Plugging the leaks!

PurplePlantPot

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82191890#Comment_82191890

No need to purchase a new notebook, I have a stash! I think I'll do it for this month and see how much it adds up to at the end of the month. Whenever we decide against a takeaway or coffee and cake out, or I don't buy something that instagram has shown me!

Last Christmas - admittedly we hosted - cost us £500 in food alone. I've already declared we're not hosting this year so that's £500 saved. I'm also going to try and rein in the presents for the adults, I'd love to suggest only presents for the kids but as we have the only kids in the family it does seem cheeky.

I don't do the shop. We have a meal plan and I write down what we need for that (i'm the cook) and my husband does the shopping - he is guilty of buying too many snacks and double buying, so we're working on that too. He does use the scanner thingy so he can keep an eye on the total as he goes round. So that's his challenge while I resist buying stupid things on my phone!

joedenise

Have you thought about doing a Secret Santa within the family? Would mean each of you would only need to buy one present. You can set a price limit so no-one spends loads and someone else very little. One year both our DDs were out of work so we set the limit at £5 and said anything had to come from a charity shop - it's amazing what you can get for that.

It's how we started to get to the stage we're at now where we only exchange cards and no presents!

PurplePlantPot

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82191940#Comment_82191940

Oh I tried so hard for Secret Santa last year! Apparently it wouldn't be "Christmassey" and that was from both sides of the family. I have cut the list down of presents as much as possible though. We buy for parents, siblings and grandparents. Plus 1 friend who is like family. Still adds up though! I'm trying this year to cut down on the grandparents gifts and do something cute and personal instead - maybe something the kids have made - the last thing my grandad needs is another jumper! And my nan has 11 grandkids and more than that great grandkids so she gets lots!

twopenny

It probably wouldn't work elsewhere but when a friend and I started up in business we were broke and agreed to only buy something the other actually wanted.......it ended up for me as plant food and leather gardening gloves. 😊

It's darned hard though to get people to do that though. I asked one who insisted on chocs and mini cheap wine if she would do my favourite expensive marmalade. Oooo no. That wouldn't do.

Phone? Delete apps so you have to do a search. It gives you time to think if you have to load it. I used to physically turn the router off at 9pm or if I had something important to do. I could turn it on again but that wasn't instant so seldom happened. It's the whole point of unlimited data and instant access. To hook you in and keep you there.

Btw, ice cream is an essential 😊

PurplePlantPot

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82192100#Comment_82192100

My friend sometimes does this with her family. TBF i'm looking at trying for homemade sentimental stuff for some family members this year.

My eldest will be very excited that ice cream is considered an essential - I think she'd be inclined to agree!

PurplePlantPot

First test today as the husband goes to do the food shop. Both girls need some new tights too which he'll pick up from the supermarket, so I've told him to keep the receipt so the money can be moved over from the right pots. Hopefully he'll stay in budget, but it'll be a tricky one as we need to restock on some medicine items (calpol and lemsip supermarket equivalent!) and some bigger household bits and pieces like dishwasher tablets and loo roll.

Also bought a couple of Christmas presents last night as both were on sale. So thought I'd break down Christmas spending too so I can keep track of that.

As I've mentioned, my husband gets paid 13 times a year, we've always budgeted for 12 pay days and kept the 13th for Christmas spends. So we have just over £800 for presents and we usually try to keep Christmas food in this too, but failed last year (no surprise)! This year we're not hosting, and we're not doing a Christmas dinner, we're doing everyone's favourite party food buffet style through the day. BUT we are going out for dinner on Christmas Eve. It's a set menu so that'll cost £100.90 plus any drinks, lets add £15 as we'll be on soft drinks - £115.9.

There's 10 adults we buy for and 1 extra child and our own girls.

10 adults aiming for anywhere between £20-40. 6 adults at £40 and 4 at £20 = £300

2 presents bought so far have been £36 and £40.99

1 child - aiming for £20

Food - £115.9

Leaving - £384.1 for our two or £192 each.

I don't think we'll spend that much on the smallest, but could very easily spend that on the biggest so it was good to get it down in black and white.

Presents me and my husband exchange come out of our own spends (we get £50 per month each before we transfer money into the joint account for bills and all other spending).

Blackcats

Hello! You might find some of the discussions on the grocery challenge thread on the old style board useful and thought provoking. There's good ideas about having a bulk fund for bigger items like dishwasher tablets etc.

I think you'll find it really useful now that you've broken down your Christmas budget. I used to spend and hope that I had enough available on my credit card balance 🤦‍♀️. I also kept adding little bits and pieces into people's gifts as I worried that they didn't have enough 🙄

Buffet style foods do add up so hopefully you can keep costs reasonable but create a fabulous feast.

PurplePlantPot

He did ok. £17 under budget for the week. I shall take it.

I have just realised that on top of needing to buy party food in December for Christmas dinner it is also a 5 week month for us in terms of the shop, so will have to think about how to make that stretch and eek out dinners/have some extra cheap meals to stretch an extra day a week.

PurplePlantPot

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82193283#Comment_82193283

I am so bad at just buying that little extra thing because the pile isn't big enough, or someone only has 1 present vs someone else's 2. Already guilty of it with one of the presents I bought yesterday actually! Bought a pod coffee machine that was what was requested, could've just given that and the recipient would have been happy BUT pre check out during the "have you seen this" bit I was shown a mixed bag of the coffee pods that go in it, so just added it in without thinking.

Still within budget, but a mindless spend.

PurplePlantPot

Little win today, or learning moment maybe.

Booking the annual local Christmas light trail (it's only £10 for the 4 of us) and husband immediately said "oh yeah, we can go out for an early tea first". It's those habits we need to break really as that would easily be £50-100 spent without thinking much and we've already going to have our eating out pot depleted quite early in the month we a meal that's already booked in.

Haggled him down to some sausage rolls for the kids from the nearby greggs and supermarket takeaway for us once the kids are in bed.

Nothing else to add. Only spend today is the £10.20 for the light trail for next month.