FINALLY getting rid of this debt by the end of 2025.

RandomOne

I've been half-heartedly trying to clear my debt for some time now, but never actually REALLY tried that hard. Due to a change in my circumstanes (my income has decreased by just under £500 a month) I REALLY need to tackle this debt ASAP, before my income goes down again at the end of this year.

I did a SOA and on paper, I should be able to put £600 a month towards my debt (not inc minimum payments) but I NEVER have any money left at the end of the month to do this.

I know that this is because i spend a LOT of money on food. Approx £200+ a week. I dont have a big family, its just me and my 2 adult sons, I just seem to have a big problem with food shopping. This will be my biggest focus as it'll save me hundreds of pounds per month if I can get my food  shopping down to £100 a week. 


Current Debt stands at:
Aqua £5478
Barclaycard £4062
Total = £9540

RandomOne

Right, here is my plan for food shopping. 

I want to get my daily supermarket shopping down to just twice a week. I'm thinkng once for a main shop and then once to top up the fresh stuff. 
I've been to the shop today, so I shouldnt need to go again until Tuesday. I posted on the OS grocery challenge and was advised to do a freezer inventory, so that is what I'll start with tomorrow. 

I think by the end of the year, factoring in interest on the CCs, i should be able to pay off the Aqua. I want to see if i can also pay off the Barclaycard too by the end of the year, as i really need to before my income drops. So i need to remember this everytime i want to go food shopping daily. 

badmemory

Firstly I would suggest meal planning, then shopping with a list & the hard bit sticking to the list.  Adult sons can have hollow legs.  Do they contribute & if not why not, actual answer not for on here unless you wish, just for you to think about.  My DS still lives with me & does contribute but not until he was 21 & had been working a while & was earning reasonably.  Too many parents end up with children living with them who can afford massive holidays when they can't afford a weekend in Blackpool.

RandomOne

Hi @badmemory, thanks for the comment. My older son does contribute, he pays me monthly 'rent' which up til now has been swallowed up by the huge food bills. But my plan is to put that money straight towards paying off the CCs.

My younger son is unemployed at the moment so isn't contributing, but will be as soon as he starts work next month. 

RandomOne

Good morning! 

Freezer Inventory done, and i think I'll also do an inventory of the kitchen cupboards today as they are quite full too. I do feel like i have a pretty good idea of whats in my cupboard, and can already think of a few meals to make from there. Risotto, curry, to name a few.

From the freezer i have meal planned 15 main meals and 5 breakfasts. That's a start. I've definitely realised that apart from some actual bread, i dont need to buy anymore bread products for a while. I have bagels, baguettes, bread rolls and wraps all in the freezer. 

I also have 9 chicken breasts, which is 3 meals worth for us, and 1kg of sliced ham that I'm not sure how I'm going to use. Maybe for sandwiches/rolls etc. 

I feel like work lunches are where i normally let myself down when it comes to spending on food, is work lunches. So my plan is to make my work lunches the night before, that way i wont be tempted to pop into the supermarket on the way to work. 

Because I food shop daily, I find it really hard to get everything I need for longer than 2 or 3 days. For example, I've just realised that I need cling film if I want to meal prep some work lunches. Do I just wait until tuesday? I guess I have to! 

RandomOne

OK, full inventory done! Needless to say, i have enough food for at least 2 weeks of dinners. I will need to pick up some breakfast items such as bread, milk and eggs at some point, but i feel like I'm making a good start by making a plan. 
I took out some beef mince from the freezer, so dinner tonight is spag bol. 

I'm on a 12 hour shift as from tomorrow evening, so I'll need to pack lunch and dinner for work. I'll do that in the morning as i already know what I'm making and have defrosted what i need. 

LzzyIsGod

Because I food shop daily, I find it really hard to get everything I need for longer than 2 or 3 days. For example, I've just realised that I need cling film if I want to meal prep some work lunches. Do I just wait until tuesday? I guess I have to! 

Hi welcome to DF diaries - I hope you find it as supportive and cathartic as I am.

Just a question - is there a reason why you shop daily? Is it because you don't know what you've got in or you run out of something or you haven't managed to plan ahead (so haven't defrosted something in time) ? Just wondering because maybe digging down into the reasons will help you look at ways to reduce the food budget.

Wishing you all tbe best

RandomOne

LzzyIsGod said:

Because I food shop daily, I find it really hard to get everything I need for longer than 2 or 3 days. For example, I've just realised that I need cling film if I want to meal prep some work lunches. Do I just wait until tuesday? I guess I have to! 

Hi welcome to DF diaries - I hope you find it as supportive and cathartic as I am.

Just a question - is there a reason why you shop daily? Is it because you don't know what you've got in or you run out of something or you haven't managed to plan ahead (so haven't defrosted something in time) ? Just wondering because maybe digging down into the reasons will help you look at ways to reduce the food budget.

Wishing you all tbe best

Honestly, I'm not really sure! I think it's just a habit I've gotten into. And now that habit is so ingrained that i find it difficult to work out everything i need for the whole week, so i end up (as i have done today) running out of essentials like milk, so i have to go to the shop anyway.

I cant get everything i need fro one shop, so i have to shop around a little, but i couold actually do this without shopping daily. 

I think this is my plan going forward:

-Buy a good stock of UHT milk, so if i run out of fresh milk, i wont need to go to the shops and then end up spending £££.
-Meal plan and shop for 3-4 days at a time instead of the whole week, until i get to grips with this. Then increase it to 5 days, 6 days etc. Obviously this will be made easier for the next few weeks as i already have 15 days worth of meals planned out, so it'll just be lunches, snacks and some breakfasts I'll need to plan and shop for.
-PLAN my food shopping properly, write a list every time i go. At the moment i go without a list of what i really need. So essentially i just want to get more organised about it.

So i need to get milk today. I'll pick up the fresh stuff, but also 5 cartons of UHT. I also need some bread and some fruit. I'll give myself a limit today of £30 for what i need. Then i wont go food shopping again until Saturday. I'm thinking of doing an online delivery for saturday but need to check how much i need to spend at Tesco to get free delivery.

nosuperwoman

Hi
You've made a great start!
May I suggest a few things I've gleaned from these pages over the years.
No spend days are a great way to change your mindset. Start small, notice what derails them and try again, it's a real eye-opener.
Look at the old style boards for frugal tips, I find mumtomany an inspiration. For example, you say you need cling film because of taking food to work - do you? What about foil, or old takeaway containers, or empty food packets.
We are trained to think 'what do I need to buy' but it's more creative and satisfying to think 'how can I do this with what I have '. 

RandomOne

Thanks @nosuperwoman, I've been advised the same on the OS Grocery Challenge (GC), so will start tallying up those NSDs in my diary.

I love the idea of thinking 'how can i manage with what i have' instead of 'i need to buy x'. It's such a new way of thinking to me, which sounds just silly i know. But you dont know what you dont know i guess.

Todays food shopping is done. I did go over budget (i spent £60) but i know have everything i need til saturday, and more. I've written a weekly meal plan too, so shouldnt actually need anything on Saturday. 

I feel like a young adult moving out of home for the first time, not knowing how much food i need for the week, instead of a 40-something year old. But one piece of advice i got from the GC was to not be too hard on myself as this is a huge learning curve for me. 

RandomOne

Good afternoon  

I went through my budget with a fine toothcomb last night, and made a few hard decisions that i know will help with paying off the debt.
I have 2 very expensive subscriptions (excuse me being so vague, it's very outing if i mention what these are as they are very specific) that i very much enjoy and I have decided to pause them for 6 months. 

It makes me so sad to do this, BUT i am reminding myself that it's not forever. And sacrifices have to be made. It'll mean i can put an extra £320 a month towards my debt and get it paid off quicker.