301k in debt and morbidly obese - things aren't great!

MrBloater

As if it wasn't bad enough that this Sunday followed an extra Sunday yesterday that had followed a bonus Wednesday- this Sunday alone is being a Sunday with double strength of misery. Started off disasterously with the realisation that we have a childcare issue Tuesday afternoon that can't be solved by our usual heroes and has just got worse. Being money-conscious I decided to park at the other end of the park for our Sunday stroll hence avoiding a £2 charge. Bike, scooter, children and Mrs B unloaded we embarked on the massive trek to the playground. After about 3 minutes I was holding the scooter, helmet, various coats and bike. The human coatstand and the rest of the Bloaters finally made it to the summit and only spent 80p on 2 Mini-milks for the kids and I thoght things were looking up. DS fell asleep in the car on the way to Tesco and so I stayed in the car with him while Mrs B and DD went to get the veg, milk and lunch stuff. 40 minutes later DS woke up screaming demanding his mother and so we found them at Checkout 23, with 6 bags full of stuff and a total cost of £120 - which was gutting cos we'd had the conversation earlier about whether we needed to take the vouchers with us - and we had a £13off a £90 spend one that expired today. I know in the grand scheme of things £13 isn't anything, but it really stuck in my throat. Cue Mrs B not talking to me since then aside from telling me that the number for the person we need to call to see about babysitting is on her pink phone (which we gave to the kids to play with months ago) and hence could be literally anywhere in the house or garden, but once said phone is located I then have to brave the shed of doom to find the charger for the effing thing. This afternoon is gonna be messy. Grrr.

short_bird

oh 'eck: shed Tetris again?:(

firesidemaid

gulp, £120 on a shop! we only spend that at christmas lol, and then we feel guilty (but then there are only 2 of us).

it is gutting when you have forgotten said coupon, i've been there, am sure we all have. could you spend it online for a stock up on good value essentials, such as loo rolls, coffee, tea, tinned goods, cereals and other high-use staples?:D

the other thing is to get used to having all the coupons in a purse or wallet (or car) at all times.

re. phone number. would it appear on either a landline or mobile phone bill to save you all the other hassle (you can see i've been there done this too;). needless to say i have a lot of t-shirts lol:rotfl:)

Igamogam

Ouch! £120 spend at T*sco on lunch stuff veg and milk and the forgotten voucher - I know just how you feel Mr B

Hey we have being playing Shed Tetris too! Had to find DD1s suitcase for going back to university next week and a pair of B*den footwear which I have just sold on Eb*y for over £35 plus postage. Dont think I paid £35 when I bought them - well I know I didnt :j.

Yes B*DEN Mr B very lucrative on Eb*y. Mrs B be warned!

Betsie2010

Mr B sympathise with the hefty spend in T**co. Am currently on line trying to do my shop but keep it under budget. I loathe food shopping and for me it is around 40 min journey so the delivery charge is well worth while. I look for the cheapest time slot and then only buy what is on my list. It does mean I miss out on any sale goods, but I don't get tempted either. Well only when the meat is on special but then I freeze the excess for the following weeks. Have in my head a meal plan for the week and will be resorting to making my own pies etc from scratch !
Oopps just rememberd cat food so had better add that or there will be a mutiny!!

thevinternet

Oh dear. Excuse me for reading a bit too much between the lines, but it sounds like Mrs B hasn't quite had her 'lightbulb moment' regarding your debts yet, would that be fair to say? My OH hasn't either, and I must say that it is a bit harder when one of you makes a real effort to save cash, and the other person is a bit more reluctant/splurges more. I always end up feeling like a nag, so I have to really tone it down at times. We used to spend £120 at the supermarket, but by buying in bulk with BOGOF deals and not being fussy about buying 'economy' or supermarket own products (with the exception of coffee and loo roll ) we have easily halved that, if not more when I cook from scratch. So chin up Bloater, it can be done, and well done on the running :T

jetplane

OK so every days a school day and todays lessons are ...

Keep coupons in purse / wallet

Leave MrsB in the car with son

Shop online, truly it is a money saver, you don't get tempted by the treats or buy stuff you didn't want by looking for the stuff you cant find (if that makes sense) :cool:

Keep up the good work MrB

Lara44

Don't worry Mr B tomorrow's another day. There's always another voucher on MSE!

If Mrs B bought too much, you could batch cook for the freezer? That will save you the Friday night Dolmio moment.

You are doing SO great. Keep working on Mrs B, she will have her light bulb moment - hopefully soon

Karmacat

firesidemaid wrote: »

it is gutting when you have forgotten said coupon, i've been there, am sure we all have. could you spend it online for a stock up on good value essentials, such as loo rolls, coffee, tea, tinned goods, cereals and other high-use staples?:D

the other thing is to get used to having all the coupons in a purse or wallet (or car) at all times.

re. phone number. would it appear on either a landline or mobile phone bill to save you all the other hassle (you can see i've been there done this too;). needless to say i have a lot of t-shirts lol:rotfl:)

jetplane wrote: »

OK so every days a school day and todays lessons are ...

Keep coupons in purse / wallet

Leave MrsB in the car with son

Shop online, truly it is a money saver, you don't get tempted by the treats or buy stuff you didn't want by looking for the stuff you cant find (if that makes sense) :cool:

I was going to make points of these two posts, by firesidemaid and jetplane, but they're so brill, I couldn't. I hope you get on here again tonight, MrB, so you can use the suggestion of doing a shop tonight that will use up the voucher for long term stuff.

beanielou

What an inspiring diary
Keep plodding as you are doing wonderfully well :j :j