Newcomer

Marisco

Hi DID, I'm with Orange and it's £24pm, that's for broadband, line rental, phone 1 evenings and weekends free, phone 2 (internet phone) free all the time including international calls, I think it's called "Home Ultra";)

RosieLou

Hiya,

Just wanted to say, I know it is hard trying to cut expenses with kids but you might be surprised how much they understand. I recently cut back the cable TV package we have and they were fine about it once I explained why. Try it, as your kids are already good with their phones, they may help a lot when it comes to electricity / food / clothes etc by not asking or making things last longer. As far as food goes, I have to feed two adults, one 12 yr old with an adult appetite, a 10 year old and two cats. I do that on around £250 per month, less if I can. I shop mainly at Tesco and Asda. So I am sure you could cut back on the food budget a lot. Have a look on the oldstyle board, they are very good with tips for cutting grocery budgets.

DrowningInDebt_2

Thanks for all your suggestions, they're really great. Can someone give me a link to the 'old style' things you keep referencing? I keep getting lost in the forum, it takes me ages to even get back here. I'm sure my kids would be fine with me not paying Sky, I have a freeview TV so I can save myself £52 a month there, I already rang sky and gave them 31 days notice. The clothing seems high but is mainly footwear, which is ridiculously expensive, especially when I have 4 children, 3 of which are in adult sizes and they all need new footwear going back to school including shoes, trainers and rugby boots, the clothing allowance also takes into consideration the ridiculous cost of having to pay inflated prices for sweaters with the school logo instead of a plain navy sweater for about £3 from Asda. The travel cost is purely my weekly bus ticket for travelling to work and back. The 'other child related expenses' is 4 children at £3 a day for school dinners and bus fares, it's non negotiable and i don't qualify for free school dinners, if I give them packed lunches it will just increase my grocery bill which is already extortionate. Because I get working and child tax credits my medical and dental costs are non existent apart from last month when i had to get my son to hospital for a kidney stone, that was quite expensive in taxis and food. Christmas and Birthday presents i guessed at £2000 per annum I didn't think £400 per child including presents and new xmas outfits was particularly expensive and I tend to spread this cost out over the 4-5 months leading up to xmas, the remaining £400 covers other family members and birthdays. Haircuts seems an expense I can do without, it's not essential, I cut my kids hair and I dye my increasing amount of grey once every 6 weeks, maybe this expense should go in here but I tend to pick up teh dye with my groceries, so it's included in that cost. I don't know what to put in entertainment, I don't go out, the kids get pocket money and go bowling or skating at a local centre, should this cost go in here? I know I need contents insurance, probably life insurance too but I can't take on any other bills until I get these sorted out. My biggest concern is my unsecured debts rather than my month to month living expenses. My income is based on my monthly salary adn my weekly paid tax credits. My monthly salary pays rent bills etc and my weekly money pays shopping, school dinners, pocket money, bus fares and provident. I'm not exactly sure what an emergency fund is, I'm assuming you mean savings, I can't afford savings, I do my banking online and have a savings account that has about 9p in it for the last 10 months or so.
Marisco: thanks for that I'll definitely look into other service providers, I have tried before but found the connection kept dropping and wasn't fast enough, I work from home sometimes so it has to be reliable.
If I can find the oldstyle bit before I do this weeks shopping I'll have a go at seriously cutting my shopping bill, might even take up baking at weekends :-) I just bought a load of foil trays from the pound store so I can make a batch of individual lasagnes and shepherds pies which my kids love :-)

Sunnylooloo

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

here you go

alona1

Hiya,

I think most of your expenses and cuts have been discussed. The only suggestion I can offer is that you do your shopping online. You've explained your busy so why not get it delivered to you? It also helps you bulk buy because you dont have to carry it all. Then the kids can help put it away! Lol. If you tend to buy the same things every week, then save them as a shopping list and just re-order when needed. It saves alot of money on impulse purchases and shows you the different brands, ie smart price, asda special or branded. Try dropping a brand. I usually find the smart price or asda own just as good, especially for things that you cook in bulk - frozen mince for lasagne, etc. Good luck with it all x

maman

I'm not an expert DiD but just wanted to come on and wish you well. Congratulations on taking that first step.

If you go to the top of the page and click on forums (or to the right where it says forum jump) just scroll down to 'Old Style Money Saving'. There are regular threads on there about getting grocery spending down or you can start your own. One thought is that as your children are having school meals, couldn't you have snacky meals in the evenings on weekdays (soup, omlettes, things on toast etc) and then proper meals at weekends.

Sunnylooloo wrote: »

with regards to the electric - it is a nightmare with kids and leaving things on - just make sure you all get in the habbit of turning things off from the acutal plug when not in use - games consoles/computers/toaster/kettle/microwave... it does help hugely.

Just a genuine question sunnylooloo which might help others. How does turning off at the plug make a difference? I'd have thought that (unless a stand-by appliance) no electricity circuit would flow until toaster, kettle etc switched on.

bargainbetty

Hello,

Your food bill is really huge, and you could bring that down quite easily as people have said. Drop a brand, and stop buying sweets, crisps, sugary drinks etc. Explain to the kids that you are going on a health kick and teach them how to cook with you. Pocket morning at that age should be earned and cooking dinner is just one way.... do a full inventory of all your cupboards and work out what you already have, both food and household stuff. Then work out what you need to buy to make meals of out/clean house with it, and do that online when the kids aren't around. You will also avoid temptation to buy extra bits.

Sorry, £400 per kid? Yes, that would be lovely, but you can't afford it. You just can't afford it, and while they might have a momentary whinge about not having the latest X, you can bet your !!!! they want a roof over their head and a mother who isn't killing herself to buy fashionable tat more. Cut this in half, and explain to people outside your family that you are only buying for kids now (neices, nephews, god children perhaps) and stick to a budget on it. Mine is £10 per person per present. If you explain to people that you are trying to be a bit more careful, you may be surprised to find that they are quite happy to do it with you - lots of people feel pressured to spend more than they can.

This is a no-brainer! Cutting back by £125 per month on your shopping and £75 on your present buying clears your overspend.

Good luck with it all x

Sunnylooloo

Hey Maman - well maybe I have been suckered in......... but when I was with N power (before i changed!) I had a chat with a really lovely lady who told me that the way to save money is to acutally switch the appliance totally off from the plug and it would save you money??

Maybe someone could tell me if I have just been guilable and taken in. She thinks must google this and find out if I have been..........

I did notice my electric did go down? But we also did things like have engergy saving lightbulbs...

Blahah

DID you mention that your partner is in Europe and that you spend a lot on texts each month. What type of phone do you have? Many phones now can use messenger services to send free messages internationally. You could use Skype instead of the telephone and an instant messaging app on your phone to cut your mobile costs.

Sunnylooloo

Blahah wrote: »

DID you mention that your partner is in Europe and that you spend a lot on texts each month. What type of phone do you have? Many phones now can use messenger services to send free messages internationally. You could use Skype instead of the telephone and an instant messaging app on your phone to cut your mobile costs.

That's what I suggested too!!!!!:T:T