It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

sammy_kaye18

Morning all, 
It seems to be a peaceful morning here so far in the madhouse. 
Daughter has gone to school.
Husband has gone to work
Speaking with 18 year old son who has just finished his first year at college, he has spoken to his work about picking up extra shifts so they are putting him in where they can in the sports shop he works in. He just turned 18 in May and so his pay has gone up now with the minimum wage increase so he is paid Friday and has agreed to sit down and look at what his basic wage is and see how he should be dividing it up now that he has his trust fund and he is looking to do driving lessons etc. 
His grandparents had a small car that they are going to give to him as they dont need two cars now FIL has retired so I want to make sure my son is thinking about his insurance / petrol money as well as food etc for college/work and still have a bit to save etc as up until now when he was on minimum wage for a 17 year old he has been spending it as he liked and finding that hes run out with a week or so left of the month but he is already putting things in place. 
He would go to a well known bakery food shop and buy a bottle of water when he needed it. He said a litre bottle was £1.29, but if he walks a few minutes round the corner he gets to a discount store HB and in there can buy a 12 pack x 500ml bottles for £1.39 and then he takes them back and puts them in his locker. So he is learning, slowly, but hey hes 18, and mum knows how to make things stretch! 

Currently sat looking at ways to cut electric and gas usage this winter. The only gas we use is for baths (which is only really husband as everyone else prefers showers) and heating and its usually only me in the house most the day and being peri-menopausal I dont like the heat much so that should help! 

Hows everyone else today? 
I was going to add that I always look for deals with Virgin Media too - usually when they try to put ours up we cant afford it so say we would like to cancel the subscription as its just too much and within a week or so we get someone ringing to retain us. It was up to about £90 before hand for all the TV channels, busiest internet and phone - we threatened to leave and just look at the wifi because we use that most and within about a week someone rang and offered exactly the same deal for £50. So we are locked into that for another 9 months now and when it goes up again I will do the same. 

Hope all those with covid are feeling better 
x

joedenise

@sammy_kaye18 - it would be more cost effective for your DS to get a refillable water bottle rather than buying loads of small bottles for college/work.  I paid £3.99 in one of the cheap SMs (can't remember which one!) for one a few weeks ago but they probably haven't got any left now but exactly the same ones are available online for about a fiver.

PearlRose

You are doing a great job guiding your son to take care of his finances @sammy_kaye18 I always believe that it's a good idea to help children practise two skills when bringing them up: basic cooking and budgeting. 

Siebrie

Husband likes having these small plastic bottles of water in the car, and buys them about once a fortnight (I refuse to buy them). However, he does not complain if I collect the empties from his car, rinse them out, and refill them with tapwater. We forked out a lot of money to have a water softener installed 8 years ago, and I hate plastic waste, and the water actually tastes good, so there is absolutely no need to buy bottled water.

nannygladys

It's funny how grown up children change their views when looking after themselves. My youngest wouldn't eat any thing out of date even if the date was that day's when at home, but now's she a mum with mortgage etc her and partner rotate food items but sniff and taste ood items if there are any and cut mouldy bits off their veggies etc!! And have fridge bottom soups etc   
Nannyg

London_1

I do a budget from Jan -Mar, then April - Jun, and at the end of every three months anything left gets tucked away in a 'Stash Cash' account to help the following quarter.

 I have at the moment from April-June (I closed it yesterday as I am away on Friday on holiday ) £68.71 tucked away, and it will go towards re-stocking my freezer, which I finally have managed to defrost. 

My July -September budget will help out (if there's any cash in there ) towards Christmas food bills. Its surprising even only a few pounds can add up.If I have any coupons or vouchers, I put the actual money not used into the Stash Cash accout as well. these pennies and odd saving do help to streetch things out a little .

re the bottled water DGS Mikey's sister, bought him a really nice refillable bottle last Christmas and at his house his Mum has an iced water gadget built into the fridge so he fills it up when he goes out to his part time job at the local tach college.He does unsocial hours opening up and closing the games gym etc there and has been saving his cash for when he goes to Uni this Spetember plus most of his birthday and Christmas cash for the past couple of years, plus his money he got at 18 from the government bond started when he was born and now has £3K stashed away he is a smart lad and knows the value of a pound and enjoys himeslf but doesn't waste his cash at all

JackieO xx

Florenceem

I have been given a multi pack of caster sugar - 6 x 2 kg bags. Will have to educate the giver about using granulated and grinding down - lot of difference in price.

Spendless

If someone can recommend a re-usable water bottle that is both lightweight and doesn't leak then I'd be grateful. I've been buying disposable water bottles for years having never found one that didn't leak. Needs to be lightweight as DD commutes by rail to her job.

Most of the time (today being a part exception) I have the stuff in for DD's packed lunches, because splitting down multi-packs is just so much cheaper, than buying individual items . DH only got paid today so the cupboards (packed lunch wise) are running low so had to grab what I could when I popped out for petrol earlier. Today hopefully there will be time to stock back up food wise. 

dp1

Spendless I use a lightweight stainless steel water bottle that keeps the water instead lovely and cold even if the bottle is sitting in the sun. I bought it from Amazon and thought it was expensive at the time - under £10 - but it was worth buying x

joedenise

I bought a Strawdogs one from Ama*on for DH which keeps cold drinks cold for 24 hours and hot drinks hot for 12 hours.  Cost £6.99.  Unfortunately not available at the moment but there are loads out there if you look around.  I picked mine up from one of the German SMs (sorry can't remember which one) for £3.99 which is almost identical to the one I bought for DH.  Certainly does the job and isn't much heavier than a plastic bottle to carry.

This one is similar at £6.50 from Ama*on:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/bottle-Insulated-Stainless-Bottles-LeakProof/dp/B08PBJKG5D/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=2s5ei&content-id=amzn1.sym.4d619998-507a-44d3-b580-1c7fc24282f7&pf_rd_p=4d619998-507a-44d3-b580-1c7fc24282f7&pf_rd_r=019J2H6DHC2BR845JG3K&pd_rd_wg=0nGe2&pd_rd_r=d01aa6d9-8ce3-4abf-a053-1ee5096dbc63&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

(sorry for the long link!)