A healthier way to chase dopamine

Lolina

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82069833#Comment_82069833

Hi Anto, ah I would like to say I have but this past couple of days I have thrown caution to the wind and bought a few unnecessary grocery spends (wants, not needs) on my Tesco credit card. Maybe about £60 worth of food, both for me and for my brother and mum, making them nice meals. I don't know why I do this, I clearly can't afford it, but it's like food is my love language and I feel I need to make nice things for my family. They hardly ever buy me stuff or cook for me, so I need to think about why I feel the need to do this. Definitely need to discuss this with my counsellor.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Just been reading through and have some suggestions (sorry if I’m repeating anything)

-you should do a more thorough SOA, it’ll be easier to see where you can cut spending

-I’d empty your freezer and cupboards and make a list of what you have, then set yourself a challenge of meal planning from it. You could have a couple of weeks of meals in there with a small top up of fresh accompaniments.

-you need to focus on saving a £1k emergency fund. Once you’ve done your SOA, you can then cut up all your CCs as you’ll be living within your means and have your EF for true emergencies.

-if you live alone and have a spare room, could you get a lodger? Or a parking space/garage you could rent out?

-you said you have a lot of unwanted items, could you sell them on V!nted? You could set yourself a target of 5-10 items a week

-please don’t take money out against your home, your small mortgage is such a positive

Good luck with your debt busting ☺️