Trying to catch up..

RedCola

Hello,

I posted at the start of last year asking for help and advice on how to save money on food etc. We had thousands of pounds of debt, and I Had some great replies.

Unfortunately, my husband & I went through an extremely difficult patch in our marriage and I took a step back from the forums during this. It had been a hard year, and we were on the brink of divorce (had papers filled out etc) We took a turn though, and we are figuring out how we cn save this (we do still love each other, which is a good start)

Anyway, brief explanation aside, all this means we haven't made a lot of progress with our debt. On top of this, weare behind on our priority bills (water, electric, council tax) and have to find almost £3350, to get up to scratch. These are our first priority, and I want to get this done asap.
We've made a budget plan, on the stepchange website. My husband is working any overtime he can, to pay toward this, although they only offer one hour per day, plus a weekend morning.

I want to help by cutting our food budget as much as possible, and I know the first step is to use up what we have, before shopping for only the necessities. I wonder if you lovely lot would mind helping with this please?

camelot1001

Have a look at Butterfly Brain's Feeding your family for £20 a week thread, some fantastic people post there. Good luck.

RedCola

Thank you - I would be aiming for around £15/20 per week, so this will be a helpful thread to read.

RedCola

Any advice on how I can do this would be so helpful I cant cook very well, and find meal planning stressful.

MandM90

Hi RedCola,

Firstly, I would suggest having a look at a budgeting programme called YouNeedABudget. It is amazing and has absolutely changed our finances. There are videos on YouTube and quite a few MSE threads about it on this forum. It truly is amazing.

It's much easier (and, I would argue, only possible) to stay on top of your finances if you know exactly what is going on!

It might be helpful to post a SOA on the Debt Free boards, so they can help you work out what you can cut out.

As for grocery budgeting, mine is very low, and I find it quite easy to stick to it, but I don't buy meat which helps a lot!

• You say your husand is working all the overtime he can. Is there any option for you to pull pints, take in some ironing or anything else to add some more to the kitty?
• Get a 'grocery routine' going. Every Friday night I take inventory of all my 'stock' and plan what meals I can around them. I then plan the remaining meals around the veg on offer at Lidl, and cheap staples like lentils, beans, carrots and potatoes. Eating simply for a few months won't kill you and will help you get closer to achieving your goals! We eat lots of lentil curries, bean chillis and egg based meals (we have chickens). Herbs and spices (bought from the Asian shop) allow us to change it up without forking out on expensive fresh good.
• Have a look at low cost living blogs like Ilona's Mean Queen blog, Cooking on a Bootstrap etc. Mine's not nearly so professional as theirs but I blog my low cost meals over at thriftcottage.blogspot.co.uk
• I know you're trying to catch up right now, but when you're in the black with all of your utility companies, it will really be worth having a look to see if switching can help.
• Declutter! Sell everything! Pop over to the Kon Mari thread. Paring down helps you feel in control, realise how little you need, and anything sold can go towards your debt.

This blog post by the maker of YNAB (You Need a Budget...yes I've really drank the Koolaid!) is so inspiring: http://www.youneedabudget.com/blog/post/dont-hide-behind-my-rules.-you-have-one-priority

Upsidedown_Bear

Do you know about Jack Monroe's blog? Amazing cheap recipes
http://cookingonabootstrap.com/

Upsidedown_Bear

And this thread. Started in 2012 but updated recently
£7 a week - menu ideas

monnagran

First, good on you for making the decision to tackle the problem together. There are loads of people who have done what you are aiming to do and a lot of them are posting here.
The debt is a bit daunting to face all at once but take all you can from this forum and take it one step at a time.

The only advice I can offer is to plan, plan, plan and then stick to it.
Sounds easy, doesn't it?
I can tell you that at first the novelty and the relief of actually doing something positive will carry you through. However, the time will come when you are sick to the back teeth of sticking to budget and will long to break out and give yourselves a treat.

BEWARE! This is the first step on the slippery slope to failure.

Try to think of every hard decision you have to make, every glossy magazine and take-away unbought, every holiday spent at home doing a bit of make-do and mend and picnics in the park or garden, every tiny luxury done without as a positive step forward.

Dwelling on deprivation will make you feel....um.....deprived. in fact all these things are taking you forward.
If it helps make yourself a sort of thermometer divided into appropriate degrees (£20 or £50 sections) and every time that amount is knocked off your debt colour it in or physically cut it off the top. Think of those you see outside churches raising funds for the roof or the organ. Or find an old newspaper and cut it into squares representing the same degree of money. Put them into a box, ( you should have about 670 x £50 squares if my maths hasn't let me down) and every month ceremoniously take out the amount of money your debt has shrunk by and Chuck them out or burn them.

In fact do whatever you have to to keep thinking positively. You are doing something wonderful for yourselves. Keep posting on here and we will keep cheering you on.

I'm sure this isn't the sort of advice you were looking for but it all starts in your mind and that is quite enough amateur psychology from me.

x

MandM90

Also, tell people you're skint. Tell your friends, tell your parents, tell your neighbours cousins friends. Not in a "help me I'm poor!" kind of way, but in an "I can't come shopping/for coffee/out and I'm opting out of gifts because they're not essentials and I'm putting my family first" kind of way. There is no shame in taking control of your finances.

carriebradshaw

RedCola wrote: »

Hello,

I posted at the start of last year asking for help and advice on how to save money on food etc. We had thousands of pounds of debt, and I Had some great replies.

Unfortunately, my husband & I went through an extremely difficult patch in our marriage and I took a step back from the forums during this. It had been a hard year, and we were on the brink of divorce (had papers filled out etc) We took a turn though, and we are figuring out how we cn save this (we do still love each other, which is a good start)

Anyway, brief explanation aside, all this means we haven't made a lot of progress with our debt. On top of this, weare behind on our priority bills (water, electric, council tax) and have to find almost £3350, to get up to scratch. These are our first priority, and I want to get this done asap.
We've made a budget plan, on the stepchange website. My husband is working any overtime he can, to pay toward this, although they only offer one hour per day, plus a weekend morning.

I want to help by cutting our food budget as much as possible, and I know the first step is to use up what we have, before shopping for only the necessities. I wonder if you lovely lot would mind helping with this please?

so first things first,how many do you need to shop for,just you and hubby or have you got children too?What are your likes/dislikes, anything you can't eat and also what do you have to use up so you can start building your meal plan and shopping list. Do you have many different supermarkets nearby so you can compare and get the best prices. Sounds like a lot to consider, but it's a just a wee puzzle that will all come together bit by bit

RedCola

Thank you for all the replies - very helpful. My husband & I have been listening to Dave Ramsey, which has helped a lot too.
So O am going to read all the links, and check out the blogs. I want YNAB, though our laptop isnt working properly (keypad) , and I dont think you can get it on Android?
Really like the idea of having a 'money box of what we owe, and emptying it as we pay off.
We are a family of 5, and I'm not fussy at all. One of my children has food issues. My husband has preferences (meat!) though is happy to eat simple dinners too, if need be.
We are going to see what we have, thoigh from the top of my head its basics such as herb and spices, flours, vinegars. Freezer has a lot of frozen veg, some chicken and bacon. Has more, just can't remember.
We have all supermarkets by us, other than a Morrisons. Lidl and FarmFoods too, plus a B&M and a couple of £/99p stores.