We are about to pull the purse strings soooo tight!

Alice_in_Poorland

wuvvies wrote: »

just some thoughts from me.
hello im new but have been reading. were really tight for money. trying to pay off a 2k debt but are struggling to find 50 pounds a month to pay it. its on 0% and we have about another 9 months to pay it. every single month we have no money. ive spent 41 pounds today on a weeks shop for four people. my husband summed it up he works 60 plus hrs per week and i have two part time jobs (and two kids 15 and 8) and were stuggling to find a reasonable amount for food. dont get me wrong were not hungry but i have to bake and keep everything full so there is enough for everyone. today ive made pizza and doughballs and my own potato and coleslaw to go with it.
its been half term this week but we cant go out as we cant use the car as we cant afford the petrol. weve done a dvd and popcorn day and had some board games but apart from that weve done nothing as we cant afford to. i know walks are free but realistically you need to drive 30 mins to walk somewhere nice. my kids are amazing. my daughter has had nothing new this year and my son is content swapping in games to get new xbox games. were doing a bootsale this week and were going to split it between 3 (sorry husband lol) and then the kids will get some spends. how do you lot on here not feel down about your situations?
my plus sides are - ive just paid my car insurance with cash and i also have 125 put on an asda card for christmas.
just look forward to your views

wuvvies wrote: »

thanks for your reply. SURVEYS - this amazes me. i have a friend who earns about 7 - 10 pounds a month and she puts this away for christmas. i have got my daughter doing them and i do them and we never get to finish them as were not suitable - we dont meet the requirements. i wish we did. i must try this again.
my poor daughter - shes rung everywhere for jobs but literally everywhere shes tried has said come back when your 16. so shes 16 in august and yes it will be first on her list. shes honestly such an angel. she never asks for anything, she has 1 pound a week to get chips on friday at school and shes happy with that.:( in reality she doesnt want for anything but her friends go out and about on busses and she cant afford to do that. she has excellent friends and although her room is tiny tiny tiny she has friends to sleep sometimes.
i could look for another job but to be honest im tired with two!! i like a tidy home and i homebake all the time. i work 25/27 hrs in one job and between 4 and 10 hrs at the other job. last week i did 15 hrs at second job. but its "as and when"
ebay is also another thing ive never really made money on as i dont put the postage high enough and end up paying it myself!!
bootsales i hate doing but they do make me about 60 plus so i intend to do more of these.
i know to get more money i have to work for it and i also know i sound lazy and dissing these other ideas. its good to know that others can get down. im not that down but i look at the positives thats why i ended my post with things id saved for.
its lovely to hear your views thanks:D

Hi wuvvies, I totally agree with pwps and dfw things can get very tough, and I find all keeping a note of every spend, keeping on top of the budget and meal planning a bit like a part time job. So that on top of daily life can really get to you sometimes.

Do you keep a spending diary? Have you done a SOA? Sometimes its good to get other peoples views and ideas.

We didn't do go anywhere with the kids this half term, they seemd quite happy having OH at home playing games, watching DVDs etc......I was at work as we try and cover as many of the holidays we can between us to cut down on childcare for DS3.:(

Hope you can get things sorted, keep your chin up.xx

Alice_in_Poorland

dawnybabes wrote: »

Have you looked at Costco own brand washing powder, it's in huge tub and lasts forever - think it was about £12 and according to the plastic tub (reusable to wash cars !) does over 400 washes. I always use less then advised anyway, I do about 10 washes a week and it lasted me over 6 months.

Wow that's a bargain...400 washed for £12, I've not looked at the washpowder at C0stc0 because I had a couple of the very big boxes when sburys were selling them for about £8ish, but they've all gone now. I reckon I do about the same as you, 10 washes a week. :eek: xx

Alice_in_Poorland

What a week! I've been so tired this week...again!!

As a VIP person at work had a very special birthday last week everyone decided to go to the pub after work yesterday, spur of the moment thing, it was a tad tricky as I only had £1.76 in my purse, so ordered a glass of tap water (on the quiet) and bless him the barman (one of DS1s friends) gave me a bottle sparkling water and only charged me a £1. Still a tad embarrassing tho!

Most people were going to make a night of it and go for food but I made my excuses and left early. When I got home OH told me we've been invited out with friends tonight but to be honest I don't feel like it (and we haven't got the money). Me and OH still haven't been out on our own since our meltdown the other week, and at the moment we're just plodding along nice and peacefully.

I had to get 3 birthday presents today for an 18th, 60th and 5th birthdays. Spent £26 on presents and £5 on flowers and £6.75 on cards...gulp!

Called into A1di, picked up some salad stuff, fruit, jacket spuds, meat for tonights tea, cereal (4 boxes), hosepipe attachement, bread, bits for lunchboxes.....£35.

Forgot milk and meat for sandwiches. Need petrol too so when we deliver one of the presents later will call into sburys get food bits and petrol. Also need to get £20 cash for the hobbies/sports pot.

Spends for May - petrol £126 , food £368, NSDs 8.

Whilst I've been typing this OH has taken a load of soil to the tip, the second load. 2 lots of petrol but still cheaper than a skip.

Hope everybody has a good weekend. xx

Alice_in_Poorland

We called into sburys for milk etc yesterday....didn't quite stick to the list:o, we're off to a family BBQ this afternoon so as I hadn't got anything 'spare' to take ended up getting some more chicken to marinade and strawberries and cream!

Have done meter readings this morning, we've used £33 of gas and electric the last 2 weeks. Still not sure if that's good or bad?? Once the DD goes in over the weekend we will be £250 in credit.

Have sorted all the money pots, so looking forward to some NSDs this week.:)

Hope everybody has a great day. xx

debtfreewannabe321

I think £33 is good? I pay £119 atm (until it switches over) for gas & elec each month so two weeks worth would be £60 nearly :eek:!

Have fun at the BBQ!

wuvvies

afternoon all,
thanks for all the advice on here. i know why i get down. i use a spending diary and pots and dont allow anything at all for fun. ive done a boot sale today and made 27 pounds each for my daughter and son and i have 27 pounds as well. ive put 6 pounds away for my sons club this week and my husband and myself are going out for a meal midweek after a yukky hospital appt. soooo pleased i have cleared the clutter and made a good amount. today is a much more positive day as its sunny. i just feel its easier to have fun with the kids cheaply when its sunny.
have a good day everyone

PinotGrigio41

Hope the BBQ went well Alice, it was lovely and sunny here today.

We have managed half term without spending much either , just lots of sleepovers and mayhem really.

Hope you get to spend some quality time with your OH soon Alice. Mr PG and I managed an evening out earlier int he week after my meltdown and it did us the power of good.

Take Care xxx

PinotGrigio41

wuvvies wrote: »

afternoon all,
thanks for all the advice on here. i know why i get down. i use a spending diary and pots and dont allow anything at all for fun. ive done a boot sale today and made 27 pounds each for my daughter and son and i have 27 pounds as well. ive put 6 pounds away for my sons club this week and my husband and myself are going out for a meal midweek after a yukky hospital apt. soooo pleased i have cleared the clutter and made a good amount. today is a much more positive day as its sunny. i just feel its easier to have fun with the kids cheaply when its sunny.
have a good day everyone

Wuvvies, well done on earning the boot sale money. I hope you and Mr Wuvvies manage a treat, hopefully it will make you feel a bit better. We all need spoiling sometimes

I am sure your DD will enjoy spending her money, or saving it. I have a 15 year old as well , she loves sleepovers or just chilling out in the park with her friends rather than feeling the need to go out shopping all of the time. Your DD sounds an absolute credit to you.

Hang in there xxx

Alice_in_Poorland

PinotGrigio41 wrote: »

Wuvvies, well done on earning the boot sale money. I hope you and Mr Wuvvies manage a treat, hopefully it will make you feel a bit better. We all need spoiling sometimes

I am sure your DD will enjoy spending her money, or saving it. I have a 15 year old as well , she loves sleepovers or just chilling out in the park with her friends rather than feeling the need to go out shopping all of the time. Your DD sounds an absolute credit to you.

Hang in there xxx

Wuvvies, totally agree with Mrs PG here. Also I think it's easy to get caught in a trap of thinking just because we are in debt that we can't have any fun, and everything that is fun is going to cost money.

Enjoy your meal out with OH.xx

Alice_in_Poorland

debtfreewannabe321 wrote: »

I think £33 is good? I pay £119 atm (until it switches over) for gas & elec each month so two weeks worth would be £60 nearly :eek:!

Have fun at the BBQ!

Thanks DFW, we have been really trying get this bill down. We're still paying £114 at the moment, not sure if we should get the money back or leave it and make the DD amount less in the winter?? xx

PinotGrigio41 wrote: »

Hope the BBQ went well Alice, it was lovely and sunny here today.

We have managed half term without spending much either , just lots of sleepovers and mayhem really.

Hope you get to spend some quality time with your OH soon Alice. Mr PG and I managed an evening out earlier int he week after my meltdown and it did us the power of good.

Take Care xxx

Thanks Mrs PG, we need to have some QT time together , but something always gets in the way.
xx