Lost and need help please

Lollie79

Hi everyone,
I am looking to tighten my belt again as tax credits is going down by £50 a week!! so need to look at ways to save some money.

A bit about me, im married i work part time and have an almost 3 year old daughter. I'm currently doing slimming world and have lost a stone :j ive found it hard to cook as a family as my DH doesnt like mushrooms onions or tomatoes!!!

I dont mind cooking and often cook more to freeze for work lunches etc.

I watch the pennies where i can, always checking offers etc but know there is certainly room for improvement. I like lists and also spread sheets so any links on that front would be great.

Im looking for a gentle kick in the right direction from you wise people.

Thank you
Lollie x

monnagran

Oh, hard luck lollie. £50 a week is a lot to lose suddenly.
Well done on the slimming. I've also lost just over a stone in the last 4 months but I've actually saved money. Why not try the 5:2 diet. Not only do you save the Slimming Club fee but you also save on the food you would be eating on your fast days.
When I was in your position I pared everything down to essentials. No newspapers or magazines during the week - I'd get one on Saturdays for the TV magazine. No meals out for a bit and be honest about your situation with your friends. If they don't know why you are refusing invitations they can't understand. Suggest instead meeting them at home for something cheap and cheerful - a spag bol or HM pizza night.
No new clothes, adapt or customise what you already have.
Save loose change in a jar, it's surprising how it mounts up. It can then be used at Christmas or for a treat day out.
Learn to be MEAN. It won't last for ever.
Write down everything you spend and at the end of the week go back through it and see where you could have cut things down or out.
Read through the Sneaky Tips thread on this forum.
Meal plan like mad and stick to it.
Make everything you can from scratch.

This may not save £50 a week but it will help and I'm sure other posters will have some even better ideas.
Don't panic, this is doable.

x

Lollie79

Thank You monnagran

Some great suggestions, meal planning will certainly help. It seems very daunting that we are gonna loose so much money per week but i guess no use crying about it just got to get on with it

x

lilian1977

Hi - does your daughter go to nursery? Just wondering if you've factored in the fact that she will very soon (probably September if she's almost 3) be entitled to her 15 hours free of childcare. Not an immediate help but something to bear in mind xxx

meg72

50.00 a week is a hell of lot to lose suddenly, are you sure its correct, They dont always get things right, I would enquire about this.

Lollie79

Thanks guys

Lilian1977 - my daughter is at nursery 2 full days, she isnt 3 until 24th sept and doesnt qualify for free hours until Jan 2014! this will mean fees go down from £300 a month to £90 :)which is fab but need to do something in the meantime.

meg72 - Ive sent off my renewal form an d used the online calculator to see what we will get and it comes in at £50 less but i havent had award notice yet so im just trying to budget based on the calculator figures

Im having a clear out today so hopefully that will create some funds!!!

x

lilian1977

Oh no! Just under the wire, what a shame. We have similar with ours, he's 3 on Jan 13th so doesn't qualify until April 2014. Would you now be entitled to the free hours for 2 year olds?

Lollie79

unfortunately we dont qualify for 2 yr old free hours, we did discuss taking her out of nursery cause this would free up lots of money and her grandad looks after her on non nursery days if im working and would gladly have her more days but she has come on soooooo much since we put her in nursery and she loves it so we decided its a neccessary expense x

joedenise

Your DH certainly doesn't help when it comes to eating does he? Very difficult to cook without onions, tomatoes & mushrooms (particularly on SW!). I think you may need to consider more veggies meals, perhaps using beans & pulses as they will be considerably cheaper than meat.

One of the best money saving things I've found when money has been very tight is to serve HM soup prior to the main meal and then you can get away with much smaller portions (particularly of meat!). Bulk out what meat you do use with lots of veggies - have you tried "hiding" the veg your DH doesn't like, just like you would a child who doesn't want to eat them? If you grate veggies then they completely disappear when cooked in, eg, mince.

Rubber chicken also comes to mind for saving money. I can get at least 3 meals, sometimes 4 depending on size, out of one chicken plus a chicken & veg soup (or should I say veg and chicken as there is considerably more veg than chicken in it, LOL!).

Have you looked into whether it is actually worth your while working if you have £300 per month childcare costs? Does she really need to go 2 full days a week? Could your working hours be changed so that she goes to a local playgroup for 4 mornings a week, for example, as this would probably be cheaper.

Hope some of that helps.

Denise

hollieinbloom

Have you looked at trying a child minders instead of nursery? it might save you a little money each month. or if your family look after her, maybe you should seek out some of those free surestart centres and tots clubs if he would take her there? she's still getting child interaction and having fun and it's free!. x x

raphanius

Ive sent off my renewal form an d used the online calculator to see what we will get and it comes in at £50 less but i havent had award notice yet so im just trying to budget based on the calculator figures

i used the calculator and it said we would drop £20 a week. my claim came through the other day and we have gained £2 a week.