DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

redballoon_2

Mossop01, that seems really high, what sort of things to you buy for food? Have you checked out the moneysaving old style guide for help with grocery bills?
in short we dont buy or very rarely buy : crisps, cakes, biscuits chocolates ,prepared foods.

we buy value most things these days and really dont notice the difference. We have two small children 4 and 1 so they dont notice these things either and arent brand aware(~yet!)

We aim to have one veggie meal a week (eg pasta dish) one meat roast dinner type dinner, a mince dish like spag bol /lasagne that i make from scratch and then source other dinners from the shop in the reduced sections. A whole chicken does 3-4 meals for us ,roast chicken, chicken risotto, chicken pie, chicken soup.

If you want any more help then please ask or pm me or check out the other board for more help

x

justapensioner

I know I am up early but woke up and thought I would check banks to see which my state pension had gone into, good job I did as it had gone into the Natwest Current Account. Managed to do a transfer of funds into Co-op Bank so here's hoping it is successful as I could have ended up with nothing to live on for the next month.

Funny though the Pension Credit went into the Co-op but here's hoping I am successful with it all.

Wish me luck;)

antonic

Welcome aboard the ship that leads you to being DF Justapensioner & Redballoon.

87 months ago I was in the same position as you (and everyone else who lives here ! (you know who you are !)).

Like you ,I realised I needed to sort it out and I did by speaking to Payplan.

I now have 3 months to go (and about £855) till I am debt free.

Is it an easy journey ? no - do I regret it ? hell no !!, will I be here again ? - definitely not !

The important thing is that you are taking responsibility for the situation you are in and dealing with it.

If you havent got the money you cant pay back at the rate you want, you can only pay back at what you can afford !.

The only thing I would stress is that if you arrange a DMP try and stick to it and if you run into problems tell your DMP provider dont just stick your head in the sand and hope it will go away - it wont.

The proudest moment I had after I had my LBM was when I told my dad and he said to me "Son I am proud of you for realisng you had a problem and for dealing with it".

Good luck guys you WILL get there !!!.

justapensioner

antonic wrote: »

Welcome aboard the ship that leads you to being DF Justapensioner & Redballoon.

87 months ago I was in the same position as you (and everyone else who lives here ! (you know who you are !)).

Like you ,I realised I needed to sort it out and I did by speaking to Payplan.

I now have 3 months to go (and about £855) till I am debt free.

Is it an easy journey ? no - do I regret it ? hell no !!, will I be here again ? - definitely not !

The important thing is that you are taking responsibility for the situation you are in and dealing with it.

If you havent got the money you cant pay back at the rate you want, you can only pay back at what you can afford !.

The only thing I would stress is that if you arrange a DMP try and stick to it and if you run into problems tell your DMP provider dont just stick your head in the sand and hope it will go away - it wont.

The proudest moment I had after I had my LBM was when I told my dad and he said to me "Son I am proud of you for realisng you had a problem and for dealing with it".

Good luck guys you WILL get there !!!.

Thank you Atonic, although just starting out look forward to the day when my debts are cleared:)

Hopelessly_Hopeful

justapensioner wrote: »

I know I am up early but woke up and thought I would check banks to see which my state pension had gone into, good job I did as it had gone into the Natwest Current Account. Managed to do a transfer of funds into Co-op Bank so here's hoping it is successful as I could have ended up with nothing to live on for the next month.

Funny though the Pension Credit went into the Co-op but here's hoping I am successful with it all.

Wish me luck;)

Morning

Good catch! Are you writing to express your concern and ask for assurance that it will be paid into correct account next time?

HHx

Mossop01

Hi redballoon im trying to get it down, i cook everything fron scratch, never any left overs to freeze when ive got a 6'7" hungry lorry driver hubby to feed. Im shopping at aldi and the market for fruit n veg but its never ending! For eg, a 2lb bag of grapes gone in one evening whilst my hubby n son sat watching a dvd together! Fruit is my major spend im reluctant to deny the kids it, also pack ups, hubby does 15 hr days so he needs a big pack up and son takes pack up to school. Im much better than i was £80 a week is better than the £150 a week i was spending before dmp! But i can do better and i must!! Thanks

Allypops

Mossop01 wrote: »

Hi redballoon im trying to get it down, i cook everything fron scratch, never any left overs to freeze when ive got a 6'7" hungry lorry driver hubby to feed. Im shopping at aldi and the market for fruit n veg but its never ending! For eg, a 2lb bag of grapes gone in one evening whilst my hubby n son sat watching a dvd together! Fruit is my major spend im reluctant to deny the kids it, also pack ups, hubby does 15 hr days so he needs a big pack up and son takes pack up to school. Im much better than i was £80 a week is better than the £150 a week i was spending before dmp! But i can do better and i must!! Thanks

You are obviously keen to get the grocery spend lower but don't lose sight of the fact that you have already managed to get it down from £150 to £80 pw - that is really good going. Give yourself a pat on the back. :T I still struggle with the grocery spend so don't have much to suggest other than to check out the old style boards for inspiration, batch cooking, homebaking, seasonal fruit and veg etc. I should point out, however, that I don't practice what I preach and Innocent smoothies, prepacked sarnies and Waitrose chilled soups found their way into my shopping basket this week I must rejoin the grocery challenge thread!

Find_The_Real

Morning all

I think food is always a difficult one on how much to spend and I know some people manage to feed a family of 4 probably on what I treat myself to a week but I see it as my one treat in all of this as I don't go out, I don't spend money on other stuff and being a fussy eater I'm afraid not every basic brand item is something I like.

Yes I know I have got myself in this mess but I don't see that I have to live a life of going without some treats and food I like just to get a year or so off the time it takes to get rid of the debt. Selfish - yes probably and I know it goes against all the advice given on here!

Julie67

I also spend £80 per week on food and I have two big grown up boys at home plus a hard working husband. They all eat huge meals. I think it makes a big difference when you are in effect feeding four adults as opposed to two adults and two young children.
I think £80 is a realistic amount and I wouldn't want to go any lower. I think we should eat well and healthy and for me this is important. I also cook everything from scratch. I'm a regular on the old style board where there are some great ideas. I bake a lot and fill up the tins instead of buying ready baked cakes and biscuits.
I think every family situation is different but this works well for us.

Hope everyone is doing ok. No letters or phone calls for a few days so I'm just bobbing along. Is it sad that I can't wait until the 26th to check our Sc account and see the debts coming down, oh and I can't wait to amend my signature:j

nextyeartina

Hi



Just after a bit of advice please. I started my DMP with SC in February, first payment taken 1st March. So far I've only had a response from one company out of the 7 that SC are dealing with. The letter I've had says that they're willing to accept the payment plan offered by SC. Good news I know , but there's no mention of reducing or stopping the interest or charges What would you advise as my next step to

• this company regarding the interest & charges
• the companys I have had no response from at all

Another problem I'm having is Very. They're phoning my husband's mobile for me from 8 in the morning until 9 at night, about 15 times a day. Is there anything I can do about this? I know it will all calm down eventually. My husband's just come out of hospital, my fil was diagnosed with cancer last month & a close friend has just passed away . We're just under so much stress at the moment, 'eventually' feels so far away right now.

Sorry for the ramble & thanks in advance for any advice

Tina x