2016 is going to be a very tight year ...

tiredwithtwins

I want to make 2016 the year I clear the majority of my debts (at least half of the £20k I owe), and start to get straight financially.
I have been on this forum for 10 years now, and with the precious info I have gathered from here im sure I can do it ... last night my other half said im getting so tight with money, im tighter than scrooge!
over the past couple of months I have used all the advise from Martins forums/blog etc so I think im prepared!!


Anyone else facing a mountainous challenge financially in 2016??
Anyone previously faced the challenge and won?
Anyone have any tips/advise that might help? - its often the little things that can save money that you don't think about ...
(I have done the budgeting/utility switch etc thing lol)


look forward to hearing peoples stories

summerlady_2

I don't have any advice to offer, just want to wish you well.

milliemonster

Good luck with your plan, one tip I've seen which I'm definitely going to use is when you do your food shopping that you've meal planned for (and if you don't meal plan, start now!) take cash only, so that you're not tempted by anything else that's not on your list

MrsRogers

Good luck

Look across your whole finances to ensure you are paying the best price for everything. Groceries are the obvious place to save money but you would be amazed where else you can find places to save money.

Sally_A

Use frozen veg to avoid waste. Especially out of season.

Green beans.
Sliced peppers.
Broccoli.
Cauliflower.
Broad Beans.
Parsnips.
Carrots (not so keen on these myself)

These are usually frozen a s a p, whilst fresh veg may have hung around for a few days before it even gets to the shops, so nutritionally are not lacking.

You only use what you need, rather than keep, say, a pepper that ends up getting binned.

If making a pasta salad for example, I'd still go for fresh, but for stews and bolognese etc - frozen is fine.

Iceland and the value range from major supermarkets are fine.

lushlifesaver

My tips are always meal plan but have some flexibility - if that's swapping the days or whatever that's fine; I also build in options that can add snacks too and always have one back up option a week (one super quick meal for when you are in a rush/things change etc)


At the end of the day I clear out any change smaller than 20p in to a jar in my kitchen; I also try and keep the change in my purse rounded to a whole pound but I don't do that everyday.


I do the same with my bank account; whenever I log in to my online banking I take out the change to round it down to the next pound transferring that 'change' to one of my savings accounts it's amazing how fast it adds up


In 2016 I'm going to do the 'penny a day' challenge - jan 1st you save 1p, on the 2nd 2p and so on. By then end of the year you have over £150 it doesn't sound like much but that will be our Christmas!


I also buy the 'essentials' in larger quantities; so one month I buy a box of 12 packs of baby wipes (well usually 2+ boxes in the Aldi baby event) then another I buy a big pack of toilet rolls, another its laundry detergent and so on. I've managed to get this now so that my stashes run in time with offers (most of the time)
small steps lead to big results - never be discouraged by one slip/spend!

katkin

Keep 2 household books. One for menu planning, cupboard, freezer stock taking, household lists n recipes. Notes n tips from OS too.

The other more important one is my budget book. As well as income, I note expenditure - everything I buy is noted in there and put against its budget line.

Maybe a bit ott but that level of financial control means I'm constantly on top of the money. I have several online accounts too to put savings in, direct debits and longer term purchases.

When I hit a budget line, I do without, don't spent any more.

Best of luck x

[Deleted User]

Take control of your spending and don't let it take control of you.I have a set amount each month that I draw from the bank on the 1st of the month

That goes into my old brown purse that I keep separately from my normal purse.I only take this purse out with me when I go to the shops.I have a small list of things by the kettle and when I run out of something I note it down and if I can't use something I already have in stock then I will buy some more.

Menu plan all the time and use as much of the stuff you have already indoors before you buy anymore

I am at present working my way through the food mountain that I have accumulated
I have a 'float' of Happy Stash Cash in my normal purse for treats and things that are not in my food budget,but like my food purse once its gone that's it until the beginning of the following month.

Any cash left in my normal purse or my food budget purse at the end of the month gets deposited into my holiday savings account kept especially for holiday spending money.

I have a 'road kill' tin on the window ledge in my kitchen and any coins founds when out go into this tin, my DGS call it Granny's Ice cream tin and also put any finds they have inside as well.

This month for example I only had to do one 'big' shop as I have been away for part of the month and consequently only had around 20 days actually at home. I have just over £30 to go into my account for our holiday next year from my food budget purse and around £7.00 odd in my Happy Cash Stash as I took my DGS to the cinema yesterday and I treated him to a decent coffee afterwards at a local coffee shop.He is a penniless student and like me very fond of good coffee so it was a nice treat for us both.

Of the seven days in the week I am out for at least one night a week and two of the others I eat at DDs so I only really have four dinners a week to cook at home.

It probably sounds a bit anal all the organising of cash, but it means that I can pay for the holiday house that we rent in August for myself and my DD and family.I like to use the money I have saved by being organised to pay for something nice for us all.Its just a case of rearranging funds and this way my 'rainy day ' savings also can mount up a bit.

I live alone so its probably easier for me to budget as I will eat almost anything and I'm not fussed if one night I will have an ommelette and not steak and chips .Food is just fuel to keep my engine going and although I do like cooking and enjoy making something different I don't worry if the purse gets a bit lean as I can always knock something up to eat.Out of my £60.00 budget I suppose I spend around a third on fresh fruit and veg as I make my own soups(cheap as chips and far better than tinned stuff) and even a packet of lentils added to meat helps to streeetch it out a bit.
Or makes a nice lentil pate to spread on crackers with sliced tomatoes on top. I no longer eat bread and found I lost over a stone and a half giving that up.Don't miss it at all either, as I enjoy crackers or crispbread instead .(they don't go off either )
I use UHT milk and find I no longer am throwing milk out because those big jugs of milk just don't keep as well.

It possible to eat well and healthily with a bit of careful planning.I was brought up during WW2 and rationing so I learned literally at my mothers knee how to streetch food to go round. This site is also a great help to people who perhaps are finding life a bit lean at times We have all been there and many of us know lots of recipes to help out a bit.
Great bunch of people on here and no question is daft or silly no matter what it is you will always find some sort of solution to any problem on here

FunBrum

Hi Tiredwithtwins.....Good luck and I will be eagerly keeping an eye on your thread. I'm sure you will gather some great tips on here.

JackieO.....You are always inspiring and I love reading your posts!

kippers

Keep us up to date with all you are doing as we all need an incentive sometimes and following you on this will me great. Good luck

maman

On this particular board you're most likely to get tips for spending wisely on food and other household items. If you want more general budget advice then I'd suggest posting on DFW as well.


What I'd recommend is a spending diary for perhaps a month but definitely week by week. Write down everything you spend and keep all receipts. You can then use this to audit what you're spending on wants rather than needs. You'll probably also find that as the month wears on you'll start thinking hard before you spend as you'll not want to be frittering money away on wants.


It must be hard with twins but if you don't already do so then start shopping in Aldi or Lidl and generally shop around in £ shops/Farmfoods/Iceland. It'll save you loads on your average supermarket shop.