Can I save any more money?!

jellyhead

sarah's not on income support, she's on a pension, with extra benefits such as school meals etc. for low income. she might still be able to earn £20 a week without the extras being affected though.

as for shopping with tesco, there are usually vouchers around that give a fiver off a shop of fifty for example, that will cover the delivery and even give a pound or so off the shopping bill if the delivery is on a cheap day. i rarely shop online, i prefer to collect vouchers and use them to get ten percent off in asds. some shops will take more than ten percent. there are lots of places for occasional vouchers (there's a thread about hipp vouchers at the moment and you can always register a fictitious baby with pampers and huggies). i buy lots of mine off ebay, the last lot was £5.50 in vouchers and i paid £2.20. i'll use them all before the expiry date so that's a gain of £3.30. bargain :-)

Sarahsaver

Im not in walking distance of tescos, near me i could go to town - sainsburys, m&s and somerfield, or theres a small spar and co-op down the road. I think tesco is cheaper but then i thought of the cost over the year...
But it does mean i can study in the day rather than lugging shopping over town, and i can shop when the kids are in bed. I have no car either.

crana999

the only shop within nearby walking distance of me is Sainsburys Central (Tesco and Asda are walkable-to but not easily!), and they do have some things that aren't too badly priced,although I hate them in general.

Would it maybe be possible to get shops from Tesco less often (bigger stock up shops) planned so that you would be able to use the cheaper things from Sainsburys in between Tesco shops?

I guess the factor of carrying enough food for your whole family home would be a problem, but maybe if you stocked up on all the non-perishables you could with Tesco then you'd only have perishables to carry back - some fruit keeps for quite a while and you can freeze milk, bread etc (i know you know all this stuff! ) so it wouldn't be too bad and you wouldn't have to go too often?

Glad

Iceland do free home delivery over £40 and there is always a voucher available on the 'vouchers board' to give £10 off a £40 shop, they do freesh veg and meat and some household items too,


I've been rereading this post and as you really need to make up this £50/week shortfall immediately maybe there are some things you can do for the short term that can be reassessed after your mortgage hearing

judi suggested doing a cold wash (which you said you couldn't because of your son's eczema) but could you maybe do a few cold washes a week with just the rest of the families clothes in and do sons seperately,

you mention you use a tumble dryer and I know clothes are softer out of there, but if you iron them while damp and then hang to dry I don't notice my clothes are stiff, maybe you could just do without it in the short term,

have you checked how much you can earn without it affecting your benefits, I know finding time to work is an issue as well but as you really need to find money from somewhere couldn't you suspend your voluntary work and use the time to take on a paid job, up to the limit you are allowed to earn,
do you type? students are always looking for people to type up assignments etc

I remember reading somewhere that you visit a gym once a week, do you pay for that and if so could you do an alternative free form of exercising until your money situation is better,

have you compared gas/electric suppliers, using this site recommended by Martin you can get £10 cashback if you switch,

Sarahsaver

the gym is only a council one and it costs me £1 an hour. Due to mine and kids ill health i havent been there yet this year, however it is valuable preventative measure for me. Ironing!!!!! Only for special occasions that!:)
I did try to get a job, before christmas. Who wants to employ a professional who has been out of the workforce since 2001!?! but seriously i would have to go on wtc then id lose council tax benefit and all the other stuff. Full council tax here is a BIG whack - about £80 quid a month with the single person discount!
Iceland here we come!:) Are you sure its possible to buy food from there without getting loads of processed MRM crud? Im sure its worth a try.
Im with the cheapest gas/elec supplier in the area so far.
Voluntary work - its in afternoons when littlun is out of school, we get a fre elunch, he gets free creche place, and we get to be somewhere warm. Im contributing to a piece of community art that will be here for my childrens grandchildren to see (hopefully) but i take your point. I have a friend at uni I will ask her if anyone wants typing done.

Glad

I was trying to think of ways to make immediate savings which is why I thought of not using the dryer for a while, and the gym


visit the Iceland site HERE to learn more about them,
eg Iceland is famous for deals, and for the pride we take in our products. Our own-brand food continues to be made without GM ingredients, artificial colours or flavours. Added services, like our 'Free From' lists for allergy sufferers, help people with specific needs to find the products that are right for them.

go back to the home page to start shopping, remember even if some things seem slightly dearer iff you stick to £40 you are getting 25% off each shop,
you will need to disable your pop-up blocker and ad manager while you shop as otherwise the deal boxes won't work,
and if you have any probs I've always found the email help to be great,

there are some codes on the voucher board HERE read through to find which are still working and which are £10 off a £40 shop, the free delivery applies on the total before the voucher comes off, so order £40 worth apply voucher and get it delivered for £30,
they also have lots of deals one of my favourites which has been running for 12 months is 'Iceland 5 (615g) Skinless & Boneless Chicken Fillets £4.99 BOGOF' so 10 fillets for £5

Sarahsaver

thats great thanks;)
ive got a load of washing in now, it will go on the airer when i get it out:) and of course its an old stylee wooden one
Good news too my sons have both decided thay dont want to wear trainer pants in bed, had a few leaks but its looking promising:)

Spendless

That's good news about the trainer pants Sarah - that should save you some money.

In case you need to buy odd packet is it worth asking round other mums whose kids are now dry to see if they have odd packets lying about.
I'm thinking my own sister turned up other day with 2 bags of huggies convertibles (one unopened, one with couple out of) and a half pack of swimming nappies cos nephew has come out of nappies.

I buy some of my food at Iceland and they are very good as glad says about things like no GM food, i like their £5 meal deals.

Re-the time factor of working or studying. I know you make a lot of your own stuff. Since next week is half term what about a bumper session of making cakes/bread/soup with kids helping you, so you can freeze a lot, that maybe would free up your time a bit more.

Sarahsaver

They love cooking, what a good idea.:)
They wanted a 'love cake' for valentines day:):):)

r.mac_2

what a lovely idea - a love cake!

Sarah - I noticed that you said you paid a monthly bill for your utilities, rather than waiting for the big quarterly one.

Sometimes, if you set up a fixed price direct debit you get a discout (for timely payment etc). Perhaps this is something worth looking into - or at least asking your company if they will give you a discount for using a dd.

Also wanted to wish you the best of luck. I have been following your story with awe.

r.mac xxx