Got here by luck, intending to stay by judgement.

Igamogam

mark88man wrote: »

for me 6 in the family (+2 moggies) that equals 6x3x365 meals a day or 6000 meals a year - even saving 15p a meal is nearly £1000 and it sounds like yours is similar.

I have never thought of looking at like that - thanks! When I think I am really loopy by using every little voucher that comes my way ( especially those Tosco 'you could have got this cheaper elsewhere so here is 2p off your next shop' type vouchers) I will remind myself and my doubting family members of this:)

However................cant agree on the diet c*la..........just ditch it completely and save a fortune.........:eek:

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Yes, drink 'council pop ' instead. It comes out of the tap for free.

Goldiegirl

mark88man wrote: »

Mr B - glad you are shaking off the blues.

You are suffering from MS burnout - the daunting realisation that this is for the long term, and whilst you have been super organised in getting the best deals for yourself actually (well in my experience) the savings you get from good deal making on these annual or structural changes are more visible BUT less significant than not (over)spending on the day to day journey through life.

for me 6 in the family (+2 moggies) that equals 6x3x365 meals a day or 6000 meals a year - even saving 15p a meal is nearly £1000 and it sounds like yours is similar.

You are a spreadsheet expert - now I would love to see you try and calculate the savings from a few simple changes in your spendin. eg My family likes diet coke (prob a bottle a day between us) - we changed to Lidl Freeway saving and saved hundreds. Get the same for less. We got a new Lidl a couple of years ago knocked 10% of most items - noticeable savings. You can get Lidl Fatigue but whenever I change it works out dearer so just shows how much you can save from that aspect.

And if you need to go off the rails - do it by buying a nicer weekend meals, than a new car :-) - that's thespirit

These are all really good points.

Generally, the groceries is a really easy target for making savings.

Just by making a few changes, such as downshifting brands, changing where you shop, cooking more things from scratch, meal planning etc, most people will make big savings.

But, if you are feeling that you haven't got anything to do, Mr B, you could always do that SOA, so you know exactly what you've got coming in each month and going out!:rotfl:

MrBloater

Am massively glad to be back on this side of the Atlantic - having spent three weeks in a land where pork pies, scotch eggs and prawn cocktail crisps are merely the stuff of a madman's dreams - getting myself back into my own little corner of London has brought a smile to my face. As has the fact that I went three weeks away in a place where due to the exchange rate everything was "half price" without even touching a credit card. Now I'm back in reality I have spreadsheets to update and overpayments to plot.

Igamogam

Welcome back

sarahevie1

I wanted to pop in and say glad to see you over here.

I think you are doing great, for what it's worth I actually agree with the consolidation for your circumstances. What shocked me is only 21% equity in london. The land of high house price inflation.

I followed you on dfw and we also share a profession. Glad to see you plodding on, its often much harder than it looks

MrBloater

Finding it hard to readjust to being back in a land where there are a range of cheeses and it isn't obligatory to drive a Japanese car really badly. Finding it so hard in fact that I'm heading for my 60th consecutive hour with virtually no sleep. But anyways, I'm sure it will have no impact on me whatsoever. The fact my nose won't stop bleeding and I'm kinda half convinced I'm on a houseboat at the moment are just coincidental. Probably best to lie down somewhere and stop posting.

MrBloater

Phew! Am pleased it's Monday and doubly so that it's a Monday Lite and not one where I have to go to work or any of that malarky. My joy has been compounded by the fact that yesterday was one of the most gruelling Sundays I've had in a long while - there was such an autumnal dullness about the atmosphere it just made everything way more sullen than necessary. But it's over for another week and maybe in the meantime Science will find a way of curing us of Sundays. There was some brightness though - both Mrs B and myself were dancing a merry jig when we logged into our updated Noddles as our (entirely arbitrary and of no use whatsoever - I know) credit scores have both gone up a notch, and indeed Mrs B's is almost tapping on the door of Excellent. It is a fantastic feeling to see all our former bloodsucking accounts now scowling at us from the 'closed' list. And I'm more convinced that ever that we aren't going to slip back into our old ways of doing things.

Today is all about the shed - all the bedrooms upstairs are being decluttered. It has to absorb a cross-trainer, a chest of drawers and a TV into its very core. I had recently gained some ground in my battle and had punched through an aid corridor from the door through to the back. It's the perfect size to accommodate these latest donations. But Shed Tetris is one of my favourite games and if it means the upstairs has some breathing space then I'm well up for it.

in_need_of_direction

Can you get rid of the chest of drawers?

solentsusie

No posts for a long time Mister B. Is all going well in the Bloater household?