Help with budget please

lynzpower

another thing, hows the insulation in your house, boiler lagged? Loft insulated? ANy draughty windows? These can make a massive difference, so do check https://www.saveenergy.co.uk for more tips

toria27

Hi lynzpower, insulation is good in our house. The only problem was the front door, it didn't fit properly and we used to get an awful draft as well as not being very safe. That was one of our recent big spends, we have a new door so should make a big difference in the next few months.
I'll check out that website for any more tips I also follow the avoid using gas and electric thread on old style board.

smokybabe

Hi and welcome, we also have a draughty door that we can not afford to replace just yet. We have in the short term sourced a curtain off ebay and put a thermal lining behind it and this really has made a difference.

smokybabe

Ah! re-read the post properly and it seems youv'e sorted it anyway.

CoD_2

Dolly_Smith wrote:

I don't even have a tumble dryer - everything gets hung up as it comes out of the machine and then needs little ironing too

underwear and stuff goes on the airer

we do this, most stuff is hung on hangers due to no space for a drying rack, or on racks hung over radiators. no need for dryer

toria27

We have a dryer that OH got for free as someone was throwing it away it is very very old and was for emergencies when DD was born, she used to get very sick and I just couldn't keep up with washing and drying clothes had to change clothes and bedding about times a day! still have it for emergencies though. Never iron I hate doing it hang stuff straight from washing so isn't really creased anyway.

Working_Mum

Hello toria27 - sounds like you are having fun!

My husband lost his job last year and we had to really tighten our belts - I shopped at Lidl and Aldi and made loads of food fresh and froze it ready for use. I questioned every single penny I spent and left the house with "just enough" in my purse.

Can you rig up a pole in your airing cupbaord to hang up clothes which need drying - I do this and most stuff dries within 24 hours and is ready for ironong.

I swap magazines with friends and cut coupons to save money. Feng Shui says stop dripping taps, close toilet seats and pick up every penny you find and wealth comes to you! Worth a try - my son has £3.17 in his money box on this principle and my bathroom looks so much nicer with the seat down! Stopping dripping taps just makes sense!

I have a couple of children and found that passing decent clothes onto other parents has been really useful. My friend gave my daughter a gorgeous red duffle coat her 2 daughters had worn - my daughter wore it and I passed it onto another friend who has a daughter a year younger than mine. The red coat has now been passed on again to another little girl - talk about getting value for money!

We are now financially much better off than previously but my new found habits are not going away! We will be completely debt free in 3 years and it is the thought of thsi liberation which spurs me on to say no to impulse buys and worthless offers.

Just being AWARE is a good start and you haev taken the first step on that road - good luck and I'll try and find you again to see how you are getting on!

Happy saving!

Paula
AKA Working Mum!

toria27

Hi Paula well done on nearnly being debt free!
I wish we had a lidl near us but its about 30-40 mins away. However my freind lives by it and I am due a visit to her soon so will pop in. we do get a lot of second hand clothes given to us for our daughter and I couldn't beleive the generosity of our neighbours when we moved in to our street. One woman in particular who I had never met brought around 2 huge bags of her childrens old clothes and a baby walker. Other neighbours gave us gifts for her when she was born it was so kind.
We don't have a very big airing cupboard but drying clothes in front of computer is working well at the moment lol
Take care

Elliesmum

Not sure if this can help - but a good way of earning some extra money is Private Tutoring. My friend and I both do it, we have 2 children we tutor a week (for maths and english) and earn £34 a week each for 2 hours work! OK we have to drive to their homes and then we teach for an hour but it's cash in hand. Generally speaking they need tutoring after school or on Sat mornings, so maybe your OH can watch the LO while you're out!

HTH's ?

toria27

Hi Elliesmum, thats a really good idea, do I not need any experience in this though?? how old are the children you tutor?