Newbie saying Hi and looking for advice

seabright

Well done on the immediate reduction in your shopping budget! I read today that salad leaves are the most cost effective thing to grow yourself, so I am going to try that - if you buy bagged salads that might work for you too?

I have PM'd you too with some food ideas.

Lindy_-_Loo

Hello, Im a SAHM with 2 boys and I worked full time as a store manager before I had my boys. It was a big drop in nicome for us as I earned more than OH. We checked out what we were entitled to and started to change how we shopped, bought basic or own brand etc.

Now I shop once a month online, whichever supermarket is cheapest and then each week go to netto or co op for fresh bits whivh can be bought in advance. I make treats for lunch boxes instead of shop bought cakes.

I cook from scratch 5 nights a week then we have two nights if treat food eg chicken nuggets for the boys. I cook enough bolognaise to freeze for the boys to have with it tubey pasta on treat night. We spend quite a bit in fruit - so usually we have whats on offer or value only.

I used to buy clothes new, but have discovered ebay! Today I won 2 prs of M&S school shorts for £3 with post, the same would be £8 instore as I checked the other day. Wish I realised buying used clothes and selling them before last year!

Enjoy being a SAHM its wonderful x

Dorastar

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Meanwhile take a look at the cheap-family-recipes.org website for some fabby recipe ideas. If they say you can feed a family of four on £100 a month think how much you might be able to save out of your £300 plus

Thanks for the link to this site - have just had a neb round and reckon we can also cut back by loads - especially since I'm trying to sneak veggies in my two and cut back on costs too.

LJM

Jayllie wrote: »

Ok so I am totally new to this and some of you may think me mad but I have kind of chosen to be in this position.

In order to spend time with my two young children I have gone from working full time to just two days a week and I am really starting to feel the pinch. Am definitely spending more than I earn and need to nip it in the bud right now before it gets out of control.
I have been so used to having money and just spending the off tenner here and there that when I went part time I didn't really stop my spending habits and now I am finding out the hard way that I should have!

First on my list to do is write up and budget and then see if I can cut my outgoings down at all, especially my food shopping (approx £70-80 a week for 2 adults a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old).

Anyway I just thought I would introduce myself as I have a funny feeling I am to be a frequent visitor to these boards from this day forth :-)

Any advice, tips and inspiration would be gladly appreciated

xxx

hi welcome to the forum x i gave up work to be a sahm and its the best decision i have made,i am happier and my girls are my oh works full time and is happy for me to be at home.once you get into the swing of menu planning,budgeting etc you will be fine,yes it can be difficult but also i find it fun to find different ways to cut costs and save money and also trying new ways to make money x

Jayllie

Thank again for the more replies. I am really enjoying spending some much needed time with my kiddies, missed them so much when working full time. And I am actually enjoying trying to find ways to cut our bills and save money. Yes having a tight budget is stressful but I feel like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders in the past two weeks :-)