Second Purse Challenge 2012

Coxy11

cagneuk wrote: »

Hi,

I've been reading the first few pages of this thread and the links in the first couple of posts and though it sounds a great idea, I'm still a little confused.
I split with my wife last year and I'm currently living on £50 per week after all bills have been paid (that is for food/groceries/clothes/the lot)
It should be more than enough (single male, 35) but I struggle every week to live on it.
I love the idea of buying from yourself and can see this being a lot of fun when my kids come round and want to play shop but I've a couple of questions.
1. How do you split the small things (loaf of bread/ box of cereal), do you charge yourself per bowl?
2. I've started taking packed lunch to work as a sandwich, crisps, drink and chocolate bar costs in excess of £4 at work, how do I work out what to pay for the one I make?
Or am I looking into it too deep? do you only pay for the whole loaf, the whole ceral box etc
3. What do I use as my starting stock? items I have already in freezer/cupboard?
4. This question relates to purse 1. I assume this is my weekly budget purse (£50) Is this where I get my original bogof deals from as part of my usual shop or do I get my usual shop and take, lets say £5, of it and put that into purse 2 for my deals.
See I told you I'm a little confused.
Thanks in advance

Hi and welcome to 2nd pursing!

Just to add to what cowboymum said - things like choc bars/loo roll etc. are quite easy to split and charge out seperately. For things like cereal, I tend to charge as I use each box. My two DSs have it for breakfast everyday so I use at least a box a week. I only buy it on bogof or hp offer.

If you already have 'stock' in your freezer/cupboards I would absolutely use this as your starting block and charge your 1st purse for it as you use it, even if it's a nominal amount of £2 per meal. This will mean you build up a 2nd purse float pretty quickly.

This 2nd purse is where you buy your offers from, so I put £20 a month into mine and only use it to stock up. My purse 1 is my grocery purse for everyday items (bread, milk, fruit, veg etc.)

You may want to look at the monthly grocery challenge thread as this has a substantial receipe index on the first few pages, plus any offers are usually posted there too. Will definitely help you to stretch your pennies and meal plan.

Good luck!

Coxy11

Sorry to multi-post but I've been away for 2 weeks in the US and have just caught up with my threads!

How sick was I when I saw KitchenAid mixers for half the price as here :mad: So blooming frustrating that they are on a different voltage so I would have to have a transformer clogging up the kitchen worktop. Not a happy bunny.

Will update my totals at the end of August. 2nd purse currently over my self-imposed £50 balance and I have to add a couple of purchases from CAZCO so will definitely be transferring over some more loot to my 3rd purse. MIL and DH both saying they will be giving me cash/JL vouchers for my September birthday, so my luxury item is getting within reach

Coxy11

scrabbles wrote: »

Hi again all! :hello:

I've been MIA for a while as I've had a lot going on in my personal life. I've been on a bit of a downer and didn't really want to bring anyone else down by moaning.

On Sunday I had to have my precious little boy-cat put to sleep. I have decided that I want to get another cat again quite soon - my house doesn't feel right without one - so I want to 'second purse' for a while to raise the cash for adoption fees/vaccines/microchip/insurance/new bed/all the other stuff you end up unexpectedly spending cash on when you adopt a new friend. I bulk-buy anyway, I just need to play shop to make sure I squirrel some of my savings away for it. Plus I just need to focus on other things.

So hi again to those I knew before, hi to all the people who started while I was away :wave:

So sorry for your loss - I just clicked on your blog - amazing words and pictures - sending you and yours (((hugs))) x

skilly

Morning all, been to skillys shop again and spent £4.11 :-)

scrabbles_2

Thank you for your kind words xxx It's been a tougher time than I thought it would be and I haven't even started to sort out my second purse stuff again yet. I mean, I still have a cupboard full of bulk-buys but I haven't 'bought' anything from myself in ages!

One thing I have done during my hiatus is to join Costco - and I love it! It's not the cheapest for everything but if you pick and choose there are some real bargains to be had. I LOVE their washing powder and at £15 for a 400-wash box it works out cheaper for me than homemade. I've also started to buy some of my meat there, the prices are about the same as the supermarket but the quality is far better.

Coxy11

I concur about Co$tco. I've been a member for a while as DH is a scout leader and we regularly have to bulk buy food for camp. Haven't tried the washing powder - is it the Kingsland one? I usually buy the 90 wash bo!d liquid or equivalent. Actually I'm going there on Thursday to get some Pep$i max (my addiction!) so may take a look then.

Haven't bought meat from them before. Since starting the 2nd purse system I've been ordering from Donald Ru$$ell and now can't bring myself to buy from the SM!

scrabbles_2

It's call Kirkland Signature, it's the Costco ownbrand. (I'm told that it's made by Persil, but having used homemade for years before this, I couldn't give an opinion!) I'm told the fabric conditioner is good too, I'd happily use just vinegar but other half wants to start buying it at that price, and I don't really want to put my foot down on this one if he feels that strongly about it!

I do like DR but find it hard to justify the prices even on special offer. It's not that I don't think it's worth the money, just that I have other things that have to take priority. Though I may order another special offer pack soon lol.

Coxy11

scrabbles wrote: »

It's call Kirkland Signature, it's the Costco ownbrand. (I'm told that it's made by Persil, but having used homemade for years before this, I couldn't give an opinion!) I'm told the fabric conditioner is good too, I'd happily use just vinegar but other half wants to start buying it at that price, and I don't really want to put my foot down on this one if he feels that strongly about it!

I do like DR but find it hard to justify the prices even on special offer. It's not that I don't think it's worth the money, just that I have other things that have to take priority. Though I may order another special offer pack soon lol.

Doh! I knew it began with a 'K' and had 'land' in it :rotfl:May give it a try. Will have 2 x ch with me tomorrow so it depends on how moany they are and how long I can spend browsing

I agree that DR meat is expensive but I only order when on offer and through Quidc0 with cashback and free p&p

Coxy11

Me again! (sorry to monopolise the thread )

Just back from Co$tco. No own brand washing powder (boo) but did get:

Nature Valley bars x 48 - £9.58
Paninis x 16 - £3.68
Pepsi max x 24 - £5.39
Variety cans (fanta, dr pepper, sprite) x 30 - £9.59

Have added this stock to my spreadsheet and settled up with all purses. Happy to report I now have just over £200 towards my dream item :j

System

Coxy11 wrote: »

Have added this stock to my spreadsheet and settled up with all purses. Happy to report I now have just over £200 towards my dream item :j

You're doing so well with your savings!
I have a question - how do you join Costco? (sorry, I expect this has been asked before)
And a comment - I agree that DR seems expensive so I only buy things on offer, but by golly it's good! We had cottage pie last night made from their mince and it's so meaty and flavoursome there's no comparison with meat from sm. I'd rather save money on other things just so I can afford DR meat!
Rx