A space for my thoughts - tackling debt once and for all!

LzzyIsGod

I get the bulging cupboards thing but I do find it's easier to find everything and keep it organised  when there's less overflowing 

thriftylass

Debtfree2026 said:

 I'm used to the fridge and cupboards being filled to the brim after a shopping delivery but now they aren't because I am buying stuff to eat that week, rather than mindlessly buying lots of 'options' and then having to throw away stuff because it doesn't get used in time!  

I'm struggling with that just now, my kids used to be such good eaters. They both went through phases from eating everything to only eating H3inz hoops. DS is nearly 14 and went through that cycle multiple times and is now almost liking everything we do. But DD (11) (who ate chicken korma in nursery age 6 mo, and most things after that) is now at the H3inz hoops stage). Luckily they both eat most fruit and some veg, yogurts etc but trying to find common ground for dinner is a nightmare. I might have to do more German cold cuts dinners for the time being I guess as we all like that and the kids get a better range of foods then.

Sarahwithlove

Maybe try menu planning from your cupboards/freezer and then just buy what you need to supplement it. How many of you are there as £700 seems alot. 

Cara_

I have my online delivery coming on Sunday but I have got a head start on the meals for next week - I actually got a large gammon @Cara_ which I can cook up and use towards other meals! Going to check out the Old Style board again for some more ideas.  It is a bit of a mind reset though - I'm used to the fridge and cupboards being filled to the brim after a shopping delivery but now they aren't because I am buying stuff to eat that week

Good luck with the gammon. The Old Style board is a good source for cooking tips and recipes and once you get into the rhythm of making the most out of the food you buy, the savings on the grocery budget will come. I would probably reduce your food budget gradually rather than cut it drastically, as I think you will be more successful.

I often have an empty fridge but I know there is enough food in the freezer and cupboards to make a meal and, in time, you will also have had a mind reset and you will be OK with the fridge not being packed.

Debtfree2026

Morning @Sarahwithlove and @Cara_ !!

@Sarahwithlove I agree, £700 is a lot!  It's for two adults, two children and two cats!  Basically when I had my LBM I immediately did a SOA (to the best I could!) and that's when I realised how much we had been spending on groceries/takeaways and top-up shops.  I was shocked!  And I knew that adjustments could be made to this area straight away.  So I have started meal planning and using stuff up that is in stores/cupboards.  I am still fairly new to my journey and having given myself £800 for both the month of December and January I realised that I very nearly used it all and suspect that's because it was there.  So this month I've given myself £700 with the aim of being at the £500 mark ideally.  My first shop of Feb came in at £67 and that included some toiletries and bulk bought cat food so I'm confident for spending less next week.  The week after is half term, so I'll be needing to do packed lunches for my two daughters (aged 4 and 9) that week as they'll be attending a theatre workshop but I have planned for that in advance.

@Cara_ I am very much enjoying the lack of wastage!  I have cubed up and frozen some of the gammon and that will go nicely in the mac and cheese that I have planned for tomorrow night!  Meal planning is good for the wallet and extremely good for not wasting food - but it is also really nice to not have to try and think of what meals to do daily.  I am still struggling with food ideas and a little worried that it can be repetitive so I note down when I have some inspiration - if I see an idea on here, or on tiktok that I think would work.   

Basically, whatever I have surplus in the groceries budget at the end of the month I am putting towards debt - so it is in my best interests to be as thrifty as possible and get this debt down quicker!

thriftylass

@Debtfree2026 We are also 2 adults, 2 kids but only one cat now. We used to have similar numbers especially last year (£700-900 a month). After I went through my statements and whittled it down to essentials we will also aim for £500 per month on groceries by the time I honed my planning and cooking skills again. I used do the Ninja Saving Kat challenge and there our budget was £400 for groceries AND household items, but that was before all those price rises and the kids were smaller.

Debtfree2026

Good morning - still here, reading all the threads!  Meal planning still going very well. In fact, as it stands at the moment I'm looking at potentially having £200 left in the groceries pot this month which will be a great surplus to put towards my credit card. 

I've had some other luck.  I got an email the other day telling me I could request a refund from my student loan as I'd overpaid.  I did think it was a scam email so telephoned them to get more info.  Turns out that I could get £1,230 back that I had overpaid over the years - the first being in 2007!  I know it gets added back onto my student loan but I thought about it for a bit and decided it was worth having the money to put towards my debts.  It came into my bank last week and I've paid off my Nationwide CC and Littlewoods balance.  Not only has that helped my mindset and see a light at the end of the tunnel but I can now use the money I was paying towards those debts towards my 0% credit card and get that paid off quicker.

Other than that, not loads to report - half term here and the girls are getting over these colds that have been hanging around.  Me too - it's lasted about two weeks so far.  I was so envious of families going on holiday this half term but to be honest I'm glad we aren't as it would be pretty miserable to be ill on holiday!  We just get one week for this half term so not many of her school friends have gone away this time - Easter break is long one, break up 28th March and back in on 22nd April! My sister is getting married during that holiday so that's something to really look forward to and includes two nights away in a lovely hotel that we have already paid for!

Debtfree2026

Feeling very low today.  Shouted at my four year old this morning and feeling terribly guilty.  She is at a half term workshop at the moment with her big sister so hopefully she is fine, but I just get so stressed sometimes.  I have to say, I have been a lot better since starting this journey but I didn't get much sleep and her stubbornness this morning just pushed me over the edge.  I really hate being angry and shouty and always immediately have regret but they don't deserve a shouty mum (edited this as it initially read like I meant they didn't deserve my regret which I obviously don't mean!) 

I've just put the deposit down for our annual trip to Cornwall in the Summer.  I'm half Cornish and we love to go there when we can, my grandmother still lives there and isn't in the best of health so we'll pop in and spend time with her when we are there. We are going to Lapland in December but no other holidays apart from Cornwall so we really try to make the most of it.  I'm pleased that I was able to pay the deposit from my holiday fund pot, so not put on a credit card at all!  Will continue to put into that pot, either for things to do in Cornwall or for Lapland.  

Roll on next week and payday so I can get some more savings put away and make another payment towards the credit card. 

Cara_

That's great progress with grocery budget underspend and getting your Nationwide and Littlewoods balances cleared is such a boost and means you have less accounts to think about.

I hope you are feeling better after a bad start to the day.

The holidays you have booked will give you something to look forward to and it will be lovely to see your grandmother.

Debtfree2026

Hi @Cara_ - thank you, I am feeling more positive generally.  We had a good day yesterday.  A friend had given me some tickets for London Zoo and I had more than enough for me, my two girls and my friend and her two girls. We decided to go yesterday as they expire this coming Friday....our part of the train ticket to London was £19 and we took a packed lunch and my friend bought the coffees!  So what a cheap day out in London!  We arrived at 11am and left about 5.30pm so definitely got our monies worth!

Plus, the friend who had provided the tickets arranged for one of her colleagues to give us a little private tour and feed some monkeys so that was really special and a treat for all of us! And I left the four spare tickets on the gate and the guy promised he would give them to another family so they could get in for free, so hopefully they got used and made someone else's day.  I was trying to give them out myself but everyone I spoke to had either prebooked and already paid or was a member!

We got a Chinese last night once home - Saturday is our takeaway night - and we got such a small order as we've realised that having a treat night doesn't mean being greedy.  Just one rice, one noodles, duck pancakes and some spare ribs between three of us (youngest had fallen asleep on sofa after busy day!)

Today is a bit of a reset, in readiness for the kids back at school tomorrow.  Online food delivery due anytime now but I struggled a bit more with the meal planning this week so not convinced I got everything.  My brain was just so scrambled I had no inspiration for meals but I'm sure I've got the girls sorted.  Will aim to do better this week and hopefully that will help the budget.  Still £169 left in the budget for food and get paid on Thursday so will have some leftover but right now I'm not sure what I need to buy for top up - will try and use what I can from stores/freezer in the first instance.