I want to stop drowning

enthusiasticsaver

debtaghh wrote: »

Yes she will definitely be getting a job, I had one from the age of 14.

I still would like extra holiday money but not sure how much I should aim for?

How much did you spend last summer?

debtaghh

I can’t remember to be honest but think I wasn’t as strict as I should have been!

enthusiasticsaver

Do you not have a spending app tracker or spending diary? I have tracked our expenditure religiously for last few years approaching retirement and both my daughters do the same, one as she is soon to go on maternity leave and the other because she is single and trying to overpay her mortgage. Pen and pencil, spreadsheets, spending app tracker for the phone or clear checkbook (not a YNAB fan). Any of those will do the job. It is very enlightening.

debtaghh

I have spreadsheets but then delete them once they have come out of the bank. I think I spent about £650

enthusiasticsaver

Why delete them when they are an excellent budgeting tool?

If you track the money you spend on holidays, car, Christmas, entertainment, clothing etc over the year and divide by 12 then you know how much to put aside monthly to avoid it all coming up in the same few months. It is only really possible to stick in budget by doing this rather than stagger from month to month robbing Peter to pay Paul so to speak.

Now I appreciate at the moment you are fire fighting with the Barclaycard minimums increase but eventually this should be your aim. Only by doing this will you survive without using credit. Know where every penny goes, have budget pots or accounts for everything and keep within the limits.

debtaghh

I suppose I’m still learning but have started writing it down. This year so far I can tell you exactly what I’ve spent and on what.

WannabeFree

Finding free activities is good, make sure you keep checking as loads get added on nearer the time. We even do the same when we go and stay at the caravan. Parks/museums/galleries and things. Beach days/different areas/different friends coming over. We spend a lot of time in the garden too.

Also even when I go on 'holiday' to the caravan I take my slowcooker. We eat the same as we do at home. Pack lunches/drinks/snacks etc. I refuse to spend on meals out unless its a special occasion. For me and the 3 kids eating out for lunch and dinner for one day would cover the whole weeks shop.

We don't have an entertainment budget but during the holidays I allow for an ice cream or something.

debtaghh

I think I have definitely changed my ways in the last month and my way of thinking. I don’t have the desire to eat out as much etc

debtaghh

Morning,

What I’ve come to realise since starting the frugal challenge is how easy it is to spend money. I’ve today just said no to a toddler event I’ve been invited too, that would have cost approx £15, I also got invited to another toddler outing in a few weeks time which would have cost approx £10 that I have declined. Just on entertainment so far since the 1st Jan I’ve prob made a saving of approx £40 in a week! The best thing is I don’t feel like I’ve missed out, I feel the complete opposite. Me and dd ( toddler) have still met friends so she has had fun. I allocated £50 entertainment money from the 20th Dec and have only spent £5 from it and it’s only due to cover until the 19th Jan.

One thing I’ve learnt from reading the Frugalwoods is that maybe I need to spend more on food and prioritise that , any ideas of what would be a reasonable amount for a family of 5? Including nappies and wipes?

enthusiasticsaver

If you are shopping in Lidl’s or Aldi’s I would have said around £350 - £400 a month for 5 of you although you could do it cheaper than that. Personally I think spending on food is preferable to entertainment. We take our granddaughter to a toddler open gym session every other Monday at £5 a session.

You seem to be getting a lot of ideas from Frugalwoods. I haven’t read that. Is it a blog? Any savings you make on entertainment could go in the holiday pot?