Trying not to get into more debt

savingholmes

Your food sounds really tasty. I find peelings make brilliant soup too as weird as it may sound.

Toonie

It does sound weird, but it is tasty!

I do really enjoy cooking, it's something I've always enjoyed. I love to read recipes and cookbooks and get ideas for things. With the varying difficulties I have with food I do enjoy finding ways to replicated flavours or tastes with the things I can eat.

Grocery budget has gone over this month, currently by £2.43, but as there is still a week left, and we need bread, milk, and eggs today, and probably some veggies by Tuesday it will go up a bit more. Prices are definitely creeping up as I've cut back to simpler options in terms of meals and yet still we're over budget. I'll do a freezer and cupboard audit tomorrow and see what we need to keep us going until the end of the month.

savingholmes

I agree re food prices. But having more veggie meals can definitely help too.

Toonie

I struggle with veggie meals as there aren't many sources of vegetarian protein I can eat (no beans, lentils, chickpeas, or soybean products) so I try to ensure that the meat we do eat is frugally used and there's lots of veggies on the plate.

I've just been offered a job which is great news. Whilst the hours aren't as many as I'd like (starting at 15 and going up to 30 hours in a few months time) it's a lot more than I get from state benefits (even just at 15 hours a week!) Hopefully the slow start will also mean my knee isn't too taxed to begin with and that I can build up some strength in it.

To begin with I'll still be dipping into my savings as the initial wage will cover most of my bills but not the grocery budget, but at least I won't be making as big a hole in my savings account. My partner and I live fairly frugally anyway, so we don't have big entertainment budgets (I subscribe to Netflix but use any earnings from Swagbucks to pay for that each month).

savingholmes

Fantastic news. Sounds like an in-built phased return which should help. Better than using all your savings...

Toonie

Thanks, it does feel like a phased return which is good. There is also the possibility of additional hours as they know another family looking for childcare, so if what they want is similar, it may work out quite well for me. If that's the case I can get back on top of busting the debt that is on the 0% card (currently paying the minimum and I've got another 9 months at 0% so may have to look at shifting it again if I don't have the funds to pay it off).

Once I have confirmation of the hours and my pay I will do an SOA so I can see what will be going where and, from February, how much I can pay off the debt each month above the minimum. I already have an emergency fund in place (in fact there is two, one for house emergencies and one for personal-for example earlier this year when my Mum passed away and we had to clear her property-lots of petrol needed there).

I've always been quite good at saving money (my family always called me tight) but I've not always worked in jobs which give me much to save (and often have had fluctuating hour/wages) so the habit runs quite deep of putting money away and keeping a good store cupboard to see through tough times.

EssexHebridean

well done on the job Toonie - that's great news! 

Toonie

Thanks! Hoping it all works out, it seems very positive, so keeping my fingers crossed.

Spent a shade over £12 today on groceries, but that will keep us going into next week now and we can decide when is best for our next big shop. Usually we'd do a big stock up of things for November and December, as I find supermarkets unbearable in December and try to avoid them at all costs. I think a proper audit and plan might be in order to make the most of what shops we do in the car. I did look today to see how my Nectar points are doing and there is just over £60 worth of points which is good. I usually use some for a little Christmas treat, like some nice beer or wine for Christmas Day, and some nice choccies.

savingholmes

Love the idea of doing a proper plan - and using saved up points on a treat.

Toonie

Well, part of the plan was decided for us when I got a coupon for £12 off an online grocery delivery, so that is coming Wednesday. I tried to order the heavy/awkward items which were good value from Sainsbury plus the toiletries we can't get at Aldis. Hopefully that will keep us going until near the end of November with a trip to Lidl or the market for any fresh bits we need.

One of the things I got is a whole chicken, something I don't often do as DP isn't overly fond of meat on the bone. I haven't decided whether I'll do a roast yet (followed by a stir fry, and make a pie for the freezer plus stock for soup). The other option is jointing it, freezing some, and then using bits accordingly. I guess I'll see how I feel Wednesday.

I'm now waiting to hear about contracts and a start date, but hoping to hear about that in the next few days.