Bills & how to cut them?!!

PlutoinCapricorn

Aldi & Lidl, Home Bargains... end of day stickered reductions at the usual big supers...street, farmers' and indoor markets...charity shops...I shop around and never waste food now.

Firegirl

Welcome! I saved a fortune making my own lunches and stopping popping into shops, and meal planning a bit better. Also buying less coffee!

Cash back cards and reward accounts

Checked utility bills with energy club- saved £60 a month!!!!

Castaway2002

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your replies it has really given me inspiration and this weekend I intend to do my first ever 'meal plan' shock horror I also think the comment re bulk buy at some of the cheaper supermarkets for things like toilet rolls etc is a really good point, as is looking more at 'reduced' items as well as trying cheaper brands (as I never have and would probably find taste no different)! I just noticed, as one example, that when I buy chopped tomatoes I buy the most expensive / big brand but at the end of the day when it's mixed with mince for spag bog who would notice!

Re the query re children/pets, I have twin boys (age 6) and no pets. The boys have 'big' appetites and like fruit / veg which is great but they tend to be costly items (esp when you shop at Waitrose or M&S) so any suggestions on where I could get cheaper but still reasonably good quality for fruit / veg would help? Was interested to hear how one of you had had similar food costs and got it down to £200 pcm! Wow that's fab, maybe I can try hard and achieve the same......am really keen to as I'll never be MF otherwise, it will have all gone on food/drink :-) ha ha!!

I am also definitely going to contact some of the utility companies and shop around as think we could get gas/electric cheaper, life assurance too and of course reduce Sky (or even cancel it although not sure I'd cope without it altogether)!

Anyhow, I'll let you know how I come on but thanks once again for all your suggestions.

ourcornercottage

Castaway2002 wrote: »

Re the query re children/pets, I have twin boys (age 6) and no pets.
.

Don't forget to add after school / weekend / holiday clubs in your budget as from experience they add up (one sport loving 6 year old) I'd say I budget about £50 a month at the moment although he is doing a lot of clubs and will prob reduce this as its a bit much to fit in.

Also school stuff as that adds up especially for 2.

If you add these costs into you SOA it will give a more reasonable level you can save or over pay.

-taff

Lidls and Aldis have far cheaper veg and fruit and it's good quality too.

midnight_child

Castaway2002 wrote: »

The boys have 'big' appetites and like fruit / veg which is great but they tend to be costly items (esp when you shop at Waitrose or M&S) so any suggestions on where I could get cheaper but still reasonably good quality for fruit / veg would help?

Check to see if you have an Aldi near you. The one near me always has really great fresh produce and its better than my local c0-0p, probably as its so darn cheap there's no time for it to go off before it gets bought! They also have what they call the super 6 promotion, where each week they have six different fruit n veg at 59p.


Here's the link for you https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/product-range/fresh-bakery/this-weeks-latest-super-6-fruit-veg-offers/


I must admit I was sceptical at first as was brought up on [EMAIL="s@ins"]s@ins[/EMAIL] pretty much as a 2nd religion, and my mum still refuses to shop in [EMAIL="t@sco"]t£sco[/EMAIL]. However, to be fair to A1di they have some real great stuff and i'm currently working my way through their brand of single malt scotch. I normally like a smoky whisky, but theirs was a bit harsh for my palette, so will try the speyside one next :beer:


MC

rockabelle

Congratulations on your lightbulb moment!
We're a family of four too, and looking at your bills, your water seems quite high (we're only 30 a month). Do you need British Gas services? (I don't know what they provide you with, but most of the home cover type things I seem to be sent, are actually covered under our home insurance).
If your telecom include mobiles then it doesn't seem too bad, but if it's just a landline I'd recommend renegotiating (just put my mother onto co-op and it's incredibly cheap in comparison to what my husband arranged for us....)
Is your personal loan at the lowest rate? Chances are, it's at a higher rate than your mortgage, so I'd suggest overpaying that first.

good luck