Help - I'm a mess :(

mooomin

Frugal Living thread - a group of people all trying to be frugal and save money. Post #1 has some brilliant links that will help you save too.

Payment A Day - a favourite of mine. You pledge to make a payment a day, no matter how small, to one of your debts. You can do it using online banking or even just putting pennies in a pot and paying into the bank once a month. I found that it gave me the focus to do something about my debt every day and don't think I would have cleared my (nearly £10,000) original debts without it.

Good luck for tomorrow. Keep busy!!

hp48910

OMG, I'm going to get myself over to O/S when I get back from work. Payday next week so will be fab to have some MSE ideas/recipes before I spend out on the usual stuff, which btw I think is quite MSE but nowhere near what I imagine they're doing over there!!

andygb

Well done Flis, I have only been reading this thread this morning and you have made really good progress. Have you managed to have a look at the "old style moneysaving" thread on here, which will give you great ideas for cooking economically and generally saving money around the house. You could try baking bread, because we have found that it saves a lot of money very quickly (30p for a lovely loaf), and it is tastier and better for you. I would say that our biggest saving, is not using supermarkets for everything, try a local market if you can. Local markets often sell better vegetables (cheaper, more variety), cheaper eggs. Buy cheaper cuts of meat - mince, chicken legs, thighs and drumsticks, beef shin and skirt (great for slow cooking, making big, cheap casseroles).
We use Poundland and 99p shops for soaps, shower gel, toothpaste and general household cleaning materials.
So there you go with a few ideas.
Good luck with giving up the ciggies, you will feel better in the long term, and the effect on your heart and lungs will mean that walking (instead of using expensive public transport) will be a whole lot more fun.

Andy

sugarcube84

well done on the changes! I've found the @sda smartprice fabric softner very good, i only use half the amount and water it down a bit as the water pressure in our area is naff and it clogs my drawer. With power (aldi/lidl own) again i use half the amount and a tablespoon of soda cyrstals, i've got a 2 year old and it my stains come out fine, anything really stained gets soaked first.

Cost per wash

Powder works out at 11p but halved = 5.5 pence
Softener 66p for 42 washes, halved= 0.8 pence
Soda crystals 99p for 1 kg say 100 washes = 0.99 pence

Total cost per wash= 7.29 pence, I could cut this even more substituting the power for smartprice or mixing half and half and that without making your own laundry gloop which as everyone says is even cheaper!! and using vinegar!

My next step is to use up my cleaning products and then switch to stardrops.

Good luck!

flis21

Hey All,

Well I got an airer today, £12.99 in Dunelm Mills sale. It's 3 tier and said it holds 2 loads. I put a load of clothes on the radiators today again, so not used tumble dryer for 2 days now.

I walked to playgroup and back again today, so no bus fare. I think there might be moths in my purse at this rate!! lol.

I shop at Tesco usually and do their online (as I don't drive there's no way I can carry the shopping home!) will look at what cheaper alternatives they have for washing powder and softener, but I have prob got enough to last me the next couple of weeks anyway.

Kids have just gone to their Dads for the weekend, so I'm going to spend tomorrow filling out all the forms that CCCS sent me in readiness for my phone call with the debt advisor on weds.

I'm starting to get nervous about the quitting smoking tomorrow, but I know I can do it. I'm so determined and there are going to be so many benefits, not just financial. I really want to do it.

As I have some time this weekend I will have a look through the old style boards as everyone has been recommending. Hopefully I will get some good tips from there. Will be ebaying as well this weekend, so plenty to keep me busy and keep my mind off the fags!!

I'm off round to a friends tonight for a few drinks, with a bottle of wine I had in the cupboard anyway. Hope you all have a good evening,
Flis xx

dark^knight

Well done the progress so far. Keep going. :T

anxious_mum

Hi, regarding the menthol roll ups, my friend does these! Apparently, you roll the fag as usual, but you can buy menthol filters, so maybe this would help keep your costs down a bit. I'm one of those 'I smoke, I don't smoke' people, I can give up easily and go for ages without thinking about it, then one day I'll decide to have one again. I feel for you, it is so hard to stop completely, especially in a stressful situation.

hp48910

Sounds like you've had a very productiv day, well done on the airer!
Have a great evening ;O)

lemonpopsicle

Well done with what you've achieved so far and good luck for tomorrow

Did you ever speak to the water people as your water seems very high, there are 4 of us in our house including two teenagers, we all shower daily and our water DD is the same as yours. Might be worth a phone call.

hp48910

Good luck for your first day of no smoking. Will be thinking of you and willing you on.

Try to keep in mind them amount you'll be saving and then project forward to when the debt is gone and think of it in terms of something special you'll be able to afford. :O)