Can you survive on £135pm?

adindas

Agree with that. You can't walk for 25 miles a day.
So keep concentrating then with saving from food.
- On weekend Go to the city centre where there are a lot of sandwich shops. Very often during the weekend they will throw away the sandwich which will expire on the following day.
- Sometimes it is also good to check in the hotel kitchen/corridors if there is food left over.
- If no other way to get a free sandwich or food, buy spaghetti value range from Tesco, and canned tomato. It is enough to keep you going for at least two days.

ADINDAS

MoneySpendingExpert2011 wrote: »

I never take taxis but I think walking from zone 8 (home) to 1 (work) (c25 miles trip) and back again would be ambitious for most people and I don't think fare dodging is an option so I am afraid I do have to pay the extortion (sorry tfl travelcard) :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

KPR11

I believe there is a grocery challenge on this board and old style board is super helpful.

Should be doable if you have food and limit yourself to going out a couple of times a month (with vouchers) and are disciplined.

I will be watching this space closely as I feel that my grocery bill needs to come down a fair bit.

Good luck

basketcase

I think the title's a bit misleading. I put 'Maybe' originally. However, if this is AFTER Rent, Bills, Food and Transport (which is what it says in the first post) that's a YES.

MoneySpendingExpert2011

basketcase wrote: »

I think the title's a bit misleading. I put 'Maybe' originally. However, if this is AFTER Rent, Bills, Food and Transport (which is what it says in the first post) that's a YES.

Hi basketcase,

I am sorry you feel that the title is a bit misleading, I thought "£135 (after bills)" made it clear that rent, transport etc that the only things left to pay for were things like food, going out, phone, hair cuts etc

Thanks for clarifying your reply.

basketcase

MoneySpendingExpert2011 wrote: »

Hi basketcase,

I am sorry you feel that the title is a bit misleading, I thought "£135 (after bills)" made it clear that rent, transport etc that the only things left to pay for were things like food, going out, phone, hair cuts etc

Thanks for clarifying your reply.

Sorry. Thought you said you had a fair bit of food, so it would only be fresh stuff, meds etc. (Plus, I must confess, to me the phone is a bill...)

Of course, it didn't help that I answered the question before reading the clarification...!

MonkeyMad

After paying rent/bills, in the past month I have spent less than £100 and that is mainly food - I have a 25mile round trip to work on a bike, and never carry money aside from emergency change for the phonebox.

I have done this many times when things are tight including a stint on JSA.

'Going out' is highly overated - I have always had more fun with my mates round my place, as it is cheaper for everyone, you can do what you want. My mobile use is minimal so £15 every other month is enormous (I only make a couple of quick calls a week; don't feel the need to phone a friend to tell them I'll be off the bus in a minute and will see them then which appears to be common practice around here)

GeorgieFTB

Hi MSE

I said yes but I'm not sure I would want to for long... in a few months I think you may need to balance between paying off your debts as quickly as possible and not falling off the wagon! As you are working long hours I would go stir crazy if every weekend I had to scrimp, I get the impression that you have some leeway in your budget, if you do and you struggle on the money, up your budget by say £20 and see if that makes it easier, I wouldn't see it as a failure, just an adjustment.

On the food front, I'm veggie too, one of my little tricks - read lazy cooking - is to make up a bean mix and use that... take three tins of beans, I use baked beans/chilli red kidneys/three bean in tom sauce - this can then be used in meals, add quick cook pasta and cheese on top, pasta bake, add chilli powder, veg and rice, chilli, there are lots of things that can be made with it.

Gx

MoneySpendingExpert2011

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies.

I would love to be able to cycle to work, not sure I can do it tbh - 50 miles a day is just not gonna happen not with the kind of hours I work.

MonkeyMad - Well done, it is really inspiring to read real life stories like yours.

My phone top-up is generally once every 10 weeks, so it works out to about £5 pm and considering I don't have a landline, I am guessing it is reasonable. My friends know that they will get a text (free) and never a phone call.

My going out fund includes everything from meals out to books from charity shops to cinema to take-aways etc

Georgie - you are absolutely right, I have been reading that keeping the budget too tight for too long is the single biggest cause of people giving up and ending up with even larger debt. My budget has a fair bit of leeway and increasingly I am thinking of having flexible budgets which will only have an overall cap.

I hear you about working long hours and scrimping at weekends etc, luckily (:o) I am a bit of a loner and love my books so I can have a "relaxing weekend on the cheap, 50p - £1 book(s) will do me fine"

thanks for the 3 beans tip, it sounds great and must be quite tasty, will try it sometime soon.

sp1987

MoneySpendingExpert2011 wrote: »

You have hit it on the head for me, I buy a lot of quorn (mince, pieces etc but also sausages etc) which can be painfully expensive. For example, I got Cauldron Cumberland sausages the other day £2.10 for 6 :eek:, I try to stock up when things are on offer but freezer space is limited.

I also eat a lot of fresh fruits, I can assure that it is very expensive! Crappiest bananas are about 11p to 15p each! The list just goes on!

Lets not even start on the milk and cheese!

It is weird because every time I buy 2 bananas and Tesco charge me 29p I think I am getting a bargain due to it being a well travelled bit of fruit. Funny how opinions differ isn't it? Though £2.10 for 6 sausages is plain extortion to me if you are trying to keep costs low. If you are just spending whatever you like then spend £20 on them if it suits, but that is a big % of your budget on some not even meat, meat.

ALDI for cheap fruit and veg? I go in there and am in awe about how cheap it all is.

Iceland does large bottles of milk for £1 (4 pints I think it is?). Sadly iceland by me is nutters paradise so I'd rather pay the extra and go elsewhere. They run round the shop in their pjs screaming at each other. Next door is home bargains and none of them are in there (or their personality completely changes on the street outside!) so it isn't just an area thing, just this one iceland store, lol.

d-van

Hi, I would like to make a suggestion. I am not a veggie but enjoy eating soya products and Holland & Barrett sell Mince Soya at a fraction of the supermarket price. It is quite a big bag and you can use it a few times. Here http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=2767&prodid=3670&cid=52&sid=0 They do chunks as well which can be used in stir-fryes, stews, soups etc. http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=2765&prodid=3669&cid=52&sid=0 It actually tastes pretty good and it's a lot cheaper than quorn in my opinion