I can't sail the seas forever!

Mrs_Rachel_Trelfa

Hi runders, sorry to hear about your back injury. Personally I think that £200 - £250 for food for one person is high (hubby and I spend £80 - £100 max for food) however we make everything from scratch and buy mostly value branded items. I guess for your job it is difficult. I think the first thing you could try is meal planning to ensure that you have very little waste to throw in the bin.

Again the £500 - £800 is high. If you want to continue with doing those activities can you find discounts and offers?


I think what you need to decide is how you want to go about becoming mortgage free. Some people sacrifice holidays, going out, cutting right back to plough everything into the overpaying. Other take a more balanced approach and still maintaining a level of lifestyle. It's all about finding what you're happy with.

Runders

Mrs Trefla,

Thanks very much for your response. Wow! Hubby and yourself put me to shame with the food budget! I think my problem is several factors:
1) I've only just started to cook and enjoy it now I have my own kitchen
2) I've never planned a meal in my life, I have a bad habit of going into M&S in town on the day and looking for something I fancy.
So any tips you have for meal planning would be greatly received!

With regards as to how I'd like to approach this, I want to strike a balance. I enjoy going out with my friends, day trips, theatre etc. But I need to cut back. I have a habit of being an emotional spender as well. My last trip offshore my back was very painful, so I 'treated' myself to a few nice things on etsy....I spent £200. So Etsy is a no go for the future!

Runders

Hi all, so a few thoughts from today. Sorry if I'm rambling, I'm also using this as a way to keep a track of things and organise my thoughts in one place.

Today was not a great success, a fellow seafarer I haven't seen for ages suddenly appeared in town. His arrival was quickly followed by 2 coffees and lunch costing £8.40. I then went to the cinema with some other friends and because I didn't get time to go home for dinner I had a popcorn tea, so the cinema cost a whopping £16!! No more cinema for me this month unless it's to use my free voucher at Vue, I don't care how good Tom Hardy looks in Mad Max! Oh I also met another friend for a cup of tea at £2 and I had a leg wax appointment today that cost £22, so I've spent close to £50 today.

I've discovered where some of my money is also disappearing to in vast swathes. I decided to have a sort out of my toiletries and beauty products. I have not one, not two, but SEVEN body moisturisers, about 8 half used or full deos, 4 different face cleansers...the list goes on and on! So, I am not allowing myself to buy any more until I have used all the ones I have, this could take some time!

I am going to attempt to have a NSD tomorrow after my blow out today. I'm planning on listing some bits and bobs on ebay, cleaning the house and delving into the world of meal planning.

Night all!

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Evening, have a search on the :money: forums for Frugal Fast. Maybe set yourself a challenge of not spending any money for a week. See how you manage, what you crave, what you think you need but it's only a want.

Catching up with friends is great but put a budget together and take the money from your entertainment pot

Night Tilly x x

gallygirl

Also have a look at the KonMarie thread - basically it's about getting rid of possessions, but you start by getting things of the same category in one place. You don't have to get rid of all your facecreams, but could you store all ones not being used in one place and take one out when necessary? If you know how big your stash is you won't be tempted to buy another 'just in case'.

Mrs_Rachel_Trelfa

Runders wrote: »

I've discovered where some of my money is also disappearing to in vast swathes. I decided to have a sort out of my toiletries and beauty products. I have not one, not two, but SEVEN body moisturisers, about 8 half used or full deos, 4 different face cleansers...the list goes on and on! So, I am not allowing myself to buy any more until I have used all the ones I have, this could take some time!

Wow that's impressive. At least you have realized now. The money you would have spent you could put aside for the overpaying?

As for the meal planning what I tend to do is look at what I have in the fridge/freezer/cupboard that needs using (i.e. mainly what needs using from the fridge) and come up with something. Sometimes it means random meals. I wonder based on your comments about having lots of half used bathroom products, is this the same with cupboard items? You could post what you have and we could help come up with meals that requires little or no other purchases. Also I love my slow cooker, it allows me to a stew type meal if I have a few carrots, sweed etc not looking their best. Also if you batch cook a meal you can freeze the left over to make you own readymade meals.

Goldiegirl

Runders wrote: »

I love the theatre and spend way to much on going to London etc to see plays and shows.

Hi, I love the theatre too, but I haven't been to the West End for 2 years.


There's an excellent theatre in Canterbury, and I've been going there instead. Most of the shows go on tour and if you are willing to wait a while most shows eventually appear locally, at a fraction of West End prices.


If you've got a decent theatre locally, this could be a way to get your theatre fix, and spend less.

pavlovs_dog

Runders it is almost as if you need two budgets, one for at sea, and one for shore leave.

I would assume certain costs (e.g. food, socialising) are all but non existent when at sea. Perhaps you could save what you would spend on these things, and split the money - X% to OP the mortgage and X% to supplement your higher socialising costs when on shore?

Runders

Hi all,

Thanks for all the responses. I'm just gonna write a quick bit now and sit down and catch up with everything later. Had a busy two days so looking forward to some forum time later to catch up on diaries etc.

Pavlovs_dog: I am going to be in the office for 6 months solid now, which is why I chose now to start this dairy and journey really. I'll actually be able to get into a routine with things for once, and for the first time in 8 years I can actually plan things! It's a very odd feeling. Hopefully I can pick up the good habits now and continue on with them when I got back to sea next year.

Tilly and gallygirl: Thanks for the thread suggestions, I will have a peruse of them later on today.

Mrs Trefla: That would be a great help, I shall make a little inventory of my cupboards and post. I warn you though, I don't seem to collects food as much as toiletries!

Right ho, I have to go and make a purchase in town now. My neighbour has an overflowing open ashtray right next to the fence, the ash is all blowing under the fence into my garden and basically making it an extension of his ashtray. It's also stained the pointing in my lovely and expensive new path...grrr. So I am going to get him one with a lid and ask him politely if he would please use it. Wish me luck!

Runders

Right...it's been a good day today I managed to have a NSD. My friend did ring me earlier to go to the pub for a G&T, but instead I invited her here and we sat in the garden drinking the G&T I already have at home.

I'm also going to swap my bank account over to First Direct this evening. The £100 bonus can then be added to my monthly OP once it comes through, and I'll open one of their 6% Savings accounts.

I have taken a stock of my cupboards and freezer, I actually have more than I thought:

Cupboards:
~ 250g Macoroni
Whole Wheat Spaghetti
~500g Wholewheat Penne Pasta
~200g Penne Pasta
~200g Cous Cous
1Kg Easy Cook Brown Rice
~300g Risotto Rice
3 x Jars of Green Pesto (It was on 3 for 2)
Hot Oat Cereal
1Kg Plan Flour
500g Self Raising Flour
200g Wheat Bran
Icing Sugar
Dem. Sugar
Honey
Golden Syrup
2 Packs of Ryvita
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Sesame Oil
Dried Porcine Musghrooms

Freezer:
1 Whole Chicken
2 x Chicken Breasts
3 x Sausages
1 left over portion of Chicken Fajita
6 Tortilla Wraps
2 x Lightly Dusted Haddock Filliets
1 Plain Haddock Fillet
1 Salmon Fillet
2 x Fish Cakes
2 x Sirloin Steaks
1 Beef Mince

It seems I'm not just a hoarder of toiletries!