Oh Dear. Reality Check

LolaLemon

is the amount you are saving for car paymnets correct? thats £1560 a year you are saving, but only £330 a year for annual bills like tv licence (aprox £145,) house insurance (mines is extortionate! due to type of house so atm i cant budget for it as i pay to high per month).

thier is a thread for £7 a week meals, great for hints and tips.

Tenyearstogo

The water seems excessive so do what you can with that as suggested already.

You can definitely get your food budget down, it takes thought and effort but it's possible. Join the grocery challenge and the daily chat, you'll get loads of tips and support there.

Have you got a freezer? Batch cooking will help if possible. You need to meal plan, making sure your meals follow on to make the best of them (thinking of a roast followed by stir fry etc).

My budget is less than yours for 2 adults, a teenager and a 7 year old and we eat really well for that. I buy everything there, cleaning products and toiletries too.

Justamum

LolaLemon wrote: »

house insurance (mines is extortionate! due to type of house so atm i cant budget for it as i pay to high per month).

I was a bit surprised that the OP mentioned house insurance - it's a rental property so they aren't responsible for insuring it are they? Surely that's the landlord's responsibility.

quintwins

Justamum wrote: »

I was a bit surprised that the OP mentioned house insurance - it's a rental property so they aren't responsible for insuring it are they? Surely that's the landlord's responsibility.

It is but it is still wise to insure the contents of the house.

Wornoutmom

You will be entitled to some tax credits I'm sure you could use this to work out how much you actually are entitled to

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/payments-entitlement/entitlement/question-how-much.htm

Wornoutmom

You may be entitled to watersure if you do get tax credits more than the basic which makes your max water payments £27 per month but you may need to switch to a meter

http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/consumerissues/assistance/watersure/

we are as we have 3 children but you need to have an illness which uses water or 3 children so maybe not?

However a meter should still be cheaper than £57 per month we were paying £35 a month before watersure for a family of 5! xx

dawn_rose

Hiya are your mobiles out of contract? How much you paying on them? if not in contract try shopping around for best deal i've seen one for us for £6.90 a month for 200 mins 5000 txts and 500 gb just pop it in your phone n off you go. I recently axed the tv off the virgin package too it was getting too costly. I'd say meal plan, take packed lunches to work and price it all up on online grocery shop before buying, dont sho when hungry and if it aint on the list dont buy it. were a family of 5 and only one person working. Its tricky at first till you find your feet. x

meg72

I think you will be really suprised at how much money can be saved on food, come over to the grocery challenge, lovely helpful people and loads of tips and recipes/

floss2

Wornoutmom wrote: »

You may be entitled to watersure if you do get tax credits more than the basic which makes your max water payments £27 per month but you may need to switch to a meter

http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/consumerissues/assistance/watersure/

we are as we have 3 children but you need to have an illness which uses water or 3 children so maybe not?

However a meter should still be cheaper than £57 per month we were paying £35 a month before watersure for a family of 5! xx

I understood that the OP had just moved in, so I am assuming that the water payment which starts in May runs to January 2014 to cover all water from now until the end of next March. Most water authorities give 2 payment-free months, so she will be paying over 12 months bill in just 9 months, which will make it seem high.

foxgloves

You should be able to cut your grocery bill, as soon as you get into a routine of meal planning, using all leftovers constructively, shopping for only what is needed on your meal plan & taking advantage of genuinely good offers. Try a local market for fruit & veg....it saves us a fair amount on supermarket prices. Shop around too. We can eat well on £200 a month & that makes some extra meals (batch cookng) to go in the freezer for another month, too. We are both good cooks, would probably describe ourselves as 'foodies' (but now very definitely on a budget!) & partner is a big guy with a huge appetite. If I have a month where I don't plan properly, the spend always goes up. I should add that we do grow some veg as well, which helps out with the budget in the summer/autumn.