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

fallen121

CH27 wrote: »

That says a lot about the type of person you are
People have offered help, views & suggestions. Shame you don't like it but there are a lot of good points being made.

What a very odd post!

My impression was that the OP has gone to a LOT of trouble to thank people and learn from their suggestions. Just because she doesn't slavishly follow everything that is recommended to the letter doesn't make it wrong. We all have to find our own way to MSE enlightenment and plough our own furrow.

I walk to supermarkets. I use a Kindle. These things save me money on petrol and books but that doesn't mean I expect everyone else to do the same. Everyone's circumstances are different. I try to avoid processed food, but some people simply don't have the time or energy to shop and cook dinner from scratch every day after work even though it probably IS cheaper and better for you.

If had started a thread and been accused of being a drunken troll, I would have been a heck of a lot less polite than the OP has been!

Reading this thread has made me think. A lot. I went for a walk today and thought about what the OP had said about the difference between living and existing. For example, it IS possible for me to use public transport to work. With a mile walk each end of the journey because no buses meet the train and the ones that do stop at the station don't go anywhere near the industrial estate where I work, they go into the centre of town or to the shopping centre. I would have to leave the house at 6am and wouldn't get home until 7-8pm because of the hours I work and how the trains run. I wouldn't save an a enormous amount, I would never see my daughter and even though I am sure DH would be happy to do more of the shopping and cooking we would have to use much more processed food and eat very late at night. Or eat separately, which is not my idea of family time. Yes, a second car is expensive. But it lets me spend more time at home and with my family.

It is possible to be an obsessive moneysaver and good luck to people who have done this and become debt free in just a few years. I expect if I sold all my worldly possessions, lived in a tent, ate baked beans, borrowed what I needed from friends and bought all my clothes from Oxfam I could probably pay off everything I owe in double quick time. But I would be a thin, badly dressed, cold and bad tempered person who nobody would want to know and I expect I would smell so bad they would even let me browse MSE on the library computer!

CH27

Obviously it's just me who thinks that calling other posters ''judgemental horse manure'' is wrong.

bess1234_2

Yup.;)


Sorry, that was funny:rotfl:

sue09

Hi,I have just read through your thread,or should I say a thread taken over by people insulting you.I am surprised you even justified yourself to some of these rude people.I love this site but this is the one thing I cannot stand about it.No one would talk like this to someone to their face,so why do it online.I also would agree with savings for your kids,if they decide to go to Uni as my daughter did the costs involved are huge.At least by saving for them you will have some towards the costs.I'll admit I was helped greatly by her grandparents but I would have never forgiven myself if I had been the cause of her not being able to go.
I think you are doing really well at cutting down,the sack cloth life is not for everybody and I don't think anyone should have their lifestyle ripped to pieces after being brave enough to put all their details down as you did.Also I think to have no debt is something of an acheivement these days.Please don't be put off by people who just like to make people look bad.Any savings you make are upto you and you don't have to justify yourself to anyone.Goodluck.

sue09

Sorry forgot to add I'm from up north but I haven't got a ferret,whippet or a flat hat.I do budget somethings and don't like wasting money,but I earn a good salary more than your joint income,but I do work very hard for it.So if I want something and I have the money for to pay for it I buy it .I agree with you no one wants to budget,you do it because you have to.With costs rising and jobs going more people are having to, I know I'm one of the lucky ones and feel for people who are working hard and getting nowhere.Before anyone comments I have savings,my own home paid for and a good pension plan,pay all my bills and have no debt.If I have money left over I think it's my choice what I spend it on.Life's too short.

suki1964

CH27 wrote: »

Obviously it's just me who thinks that calling other posters ''judgemental horse manure'' is wrong.

No,not at all

If you had reAd the whole thread you would have seen, those posting great fantastic helpful advice without judgement , and those that had nothing better to say then to pick holes where the op said there was no lee way


Your post came across as one of the " Do as we say or else " posts


Offer advice, share experience, but remember not everything suits everyone. The op is not in debt and is looking ideas on how to live her life as she wishes as best she can, which is the ethos of this site

As I said, living the lifestyle you want within your means is the ethos of the site. Help people get there or say nowt

vic.star

ScrimpingandSaving wrote: »

I'm also going to stop my son's one school meal a week. £2.30 is ridiculously expensive for one school meal. I'll bake him lots of nice treats instead. Last night I made chocolate crunchies for them so I'll share this as it's dead easy:

100g butter
75g brown sugar
4tbsp golden syrup
4tbsp cocoa powder
200g broken chocolate digestives
loads of rice crispies/marshmallows/raisins/popping candy/choc pieces

Melt butter in pan and add the sugar, cocoa powder and syrup. When combined chuck in the biscuits and other ingredients until you get a fairly sticky mess that is quite stiff to stir.
Pour it into a baking tray and press down firmly.
Once cooled pop it into the fridge.
They taste lovely and make great packed lunch treats. Hubby also took one instead of his usual chocolate bar to work

Sorry to go slightly OT, i have read a few pages and have to say well done for being so open on the thread, and for being so kind to the negative comments. I'm not in debt myself but i am trying to budget what we spend in order to save up for a deposit. I've set us a target i hope will get us somewhere near, but in this current climate i won't hold my breath...

Anyway, i'm so pleased you've managed to make the changes you already have, and i have to agree about a meal planner. I'm such a fussy eater i've found it brilliant using a meal planner so i know what i'm having for dinner each night. It makes it easier on the OH to know what's on I saw your post about the treats for your children, and wondered if they liked the rice krispies squares?

I came across a recipe online and found it so much cheaper than to buy a packet from a supermarket. Huge tip to handle them - use baking paper lol, anything else will stick to it. I wanted to share this recipe as i've made it for several people and they love it. It's so much cheaper than buying them ready made and a nice little treat for a lunchbox!

200g marshmallows
120g rice krispies
20g butter

Melt butter in a pan, then add the marshmallows. Once it's melted turn the heat off but quickly add the krispies. Stir until all the mallow has come away from the pan. Line a tray/dish with baking paper, then add the mix from the pan. Try to get as much as you can out of the pan (it starts going stringy and hard to handle so you need to be quick and use the heat from the hob) and lay a sheet of baking paper the size of the tray/dish over the top. Use your hands to press the mixture to the edges and to give an even top. Pop in the fridge to cool for an hour or so. Once set, peel the top sheet off, then place the mallow mixture onto a chopping board. Cut up into small (or big!) squares and put into a container!

I have had runny versions of these before but you needed a spoon for them =/ If you find it too runny then just add more krispies. You can buy the ingredients for under £2 for the amount you need, and i find cutting them into 1 inch squares gives you more for your money! I hope this helps someone, as i know children like their sweet treats, and the food companies know how to charge for them! keep your chin up and ignore the negative comments

ScrimpingandSaving

CH27 wrote: »

Obviously it's just me who thinks that calling other posters ''judgemental horse manure'' is wrong.

Is it not wrong to question someone's parenting? To accuse someone of being a troll? To tell someone that they have a false sense of entitlement? To imply that someone is a drunkard?

Tell you what. When the posters who flung all of that at me and more come back to apologise then I shall take back my horse manure comment. Which I thought was a pretty measured response under the circumstances.

I have thanked posters time and again on this thread and have gone to great pains to ensure that I have acknowledged advice given and kept posters updated on how I'm progressing after taking their advice. I think they would know full well that the horse manure comment was most definitely not meant for them.

vic.star thanks for the recipe share! Yes the kids do like the occasional treat in their lunchbox and I prefer to give them homemade treats as I know what's in them. Plus it's cheaper like you say. I shall try yours out next week.

Another thing I am doing is saving pastry cut-offs. I'll then fill a couple of muffin tins with the pasty, mix an egg with a cupful of milk, fill up the little muffins, add cheese, peppers, ham, tomatoes etc and bake them until set. The kids love these mini-quiches in their lunchboxes.

Sue09 yes I agree that saving for the children is important and it's why I continue to do so.

fallen121 Absolutely. Yes we could just eke out a living and squirrel away the money we save. Perhaps by doing that we could pay off our mortgage earlier or save thousands for the kids. But this is not living. We don't work day in and day out merely to survive. Life passes you by all too quickly and I do believe that life is a gift. We'll not get another chance at this so I do want to enjoy it and make the most of it.

That doesn't mean I have to insist on only nice things and get myself into debt. I don't demand yearly holidays on the Costa del Sol or fine dining. Our pleasures are simple yet they mean a lot to us. For me it's enjoying a nice glass of wine with my husband at the weekend whilst watching a good DVD. That and my books are important to me. Because of these simple little things, our marriage is sound - we remain the best of friends; we look forward to the weekends; we enjoy each other's company and we can take the rough with the smooth. It also makes us better parents as we aren't constantly at each other's throats, we're not grumpy or impatient or miserable.

I'm reading The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy for my daughter and I just loved doing the voice for Marvin:

"Pardon me for breathing, which I never do anyway so I don't know why I bother to say it, oh God I'm so depressed.....Life! Don't talk to me about life"

"Funny, how just when you think life can't possibly get any worse it suddenly does."

Anyway. I am managing to cut back without sacrificing too much of our little pleasures that make life worth living. It's a bitterly cold day today but I have walked my son to school and back and am currently sat here with two jumpers on. Tea for tonight is planned and I've got the meat out for tomorrow night, all we need to do is go out and get a roast at some point as I've got family visiting this weekend.

I am determined though, with the exception of the roast, to make our shopping last until Wednesday. So I am diluting the fruit juice and have frozen some bread so we don't run out.

Another bit of good news is that whilst they ARE restructuring everything at my husband's work, they have promised that the pay they owe him including unpaid overtime will be going into March's wages. If it happens that would be a lovely bonus and would help enormously with Orkney.

suki1964

You know I've taken to watching DVD's myself. We don't have any hire places and I don't want to be tied into a subscription, so I buy the 3 to 5 quid ones , some I get as low as a pound, and we have watched some really brilliant films lately and once I've run out of storage I'm going to put on eBay on a free listings day

I'm also trawling the tv listings and seeing what films are being shown day times on obscure channels and record those. Luckily we love old musicals and films from the 40's and 50's

No way would I buy a kindle for myself. My mum and a friend have one. Mum loves her's because she can adjust print size etc. My friend just loves the latest gadgets. I buy paper backs, second hand and then pass them on. My friend with the kindle loves the same authors as me. For her to buy on kindle, around £5. Me to buy from the charity shop, £1. I pass on to her, she passes on to another friend, friend puts back into charity shop to be sold again. Can't get more mse then that Even buying from the secondhand book shop is to my mind better then downloading as I'm helping to keep someone employed locally

ScrimpingandSaving

I love browsing through books at the charity shop and in old bookshops! Like you, we'll often buy paperbacks and then pass them onto friends who in turn pass them on. The only books I tend to keep are ones I've really really enjoyed and want to read again or my collectable books.

We can't record stuff on TV sadly although we can get iplayer. Have you any film recommendations? We're running out of titles. No rom-coms (unless really funny) - prefer dark humour, psychological horror, sci-fi, good thrillers, comedies, etc.