'Living off' £250 a month

RachelBP

So I'm looking for a little support with my new goal... I know this will seem crazy to some of the amazing savers on here, but we all start somewhere right?

My rent is about to jump up quite a lot due to circumstances beyond my control, but it will only be for about 4 months, at which point I plan to move into a flat share with a friend. However, about a month after that I'll be ending my current work contract and quite possibly on a lower income. As I mentioned in another thread, I'm also hoping to start saving to start an MA in Sept 2015.

It's quite a lot of financial up and down in one year, I wouldn't say I'm bad with money but I haven't really got anything saved - £750 in an emergency fund and £75 a month going into a 'car expenses' fund is all. I do pay into a pension and no debt other my student loan which I guess is a better situation than it could be. (Im 25 living in south london btw).

Anyway - my calculations suggest that after my new rent, bills, car savings, fuel, oyster card - I'll have £250 a month for food and general stuff. I'm sure it's totally doable but I could do with any tips or support!!

Im hoping that if I start from this pay day, when my rent goes up in two months I'll be used to it and it won't phase me so much... furthermore, if I can carry it on into the future, I'll be able to save toward my MA and then who knows in a couple of years start tackling that house deposit thing my Dad keeps mentioning

alex21

Good luck. If it just for food and extras I would think it is doable.

Melaniep101

Totally doable! £30 a week for food, maybe a tenner a week for other bits and bobs, but should be easy if you're sensible.

F1F93

Should be do-able if you're disciplined enough.
My Fiancee and I used to live off less than £250 a month between us for food when we were in student halls. And that was shopping in Tesco and Sainsburys too, as well as often getting "treats" (Ben and Jerrys, and stuff from the bakery section).

If you stick to Lidl/Aldi for the majority of your food if possible, and cut out any treats/downgrade your treats (Aldi own brand chocolate is decent, go for own brand vanilla ice cream instead of Ben and Jerrys etc, and Lidl coke IMO tastes as good as Coca Cola or Pepsi, for a fraction of the price) and you'll not only be able to live off your £250, but you'll be able to save a lot of it too!


EDIT:
Also, have you tried getting all your other bills down to increase your £250 a month? Switch energy provider for lower bills, get rid of Sky and go to freeview, etc.

J_i_m

That's easily "doable".

When I read the thread title I thought you meant the £250 had to cover the utility and commuting as well.

But simply for food and misc stuff? You could cope with half of that or less.

RachelBP

Thanks for the encouragement.

Re: food. I didn't think to add but I keep kosher so food is expensive - I can buy things like fruit, veg, pasta, rice in Tesco or Aldi but anything even slightly prepared - a tin of beans (90p), packet of biscuits (£1.99 - £4) etc I usually have to buy from a specialist kosher store.

The one money saving upside is that it's impossible to eat out other than my local area. No spending £5 a day on a Pret sandwich or grabbing a take away! Also.... and this is an on going thing, I cook fresh a LOT. It's even cheaper than for most people to buy the raw ingredients in a Tesco than a kosher ready meal (£8).

bowlhead99

Serious comment, it's clear you would have much better chance of achieving your goal if you dropped some part of the kosher rulebook.

Imagine the good you could do for the world with your spare cash if you had been able to avoid paying the 1000%+ mark-up for the certification of your beans. Perhaps while your actions would be abhorrent to some members of your faith, you could balance it up with some other good deeds and the people who matter most to you (or him upstairs) might think that on balance you did broadly live a good life despite struggling with that aspect of the rulebook.

Of course that's from someone who's somewhat cold-hearted and logical, rather than religious, so may sound obnoxious to those who aren't similarly afflicted

Guggul

RachelBP wrote: »

So I'm looking for a little support with my new goal... I know this will seem crazy to some of the amazing savers on here, but we all start somewhere right?

My rent is about to jump up quite a lot due to circumstances beyond my control, but it will only be for about 4 months, at which point I plan to move into a flat share with a friend. However, about a month after that I'll be ending my current work contract and quite possibly on a lower income. As I mentioned in another thread, I'm also hoping to start saving to start an MA in Sept 2015.

It's quite a lot of financial up and down in one year, I wouldn't say I'm bad with money but I haven't really got anything saved - £750 in an emergency fund and £75 a month going into a 'car expenses' fund is all. I do pay into a pension and no debt other my student loan which I guess is a better situation than it could be. (Im 25 living in south london btw).

Anyway - my calculations suggest that after my new rent, bills, car savings, fuel, oyster card - I'll have £250 a month for food and general stuff. I'm sure it's totally doable but I could do with any tips or support!!

Im hoping that if I start from this pay day, when my rent goes up in two months I'll be used to it and it won't phase me so much... furthermore, if I can carry it on into the future, I'll be able to save toward my MA and then who knows in a couple of years start tackling that house deposit thing my Dad keeps mentioning

you're unlikely to be able to afford a mortgage.

Nichelette

I'm trying to live on £300 a month. That includes petrol to work (approx £100/month), mobile, food, and entertainment etc. I don't exactly lock myself away but I find it manageable. I do cheap things like going to the pub for a soft drink instead of drinking £20+ then going to a club. I'm lucky that a train ticket including a travelcard for zones 1-6 is only £6.60 at the weekend (I'm working during the week anyway), so London can be a cheap day out if I don't want to be stuck in the house. Good luck with it .

innovate

RachelBP, if you are able to buy and eat pasta without offending your religious beliefs, you must most definitely be able to buy dried beans and pulses. Any good supermarket has a great selection of them, and you can cook fabulous and varied meals with them for next to no money. You just have to soak them overnight so cooking time is reasonable.

innovate

Guggul wrote: »

you're unlikely to be able to afford a mortgage.

What, never? Why?