closing the blackhole

Treacle1983

Hi guys and gals - thanks for the advice so far.

I definitely like the idea of being able to use my tesco vouchers for blockbuster rentals, I also use sainsbury a lot and use my points for cinema tickets.

I actually live with my partner who is a police officer and he pays the lion share of our rent and the council tax entirely and also runs the car and pays all the bills for the car as i don't drive. He also pays the same amount as me into food shopping - so it works out we pay half the bills each.

He is also the wonderful reason for my water bill - as he is also in the territorial army, a regular gym goer and jogger and also goes to tai jitzu. He literally showers between 2-4 times a day!!

Whereas i have a shower every day and a bath once a week. lol.

My gas and electric are high - mainly because the shower is electric and I use a lot of gas by having the heating on more than I need to - I'm already making an effort to wear jumpers and keep the heating off. Hopefully i'll notice the difference over the next couple months - especially with the weather warming up.

My internet is on a pay as you go dongle - so i top it up like a mobile every month £15 gives unlimited useage every month.

tv licence is on a payment card - I got behind in my payments so it's only just started and according to the letter you end up paying for your first licence over 6 months at £5.50 a week. then the payments drop because you pay for the next one over a year. So it means i'll end up being 6 months in advance.

Clothes - can't do much about that - I actually haven't done a decent clothes shop in several years and have lost a few stone so I literally have 2 bra's to my name, 2 pairs of trousers, no jeans and a few tops and a jumper or 2. I am literally wearing trainers with holes in and having to make repairs to quite a lot of my clothes. I work in a busy customer call centre and probably don't look anywhere near as well dressed as i'm meant too - but somehow I get away with it at the moment, but I am trying to buy either a few cheap items a month eg: primark or 1 decent thing.

There are no APR'S on any of my debts - they are all frozen and are with debt collectors.

this surplus is taken into consideration after some of the cut backs on my list like dvd rentals, takeaways etc... i have actually been completely skint every month about a week before payday due to blowing money on things like that and also a few large purchases i had to make like a suit, raincoat etc.. from this payday on the income expenditure will be accurate.

miggy

Hi Treacle (nice name!),
You've made a very impressive start, and it's clear you can make some good savings. When I read your first post and you mentioned cutting back on 'extras', I immediately thought that spending is often a short cut to happiness (speaking as one who knows ) and that if you're like me, when you have a 'down' day, you might go and spoil your good work. If that's you as well, there are a couple of things I'd suggest:

1. Make a spending diary. Not only do you see the pattern of your spending, but it's a disincentive to blow the budget.
2. Give yourself a bit of leeway such as the once-a-month takeaway, the cheapy DVD hire from the library, etc. This will help you when the going gets tough.

Are you going to make this thread into a diary? If so, you'll get on-line support from peeps here. Also (I don't know if it's been suggested and I missed it), check out the old-style board for ideas on savings with food. There are some seriously yummy cheap meals on there!
Good luck with it all, and let us know how you get on!

miggy

A small further thought - if you love your magazines, it's not always quite the same reading on line so why not see if any friends or colleagues will swap reading material with you?
Oh and another thought (brain starting to get into gear!): cook in batches and freeze. That's an evening's 'free' heating while you cook (!) and lots of near-instant meals when you're too tired to cook. Some people freeze sandwiches to grab for work too.

Treacle1983

Hi Miggy and thanks, I used to batch cook quite a lot and freeze half a loaf of bread at a time so it didnt go off etc.. however when I moved here there is a dinky little kitchen and a small fridge with only a funny tray thing to keep frozen stuff cold - it dosent keep stuff frozen so a bit reluctant to use it much - only for something I am going to use that day.

Was thinking it might work out better in the long run if I could get a small freezer and maybe keep it in the frontroom tucked away - I could probably get one second hand - i'll discuss it with other half.

I get a free grazia mag every week from the girl i sit next to at work when she gets done with it, maybe I should ask some of the others too.

miggy

Hi Treacle, I was wondering how it's going? ISWYM about the lack of a freezer - you could always look on Freecycle (sorry you'll have to google it and it will show you local groups, you can join more than one but in my area at least you have to offer something to give away before you can ask for anything). People often give away/ask for things like freezers & cookers so you will be in good company.
If you aren't on it already and need something to give away, it can be just about anything! Someone came this morning to collect 11 egg boxes off me! I always save them because in the past I've known chicken keepers who are glad of the boxes, but people with small children can also utilise them for model making. That's just an example and I'm sure there are other things people will be glad to use that you can't. Once you're in, you can ask for a freezer or whatever else might be useful.
RE: dropping a brand - it's often worth taking along a calculator and working out prices per 100g. There is some sort of legal obligation for shops to display how much weight you get for your money but they don't stick to one unit of measure so it can be very deceptive. Compare not only different products, but also different sizes of the same thing and special offers (which aren't always the best buy!) You may get some nice surprises. Also check lower and higher shelves, where the shops put things they aren't so keen for us to find because the profit margins aren't so good I mean it! :eek:
Sorry if you've already done this, your first post certainly sounds as if making good choices.
Have fun - if I bump into another geek peering at labels and adding up, I'll stop and say hi!

miggy

P.S. Just saw your signature - well done on the repayments!

gonzo127

miggy wrote: »

RE: dropping a brand - it's often worth taking along a calculator and working out prices per 100g. There is some sort of legal obligation for shops to display how much weight you get for your money but they don't stick to one unit of measure so it can be very deceptive. Compare not only different products, but also different sizes of the same thing and special offers (which aren't always the best buy!) You may get some nice surprises. Also check lower and higher shelves, where the shops put things they aren't so keen for us to find because the profit margins aren't so good I mean it! :eek:

oh so very true,

it always does shock me when i see this at my local supermarket, one day i very nearly went and complained, was going around and they had a 'value' 3 pack of tuna, which was also on special offer big signs, bright colours, right in the middle of the shelf (eye height) all pointing to how good a deal it was, anyways out of habit i checked the price of the single tins and low and behold on the bottom shelf the single tins worked out about 20% cheaper for 3 than the special offer value pack (same make and everything)

Treacle1983

Called Npower today and the amount i've been paying every month means i'm actually overpaying every month. When I moved in they quessed at my useage and set my direct debit - tunrs out i'm about £100 in credit. I'm having next 2 months gas/electric free and a new direct debit has been set up for £52 a month for the gas/electric from then on. I've also been set up with an online scheme and paperless billing. Apparently I get £100 discount every 12 months by doing this.

Result!

lazy_daisy

Treacle, well done on your list - it looks great and once you have been following it for a short time you won't even miss the things you've been spending money on before, especially the sandwiches for work.
There are things Martin calls pain-free savings (like dropping a supermarket brand - it usually makes no difference!) and 'painful' savings (like losing the takeaways/DVDs) that you will notice but I reckon you will soon find you can do without anyway.
A couple of things : if your OH goes to the gym regularly can't he use the shower there? Also if he is a police officer perhaps he has a shower at work that he could use? Just a thought.......
Also does £25K per year really work out as £1200 per month. I earn £25K per year and I take home over £1500 per month. Admittedly I have children so my tax code will be different, but even so - are you sure this is right?
Good luck and really well done for doing this while you are still young, when you are older it will give you more freedon and choices that you would otherwise have, if you decide to have children one day it may give you the choice to cut down your work hours if you want.
Lots of love and luck,
Daisy xx

Lottebear

Just a thought as you work with other women could you all buy a different magazine then swap? That way you would all get to read them without spending more than one.