Hubby thinks I am a magician..........

doelani

Aghhhhhhhhhhh , some of our monthly bills are increasing and our income MAY be reduced by £260 a month if my DLA is not renewed and hubbys answer....................CUT BACK ON GROCERIES !!!!!!!!!!! So either I magic money from nowhere or feed the kids grass...........I am so mad :mad:

Well acually he added to buy " own brand/white label food" I said he would not eat then he added " no for the kids "........

I usually deal with the budgetting and when I try and get him involved he just stared blanking like he has not got a clue.

Mupette

what's wrong with the own brand when your skint, if thats the only place you can make cuts.

confusedroast

have you thought of being a little sneaky - my hubby says he will NOT eat nothing but branded stuff - I started buying the basic items and putting it in the branded jars and he cant tell the diiference, told him when he started doing the monthly shop with me and he laughed how he couldnt tell the difference at all - eg Asda smart price brown sauce 13 pence - Big Daddies £2 odd!

74jax

I agree. Own brand is just the same in my opinion). I have myself and a daughter and spend around £25-£30 a week on feeding us. I know others on here do it for less, but this is what I'm happy with.

Have you done a full budget of incomings and outgoings?

Any

If you don't agree with cutting on groceries, I am supposing that you know of other place where to make cuts?

Is this the problem? He doesn't want to give up this other thing?

74jax

OPINIONS4U gave me this fab advice not so long ago.

- Packed lunch for school (or work), sensibly selected, could half the cost. Fruit juice, apple, cheese sandwich and a yoghurt can be done for £1 a day!

- Do you have any Tesco vouchers or value on your Nectar card? Use these to pay for any half-term treats, rather than real money! e.g. 4 x value on Clubcard deals. Do you have a Boots card with unspent points on?

- Does your mortgage lender allow a mortgage payment holiday - perhaps one or two months (note this is effectively a loan repayable over the remaining term of the mortgage, so while it buys you good cash flow now, it will cost you). Alternatively can you change you mortgage payment date from the beginning to the end of the month?

- Vodafone will often offer £17.50 contracts if you're over 12 months in to an existing contract. Or could you switch to a PAYG SIM and stop making calls via the mobile for a bit? Would Vodafone defer your contract for 2 months? Cashback sites like Top Cashback often pay £50-£150 if you buy a new mobile contract through them.

- are you entitled to any help with council tax (and do you claim your 25% single person discount?)

- while it won't help short term, focus on the utility bills - switching lights off, don't leave telly on standby, don't leave the tap running when brushing teeth etc. Turn off dripping taps. Wash up manually instead of using the dishwasher. You could easily save 10% with these things.

- go to bed half an hour earlier and turn the lights off sooner!

- jumper on and turn the thermostat down 1 degree!

- do you need all the elements of your BT package?

- use discount vouchers when shopping.

- work out where the cheapest groceries are using MySupermarket.

- ask your daughter to come to the supermarket with you to help identify cheaper purchases for the next few weeks ... involve her so she doesn't end up feeling hard done to. Make sure she gets a treat when the income rises again!

- shop with a friend and split the cost of bogof deals.

- shop in the half hour before closing to get the yellow sticker discounts.

- make sure you buy your petrol from a cheaper place and claim any loyalty points you're entitled to. This link can help.

- walk the short journeys to save petrol.

- car share where possible to split costs.

- if you had to wear corporate wear during your Halifax career, you are entitled to claim a £50 allowance against your tax code for dry cleaning costs (worth £10 per tax year to a 20% taxpayer). Contact your tax office, tell them how many tax years you worked for the firm and they'll send you a cheque (or adjust your tax code) if you've never claimed the allowance! This applies to part tax years too!

- register with a cashback site such as Top Cashback and use it for any online shopping going forwards (won't help short term, but can be a nice little earner to contribute towards Christmas!).

- drink tapwater instead of bottled/cartoned drinks.

- are you in advance on your utility bills? Could the companies reduce your direct debits by £5 or £10 a month? (Don't do this if you're not ahead though).

- once a week have a meal made up of all those packets / tins in the cupboard that you'll never use up otherwise (if not, raid the freezer and start using that old meat up!).

- organise the occasional sleepover for your daughter elsewhere ... and let somebody else's family feed her .

- does your new employer have any perks such as discounted shopping vouchers (e.g. £100 of ASDA vouchers for £95)?

- if you were with HBOS less than 2 years can you have any pension contributions refunded? (not sure of the rules, not sure if it would cost you the value of employer contributions).

- find a wealthy new lover.




Maybe you and your husband could go through this and see where you can make cuts/savings?

Perhaps the problem is that you deal with the budget, so he doesn't see there is a problem. Maybe if you did it together he could see for himself and try to solve the 'well what will pay for food' question?

neneromanova

I actually find that some Pwn brand stuff tastes sooooo much better than the expensive brands. Take Jaffa cakes for example. McVities are ok but I can go through packets and packets of the 36p Sainsburys ones. They're just amazing!

I think the best thing to do is make a list of meals you will do during the week and stick to it. Do the shopping online which will mean you don't impulse buy aswell. Also will he notice if you just changed his bread to own brand?

OH has Branston Pickle normally, but I decided to see if he'd notice the change from a £2 jar to a 25p Own brand jar of sainsburys. He never knew it was different. He said it tasted good too. One thing I will say though, the food for the kids, if you are calorie/salt/sugar aware, just check before you buy own brand/expensive. Sometimes expensive wins and sometimes own brand wins.

bertiebots

Have you been over to the old style boards and had a look at the grocery challange threads? Loads of ways to say on food whilst still eating a good healthy balanced diet !
Nice to see you dh thinks he shouldnt cut back but his kids should btw:eek: If you have a low budget then everyone has to eat the own brand stuff!

My dh hasnt got a clue about our budget either but we have been living on one income for a long time and we eat very well for about £50 pw (thats a family of 2 adults 3 kids;)). He doesnt have a clue how much things cost or what our bills are-he simply cant be bothered ,so leaves it all to me . Its a good job really:D

doelani

thanks for quick replies

Mupette wrote: »

what's wrong with the own brand when your skint, if thats the only place you can make cuts.

confusedroast wrote: »

have you thought of being a little sneaky - my hubby says he will NOT eat nothing but branded stuff - I started buying the basic items and putting it in the branded jars and he cant tell the diiference, told him when he started doing the monthly shop with me and he laughed how he couldnt tell the difference at all - eg Asda smart price brown sauce 13 pence - Big Daddies £2 odd!

74jax wrote: »

I agree. Own brand is just the same in my opinion). I have myself and a daughter and spend around £25-£30 a week on feeding us. I know others on here do it for less, but this is what I'm happy with.

Nothing wrong with own brnads but if hubby and kids ( teeangers ) know what it is they will not eat most things, I ahve had this arguement before so many times. An example is dairy spread is £1.70 a 500g tub but none of them will take the shop own brand at less than £1.............

74jax wrote: »

Have you done a full budget of incomings and outgoings

Once I get final figures for the bills taht are increasing I will do new bufget, we go thorugh this in april every year. I am really annoyed as have had to dip into our emergency fund and need to get that repalced.

bertiebots

If they wont eat it then tell them to do the food shop on the budget you have....are they happy to starve? I am so glad my family aren't brand snobs!

Money_maker

I second the OS boards for grocery/cooking help. Would also suggest you post your SOA in the DFW board as they may be able to tweak some of your monthly expenses for you.