can you help

earwig

hi can you help me we have a tight income and lots of bill to pay we have cut back on what we can but there still seens to much to pay we spend about 400 per month on food we have two children one a baby and one 7 year old we need some help to try and sort our selfs out we done martins buget but run out of money on it my husband is a recent bankrupt my self i am see a debt counciller but not that much use the areas i need help in is overspending and what a reasonable amount to spend on food a week and the best places to shop i have a problem with cooking i cant cook and if i do no one eats it so we do have a lot of takeways which i know is awaste of money espcaily with a freezer so full you couldnt put a choc ice in it we used to be good with money and never have take aways but i have somehow become lost in this situation and have no confidence in anything i do i just need to get controll any ideas and yes i know i am daft case but i do need help please

wigginsmum

Take a deep breath (and maybe use some full stops, my dear!)

Can you post a Statement of Accounts? List your income, list ALL your outgoings, and we should be able to make some suggestions on where you can cut back.

earwig

income 400 per week. rent 150 per week .food 100 per week .council tax 27 per week. water 9 per week .gas 10 per week .electric 10 per week .car insaurce/tax/repairs 15 per week .tv licance 2 per week .debt repayment 19 per week .petroll 40 per week .sky under contract 6 per week. aol 4 per week .school dinner 7 per week. this is what we have to spend each week .i know that a lot of money gose on the car but my husband works on building sites. and has to travel some distance to earn enough to pay the bills .part of the 400 pound wages is travel money . shall i breath out yet

elona

Instead of school dinners - how about packed lunch - sandwich, piece of fruit,drink etc.

There is a thread on packed lunches on moneysaving old style.

jobbingmusician

Yes, I agree with the idea of visiting the old style board. Your original question seemed to be to do (mostly) with cutting down on expenditure on food. You are right that almost £100 a week is an awful lot on food for 4 of you - it's very sad that you have lost your confidence in cooking!

If you would like a laugh to cheer you up and show you that cooking can be fun, have a look at this thread! YOu could always do something similar - start cooking and ask for help, I mean.

Slow cookers are pretty foolproof (with help from friendly MSE's)

wigginsmum

Just going to retype this if you don't mind to make it a bit easier to read.

Income:

£400/week

Outgoings:

£150 Rent
£100 Food
£27 Council Tax
£9 Water
£10 Gas
£10 Electric
£15 Car insurance/tax/repairs
£2 TV licence
£19 Debt repayment
£40 Petrol
£6 Sky
£4 AOL
£7 School dinner

Total outgoing = £399/week


Obviously things are very tight for you. You must tackle the food bill as a priority. Have a look at the Oldstyle boards here on the forum; it's full of brilliant ideas for home cooking, even if you're a novice. This is where your biggest savings will be made, and takeaways will be an occasional treat not a way of life. If necessary, get some basic cookery books from the library and start simple.

Your water bill seems high - where do you live and are you on a meter?

beanielou

Just to check-does your £400 income pw include tax credits?
Your food is very high-follow useful tips given above.

earwig

yes income includes child tax credit no we are not on a water meter thank god i know my food bill is high dont know what to do with it all i seem to buy is junk thankyou for re typing my statment for me will look at these links

linzibean

Your food bill should be the easiest to cut down As people have suggested, try the Old Style board where there is good advice on living on a budget, inclusing easy recipes and shopping lists for eating as little as £12 a person per week

Your water does seem high - try ringing around and you may get a much better deal!

Also the kids/OH may not like it, but get rid of Sky and get a freeview box, if they still want a bit of variety in channels. It will save you that little bit every week! You can get the basic freeview boxes for as little as £20 if you shop around.

Hope that helps!

gimlibabash

I dont know where you are but go on CAPuk.org and see if there is an office near you?
As regards cooking etc see also if a surestart operation is near you as these people cover this kind of stuff in our area.
Kind Regards
Gimlibabash

toozie_2

Going back years,when we bought our first house and got married, money was really tight, and I couldn't cook-just had never had the opportunity really.

I bought a Good Housekeeping cookery book-which I still have, very battered! I started off with stuff like sausage, egg, chips and beans. Not very healthy I know, but it was cheap and pancakes (home made) with a savory filling are economical.

Don't jump in and try and be a gormet cook overnight, look for cheap, and easy food.

Another thing I did, when my daughters were babies, I was soo knackered all the time, that if I left making tea until tea time, I almost couldn't be bothered-and might have gone to the chippy instead. So I used to make something like a cottage pie/chilli/casserole earlier in the day so it could be just reheated for the evening meal with a jacket/rice/pasta etc.

Whilst finding your feet cooking, why not make a massive bolognaise, then you could maybe have spag bol one night and chilli the next, so your not cooking-and stressing over cooking every night.

Good luck!