What do you forego to pay off your credit cards?

CakeCrusader

molerat wrote: »

I can't see that one working :beer::rotfl:

It takes practice, a lot of practice. There's places online where you can buy bottles by the case, and this usually works out a lot cheaper then if you were buying them individually. It depends on how restrained you are, I suppose

Nebulous2

Different strokes for different folk as the saying goes. Some people spend a lot on things they see as essentials, which others see as luxuries. Much of your spending will be discretionary, lifestyle choices rather than essential.

I like wine. I go to France most years and buy around 15 bottles of red wine at 4-5 euros a bottle. That lasts me the whole year, including giving the occasional bottle away.

I occasionally go out for a meal at home and buy a bottle, but most of that will be paid for by a mystery shopping company.

There is nothing like a drop in income, which you have had, to cause you to re-evaluate what is important. I've done that twice, by choice. The first time we had a good lifestyle, two cars, two foreign holidays a year and thought we were hard-up. Taking a big drop showed us that we had been quite deluded. We discovered, as a pleasant surprise, that we enjoyed a lot of things in life which cost no, or very little money. Walks on the beach, daytrips at home, caravan holidays at a tenth of the price of previous ones, all worked really well for us.

jamie_02

Have you checked if you are paying over the odds for gas and electricity? Do you pay for Sky when Freeview would be cheaper? And there are ALWAYS savings to be had on mobile phone sims/tariffs – checknyoure not paying for unused texts/minutes/data but also check you're not going over any allowances. Best of luck, and congrats on your marriage.

Ebe_Scrooge

meowie wrote: »

I suppose my question is: apart from buying cheaper food, how extreme can you be with savings before it gets to your mental health?

The answer is - quite a lot, if you need to be.

The first thing, as others have said, is post an SOA on the debt-free-wannabe board - if nothing else, it makes you take a good hard look at where your money is going.

But general advice : Food - shop at Lidl or Aldi. Plan your menus. Buy and cook in bulk, freeze portions. When they have special offers on non-perishable goods such as baked beans or toilet rolls, stock up. A substantial and healthy meal for 2 can be had for a couple of quid or less. Phones, broadband, utilities - shop around, make sure you only pay for what you need. Better deals are always available.

Don't pay for gym memberships or TV packages. Freeview is perfectly adequate, and if you want to keep fit, go for a run ( or even a walk ) around your local area.

Been there, done that. I've survived on a fiver a week for food before now - sure, it's not fun, but it can be done.

But really - sort out an SOA, that's the most important thing. You may want to keep it to yourself, that's fine. But post it on the DFW board, and the good folk there will help you. Just realise that they're not being judgemental, just brutally honest. You can get through this if you have the right attitude