HELP! Have cut back all I can but am still over-spending!

dolly84

ScrimpingandSaving wrote: »

One thing I will not cut back on is savings for the children. They DO need savings. This country is in a mess, how on earth are they going to manage? We only put away £5 a week each for them. It's not a lot and they will need it when they are older.
I will go without my wine but I will not stop saving for them.

Thanks for the free anti-virus info. Once the renewal comes round I can look into cancelling it and getting a free version.

The contents insurance is not up for debate. I've had huge arguments with my other half about it but one fact remains, if we had been paying for contents insurance over the past 15 years we've been living together, we would have paid out thousands and not made a single claim. It's our decision, our risk. If my pc was stolen then I'd get one from studentcomputers. My passwords, website etc are all safe. They are more under threat from viruses which is why I paid that bit more to keep my business safe.

I TOTALLY agree with you about the kids savings, I put £25 a month away into each of my kids accounts, when they are grown up that money will help them so much and unless we are broke I won't stop saving it either.

ScrimpingandSaving

right maman you have all my details. I can't send another message to piglet as I am new.

I would ask you again to read my posts where I have said what changes I can make based on the advice given.

I'm sorry, but laying all my details here on this board has been really difficult and being accused of trolling is upsetting. This is my life here and I'm sorry if people think I am behaving like a spoilt brat or 'entitled' or just plan stupid.

I asked for help. Most of you have given that help. I know I am over-spending and I know the bulk is in groceries, I've already said that and I've taken most of your ideas on board. I will carry on doing that. I have even set out a budget on here for that shopping.

I think I've gained all I can from this thread now, so I will thank you all again. Trust me, your efforts are not in vain and I will come back in a month to let you know how I'm getting on.

I'll join a that grocery challenge thread and look into the vouchers and freebies section too.

It's been a real eye-opener. Difficult and actually more emotional than I thought but I'm glad I did it. Thanks.

suki1964

ScrimpingandSaving wrote: »

Suki, I watched a documentary about how branded items in Poundland were actually more expensive than supermarkets because they reduce the weight of the packets or have 'offers' that are actually not good value for money at all.

We don't have a B&M. It would be more time consuming for me to seek out different shops and do individual shopping. I guess that's why I buy so much from the supermarket because living out in the sticks, going into town can be a real hassle and the nearest cities aren't very near. It just seemed so much easier to get everything we needed from Asda.

I'm pretty sure you don't live as remotely as me

I make the 36 mile round trip to the big town weekly. I shop in all the three supermarkets it has as I have seen what deals they have and worked out where I'm getting what cheapest

Special offers change Tuesday nights so its best to go Wednesday

I also hit B&M, poundland, The works and lidl ( we don't have aldi in this country)

I also do all the other thrown stuff that needs doing, I make a half day of it, it's no hassle if I'm saving money

End of the day, you will make your biggest savings on food and trivia. You have to be supermarket savvy and use them wisely.

mummyroysof3

It would perhaps be worth going through receipts to break things down into food, treats, no food essentials and see how much are extras you do without. I saved a lot on our alcohol spend by cutting down to twice a week and having a vodka rather thana bottle of wine per week. A bottle lasts me a while then I just buy what fizzy pop I fancy to put it in

midnightraven3

you mentioned your hubby likes his crisps?
home bargains do golden wonder crisps at 20p a bag
they are much bigger than any multi pack bags
multi packs of 6 are a minimum of £1
so he would get much more crisps

small in the scheme of things i know
but i LOVE my bag of crisps :rotfl:

ScrimpingandSaving

Suki, thank you. I can't answer you as I can only send 1 message every 60 minutes but thank you, that meant a lot.

This is what I aim to do:

Budget my shopping - £90pw and that is all I am allowed to spend.
Childrens things from Poundland or Wilkinsons
Menu planner to help my budget
Hot flasks for winter walks or just come home
Free anti-virus
Pre-paymentcard for prescriptions
No supermarket curry - bulk curry making
Make my own ginger beer (if I can)
Buy fruit and veg from Aldi and rest online shopping
Buy joints to cook for sandwich meat
Buy multipack crisps and chocolate bars for hubby

I'm sure I've missed some but I don't want any of you to think that any of your time here has been wasted. I will look through all this again this evening.

Yes it will be difficult and it has been difficult having strangers go over my monthly expenditure and I have got quite emotional about it. But I do realise that changes need to be made and I am willing to make them otherwise I wouldn't be here, there would be no point.

When fixed rate mortgage ends in April we can move that and hopefully save there too.
Will pay off the £250 I owe in gas and will switch.

I will also keep my promise and come back to update in one month from now.

Soworried

You sound like you have made huge steps in just a few hours, well done.

Lavender_Rose

ScrimpingandSaving wrote: »

Suki, thank you. I can't answer you as I can only send 1 message every 60 minutes but thank you, that meant a lot.

This is what I aim to do:

Budget my shopping - £90pw and that is all I am allowed to spend.
Childrens things from Poundland or Wilkinsons
Menu planner to help my budget
Hot flasks for winter walks or just come home
Free anti-virus
Pre-paymentcard for prescriptions
No supermarket curry - bulk curry making
Make my own ginger beer (if I can)
Buy fruit and veg from Aldi and rest online shopping
Buy joints to cook for sandwich meat
Buy multipack crisps and chocolate bars for hubby

I'm sure I've missed some but I don't want any of you to think that any of your time here has been wasted. I will look through all this again this evening.

Yes it will be difficult and it has been difficult having strangers go over my monthly expenditure and I have got quite emotional about it. But I do realise that changes need to be made and I am willing to make them otherwise I wouldn't be here, there would be no point.

When fixed rate mortgage ends in April we can move that and hopefully save there too.
Will pay off the £250 I owe in gas and will switch.

I will also keep my promise and come back to update in one month from now.

Brill...best of luck:money:

Fruball

Hi Scrimpingandsaving

:T:T:T:T:T Well done you for recognising you are overspending and doing something about it now

It's a shame you have taken a bit of a bashing from some people but most of us here are genuinely here to help without criticism.

I recently cut my food bill in half by shopping online and getting it delivered - the £3 (cheapest delivery slot) is well worth the £50 a week saving I make!!!

Tesc0 do 3 for a tenner on meat deals so you can get for example, a whole chicken, big pack mince and 10pk good quality sausages for that which you could probably stretch (or almost stretch) to a week - if you were able to combine that with ald! supersix (mega cheap veggies/potatoes/fruit offer which changes every fortnight) then you can cut your budget a lot.

I wouldn't suggest you cut out your pub trips after your walks - but do them once a month rather than weekly - you can still look forward to them and with the money you are now going to save by the other changes you make, you can afford it

Can you consider halving what you save for the kids - not forever, but say for 6 months, until you have the rest of your budget under control? I totally understand why you want to save for them, but halving would make a difference.

As for other things - the first time I decided to make cut backs, I halved everything, literally. Half the amount of washing powder, half the amount of shampoo (you will be surprised that your hair is still clean even without a head full of bubbles), half the shower gel (still clean!) etc etc... By using half of these things, you are effectively getting 6 months of products a year for FREE I was amazed how this alone saved me money. I now use barely any washing powder (no softener) and our clothes are clean. I only ever wash at 30c or cold too

Your gas seems high to me but I live in a 2 bed house... I have my heating on 24/7 but on low and that has saved me money... Worth a try? Or turn the thermostat down a fraction.

Shloer - I buy tesc0 flavoured fizzy water and they are just as good, if not nicer imo. Usually 3 for £1.

I agree with the others about contents insurance - could you think about getting a quote - in what you save with other things, you can afford it I think - I will not go on about that as I know you don't want to discuss it

Let your DS have his once a week treat of a school meal You are going to be making enough savings to afford that.

S0d giving up the wine I wouldn't! Ald! and L!dl do cheap but nice wines - hopefully you can find one you like...

I have to do the school run now but will be back

Hang in there - you will get there

suki1964

Some big changes there already, well done

Don't make such big changes that you give up , slow and steady

Stick around on this board, there's a lot of great advice. I like the what's for dinner tonight thread ad there's some really good ideas there. The meal planning thread is great as well. Slow cooking, ken wood chef threads, all inspirational

We can all get stuck in our ways and think we are doing everything we can, it's an education on here on how others do things possibly cheaper or more nutritionally balanced, how to make meat stretch further, regional or family recipes.

And then there's all the other boards as well , all with great advice on how to get the best for your money