Fine-tuning of SOA required please!

alwaysamum

Hi
Principality Building Society offer the facility to have different pots of service - and I found it straightforward to set up and move money around between the different posts.
J.

[Deleted User]

Once you've paid the minimum off everything each month - use the surplus towards the debt that has the highest APR.

If you are struggling with your food budget - keep a diary of all your food and grocery spending for a month or two to see where it's really going.

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Thanks for comments!

My gym fee is high but they did want me to pay £52 pcm so £43 is a discounted rate!!! :-O What's good is I'm not in a 12month contract and can give 30days notice at any time, I pay cash each month so they don't have my direct debit details either!

I did consider off-peak but after seeing what their off-peak hours were (Mon-Fri 9-5) I realised that I'm at work all of that time. Both of my sisters go to the same gym so it's kind of social too so although it is high....I think for the next few months at least it's worth it but I know it is definately a luxury.

Maybe I should put something aside for dental costs? What does everyone else budget for this?

I've actually not done a spending diary yet! I think it would scare the life out of me, all the bits and pieces add up! All I did to get to this stage was add up my regular bill costs per month and I pay that into another account to go out by standing orders/direct debits.

Then out of what's left I pay some to my cards and leave myself with petrol/food money. That way bills are paid and I'm not tempted to spend money that's needed elsewhere. So I just now need to keep track of my food money!!!

I haaate going food shopping (mainly because it takes so long!) so I rarely do a 'big' shop. But I should, to save wasting petrol/money visiting the shops several times a week.

I'm hopeless at meal planning though! I need to make a meal list first!

Faye449

I don't kmow whether its any help to you but I find shopping online at tesco.com very useful as it means I only buy what I need rather than 'oooh look, my favourite biscuits are on 3 for 2' or whatever, I've managed to get my weekly shop down to 17 pounds including delivery! Cheapest delivery slot is 3 pounds which I think is ok considering what I'm not spending if that makes sense.

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Thanks Faye449, I think i'll do that, once I've got a weekly shopping list sorted.

What do people include in their 'weekly' shops?
There's only two of us in the house, so when we buy lots, we tend to throw lots away also 4 days later.

I've always been a decide-at-6pm kinda gal as to what I'm having for tea. Which results in bad choices when I've got a hungry belly. Whatever is quickest!

I think I spend £3 in petrol in trips to the supermarket/shops so if I can avoid spending hours there too the delivery charge is certainly worth it.

Faye449

p.s do try the tesco own brand and value alternatives, they do a range called Daisy for cleaning products and washing powder etc which I use and its just as good as anything else. I know some use aldi or lidl but I find tesco value cheaper on the things I personally buy.

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Yea, I quite like Tescos own brand stuff! Like juice, tinned stuff and their flour tortillas are huuge!! - great for making mountainous fajitas with

josephine82

Hiya!

Regarding groceries, I tend to do the following:

1) when i get paid do a basic shop to top up the dry/tinned/frozen stuff. This usually includes the Tesco 3 for £10 packs of meat which I separate and freeze. It also includes rice, pasta, couscous, cereal and other cupboard things.
2) once a week buy veg for the week ahead and lunch ingredients for work.

This way you don't do a MASSIVE shop (and end up throwing half of it out) and you have money left each week to top up (meaning you can still buy fresh stuff even at the end of the month.

This really works for me and I spend about £80 a month. I dont' necessarily plan what I'm having each day, but I know when i get home I have some kind of meat, carbs and veg that will go together.

Also- pop in to the supermarket before closing time- you can stock up on bread etc if you have a freezer- tesco always have crumpets for 18p at about 7pm!

Lexxi

Could you try batch cooking, where you spend one day a week or month cooking things to go in the freezer? That way you will have something mostly cooked in your freezer you just need to take it out to defrost or cook? If you're deciding at 6pm then heading out to the shops then wandering round then buying and going home to cook it'll probably work out about the same

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Yes, I've tried batch cooking before, mainly with sauces/chili etc, then I can just add the pasta/rice fresh. It's quite nice having a tasty meal in just a few mins.

I tend to forget about things I've put in the freezer though. I'll use a little magnetic dry-wipe board to be my inventory from now on so I can keep track of what I've got in there.

I think I've just realised how little I eat at home! Though I need to turn it around now because I'm doing my best to be healthy, lose weight and I know that skipping meals isn't good! Note to self, must start eating breakfast!!