Help me my life sucks

Travelqueen

Would definately agree with a previous poster for buying at markets. You can try towards the end of the day when things are a lot cheaper - this also works for supermarkets (especially in the veg / bread aisles) Also, household products can be so much cheaper at places such as Wilkinsons which often have BOGOFs on cleaning products & are cheap to start with!

If you're any good creatively too you could think about making things for peoples birthdays - mosaic mirrors, small painting, jewellry?

I also have worked 2/3 jobs in the past to pay bills - working during the day at the weekend brought in a bit of extra cash. It can be tiring, but if you had a great holiday / cleared some of your debts at the end of it would it be worth it? Also, you could try buying online via greasy palm to get cash-back that way - there are also a few bank accounts at the moment which are offering up to £30 to open an account - worth a look?

I would definately look at your electricity bill too - I live in London with 2 other people in a 3 bed flat & we pay £20 a month for electricity & £20 for gas - less than you on your own pay for just electricity!

I would also urge you to think again about sharing. It will feel strange at first, but not only is it good to have someone else sharing the bills, but you can expand your social circle, won't feel so lonely in the evenings, and, if you're lucky, can take turns in cooking dinner! There are loads of places to find people - moveflat.com is a good place to start & works nationwide. Sharing with a stranger is no bad thing, just make sure you interview them properly first - one of my old co-habitees has now become one of my best friends.

With regards to reducing your food bills, check-out the Student pages on this site, and also look in second hand book stores for student cook books - these teach you how to cook on a serious budget. I would also concur with buying things reduced - I always look whereever I am (it might look sad but it saves you money!) and often find things like sandwich bags for e.g. in slightly damaged packets which cost very little. Also consider taking lunch to work if you don't already - at £3 a day you'd save £780 a year... whereas knocking up a quick sandwich / salad etc you should be able to do for under £1 a day including crisps / chocolate!

Entertainment - rather than visiting the cinema why not try some of the DVD rental free trials? You could get some films for free this way & save some money? Also invite your friends around for this - have a bring your own bottle, you provide a bit of food & have a great night in.

Phone bill - if you can't get out of your contract can you negotitate with your supplier for a lower tariff? £30 a month seems an awful lot when you have a landline at home. I presume you have a dual deal with Telewest / NTL too as you have broadband which gives you free evening & weekend calls locally & nationally? You could maybe use this more than your mobile?

Also, do you need such fast broadband? Can you reduce it to 250mbps and save some money here?

Holidays - if you manage to make a saving on your electricity for e.g. of £20, why not save this every month for a holiday & use other savings to pay off debts. £20 a month is £240 a year which is a start.

Good luck anyway, and remember you will come out the other side, it just takes a while - I graduated 7 years ago & will finally finish paying off my loans in March. After years of contracting I finally got a permanent job this month, bought a house last July etc. It will work out, and you're starting the right way, in a few months / years time you'll be able to look back with pride at how far you've come & what you've achieved.

TQ

Travelqueen

Oh...

And another note on Supermarkets - shop carefully.

For example in my local Tescos they have 3 tins of chickpeas (I make a lot of hummus) - two are on one aisle (with indian foods & spices) & the Tescos one are on an aisle with all the other tins. The two tins near each other are 22p & 24p. The Tescos own tin is 44p! Of course, if I was a true moneysaver I would probably soak my own, but life's too short for some things!

Also, sundried tomatoes (I make a lot of meditteranean salads!) - either Jars that cost from £1.90 or... the Deli counter - a tub for £1.50 which you can get more in (if you pack it properly).

Now probably buying sundried tomatoes isn't everyones idea of moneysaving, but at least buy what you eat in the most cost-effective way - I don't eat meat so spend more on these sorts of things...

Good luck (again!)

TQ

bridiej

When I lived on my own and was struggling for money I got an evening job in a local pub.

OK, I was knackered the next day getting up for work, but the extra cash came in handy PLUS it was like having a social life, only getting paid for it!!!!

Also, visit your local farmers market (you must have one living in Devon) as meat and veg are always cheaper bought there (or a farm shop) rather than the supermarket.

Aldi and Lidl are great for all your other shopping - we were shopping at Safeway which (now it's been taken over by Morrisons) is quite expensive, so have gone back to Lidl. We now spend £25 a week on this shopping, plus probably £6 on fruit and veg at the farm shop (for two of us plus two cats!).

Can you do a car share with anyone at work who lives nearby? That way you could take it in turns to drive, say you do it one week, them the next etc. and save on your petrol bill.

Lastly I'd just say, although it might look like everyone else around you can buy what they want and go out and spend hundreds at a time, but I've seen that with my own friends and it's not til much later you realise the amount of debt they are in.

Believe me, I'd far rather have a night in watching a DVD that cost me £3 than be out clubbing every night and in huge amounts of debt...

CL

Just a quick note about the supermarkets, have you looked at the discounts and vouchers section of this site, it nearly always has a 10 off 50 pound voucher for tescos, even when you have to pay delivery it's still at least a fiver off, on top of that it's easier to see all the special offers when you shop online

Keziah_2

My net income is £901.69 per month, after Student Loans etc, and my rent here in London is £400 per month plus bills. Admittedly I don't have a car, but my travelcard costs £67.33 a month, and I pay £50 a month towards paying off other debts. How do I do it? First I read Martin's book, and now I follow up on all the tips in the email and on the site. You're not alone, and it is possible!

WeirdoMagnet

CL wrote:

Just a quick note about the supermarkets, have you looked at the discounts and vouchers section of this site, it nearly always has a 10 off 50 pound voucher for tescos, even when you have to pay delivery it's still at least a fiver off, on top of that it's easier to see all the special offers when you shop online

Ah, but no Yellow Sticker items!

brisck1

Actually I didnt think my food bill was that bad at only £40-odd quid a month, currently I eat alot of pasta and spag-bol and grab whatever buy-1-get-1-free/half price offers I can get. I used to have a lot of luxuries like icecream, cakes and pizzas(ohhh i miss thee) but now I cut all of that out and i saved a fair bit.

One thing I havent tried yet is buying some of the "reduced to clear" items as im never sure of freezing and recooking stuff (like casserole or spagbol) im never sure of wether its best to re-heat in the oven or just microwave it, and also for how long?

Anyway, Im thinking of buying Martin's book, but can anyone outline to me what areas of moneysaving etc it goes into? - oh and where I can get it cheap :P

fatboyonadiet

sofa_sogood mentioned one survey but I so loads and get a bit extra a month, loads to try but https://www.valuedopinions.co.uk https://www.myvoice.co.uk (a bid dead at the mo but was good for me) https://www.gozing.com and there is many more but can't remember any! use https://www.greasypalm.co.uk for cashback too, had over £50 in the few months I've been a member and not done any really significant purchases.

fazer6

Martins book is cheapest at the mo via https://www.thebookpeople.co.uk

Buy as much reduced stuff as you can, if it's about to be out of date cook it straight away. You can refreeze something that's already been frozen if it changes state, ie raw frozen meat is defrosted, cooked and refrozen.

To defrost and cook get it out the night before and leave in the fridge. Get to money saving old style and start planning meals, I have all evening meals planned using what i've got in the fridge until 4th March, I have 3 in for the week after, and two the week after that (my pocket diary is my lifeline and never leaves my side).

Heat stuff in the oven if you've got other stuff in there, but it's not very money saving to heat a whole oven for one dish. So you can use the microwave. My other half always asks how long will it take, how do I know when it's done. My answer is always the same, put your finger in the middle and if it burns it's done. I think one portion of not frozen cooked food is generally about 1.30 mins.

Pizza - make your own, it's yummier and cheaper. Not sure about doing dough not in a breadmaker as it might be a pain kneading and leaving to rise but if you ask in money saving old style someone will have an easy dough.

Cakes - bake your own, same with biccies. Trial and error to see what you like but at least you don't have to do without. Oh and if you're living on your own don't forget you can freeze cakes so you don't have to eat it all in a few days before it goes stale.

You don't actually have to do without things to save money, you just go about getting them in a different way. If you have a luxury item you absolutly love then buy it out of your entertainment/luxury budget. Or have a really frugal food month and then buy whatever it is you fancy. I was lucky enough to get an icecream maker for my birthday last year so when cream's reduced I make a batch.

Another rewards place is http://www.nfocc.com they send you highstreet vouchers straight away so no waiting and having to withdraw when you get to £50. I wasn't eligible for one survey so I got £1, I did another and got £7. Oh and they send you a christmas card and a birthday card too.

bridiej

The menus idea is a good one - I work out one week in advance and write a shopping list according to that. Makes it much easier and you dont end up with cupboards / fridge full of food you havent eaten yet!!

If you fancy cooking yourself get Delia's One is Fun (I got mine off ebay for a few quid) - it's full of recipes for one person, it you have company you can just double, treble whatever the amounts accordingly and she does some "mixed doubles" that use similar ingredients and you can freeze one half and make the other recipe another time.