Making every penny count

40somethingmum

Hi everyone,

From my user name you can see that I am a 40 something mum to 3 little boys. I have been married for 12 years (well almost) and unfortunately am massively in debt!.

My dream is to be debt free by the time I am 50 which I have just realised is 61 months today. :eek::eek:

I kid myself that I am dealing with my debts …..I keep spreadsheets ….I always make the minimum payments but I still use the old plastic so the debt just does not move.

My main problem is that I am self-employed and keep dipping into my “tax “ money when things are tight with the intention of replacing it which of course never happens! This of course means that I have a major panic every time the tax is due.

2010 so far has been quite hairy scary on the financial front with a few close calls and I am sick of feeling totally stressy all the time.

I now realise the time as come to pull my socks up, tighten the purse strings stop kidding myself and get my act together. !;)

I am now going to have to make every penny count .

Wish me luck .

40SMxx

mrs_robinson_3

Hello 40SM and thank you for your new diary!

I too am a 40SM to 3 boys.. I had my LBM in August 08 and am steadily paying off my CC bills. I'm not great at doing all the extra things on here (like eBay, surveys, competitions etc), though I do them sporadically, but have found that, as you say, the main trick is to make every penny count....I too am venturing into a "kind of" self employment, though because we are not too badly off as a family, am hoping to keep income from that below tax levels.

So as we have some similarities, will be looking out for your progress! I also have a diary on here ("So here's to you, Mrs R....."), so pop in if you want to see how I'm doing too

Wishing you lots of luck in your new venture......

Mrs R

40somethingmum

Hi Mrs R,

Thanks for popping in . I will pop into your diary and keep you company. How old are your little boys ?

40Smx

40somethingmum

One of the areas that I realy need to cut back on is my grocery bill. Out of interest how much should i be spending on a weekly basis for 2 adults , 3 boys aged 6-9 and 1 dog ??

40SMxx

mrs_robinson_3

Hi again

Ah,mine are bigger.....15-next-month, 12 and 9.....and they eat A LOT as they do A LOT of sport etc.....oh and a dog of 4 months!

I really try to keep to £500 a month on food shopping....which some here would probably say is a little high anyway. Though that does include some alcohol as well! However as this is £100 per person, I tend to think it's acceptable but am always fretting about how to bring it down some more myself....

I try to keep a lid on it by doing a big online shop each month, and then topping up weekly. For the top ups I try to go to LIDL which have found to be fab!

My main prob here is Mr R, as whilst he is a splendid chap in many ways, he tends to go a bit wild when unleashed with a trolly.....so if I were in sole charge I think I could cut out at least another £50.....

I do the usual stuff like cooking from scratch, buying in bulk and snapping up reduced stuff when I can, but it's still a fair few people to feed so am kind of happy with £500 - in fact I'll tot up later how much it's been so far this month.......

Take care and have a good day....sun is shining here.....

Mrs R

40somethingmum

Hi Mrs R,

My pup is also 4 months !! We do have a lot in common :rotfl::rotfl:

One of my problems is that OH does most the food shopping (bless him) because of my working hours . Unfortunately he goes to the shop most days after school to buy boys sweets plus a few other things and it really adds up .

I would like to get my spend down to about £100 a week ... perfectly doable if I am organised and meal plan etc, bring a packed lunch to work etc etc . I always seem to run out of time... then buy a sandwich at lunchtime which is expensive and quite honestly not as good as home-made;).

I think I need to look at the OS board for ideas . I am trying to remember what my mum used to feed us when we were little ( I am 1 of 6 :eek:) ....I think it was mainly mince & tatties :rotfl:

Thanks for popping in again.

Love

40Smxx

honeybear_2

Ooh, looked who sneaked in a diary while we weren't looking

Hello sweets, I have absolutely zero advice on the cost-based feeding of your family (quite different at Bear Towers, as you know!) but paws crossed that you get it cracked

40somethingmum

Hi HB,

Thanks for popping in. I have just returned from London and I am absolutely exhausted . Off to bed me thinks

40SMxx

mendedmyways

OOOH Hello another mum to 3 boys who is deep in debt here!!
(hmmmm maybe its the factor of having 3 boys that causes this???? argh Ive got to stop making excuses!)

Im trying to keep my food budget to £250 for the month (its a tight squeeze!)
Anyway good luck in your debt journey x

spendtoomuch

Can I jump on the bandwagon please?! I am also mum to 3 boys and am 40 next week!! I spend £500 a month on shopping and do think its high but I struggle to get by on less, mind you I go through 21 pints of milk alone a week - boys definitely eat more than girls!

Spendtoomuch xx

40somethingmum

spendtoomuch wrote: »

Can I jump on the bandwagon please?! I am also mum to 3 boys and am 40 next week!! I spend £500 a month on shopping and do think its high but I struggle to get by on less, mind you I go through 21 pints of milk alone a week - boys definitely eat more than girls!

Spendtoomuch xx

Please, do jump on the old wagon. !!.... the more the merrier.

40SMxx