would LOVE to get rid of debt

LuckyPenny

Yep it's hard work saving. I shop at Aldi and top up with home bargains and Asda for branded stuff that my family like and Aldi don't sell.

I spent £316.85 on shopping in April and there are two adults and one child in our house. I make use of Asda price guarantee vouchers, vouchers in the news papers for Aldi and a cashback website through work that gives me money off gift cards. When I go shopping I always do a list. I don't do much batch cooking but a website I like is https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com it has recipes, food storage, portion sizes etc - the idea is to reduce waste and save money - lots of good hints and tips.

In terms of sticking to a budget - I have an app on my phone and everything I spend I log in this free spending diary. The app is by MH Riley Ltd. I just searched for spending diary I think. You can upgrade it for more categories but I just use the basic categories - there are 11 in total. My husband has an excel spending diary, very basic income and outgoings. I was suprised at how much I was spending when I was logging everything.

Hope this helps
Lucky Penny:money:

CapricornLass

Hi, Parker Posy, I would echo the use of the spending diary. Just write down EVERYTHING (and I mean everything) and you will be surprised how the little things gobble up your hard earned money!

A couple of ideas for you:

I've bought big packs of things like sausages, and then repacked them into smaller packs when I got home, and frozen them. I've also done that with things like garlic bread, naans and pittas - halve it, use one half now and freeze the rest for later.

The other thing is- do you have a store cupboard of groceries? Tins of tomatoes and beans, rice, flour etc? Instead of going to Sainsbury midweek, why not look in your store-cupboard, and say I've got X here, what can I make with it? Sometimes its an experiment, and I've got to admit, I've had some failures, but its also how we ended up with lentil cobbler and chick pea curry, which have become regular staples here. It also means that you will be closer to the weekend and the next big shop....