living on bare minimum to pay off car loan

System

I live alone and ibudget £120 for food but rarely spend it all . I batch cook quite a lot and never waste anything .

tallyhoh

My last months grocery/household bill was £190 for 2 adults, includes cooking for 35/40 people once a week at soup kitchen.

jenrm_2

Thank you, your replies have been helpful in highlighting how much work I have to do to get my spending in check.
So my immediate challenge is to halve my grocery bill. I've been a proud supporter of my local food assembly for organic veg and buy all of my meat on-line from an organic farm but from now on, organic produce is out unless I grow it, shoot it or catch it myself.

Determine... What is road kill??? Hopefully not what I'm imagining.

Sharon87

My sister and brother in law only eat organic meat, but they don't eat meat every day, maybe a couple times a week. So if you really want to continue with the organic meat, maybe cut down the meat and have other things instead? You tried your local butchers? Sometimes they can be good value.

I spend around £120-£130 a month on food by myself, I used to spend a lot more, so it can be done. People on this board probably think this is a lot still, but this includes most work lunches (when bought from a supermarket anyway, I don't include Pret/food stalls.etc in that).

University tuition fees - are these for your kids or for you? If it's for your kids are they getting the tuition fee loan?

£20/month on dentistry? Seems a lot, was it because of a procedure or is that just regular checks ups/hygienists?

jenrm_2

I am still paying off my student loan because I went back to uni as a mature student.
I use a private dentist and the £20/month is just for check ups and the hygienist. I know I would save going NHS but I trust the dentist and I can get appointments when I want them.

I will check out my local butcher. I used to buy from a farm shop and they gave me chicken and beef bones for free. If I develop a relationship with a butcher in town, maybe he'll do the same. I'll be able to go to discount shops like Poundland at the same time instead if relying on supermarket prices for essential cleaning stuff.

PasturesNew

These stood out:

Food and household shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287.00
Regular saving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00
Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00
Summer holiday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208.00
Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.00


Food can be halved.
There's no such thing as "savings" when you're in debt. Savings start once debt is £0.
£600/year on birthdays???
£2500/year on holidays??????
£720/year on Christmas???

Cut all that birthday/holiday/Christmas stuff.... don't save .... halve your food and you've got £660/month floating around spent on "unnecessary nonsense".

jenrm_2

Gulp The savings are to build up an emergency fund. The holiday amount appears frivolous I know but it is a visit abroad to visit my Mum, so essential and I've looked for the cheapest flights and accommodation.
I agree that the amount I spend on birthday presents and Christmas is excessive and will definitely cut down, at least by half.
thanks again for all your input. I've been living like an ostrich when it comes to spending and debt but time is no longer on my side.

datlex

If you are single do you have children who have moved out? Otherwise why do you need life insurance for your mortgage?
Also how often have you used the plumbing/boiler cover? Can you shop around for a better deal on that?

enthusiasticsaver

Do you have any dependants? From the sound of it you don't so I am wondering why you are paying around £500 for life insurance each year.

I understand if your mum lives abroad needing flights to visit her but at £2500 those are expensive and you are fast approaching retirement still with debt and mortgage outstanding so I question if you can afford this.

What is your long term plan if you need mortgage paid off in 10 years? Do you intend to downsize and sell because unless you have a repayment vehicle in place paying off £77k in 10 years is going to be tricky.

What is your pension situation?

I would reduce the groceries, birthdays, holiday and Christmas categories.

jenrm_2

I have one child and have life insurance simply to repay my mortgage so he and his wife aren't saddled with debt when I go and will inherit the full value of my house. I do intend to sell and downsize within the next 10 years but this won't save me much if anything. I have a final salary based pension which is better than average.
Just roughly dividing my outstanding mortgage by 9 (yrs) then by 12, I calculate that I need to pay £713/month to pay off my mortgage when I'm 67. This is an additional £369 /month which doesn't seem impossible.? Okay, so I've just deducted the savings I'll make by halving my spends for groceries, birthday and Christmas and still need to find another £174 every month. I could make this if I take a second job which is a possibility.
I will definitely be shopping around for cheaper boiler cover after my next service in April and I've applied for a water meter plus some free gadgets to reduce my water usage. I've already switched all my other utilities within the last month thanks to MSE.

This forum has helped me to face the stark reality of my situation and I now have a list of challenges.
1. Sell unwanted stuff on Ebay instead of donating it.
2. Find an additional £174/month.
3. Limit grocery bill to £140 and birthday/christmas spends to £55 monthly.
4. Open a separate bank account solely for birthday and Christmas.
5. Look into selling my car - This is a HUGE emotional challenge, it's like me telling everyone that I can't afford to live as I have been doing.
6. Find second job.

End goal - to be debt and mortgage free by April 2026.