Frugal Living 2011 - the preparation stage

oldestgnome

Everyone needs treats, it makes the frugal and general money spending awareness easier :-)

Co-op was disappointing. . a penny saved and all that ;-) Whoopsie pixie wasn't playing tonight!

xnatalie81x

as if!!! in the 7 years we were together i HAD no b;day/xmas pressies!!!!!! One bunch of petrol station flowers one valentines lol. But my ex mil got me some smellies from the kids (she was always 100% for her son but has realised and now does not speak to him either) i did order it from america so saved a bit.............. shame the pound is so !!!! at the moment lol

Caseymoo

Hi I am very new to this forum and certainly to the challenges, I am only 19 but very mature for my age and I moved out when I was 17. I currently live with my boyfriend of 2.5 years and we have no children and don't want any for about 10 years haha.

I am a nanny and adore children but know I am not ready for my own.

We live in a 3 bedroomed house as I am also registered for overnight care as a childminder so we need the room for when the kids stay and I do earn quite a bit. The problem being I am self employed so don't get paid holiday and work term time only and my boyfriend works for an agency so if there's no work he doesn't get paid, so we never have a steady income. My income is also being halved on the 28th of feb as my days and hours will be reduced.

Our rent and bills are about £850 a month and my boyfriend gets anything from £600-£800 and I get on average £1000+ any babysitting usually £150-£200 a month.

I AM REALLY BAD WITH MONEY AND GET TAXIS EVERYWHERE!! SO I KNOW WHAT I NEED TO CUT DOWN ON WHICH IS A START. I also spend more than I should on food. My new budget for groceries is £10 a week for 2 people, I did it today and only spent £6.50 so know I can do it. But my weaknesses are taxis and shopping for the house, I think I can cure the taxis, but I love my spends.

We really want to save for a deposit on a house and just have some savings at least as every week we have £0 left over and only have £10 savings. I have been very fortunate to grow up with everything I wanted and can't seem to get out of this rut.

Any tips or advice welcomed, all bills have been cut down as much as possible.

rent £550 pcm
bills £300 pcm

travel £60 pcm

food £50 pcm

driving lessons £200 pcm

sorry about the essay thanks

itsallinthemind

xnatalie81x wrote: »

One bunch of petrol station flowers one valentines lol

Sounds like you are well shot!:D

Caseymoo wrote: »

My new budget for groceries is £10 a week for 2 people, I did it today and only spent £6.50 so know I can do it.

bills £300 pcm

I'm new too

What about money put aside for:
Christmas/Birthday/Easter?
Contents insurance
TV liscence
Phone/internet
Mobiles
Haircuts
Make up
Entertainment(we all need something!)
Expenditure on things for children you look after

Are they all covered in the bills, as well as council tax, water, gas, electric?

What do you normally spend on groceries including food? It used to take military planning a few years ago to do £9 (just food, not toilet rolls etc)by myself. I am not doubting you can do it , but I am questioning whether it is enough to feed you healthily long term, for 3 meals a day, without stressing you? Maybe you should give yourself a little more room for manouvre the first month, beat your budget, then reduce it to what is workable. I was ill last month and treated the children to a pizza(was not happy about that!) as I could hardly stand, let alone cook, sometimes we need to have a bit of room, does not mean we need to always spend it.

frizz2

Hi Everybody,

Thankyou for everybodies great ideas! I would love to join this thread and share ideas!
I too need to be really frugal in the next year. My work has changed and my contract come to an end, I will now have to work on a temporary basis part time and so we will not have the same income coming in.

My husband and I went to LIDL yesterday and stocked up on some basics. I am going to start a price book, an idea I got from The Tightwad Gazette and write down the prices of staple foods to get the best deal.

Also I have started an accounts book, where I write down everything I spend. I intend to start to plan my monthly menus so I can plan my shopping better.

I also went to Homebase and got 10 Primrose plants reduced to 20p. I bought some compost for cuttings and intend to start propogating some cuttings from other plants. I have bought all my Christmas cards £1 a box and wrapping paper £1 a roll from Marks and Spencer.
Good Luck to Everyone.

Caseymoo

What about money put aside for:
Christmas/Birthday/Easter? Already got everything for next year, I am good at this. Will need £300 for Christmas though for my bfs presents and food etc.
Contents insurance is covered with my bank account
TV liscence in with bills
Phone/internet in with bills
Mobiles in with bills

Haircuts £100 for the year both of us
Make up have enough for the next year easy
Entertainment(we all need something!) erm £60 pcm
Expenditure on things for children you look after is funded by the parents

I don't need any toiletries, toilet roll, tin foil etc.etc. for about 6 months, I buy in bulk the only thing I will need in the next 6 weeks is washing liquid £7 for 85 washes lasts about 6 months.
I also need to book 2 holidays to Cyprus one for my mums wedding and the other for my sisters big role in her production she is doing. I am budgeting £800 for both holidays including flights for 2 people. No accom needed as my mums lives there.

itsallinthemind

Caseymoo wrote: »

Expenditure on things for children you look after is funded by the parents

Sounds like you have it sussed:T. I am such a silly moo, realised yesterday I had forgot to budget for NAPPIES :eek:. Do you not need a stock of toys, craft materials, bowls/plates/beakers etc, that all need repleninshing?

i keep adding to my list :mad:

oldestgnome

xnatalie81x you are inspiring :A

Wow - itsallinthemind and caseymoo I need to come shopping with you!

Frizz2 - The idea of having a book and writing down everything you spend is a good one - I use my debit card so intend to keep all my receipts and not get cash out so I will know what I have spent and write down anything i do spend in cash so that I can put them in the spreadsheet CW18 has so kindly linked and work out where it all goes!

oldestgnome

I keep adding to my list too :mad:

Caseymoo

itsallinthemind wrote: »

Sounds like you have it sussed:T. I am such a silly moo, realised yesterday I had forgot to budget for NAPPIES :eek:. Do you not need a stock of toys, craft materials, bowls/plates/beakers etc, that all need repleninshing?

i keep adding to my list :mad:

Because I am a nanny rather than a childminder I don't supply anything even though I am self employed.

I have some toys, books and crafts etc. But I mainly only have 1 child once or twice a month overnight or for the weekend so we go to the park or the things I have in do just nicely. Also depending on the child the parents often give me £20 to treat their children or ask me for receipts and they refund the money. That's how I get round it.