Too much effort on reducing and not enough on growing?

Zulu_Dawn

I read so many posts where we look at peoples SOAs and usually advise them to spend less on food ("have you seen the old style board" "you can feed yourself and two kids for £150 a month"), get rid of sky or their gym membership ("you know it has to go") and reduce other items of expenditure.

I think sometimes we are slightly missing the point.

Whilst I am completely in favour of getting the things we need for the least amount of money and ensuring we pick up bargains where possible and don't waste money, it's not just about cutting our costs.

I know for a fact that my family could not live on a supermarket budget of £200 or even £300. We eat too much, we enjoy our food too much. I had a barbecue at my place on Saturday and the meat, salad, vegetable, sweet and drinks cost £75 for one meal for 12 people. I cooked everything form scratch, bought cheap food, used offers where possible etc. but that was as cheap as I could get away with. Now according to some, that is two weeks budget down the pan. Maybe others don't ever entertain but I cannot live like that and whatever my debt, I don't think we should be expected to.

We therefore have to find ways to grow, to earn more money - something which will enable us to afford the little luxuries of life (gyms, Sky, the occasional take away, inviting friends over for a nice meal).

I would like to make a plea that when we look at SOA's and consider other people's debt challenges, we look more broadly than just a starvation diet and a freeview box. It is not always as simple as that and I think we should always look at what they earn and how that can be increased/maximized.

I'd be interested in others thoughts.

ZD

Shineyhappy

I think most of the time peope advise money making ideas such as selling on Ebay, amazon, bootfairs or using quidco, pigsback, mystery shopping, matched betting ort online survey sites to make extra cash.

I suppose it depends on how quickly you want to get rid of your debt and what your time constraints are. Personally I dont have time for a second job as my OH prefers us to do other things and seeing as shortly I will be moving in with him for cheap rent then I dont feel I should go against his wishes. So I prefer to save money on expenses and tbh I now prefer takeaways and meals out as they are real treats and not just a luxury but a real treat.

My OH will only eat a few value products and I will only buy organic milk and organic free range eggs and quorn type products so no value meat and I think we spend no more than 120 pounds a month shopping. I would say we eat well and if we didnt he would complain!

Sea78

Yes, I agree, but unfortunately it was being a big hostess and thinking I couldn't feed the family for under a certain amount etc that added to my debt. I think the whole attitude of getting things more cheaply and cutting those corners (that often we don't miss) is the thing that will help a lot of people live within their means and begin to pay back debt.

I have no doubt that when I am debt free I will loosen up a little, but I also like being able to feed the family really well on from scratch food chepaly, as this will enable us to do wonderful things - from spetember, I'll be paying £1200 on debt repayments, and we'll have about £1900 for 'essentials'. It will be important for me to think forwards - if I relax a little, once debt free, we'll have about £1000 'spare' cash to either pay towards the mortgage or to save for fabulous travels with the kids (this is high up on my list of important things so for me I find this a motivation).

If by cutting back on unecessary things, such as sky etc and making myself find really good but cheap produce and menu plans, this date is coming nearer.

This is why we always tend to pick apart people's SOAs as they cannot afford all the outgoings and the debt has to be paid asap in the majority of cases. People then have their lightbulb moment where they realise what a difference these little things can make.

My view anyway!!

Sea xxx

Snaggles

I think we DO look at maximising income, although in a lot of cases this is difficult to do due to the persons circumstances. I would always ask if overtime/second job/better paid job would be a possibility, but it often isn't, and there is only so much you can earn from eBay, car boot sales, surveys, mystery shopping etc.

I don't think for a moment that a shopping budget of £200 is a starvation diet, and without meaning to sound stroppy, I find that quite offensive. My children are well fed, nicely clothed and well looked after on a budget of this size.

The fact is that we are not trained debt counsellors or financial advisors, we are normal people, doing the best we can to help others.

If you feel that we are missing something when we give advice to a newbie who has just posted their SOA, then by all means step in and suggest it, as it may be something that no-one has thought of, and could be very useful.

anniestar

Well as one of the "offenders" I have to say that it is only ADVICE ie no one HAS to take it. We eat increadibly well (hardly any value/smart price things) on a pretty small budget. However, I dont WASTE anything like as much as I used to, I know that I'd much rather have the cash in my pocket(or to be used for a debt, for a treat or just to blow )than throw it in hte compost or wheelie bin. I agree its a long term change and as such there has to be "nice stuff" and yes I do so miss the gym(so does my HUGE BUM!!) but I couldn't justify it (£85 joint off peak:eek: ) However I now do buy a newspaper and do have sky. We have all got to find the way that is "right" for us. Incidently, I have just been to ASDA and as I was killing time whilst waiting for a perscription had a good look at some of the stuff in prepared food and cakes!!:eek: Currently in my freezer I have 3 types of scones, a cheescake, banana bread, enough soup to float the QE2 and loads of other goodies. Like i say its up to the posters wheither to take the advice or not, thats part of the magic of this board advice is freely given in a non judgmental way. If it helps one person then its worth it. Incidently if I were to win the lottery tonight I would't change the way I cook or the way I shop. Honest.
EDIT I wouldn't know a starvation diet if it bit me in the (huge) bum!!!

angelavdavis

I understand where you are coming from and respect your views, but actually I think there are many people who spend a lot of money on shopping and end up chucking half of it away because we have become brainwashed that we need to pile a shopping trolley high once a week with stuff we can't possibly eat before the next trip "because its such a bargain" ! I know I did pre-MSE!

My OH and I eat and drink really well and don't spend fortunes. We eat meat and fish most nights with a glass of wine or beer (occasionally I cook myself a vegetarian meal, but my OH is a meat man tbh!).

In the last two weeks, our meals have included:

- Duck breast with red wine sauce and puy lentils (huge duck breast fed two of us from Lidl's)
- salmon encroute with peas and new potatoes (salmon was reduced)
- HM pizza (using HM pizza base, reduced mozzarella from Lidl, chopped salami from Lidl, topping made from Lidl passata, herbs from garden and green/red peppers)
- prawn risotto (using frozen prawns from Lidl, herbs from garden, veg from garden and whole grain rice)
- Tuna steak with salad and dauphinoise potatoes (tuna frozen from Lidl, salad leaves and herbs from garden, potatoes and spring onions from Lidl)
- roasted leg of lamb, cauliflower and broccoli with HM cheese sauce, roasted potatoes (all ingredients from Lidl - the leg of lamb was reduced to £6 and I froze the leftovers to use in moussaka)
- HM spaghetti bolognaise with garlic bread (my lazy meal which I defrosted)

I don't spend more than £175 per month on food, wine and beer! We shop once a month in Lidl's for basics (about £60) and then top up weekly locally at farm shops/local co-op for milk and the odd bit of veg and then we shop quarterly at Tesco for stuff Lidl's don't stock (£80 max). This also includes cleaning materials, toilet rolls, etc.

I chop and freeze vegetables that look likely not to be used for some reason and grow my own herbs and vegetables. I make rolls for my OH for lunch as I can add omega seeds as a topping and reduce the sugar/salt in them. This saves me a packet and we throw very little away!

If people are really struggling with their finances (and let's face it, some folks are), then I don't think it is a huge deal doing away with Sky. As I wrote once, no one ever died from Sky-withdrawal!!!!;) Let's face it, most people (me included!) sit moronically in front of TV when they could be doing something far more interesting, like enjoying each other's company!!

To me, Money-saving is about cutting back on stuff that is just wasteful - like buying sandwiches for £3 a go or paying OTT for your electric/gas or not shopping around for something, or paying 19% on your credit card balance when you could switch it to a 0% somewhere else. I am afraid personally, I also include Sky in this one as I think it's a complete rip-off at over £500 per year to watch various channels re-gurgitating programmes and the odd good film for which you pay extra for!) But everyone is different and has different priorities.

What do others think?

newlywed

It's advice. Up the person to pick out the bits they think will work for them.

We kept sky but reduce other bills. I thought we couldn't cut our shopping bill but have since halved it with the other tips. We eat better as it's all planned along with all the portions of veg for each meal. We are healthier (less colds etc) as it's all from scratch with no salt or additives etc.

We only buy organic eggs, I won't touch value meat. But I learned how to plan meals, how to budget, how to think beyond "ooh I fancy expensive tuna steak tonight" etc. We still buy biscuits are certainly not starved (in fact have put on a little weight from all the home made cakes!!)

I agree that increasing money needs to be looked at too. Ebay is often mentioned and can be a great source of extra but it's not as regular as learning how to plan your food and cut your bills.

I think each person needs to find their own balance. Although I admire those who can feed families for £200 or less a month, I can't personally get that low and usually end up about £240 but it isn't the £500 a month it used to be!!!

immoral_angeluk

I agree that why we shouldn't have to sacrifice the 'pleasantries' in life unfortunately some of us HAVE to.

Lucy1982_2

i agree

I don't have my own weekly shop as I still live at home. But Mum and I have Sky and split the bill each paying £7.50. I did have DVD rental at £7.99 a month but I decided to cancel this as I thought the £7.99 would be better off going towards a debt.

I'm not saying this is for everyone and for a little while there was no way I would give it up... but I did. I cancelled my home interent connection to. Do I miss them? No not really, sometimes in the evenings I wish I had something to watch or to surf, but that is once in a while.

For me becomnig debt free is really important and I want it to happen as soon as possible. I'm happy making the sacrifices while I have to. I'm not saying I'll never get them back as I will. But ONLY when I can afford it.

Shineyhappy

Personally I would rather throw the money I could spend on luxuries on paying my debts off so when I have kids I will have more cash to spend on them and loads less stress in the house.

I would rather have piece of mind than a gym membership or a Sky box or a takeaway that I regret having the second its eaten. After all a luxury is hardly a luxury if you feel bad for having it and then guilty when the credit bill comes in then anxious when you know you cant afford it.

opalfruits_2

I'm a money advisor and a large proportion of my clients have debts due to budgeting issues rather than any other problem. A lot of people have unrealistic expectations about what an average standard of living is - I don't think thsi is helped by advertising to be honest, but that's by the by.

Reducing is vital in order to tackle the cause of the debt problem for a lot of people. As has been pointed out, entertaining is not an essential outgoing. If you don't want to stop doing it then that's fine. However, it would be a bit negligent not to point out that a lot of money is being spent on non essentials when it could mean you are debt free much quicker if you cut down temporarily.