Jellie's attempts to banish the wobbles and get debt free!

*Jellie*

Morning anyone reading!

Woke up early and watched Economy Gastronomy on iplayer. It was good to remind myself that I can budget for groceries better than I have been. Just a case of reawakening old habits and getting over to OS a bit more. It reminded me just what an amazing resource this place is- a wealth of knowledge, recipes, ideas etc without having to pay out for books or DVDs

I'm a bit of a perfectionist and like to do everything properly! :rolleyes: This is often my downfall as it takes so much time and energy for me to do anything that my efforts can't be sustained for long.

I think it is also one of the main reasons for my inappropriate spats of spending. I'll decide that for life to be better I need to do X (in this case menu plan, cook in advance etc). In order to do this properly I then feel I am justified in spending money on things I need to reach my goal which are often non-essential. So for example while thinking about this in the last couple of hours I have thought of buying the following

1. Economy Gastronomy Book. Despite the fact that the oldstylers have all the same information to share- in fact better. Also lots of the recipes are available on the web site for the program, on OS and probably in recipe books I already own!!

2. A second freezer as I miss having the extra storage space. Not a bad thing if I budget for it but I tend to just go and buy stuff like this straight away because it feels important and essential!! However I'm looking at selling my house and moving in with OH- when that is sorted we will have 3 freezers!! I'm sure I can cope for a while using just 1!!

Right- off to doing the free things to help reach this goal and think about menu planning etc.

Fire_Fox

With groceries I found it really helpful to sit down with the receipt and go through it item by item. I split it into 'categories' - protein (meat/ fish/ cheese/ eggs), snacks (crisps, chocolate, biscuits), fruit and veg, carbs (rice, pasta, bread, pulses). Right away I knew we were spending too much on meat and on snacks. :eek:

Cleaning products and toiletries ... be honest, do you have a stock of these and still buy more? I know I do!! It's often cheaper to buy these items in pound shops, Home Bargains or Bodycare or even just force yourself to use up what you have in stock - I think this would fall under the hundred days challenge.

"I know form reading other threads my grocery spending is high but I can't really work out where I'm going wrong. I try to buy non-branded where possible and often overcook and then freeze."
I am guilty of this too. I was brought up not to buy brand names but I buy more than I will admit to myself - Walkers crisps, Hellmans mayonnaise, Heinz beans and ketchup, Schwartzkopf hair care ...

*Jellie*

Very insightful Firefox! Thanks for your helpful comments.

I will sit down later and do the item by item list for groceries so far in August.

I have got stocks of some toiletries and cleaning products as I tend to stock up when they're on offer. I might add them into my 100 day challenge as they'll probably last that long!

You are completely right about branded products- some things are bought non-branded but a fair amount are. It depends what it is and is quite often influenced by OH as well. Although I have won him over to some cheaper items. I'll try the MSE challenge of downgrading by one for the rest of the month grocery shopping.

Things are so bad this month that I'm going to try and make it through on storecupboard and Nectar points/ clubcard vouchers. Gives me about £38 at Sainsbury and £2 in Tesco!! This will be a drastic reduction :eek:

Primula

Do you have a slowcooker Jellie? It's a good investment for a small outlay.

*Jellie*

I haven't got a slow cooker. Have thought of getting one but decided it was something I can live without if I do cook days at the weekend. Maybe when I'm debt free I'll invest in one!

Fire_Fox

When I became a student and relocated north, I realised I had boxes of toiletries I'd bought on special offer. It took me almost a year to use up the sachets of shampoo I'd collected from magazines and hair colour, and over two years to use up all the two-for-one deodorant!!

Have you seen these?
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1157641
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1129333
I've decided to manage on £100 for groceries this month when we usually budget £170. Mr. Fire Fox is not invited to the supermarket so occasionally they have 'run out' or I 'forget' to buy the more expensive branded items.

Lemon_Tree

lol i love your ways with Mr Fox, Mr LT came shopping today and i had to keep putting stuff back, why buy one when you can buy 2-3? that his policy. Have to admit that we did get lots of courgette as they're a bargain at the moment and my courgette plants either didn't germinate or got eaten. So this arvo i sat and sliced 10 bags of them for the freezer, i figure they're only going in bolognases or curries so won't make any difference if they go a bit soggy.
i have to admit to not having to buy shower gel for a few years now (ok i've had some for christmas) but i had so much it's taken this long to use it up, it took almost 2 years to buy shampoo! why do we always get tricked into buying these offers?

falady

*Jellie* wrote: »

Morning anyone reading!

Woke up early and watched Economy Gastronomy on iplayer. It was good to remind myself that I can budget for groceries better than I have been. Just a case of reawakening old habits and getting over to OS a bit more. It reminded me just what an amazing resource this place is- a wealth of knowledge, recipes, ideas etc without having to pay out for books or DVDs

I'm a bit of a perfectionist and like to do everything properly! :rolleyes: This is often my downfall as it takes so much time and energy for me to do anything that my efforts can't be sustained for long.

I think it is also one of the main reasons for my inappropriate spats of spending. I'll decide that for life to be better I need to do X (in this case menu plan, cook in advance etc). In order to do this properly I then feel I am justified in spending money on things I need to reach my goal which are often non-essential. So for example while thinking about this in the last couple of hours I have thought of buying the following

1. Economy Gastronomy Book. Despite the fact that the oldstylers have all the same information to share- in fact better. Also lots of the recipes are available on the web site for the program, on OS and probably in recipe books I already own!!

2. A second freezer as I miss having the extra storage space. Not a bad thing if I budget for it but I tend to just go and buy stuff like this straight away because it feels important and essential!! However I'm looking at selling my house and moving in with OH- when that is sorted we will have 3 freezers!! I'm sure I can cope for a while using just 1!!

Right- off to doing the free things to help reach this goal and think about menu planning etc.

Eeek, Jellie, I've just started reading your diary and this really rang a bell with me. Definitely something for me to be concious of in the future. Thank you for making me think about things a bit more.

Ali x

*Jellie*

Fire Fox- thanks for the links. I'm liking the tricks with Mr FF. I will probably try a similar strategy!

Lemon Tree- I've just been auditing my toiletries and am sure I can last a while without more. My downfall isn't so much bulk buying as I usually get things I then use. My main problem is getting sucked in by advertising and trying to find the 'best' hair defrizzer, straightening balm, leg strimmer etc!!

Alli- glad to help both of us!

*Jellie*

I need to focus on getting things done at my house ready to sell it. The plan is to do as much as I can but importantly I need to spend as little as possible! I'm doing some gardening today and might need some new plants- I think if I concentrate on short term by using bedding plants in my pots etc it should keep the costs down to a minimum. Any suggestions welcome- I'm basically looking for cheap and cheerful plants that will look good when photos are done in next week or so and will hopefully last as long as possible/ reflower to save me buying more for viewings!