The hardest challenge yet

elantan

boultdj wrote: »

You can do one of 2 thing's to find out Lidl deal's, you can go to the website and look at the on-line leaflet's every week, or if you are likely to forget sign up to the weekly news letter, and now the week end offers start on the Friday, so 3 day's to get stuff.

will sign up thanks.

Had a look at the wine club site previously mentioned. will join it shortly, I'm going to order a mixture of proce ranges to try them and see if I like them.

today was duck eggs ( for a change) with the wilted spinach for me, hubby was egg on toast,welike nice quick things in the morning.
lunch will be soup and iceberg wraps with bacon, tomato onion and home made mayo ( made it last night awfy tasty) and nuts for snacks for me

Home made chicken curry with fried rice for hubby

dinner is the steak with kale and garlic, sprouts, carrots and turnip

elantan

Come sunday I will start a note on what im eating and what im spending, I dont want to guess the price of what im eating so basically everything currently in the house doesn't count, but I ain't going crazy and spending till then.

im going to try and get a months menu plan done, and will settle down on that for a month or so, then slowly try and up this challenge small changes hopefully will have lasting effects

elantan

Wraithlady wrote: »

If you have a canner, then it may be worth setting aside a weekend to make a batch of spag bol or chilli (or both) or the veggie alternatives (something not too faffy that you like to eat is what I mean) - basically something quick and easy to reheat if you arrive back late and don't have the energy for cooking. Put it in a tortilla with a bit of grated cheese, and you don't even need to cook rice or pasta.

As someone both lactose intolerant and allergic to peppers, it's the only way I can get a 'ready meal' but it's definitely cheaper, quicker and more healthy than a takeaway.

ohhhh this is a great idea, I will try and do this, gonna be honest and say I dont think it will be soon as I dont want to go crazy but in a few months ( if I can remember) I will try and do this, maybe set aside a full weekend and just get a while load done, thank you

bouicca21

elantan wrote: »

Come sunday I will start a note on what im eating and what im spending, I dont want to guess the price of what im eating so basically everything currently in the house doesn't count, but I ain't going crazy and spending till then.

im going to try and get a months menu plan done, and will settle down on that for a month or so, then slowly try and up this challenge small changes hopefully will have lasting effects

I think a month might be too ambitious and set you up to fail. Why not try a week at a time?

lessonlearned

I agree....a month is too long, too many variables. A week should be easier, and even then there might be days when it all falls apart.

The best thing is to have a few ready meals, either home cooked or bought, in the freezer for emergencies and cba days.

Don't forget it's December, with all the craziness of Christmas and New Years, so maybe best not to get too bogged down straight away. Baby steps.

Maybe keep a note in your diary of things you might like to try, ideas etc as reminders for when you run out of steam.

firebubble

My suggestion would be to split out what seems like an enormous food budget into smaller categories, eg lunches, home meals, home alcohol, takeaways, social meals out, social alcohol.

The meals and booze eaten at home where there are no guests - these are the categories to cut. Split them out so you can see where your money is really going - do you need a fully stocked drinks cabinet at all times? Are you consistently ordering takeaways every Friday night because you're tired? Are you wearing the culinary equivalent of a hair shirt when you supermarket shop (soaking lentils and eating value mince) but then feeling you need to treat yourself when you go out, so you order lobster on your lobster? Have you got a freezer full of food, which actually should be eaten up (other threads have looked in detail at the potential folly of having too much 'stock' food - it's up to you to decide what is necessary/comfortable for you).

The hybrid category of meals out/takeaways where there are no guests should be considered home spending, and can be cut - even if you buy a supermarket ready meal and have that, it will still be cheaper than a takeaway (or even if you buy sides/rice from the supermarket and get only main dishes from the takeaway).

The food/drink expense where there are guests or where you are otherwise socialising - these are not categories to cut without making yourself lonely. They can only be reduced - can you choose a cheaper venue, use a voucher, don't order expensive drinks/food? Otherwise, maybe you are a sociable person, so this is really essential spending. Without it, your life will be poorer for it - and there comes a point where yes, you could not spend a single penny socialising and you will retire years early - but for what?

Another useful thing about tracking spending, is that you can see where your 'line' is - there will be a food threshold below which you will notice an uptick in treats to offset the boredom. I notice it if I start eating all meals out of the freezer - I suddenly start craving something crispy and fatty to get away from the mushy texture.

[Deleted User]

Just stumbled over this thread and totally relate. I have been away from the forums for a while and and back and aiming to post regularly to get back on track.

Like you I worked my way out of debt with the support of the DFW threads and paid off my mortgage with the support of various threads on here. I am also aiming for FIRE but have felt our spending is getting out of control, especially with food, takeaways, alcohol (and I don't drink!) and treats from the local corners shop - read junk food to enjoy whilst watching TV. Will go back through and read the thread later with interest. Best of luck on your quest.

PipneyJane

elantan wrote: »

Sometimes it's not till your in the situation that you remember something,

let me expand

so we have caring duties that we carry out, Mr Els parents are getting older and we keep a wee eye on them, tonight was the night we paid a visit, it's nearly 7pm and we havnt made it home yet, now today I've prepared dinner as I was in and out throughout the day so that's good, but sometimes we have to pop in unplanned and we havnt had the chance to prepare for food, so it gets to 8pm or so we havnt eaten since 12 lunch time and were hungry ... q takeaway

something else I need to work out

Hello.

Firstly, congratulations on paying off your mortgage. That is quite an achievement.

Secondly, re the bit I've bolded above, this is when your freezer is your friend, along with your microwave. Every so often when cooking, I'll make a double recipe and freeze half. (I do a lot of curries, some Chinese, some italian.) In the circumstances above, I'll put the kettle on for rice or pasta before taking off my coat, then haul a tub of sauce out of the freezer, go get changed and zap the meaty sauce while cooking the rice/pasta. Dinner ready in less than 20 minutes and I've had time to de-stress in the process.

Being organised is the key to a) saving money, and b) coping when time is in short supply. I've spent the last three winters working 2-3 days a week at an office 68 miles from home. (Seriously, I am half expecting to find myself out there again, come January.) Mondays were a bad day, because I have choir rehearsals that evening and frequently only had half an hour to eat, get changed and collect my music before heading off again. My way around it was to use the slow cooker every Monday.

HTH

- Pip

bouicca21

Pip’s post reminded me that we shouldn’t just be pontificating about cutting the food budget, we should be congratulating you on getting rid of the debt and being mortgage free. That’s a mega achievement and comparatively speaking the food budget isn’t a mountain to climb but just a little hill.

[Deleted User]

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

Yes, great.:) I don't know any "real" people who are pursuing FIRE, they are all online. I have mentioned the concepts to people I know but they don't really seem interested!

I used to read the Mr Money Mustache forum, although most of the posters on there are American.

I used to read the Monevator blog too, he is UK based. https://monevator.com/

The Escape Artist is a British guy who retired early.
https://theescapeartist.me/

Hi there, I am the same in not knowing anyone in real life who is going after FIRE. I have followed Mrs Money Mustache and the Monevator too.

I also follow http://quietlysaving.co.uk/ and https://www.msziyou.com/ as UK based FIRE blogs and there are lots of UK based people in the comments.

I follow the Down to Earth blog for inspiration on simple living at https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/ and follow various blogs and Youtube channels on simple living and frugal living.

The book 'The Tightwad Gazette' was my go to for a while on frugal living. It's time I dug it out again.

I'm still working my way through the thread. Some excellent tips.