Seriously struggling - any advice would be appreciated!

MallyGirl

plus the car uses more fuel to move the extra weight of the full tank - every little helps

luckofthe_irish

Toomuchdebt wrote: »

Yes record the actual spending and yes leave it red until you have some money to budget with. Maybe don't fill up a whole tank at once but just enough to get you to payday? How much driving do you have to do until then? My car's light comes on when I have 50 miles left to go so if you're not driving much you might be able to manage?

MallyGirl wrote: »

plus the car uses more fuel to move the extra weight of the full tank - every little helps

Thanks both - I never thought of it like this, I always just fill the car up to the top whenever I fill it. My light comes on with 40miles left but I drive to and from work everyday, to the gym twice a day, to uni in town once a week plus odd journeys into town etc. I will see how long I can manage without filling it up and then only fill it up to the minimum. I have also researched the cheapest place, as I filled to the top on the motorway the last time and it absolutely stung me!

Phone bill has come in way over what I expected as well... it never rains but it pours!! :rotfl:

Keeping a positive outlook as I have awareness of the problem now, rather than sticking my head in the sand.

luckofthe_irish

Morning all - hope all is well with everyone.

When I checked my bank accounts this morning both were in the minus numbers. I do have an overdraft on one account and a 0% purchase CC, but I have decided to dip into my savings instead of resorting to my CC or overdraft for the additional money I need. I think it will be around £100 extra according to YNAB taking into account extra groceries, petrol and my higher than usual phone bill.

Still struggling slightly to get my head around YNAB, I seem to have budgeted for everything to zero but don't actually have enough money in my accounts to cover what I have budgeted. So I have obviously done something wrong there. I will continue working to understand it today. I found out today that YNAB is free for students, so it would be fabulous if I can make it work for me as others seem to have such success with it!

Hope you all have a fab Tuesday, I always find this the toughest day of the week!

Apple-shaped

prob too late now but they now sell almond milk in aldi 99p next to the soya milk. Also on offer in tesco until 20/9 are tinned chickpeas and chopped/plum tomatoes 4 tins of any for £1 east end brand..normally down the Asian foods isle x

luckofthe_irish

Thank you all for your fab advice thus far!

Just a quick update, it is now ONE MORE WEEK until I get paid. I am officially using my savings but haven't taken above £50 out which I am pleased with. Have just come back from doing the shop for the week and managed to get everything for £13 including yellow sticker beef burgers and mackeral fillets.

I am pleased to say that the half dishwasher tablets are working brilliantly, so I will only be using half from now on. I am also still using YNAB to track every transaction, even though it is not correct at the moment as everything is in minus numbers because of the lack of funds:eek:! But I contacted YNAB and managed to confirm my student status so I have it for free for a year so I am committed to getting the budget back under control.

Does anyone have any every day/week/month money saving tips I can use when I do get paid this week? I really want to be able to come back here next month and be able to write that I did not run out of money until the end of the month, and there was sufficient money left over for everything.

Thanks so much

westcoastscot

Hi, I'm on a very tight budget, and get paid monthly. I allocate my money weekly, taking out cash on a friday for food shopping. I find it easier to truely shop for a weeks worth of food, and if it's looking a bit slim on wed/thursday it's not such a hardship to shuggle a meal together, knowing that on Friday my purse will be topped up again.
I have a rough idea of what meals I can cook for a week with what I plan to buy and what I have in stock at home, and this way i'm able to take advantage of any special offers that are available. I make most things from scratch, so as long as I *know* I have meals for the week I can relax, although I often make something different than planned, but with the same ingredients.
I always try and keep a little money over, and when I'm in the city and near a supermarket I can refill my stores.
Good luck!

GwylimT

Corona wrote: »

Sorry - just wanted to check that you were aware that porridge oats contain gluten? It's just that a lot of people aren't (my Mum was diagnosed with coeliac disease but was still not very well for months, despite giving up wheat, when the GPs nurse realised that she was still eating porridge).

Good luck with all this - some great advice (as always) !

Porridge oats are gluten free. Some are processed in areas containing wheat which contaminates the product. Aldi porridge oats in the white bag are fine.

juliesname

While it's true that you can get oats which are not contaminated by wheat, barley or rye, and so are gluten-free, oats themselves do contain a substance which is chemically very close to wheat gluten. Some people cannot tolerate that either.

Lynplatinum

Hi OP
I second westcoastscot advice, I get money out on a Friday and buy planned food in cash.
But I also remove all cash from my purse and store it in different places according to denomination. Saving the odd pound here - even the 5ps add up to about £100 for holidays and £100 towards Christmas each year.

Also have 2 other purses (an idea totally copied from Jackie O but I dont suppose she will mind me passing it on :A). One is a 'Happy Stash' purse for entertainment - coffee - ice cream - luxury item - pint of beer - whatever. Other purse usually lives at home but it contains cash that I can use, should I see something I have been wanting to buy (usually from a charity shop) - I go back the next dayand use this cash. So at the moment on the list are 4 side plates (preferably white) and a replacement t-shirt. But this week I will be using it to buy some specialist compost to repot a rose bush.

Also double check your energy bill - could you save by swapping provider?? Its quick and easy!! (could research now and do before next month?). There is a bit on this site which can help :A

Also double check if you have had a loan or bank charges see the resolver part of this site - it earned me over £2,000 last year :A

Also use the demotivator for things that you are in the habit of buying but possibly dont actually need. For example - I no longer buy newspapers or magasines - I go on line or use the library. Coffees - I restrict myself to one a week!! Why cos a coffee a day (for example) at £3 per working day = £15 per week = £60 per month (£60 per month saved would probably take you into the black?? i.e. not overspending)
Hope this helps
Frugaling onward!!

luckofthe_irish

Lynplatinum and westcoastscot - thank you so much both for your fabulous advice!

I am hoping the use of YNAB will help me to allocate the money as you both have suggested as it will be virtually segregated into different areas! I just hope I don't have the temptation to cheat and steal out of other money pots!

I am definitely with the cheapest energy supplier possible as I checked this when I moved, and have never taken a loan or had bank charges so I couldn't avail of any of those. I did just renegotiate my broadband deal with Sky though with great success, so that is a saving there.

I GOT PAID TODAY!!!

I am so scared I am going to spend it all this weekend I haven't even opened by back account yet. I can already feel myself slipping into the mindset of 'oh, well I have some money now'. I have been holding off on buying things all month because I knew I had no money and I am worried I am just going to buy everything that has been on my mind for weeks!!

I know I have some big expenses like a hen weekend, holiday spending money, a haircut etc. to come out of this paycheck so I really need to stay focused.

I have realised that my biggest areas of expense are groceries, fitness clothes/products i.e. protein powders/snacks etc., and petrol so I just need to be mindful of this and cut back where possible... I seem to spend an awful lot of money on Greek yogurt in particular as I go through approx. 500g every couple of days. Has anyone every tried a yogurt maker? I saw the Easiyo one on Amazon for £19.99 but I am wondering if that will end up even more expensive with buying all the packs and everything? Maybe I am just better off buying the ready made stuff? Any opinions would be welcomed!

Wish me luck, please !