Facing up and time for action

rigare11a

DasDachs said:

All up today was £139.24, which is comparable to what I spent last week - and that’s all meals for the week. That’s over £10 a week below budget and if I manage to stick to that a whopping £500+ saving over the course of a year! I’ve taken the ‘saving’ from this week and last and popped it into a separate savings account, so I can flex when required in the weekly shop, but also it’s a visible reminder of what a bit of saving can achieve. Feeling quite pleased with myself and it’s time for a cup of tea! 

Well done Das - I am so rubbish at the food shop this is something I definitely need to improve on. Is it me or do food prices seem significantly higher than 3-4 years ago? I am not sure if there is any fact in this or if it is because we have all been home more and maybe buying more in our weekly shops 

BellaLasagna2018

DasDachs said:

All up today was £139.24, which is comparable to what I spent last week - and that’s all meals for the week. That’s over £10 a week below budget and if I manage to stick to that a whopping £500+ saving over the course of a year! I’ve taken the ‘saving’ from this week and last and popped it into a separate savings account, so I can flex when required in the weekly shop, but also it’s a visible reminder of what a bit of saving can achieve. Feeling quite pleased with myself and it’s time for a cup of tea! 

I have “dabbled” before doing the shopping at Lidl (as there is one up the road from where I live) but today I decided to do the main part of my shopping list there and was amazed at the low cost of my trolley as I had a lot of fresh fruit and veg, and meats too. Great savings….. as long as you stay from the middle aisles 😉

DasDachs

LittleMissDetermined said:

I'm not sure how I would feel about contributing £250 a month to my hubby's hobbies if I'm honest. Is it a particularly expensive hobby? 
. 

Thanks LMD - horses are the hobby. Until this year I was paying £500 per month to her (and had been for a long time). I complained about the expense and that I thought it was unfair that I should cover all family expenses and give her additional money - that led to quite an argument and her saying that she couldn’t get by without some support so the £250 was a compromise. I still don’t like it and I would prefer it if she downscale to a level that she could support herself.

LittleMissDetermined said:

Just a thought, Is it worth saving your grocery savings each week to put towards the Christmas shop? Ours usually ends up being doubled at least at Christmas so it might be nice to have a bit put aside to cover it?

Also, consider some of the payment or savings challenges, such as the emergency fund challenge or payment a day.  They really make a difference for me. 

Great ideas and tips - thank you. I have put any savings from the food budget into a separate account, but earmarking that for Christmas food is a great idea - as you say, it’s always an expensive shop!

DasDachs

rigare11a said:

Well done Das - I am so rubbish at the food shop this is something I definitely need to improve on. Is it me or do food prices seem significantly higher than 3-4 years ago? I am not sure if there is any fact in this or if it is because we have all been home more and maybe buying more in our weekly shops 

I think you are right - the cost feels like it has crept up significantly over the last couple of years although my eldest is now eating anything in the house that doesn’t move quickly enough, so that may also be a factor 😆

DasDachs

BellaLasagna2018 said:

I have “dabbled” before doing the shopping at Lidl (as there is one up the road from where I live) but today I decided to do the main part of my shopping list there and was amazed at the low cost of my trolley as I had a lot of fresh fruit and veg, and meats too. Great savings….. as long as you stay from the middle aisles 😉

Oh gosh yes - the middle aisles are fatal! Luckily I had no need for an arc welder, cement mixer or a bouncy castle today, so I was able to stay on the list!

I used Tesco for my fruit and veg as I has been disappointed with Aldi last week - lots seemed to go off quite quickly. Perhaps I should have given the Lidl fruit and veg a go though as I think that would have saved a bit more. 

I still tried to follow my list though - I dropped in a couple of extra treats for the kids, but I really wanted to stay on plan rather than impulse buying. Even sticking to the list there seems to be an awful lot of produce for the price. 

BellaLasagna2018

I agree with you @DasDachs regarding the fruit at Aldi. It’s as bad as the  fruit at Asda! Lidl is not too bad for fruit and veg quality. You have to be careful with soft fruit of course, but I think it’s the same for all shops. I avoid Tesco as I have to drive further to get to it, and there are too many tempting goodies. 

CRANKY40

I tried Aldi a couple of times but found the same for fruit and veg - it just doesn't last. 

DasDachs

BellaLasagna2018 said:

I agree with you @DasDachs regarding the fruit at Aldi. It’s as bad as the  fruit at Asda! Lidl is not too bad for fruit and veg quality. You have to be careful with soft fruit of course, but I think it’s the same for all shops. I avoid Tesco as I have to drive further to get to it, and there are too many tempting goodies. 

CRANKY40 said:

I tried Aldi a couple of times but found the same for fruit and veg - it just doesn't last. 

Obviously my experience at Aldi wasn’t unique - that’s good to know actually. I think I’ll try Lidl fruit and veg next week and keep Tesco for the items that I can’t get. That should work quite well as they are pretty much next door to one another - it’ll be interesting to see if that drops the shopping below the £139 mark. It’s more effort to do the shopping this way rather than just click and collect, but it does mean I’m in control of what I’m buying and how much I spend which is good. 

mark55man

Hi there, I don't mean to badger you, but I think you should think hard about making this some sort of joint endeavour.  No blame no recriminations, but work on something like  
* As a family despite our joint earnings we have overspent by many thousands of pounds a year, and we we can't sustain it, and its acting as a brake on the future life's we want.  So we both need to try to earn more and spend less, whilst maintaining the things that are really important to us".  (Hint don't make it about the horses that won't go well, as thats only £250pm out of a bigger problem  (if you discount her earnings and you are happy to fund the whole househols

You have got into the right mindset very quickly, IMHO its not the big one offs that make the most difference its the constant save save save £10 a week on grocery, 1 less coffee a day, buying the 39p LIDL dark chocolate digestives and not the £1.69 macvities. 

I'm not quite sure how old your kids are, or how much you spend on presents/holidays, but there is room to save there UK is not that bad as a destination and buying iphone models one version out of date is a lot cheaper.

Some diaries are about heroic efforts to make very little cover amazing amounts, but others, myself included are more like trying to control a firehose of money - you need to stop major leakages and you need to direct the flow to best effect, both living a livable life and putting out the fire of debt. 

Your plan on loans vs credit card looks very apt and should be effective - as someone coming to the end of a similar journey I would say you are also right to try and keep the pressure on and get it sorted ASAP rather than drifting into compromise which will prolong - then the kids will be at Uni and you won't be able to support them, then the lure of retirement will come and you won't quite have put enough away to go that extra year or two early.  So go for it and do it at as quickly as you can without trying to go so fast that you burn up/blow up

DasDachs

mark55man said:

Hi there, I don't mean to badger you, but I think you should think hard about making this some sort of joint endeavour. 

Thanks - I don’t disagree with the sentiment at all but it’s more difficult from the inside. The simple fact of it is that any discussion about money or contributions to family finances leads to quite unpleasant arguments and really doesn’t change anything, so I’m going to stick with my solo plan. This may change over time, but I genuinely can’t face the friction it would cause right now - at a point where I’m just getting underway to get on top under my own steam. It’s not great and I do know that, but I think I can only approach dealing with it one step at a time for now. 

mark55man said:

You have got into the right mindset very quickly, IMHO its not the big one offs that make the most difference its the constant save save save £10 a week on grocery, 1 less coffee a day, buying the 39p LIDL dark chocolate digestives and not the £1.69 macvities. 

That’s good advice - thanks. I’ve certainly enjoyed some little wins in that respect and just need to make it part of normal living. It’s also helped that I’ve not done any ‘extras’ shopping over the past two weekends, so my impulse buys have been significantly curtailed. 

mark55man said:

Your plan on loans vs credit card looks very apt and should be effective - as someone coming to the end of a similar journey I would say you are also right to try and keep the pressure on and get it sorted ASAP rather than drifting into compromise which will prolong - then the kids will be at Uni and you won't be able to support them, then the lure of retirement will come and you won't quite have put enough away to go that extra year or two early.  So go for it and do it at as quickly as you can without trying to go so fast that you burn up/blow up

Again - great points which certainly resonate with me. I want to clear things as soon as I can. Clearing some of it upfront has given me a real buzz and I have loved checking the cc’s with zero balances. I really want to nail the next one as soon as I can. Thanks for taking the time to add your thoughts - even if I can’t adopt all of it right now, the support is welcomed.