The savings pit

savingwannabe

I'm the same as you Thrifty i spent a lot for the funeral but now i am going to keep to my spending diary. Unless it is food i am not buying it! I am so sorry about your garden. It's good that you are getting a refund. 

MovingForwards

It's trial and error with budgeting, main thing is keep adapting them until the right one works.
There's still time for more blossom to grow.

savingwannabe

Well done on identifying the takeout spending. Just think if even part of that is added to your savings you will be rich!!! It's fab that you have refund money too. Every little bit helps! We will all get there. 

MovingForwards

You're actual food shopping etc bill is fine, it's the takeaways which are eating (sorry) into your money and it's possible to make big savings by doing them at home. I appreciate chippy chips, kebab cannot be recreated, therefore would remain a takeaway treat.

Skinty first started doing fakeaways and I (my OH) did them as I was disappointed with the Chinese takeaways we had when I first moved up. We have Chinese curry made from a paste purchased from the world foods section in the supermarket, pizza is made from scratch cooked in a frying pan then under the grill to crisp the top, last night we even had a style of deep fried chicken burger. Saves a lot of money, as we have the ingredients and we can have them once a week instead of payday. He gets all the info from online, watches the videos and plans what day we are having them.

Skint_yet_Again

Ordering in can soon add up when there is more than one of you. I try to use offers & vouchers, u ber eats have been sending me 25% off and free delivery which is so tempting when you are tired & don’t fancy anything you have in 😬

I try to be organised and get in at least 2 meals a week that can be a quick fix. One is usually frozen pizza from aldi. Even with extras like coleslaw, corn cobs, garlic bread it’s only a few £’s. I also stock up on things like garlic kievs, plain chicken wings & buffalo chilli sauce or sweet chilli sauce, fries & gravy to resist kfc cravings. If you know you are going to have takeaway craving it’s good to plan ahead and have something in. 

Another craving I get is McD breakfast. Aldi do frozen pork patties & frozen hash browns which don’t take long to cook. With a muffin & a cheese slice it can be a big saving & you can add an egg if you want to. 

MovingForwards

You need to find quick cook fakeaways or treat foods, something to just throw in the oven and 20 minutes later it's on the plate. That way it's being done while you're having a brew, shower or vacuum round etc.
It's always good to have full cupboards, again it's worth having some quick things.

You will get there.

savingwannabe

I hate big bills!, the good news is you can pay it off and wont be in debt doing so. Once it is paid it is over and done with and then next month you can save again. It is a horrid feeling but you are much more prepared than the majority of the population. Well done. Have a good day.

MovingForwards

You have the means to clear it, savings can be built up again.

MovingForwards

When these things happen we learn from them and move on. If everything was perfect all the time coping strategies wouldn't be learnt, budgeting wouldn't be looked at and tweaked and when something happened there wouldn't be any way of knowing how to deal with it and dust ourselves down.

Coffee and cake is the best way of having a catch up, gifts are not required only company.

MovingForwards

That's not a bad spend to date and an occasional cheeky coffee is a nice treat.