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

Broadwood

I've just read this whole thread with interest.

I'm also an HGV driver (with a daily 25 mile round trip in a 50 mpg diesel) so perhaps I could add a few relevant tips to the masses of good advice already given in other replies.

For a 10 hour shift at work my bag contains (among many other essentials and emergency items) a refilled plastic 1 ltr bottle of dilute fruit juice and a large-size sandwich box containing a 100g bar of Lidl milk chocolate, 2 small apples, 1 banana, 1 small salami stick, a fist-sized bunch of grapes, 3 cherry tomatoes and 3 sandwiches (6 slices) filled with cheese and/or ham slices. I don't necessarily eat everything, but they are there just in case of a breakdown or the shift strays into a second day due to snow or floods causing me to run out of driving hours. Usually happens at least once a year. I always carry a spare £5 with me, also I'm never without my debit card for emergencies or maybe fuel. I've been known to carry the SAME £5 around the country for weeks or months! So you can see I never buy snacks out. Saves me a fortune and I never go hungry or thirsty. If it's hot I'll fill up my juice bottle part way through a shift in any distribution centre I'm visiting if necessary. All canteens have those free chilled water dispensers.

If you have spare garage or shed space you can save £s by stocking up on non-perishables such as baked beans etc. Whenever Branston beans are 4 for £1 at Lidl we get another 24 tins. You just need a bit of organisation to store them in date order. Tins usually have a shelf life of about 3 or 4 years, but store somewhere dry so they don't start to rust. We go to JTF for catering sizes of stuff like washing-up liquid, bleach, soap powder, softener and toilet/kitchen rolls etc and restock from the garage as required. I could go on and on, but it will get boring. Just more of the same, it's not rocket science.

P.S. During any calendar month we will visit Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainburys, Iceland, Home Bargains and B&M. All at least once, with Lidl approx twice weekly for bread, milk and all the basics. Getting the best offers from them all you can save £100s if not £1000s over the course of a year. Register for all their and MSE's weekly emails so you know what offers are where and when, then plan accordingly to minimise fuel costs too.

Tillytrotter1

I, like you ScrimpingandSaving am really new to this but I find posting on here and reading the various threads a real inspiration. You will learn so much from the people who post but it does require a bit of planning to get the benefits of it all. For the first time this week I wrote a meal plan and have so stuck to it and have only spent £25.00 this week on groceries as a result of being disciplined and just using what I had in, rather than the usual £55-70. I have also found as the meals have been planned it has taken away the stress of preparing meals and the temptation of popping to the shops for a ding ding meal. Go through the freezer and your cupboards and make a list of everything you have then start to plan around that. It's a really good way to start. Also don't try to be too drastic at first, take baby steps and then increase them. Try to think of saving money as a challenge - how cheaply can I do my shopping for? I am no expert but you can do it if you really want to. Keep posting on your progress as it will give you inspiration to keep going.

3v3

maman wrote: »

I've been wondering that too.

It seems that OP has been shown all the ways she could make savings but is resolutely sticking to her 'entitlement' to live in a way that's beyond her means.

It might seem unfair but 'do the math' you can't afford to carry on spending like this.

I do think it is really easy to sit in judgement of people and then turn around and call "Troll!". Actually, I think it is way too, too easy!

Has it occured to you that, for a good number of years, standards have been set, expectations have been set and yet, here we are now, facing the biggest changes our country has seen in many, many years?

Yes, to some the realisations come quite quickly; to others, it does take a bit of time to realise the impact and then again, to make the changes!

People are having to change: a) their budgets, b) their expectations, c) their whole MIND SET!

Why go casting aspersions about the validity of someones posts simply because they have yet to reach stage c)?

Do you even know what a "troll" actually is? (Other than someone you personally disagree with?)

If you do, then you will immediately see the OP is far from a "troll" and is asking for help! Just because she isn't prepared to kow-tow on some areas of advice, certainly does not make her a troll! Merely, someone who has certain principles/expectations and has yet to know if she needs to compromise in the areas suggested by others.

"Be nice to all moneysavers"

365days

OP...supermarkets are the devils work!!

You said earlier that you had £450 for the next two weeks.

What do you actually NEED for the next two weeks? Not what would be nice, not what you are used to, but what you actually need.

Look in your freezer and cupboards and meal plan. THEN WRITE A LIST!!

I would bet there are no clothes that you cannot do without buying for the next two weeks.

Just try it for the next two weeks. Go into survival mode. You have a roof over your head, heat and light.

I suspect when you look at it like this there is very little that you need.


Every time you enter a supermarket or shop you are being told not only that you want something, but that you need it. That's why they are so succesful. How many times have you walked out with something you never, ever thought you needed before you went in.

You can do it. WHen you see how little you can actually live on, just for these 2 weeks, then you will see that by saving as much as you can on what you need to buy, you can have more money for what you want to buy.

XXSCOTSLASSXX

I know the op has said no way, no never, not ever to contents insurance ...maybe its the case they feel they have nothing of any value in the home....or that they have enough put aside to fully furnish and clothe a family of 4 should anything happen....

last summer my brother, his wife and 2 kids came to visit us for a holiday... both non smokers.. all electrics turned off, don't live in flood area etc.. all good. however 4 days into their holiday they had a call from their neighbour apparently every window in the house was steamed up..no smoke tho the neighbours had checked...front door was hot and my brother asked them to call the police and break in which they did...only to find 3 ft of hot water sloshing about the ground floor... all ceilings in the 4 bedroomed house had come down.. the hot tap upstairs had blown of and boiling hot water had been gushing out for approx 4 days...some freak fault nothing that they could have pre empted and they lost everything. anything that wasn't water damaged was warped and twisted by the 4 days of 'steaming' ...luckily they were fully covered for the buildings and contents their £22 a month policy was worth its weight in gold and the insurance company were fantastic every item of clothing and furniture that was removed from the house was fully replaced downto the last sock!... considering the only possessions they were left with were the summer clothes they had packed to come on holiday there is no way they could have possibly covered the cost of re clothing let alone re furnishing a family of 4.

I actually find it slightly ludicrous that someone would argue and have an issue with dropping 2 bottles of wine a week at the cost of £12 a week ...and in the next breath say contents insurance was not debatable and was wasted money???? really cant get my head around it...is there really a price that can be put on covering your home and your children's home should the worst ever happen, the building (which op has covered) is just a shell ...a home is how you make it, your individual stamp, the people and the home comforts inside.. that's something I could/would never ever swap for 2 bottles of wine a week!!

[Deleted User]

You are spending a fiver a day, every day, on alcohol.

Cut this down, for both your financial, and health, well being.

de_g.

ScrimpingandSaving wrote: »

School trips - she really loves them and she benefits from them enormously. I feel bad that they don't do any clubs so this is one benefit for them both. All her friends go and if she can't go, she ends up in a different form class for those days without any of her friends.

Assuming she's in state school, you are aware that the school is not allowed to exclude her from trips if she doesn't pay if the trip is during school time.

Since as a Newbie I don't think I can post links yet, I quote from the education.gov.uk website:

Children of parents who are unable, or unwilling, to contribute may not be discriminated against. However, if there are insufficient voluntary contributions made to cover the cost of the trip, or activity, and there is no alternative method to make up the shortfall, then the school should cancel the activity.

Also, minor things which may or may not have been mentioned:
- Cancel antivirus, there are plenty of good free programs (I use Avast).
- I assume your husband is a bit of a cryptic crossword can, if he's spending enough per day to buy a broadsheet. The i is 20p per day and has a proper cryptic as well as quick crosswords, sudoku and various other puzzles too - for £30 less per month than you're currently paying.

bess1234_2

Oh dear, after mountains of advice and challenge in 24 hours on the old style board, they've moved you here, probably to get another lot. BUT DFW are v good at the constructive bits.

. A plea to go easy on the op, she has taken a lot on board already today and had quite a beating with a stick of rhubarb . They don't take prisoners over on old style.

Mara_uk7

And do come to orkney, its a lovely place & We are a friendly people , even if we are descended from blood thirsty vikings

cabriolean

Assuming a 30 day month, £600 totals out to ~£1.70 per meal per person.
Forewarning: I don't shop at ASDA, but I am a student who likes cheap, quick and easy meals.

Morrisons has a fairly cheap batter mix that can be used to make pancakes, I buy the own brand at 19p, but they also have one at ~12p. If you add an egg at ~12p each, you can make 6 pancakes at about 6p each (allowing for a filling). I pour the mix into a bottle with the egg and shake vigorously, I'm not sure of the ASDA equivalent, but it's a fast easy meal and assuming each person in your family eats 4 pancakes only costs 96p per meal for the whole family, or less than a 7th of what you on average spend per meal.

If you can buy a loaf with 12 slices at 70p or less, you should be able to find one fairly easily, you can feed someone 2 slices of toast for about 12p, I get the Tesco everyday value loaf and can get a lot of meals out of it for 50p. Assuming an average of 3 slices (again allowing for a cheap topping) it works out at 18p per meal, less than a ninth of what you are spending on average.

One thing that's really important is to look at price per 100g/1kg and how filling a food is.

Even a brand name soup with some bread works out really cheaply, 20p per meal maybe depending on offers etc.

Morrisons does 1kg trays of lasagna and shepherd's pie, the lasagne cost £2.15 and with some veg works out at maybe 50p per meal, I typically get 5-6 meals out of it.

I tend to buy only own brand meat, and cheapish sauces, I got 5 chicken thighs for £2.79, I buy powdered sauces at home bargains whenever they pop up at a nice price, I got some for 29p which should do at least 4 per pack, bulking out the meal with rice/veg gives me a curry/herb and garlic chicken etc. at maybe 40p each.

Most short-dated food can be frozen, also home bargains does cheap, but nice alcohol, I mainly buy the cocktails, but their stock changes around a fair bit and they do cheap drinks and some cheap food.

Also different shops do different things at different prices.

I rarely go to Lidl or Aldi as without a car they are too far away.

The only Tesco nearby is a Tesco express.

Home bargains: cheap drinks, desserts and some food, they do microwave popcorn at 4 for £1 which can work out quite nicely as cheap entertainment. Typically sell DVDs at approx. £2.99-£3.99.

Poundland: some cheap food, but check by price per 100 grams, has a variety of books and DVDs some are great, some aren't so good, before now I have bought a DVD watched it and then sold it at £2 profit including ebay + paypal fees, cheaper to buy one a week for a month than your subscription to a DVD service, not to mention you can rewatch and often recoup most if not all of the money. I have picked up some REALLY good books here and sometimes sell for a profit as you can get 500 page hardbacks, but tend to keep books. They sell some really cheap brand name laundry tablets at maybe a third of what you would pay in a supermarket. Also branded make up, frequently Rimmel, which I like.

Morrisons is my main food shop, and I like to wander in at price-reduction time....:)