Help - Need to get back on track!

Brassic

Hi there,

I was a regular(ish) poster on this forum a while back, but got a new job and have found it really difficult to post since. End of last month my beloved spreadsheet got nuked somehow by my computer, so I lost track of where I was, and in between we redecorated the lounge - nothing major, just a quick paint job etc. That along with rising food costs and petrol costs mean I have gone off track badly and pushed my DFD out by a month <sulk> Rah! :mad:

I have to admit I'm struggling. My budget says I should be able to cope but I'm not. I've pushed my food cost budget out twice from £300 so it's now £400 (to feed a (growing) family of 5). Sadly last month I managed to spend £600 :eek: How on earth can I spend that much? I home cook everything, we have packed lunches, I've tried Aldi etc but they're 12 miles away which costs fuel......and I pay for the majority of my summer hols using club card vouchers....

The good news of course is that out debt is now down to just a smidgen over £45000, with a debt free date of Aug 2011 (was July :mad: ) so that is a real achievement and break through. I just don't want it to fall back any further.

Any one else feeling the pinch. Can someone just give me a swift kick? Maybe we just need to eat more marmite sarnies and baked beans (not together).

Cheers,
Brassic.

delboypass

swift
kick

Brassic

Yeouch - Thanks - I think!

piglet6

Hey Brassic :hello:

Welcome back! Don't beat yourself up - I think we are all feeling the pinch with food prices at the moment and you are right, sometimes the petrol to get to the cheaper supermarket can negate the savings (especially if you manage to snag some bargains/reduced items close to home). :rolleyes:

At least you are still posting here and aware of the situation...so all is not lost! Well done on getting the debt down to £45,000. :j You sound like you are still fighting and on top of the bigger picture, which is great! :T Keep posting and I'm sure you will be back on top in no time...;)

Piglet

P.S. Marmite and baked beans are a great combination - its just important not to mix either with strawberry jam! :rotfl:

Brassic

Thanks Piglet. It's all sorts of things which seem to have risen recently. My mortgage fixed rate for one :rolleyes: I have just signed another 2 year one, but it's an extra 65 quid a month.

I have started planning dinners differently. I used to do a weeks shop all planned in advance from Tescos. I now go to Summerfield (just round the corner), get whatever is on offer, then plan what else I need and get it from Mr T's. Will keep a close eye on how that works in the next couple of months.

I have two night shifts now (then a night recovering from 60 hours up with only 5 hours sleep), then will spend an evening ebaying everything I've been storing up. I had a load of stuff (baby clothes etc) in the loft, but when I went up there the other day I discovered rats :eek: have been in and eaten most and wee'd and defecated on the rest. Joy. I have the delight of having to go up and collect the bodies next week after the poison works.

Cheers,
Brassic

GeorgeUK

Have you reworked your SOA?
It may not just be the food bill which has risen so it might be time to look at other suppliers.

Hmmm - i know some people sell some unusual stuff on ebay, but dead rats...
Or was that not what you were saying?

Are you tarting CC's or have any promotional deals that may be coming to an end? Might be worth looking at this so you don't get caught out without your spreadhseet.

On that note, have you tried recovering the workbook? There's some free software you can use to try. I haven't used it but this site has a good reputation and the software has a good review. (And is free)
http://www.download.com/Recover-Files/3000-2094_4-10715455.html?tag=lst-1&cdlPid=10715456

hypno06

Helloooo :hello: Good to see you back, and good to see those numbers going down - they are a lot less than they were last time we "spoke"!!

I don't think there is a single one of us on here that has been able to sail through without constant adjustment - when prices are moving so much, and new mortgage deals not so easy to find etc, we have no choice but to change the numbers in the budget.

Frustrating though it is, I think you have done fantastically to get through so far with only a month's addition to the DFD - mine has shifted quite a lot more than that, sadly, and I too am trying desperately to get a grip!

You were one of my initial "inspirations" on this board - the £60k debt thread was really useful to me in my early days - knowing that I was not alone! I hope you keep posting, it may help you to stay focussed.

xx

Brassic

Hi George,

Thanks for the reply. Lol re ebaying the dead rats! I spent last night re-doing my spreadsheet - finished at 0100 hours. <yawn> SOA is all up to date so far as I can see - phew!

Credit card is on lowest possible rate (phoned 'em up and haggled!). Loans too. All old debts are on 0% so not a lot else I can do there. Since coming across this site I really am quite anal about it all (hubby thinks I'm obsessed).

Helllllllooooooooooooo :j Hypno! Good to hear from you again and glad to see you're still here. I'm hoping to be back posting again from now on as I miss the support and don't have anyone else to discuss such things with. It can be a lonely road at times.

Right, back out to finish weeding my veg bed and pot out my cucumbers and peppers (my latest bid to cut down on the shopping bill!)

hbl_2

Sorry to hear about your spreadsheet (I was like, Oh Noes!). I use google docs for my budget and savings spreadsheets, cos they is teh awesome. If you haven't got a googlemail account, you'll have to sign up, but it is well worth it. Free and has all the features you would expect of a spreadsheet, but all in the web browser, so you can update it wherever the internets is. Gmail is awesome too.

I should add that you can upload existing spreadsheets to google docs, so no need to redo it. The very least you have a backup. BACKUP!!!!!!!!!

http://docs.google.com/