker to 'low' and put the lid on, and - well, that's it! And at six o'clock, I have a beautiful, melt in the mouth piece of brisket or lamb shoulder, full of flavour and complete with stock to make delicious gravy with. Best of all, the meat will last me a week (just carve and freeze portions), so from then on all I have to do is cook vegetables and make gravy when I get in, and reheat the meat.

And, of course, slow cookers are also great for cooking huge batches of bolognese/pasta sauces, stews, sweet n sours, curries etc. which can then be frozen in portions. With these home made ready meals, I can go from getting home to eating in about 20 minutes.

Oh, and I too am guilty of doing my prep in front of the TV...

~Jes

hypno06

I know it seems as though there is no time or energy, but.......which is more energy sapping - making a meal that takes no more than half an hour from start to finish to make, or suffering from a lack of sleep because you are having nightmares about how to repay your debt, and having to take on 2nd and 3rd jobs just to juggle your monthly repayments and keep your head above water?

Whilst you may think that things are ticking along nicely now, with no room for improvement, or need for change, you have to look at the reasons why you got into debt and how long you can continue funding that through additional debt.

for example, are you overspending by £500 a month? No problem, it is a small price to pay for a car, holiday, nice easy grocery shop.......but at the end of the year, that is £6000 additional debt you have......and in five years time, that is £30000 additional debt you have.

Interest rates are low now, so your nice low tracker mortgage is fab - what happens if interest rates go back up to 5%.........? And it is not that long since they were 8%.........?

Debtbusting takes time and energy - believe me, I know - my debt was over £100k on top of my large mortgage, and I have got this down to £32k, and I would CERTAINLY advise looking at making those changes NOW rather than waiting until you are having nightmares about the bailiffs.

freeoffers

My sister has two kids 10 and 6, she works full time and so does her husband and she cooks for them nearly every night. Once or twice a week they have a take away but that's it. People who want to do stuff tend to make the time and others tend to make excuses. Thats not being rude becase at the end of the day if ppl dont wanna cook thats up to them, just dont make excuses.

wrinkled_english_rose

There's only one way to get rid of your debt and thats to stop spending or maybe spend in a different way. No I'm not being flippant I'm of the generation that was taught to save for things and it was hard. So please do something soon.
Read some of the dairies on this here. I so admire "Hypno06" "Snaggles" and "Immoral Angel" to name but a few.
Try the challenges, believe me they help. I do the sealed pot challenge not to pay debt but to pay for Christmas. As Mr T says every litle helps.
What ever you decide GOOD LUCK.
WER

Burlesque_Babe

I cook 7 nights a week and juggle 3 jobs. Invest in a slow cooker - they are amazing - just chuck the cheapest cuts of meat and a few veggies in, switch it on and leave for work.

Getting rid of debt is hard work I'm afraid but putting in the energy now is much better than the misery of the sleepless nights, the fear of opening the post and the worry of something going wrong and not having the money to pay for it.

Your grocery bill is really the key to you freeing up a large amount of cash. It's just one thing you need to change and if you did it over, say, 6 months, you could painlessly cut the spending down to £200 - £250 (with the higher amount allowing for a couple of takeaways each month). Just by doing that you will be in the position to over pay by around £500 EVERY month and you wouldn't have to do all the other debt busting stuff that many of us do.

Give it a go - think of how many takeaways you have in a month and aim to half that number in May as a small and painless step to start you off. At the same time, keep all your supermarket receipts for May to give you a true picture of the spending. Then, in June, aim to spend £100 less, then in July another £100 less.

Fire_Fox

[quote=[Deleted User];21168711]Appreciate what most of you are saying that it is cheaper to cook proper food rather than relying of pre-packed food.

Trouble is I work full-time, my wife works part-time and looks after our son, and we just dont have the time/energy to do this....

Anyone in our situation who still finds time to cook - I take my hat off to you !!!! :A[/QUOTE]

Both Mr. Fire Fox and I work shifts - he is a chef so works long days and never wants to cook when he gets home, I am a full-time student and work both paid and voluntary. No kids I freely admit. I want to add my vote to the others for investing in a slow cooker. Take Bolognese sauce as an example - buy two packs of mince which will make enough for at least three meals for your family. Add

fresh or frozen ready chopped onion
frozen ready chopped mixed peppers (cheaper)
Value mushrooms/ grated carrot/ celery
two tins of cheap chopped tomatoes
tomato puree, fresh or dried herbs
a couple of beef or veg stock cubes
a handful or dried red lentils or porridge oats
a glass of red wine (if you have any)
fresh garlic or garlic puree and seasoning.

Five minutes to throw it together, stir once then switch on the slow cooker and leave for four to six hours. Note that there is almost no preparation, no frying off, no stirring and hardly any washing up. This basic mix can be used to top spaghetti, as part of a lasagne (more effort), cottage pie or as Chilli con Carne with rice or tacos. Cheaper, tastier, healthier and just as fast as ready meals!

Or ... chicken/ turkey casserole (family pack of drumsticks, loads of veg, pearl barley, stock cube), savoury granary bread and butter pudding (sliced bread, butter optional), Spanish omelette with leftover potatoes, jacket potato with cheese and beans ...

We reckon you could easily save £400 a month by cooking quick meals from scratch. These type of meals can be cooked in bulk in probably a total of one hour a week - five or ten minutes effort here and there. Reheat the leftovers in the microwave just as you would a ready meal. Your wife could work one or two hours less each week and you'd still be quids in!