Here goes

chevalier

I would personally keep the violin and swimming lessons and aime to save £80 - £90 off your food bill and cigarettes bill(I am sure we don't need to tell you that you should give up, for your daughters health as much as your own!) . I feed two adults two children and 2 cats on £250 a month and that is buying free range meat from a quality butcher, organic eggs and milk and nappies. So it can be done. Do you have a garage? If so then could you make some room in it for a freezer. That is where I have mine! Always freezers going on freecycle too. So you would be able to plan more effectively and also freeze any reduced items to use later.

best of luck
chev

hayley1471

I need to cut back £250 a month though, and that is where I am stuck. I could cut the smokes down, to say £60 a month, and POSSIBLY shopping by £40 a month but it still leaves me £150 a month to find to pay the CC bills. I can't see a way out of it.
I don't have a garage. Just a tiny kitchen in which I have a larder fridge.

firesidemaid

you're probably gonna not like me for this, but, if you could give up smoking using the new year as an aim, the most you would pay for a prescription annual card would be £9 a month for patches, lozenges etc etc.

i am only a very ex-smoker so i know i may not understand......

if you can cut down the food shopping also by £170 a month, the savings are made. this is not advice, just thoughts. have you tried writing down the cost of 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners a week for the numbers you are feeding.

o/wise take advice from the mortgage and endowments board re. the policy. do you have other provison for your children eg. legal guardians etc in place?

also, i don't have kids, but even £125 a birthday seems a lot of money. could you reduce your outgoings to fit your budget IYSWIM.

how soon are you likely to get some maintenance?

i really am just throwing ideas into the pot - sorry if they are not useful x

hayley1471

Yes, I could give up smoking - but I rely on it as part of my support network. No I havent costed out each meal, but I know I am good at not wasting food. I cannot imagine trying to feed the 3 of us for £50 a week. Not including all household items.
I am unlikely to ever get maintenance. The ex has disappeared and the CSA are not hunting him down. The last I heard was 2 years ago when he quit his job and registered as a student so as not to pay maintenance.

mrsspendalot

Can you not find an alternative support network? Why don't you pop onto the 'giving up smoking support thread' and see if the collective support of other debt free wannabes who are giving up smoking can help you. Use this site as your support network.

You will never know whether you can feed your family on £50 unless you try .... it is possible to do it if you want to make the changes, I feed 5 for that as I have said before. Many others manage it too. It is not necessarly about waste, but about what you buy, the meals you cook etc. The oldstyle board is great for this.

hayley1471

Still thinking about this food thing.

This is what we ate today:

Breakfast:
Girls: 1 bowl of cookie crisp each. 1 slice of toast each
Me: Nothing

Lunch:
Girls: Ham and lettuce sandwich, small handful of grapes, half a carrot each, 1 bakewell tart each (69p from Lidl for 6)
Me: Chicken noodle cup a soup and 2 slices of bread.

Tea:
1 child: Two slices of toast, 2 yoghurts
Me and other child: Chicken curry and rice, made with 2 breasts and one jar of sauce (60p) at Lidl. Make double so one lot saved for tomorrow night.

Yesterday was much the same, except we had (made from scratch) bacon and tomato sauce on spaghetti.

Day before (Sunday) - I was ill so didn't eat all day. The girls had Burger King for lunch cos I couldn't face cooking. For tea they had toasted tuna sandwiches.

Saturday we ate out at my friend's house. They had crumpets for breakfast and hoops/beans on toast for lunch.

And I think last Friday we had left over shepherds pie. With the last of the carrots from the garden.

For snacks they have fruit and yoghurt. They are still eating their way through the sweets they got trick or treating. And my work gave me a big pile of chocolates that was left over from an event, so not bought anything like that.

Can u see why I am confused about the £50 a week budget.

mrsspendalot

OK, I spent £33 this week in Sainsburys on my week's shopping. My meals this week:

Monday: cornflakes/toast plus pure orange juice (breakfast)
ham or cheese sandwiches, crisps, apple or banana, biscuit, yoghurt (lunches)
hot dogs (tea) (ok, not that nutritious but DD had friend for tea and this was requested)

Tuesday: cornflakes/toast & pure juice (breakfast)
lunch - same as Mon
dinner - scrambled eggs and toast (ill and couldn't be bothered)

Weds: same breakfast & lunch
dinner: fresh cod fillets, new potatoes, veg, parsley sauce

Thurs: same breakfast & lunch
dinner: spaghetti carbonara & garlic bread

Fri: same breakfast & lunch
dinner: spaghetti bolognaise

Sat: same breakfast & lunch
dinner: pizza & chips

Sun: same breakfast & lunch
dinner: mince, mash and veg

other products bought:
loo rolls
toothpaste
shaving gel
washing powder
baby wipes (3 pack)

That was all from sainsburys, mostly basics range, although cod was normal range and mince was be good to yourself range. Also buy olive spread margarine.

hayley1471

Ok, I see that. But there are things on your list that are missing from mine:

Tea, coffee, horlicks, milk, sugar, dilute squash

And then there is the cupboard/fridge top ups: Stock cubes, onions, tuna, mayonaise, rice, pasta - trying to think what else I bought this week (came to £65)... Cat crunchies, kitchen roll...

I'll have to hunt out the receipt and see. This is turning into a food, not debt diary... LOL!

H:)

mrsspendalot

OK I can't find my receipt for this week but included in the £33ish was squash (2 bottles), milk (10pts) and all veg, plus margarine. The other items you list there I don't use or didn't buy this week. I only buy what I need for the meals that week.

hayley1471

Also - where can I find the Oldstyle Board?