HELP! Have cut back all I can but am still over-spending!

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  • cbsexec
    cbsexec Posts: 577 Forumite
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    Could I suggest that you make a shopping list. It is so easy just to go round putting this and that into your shopping basket and being horrifield when you get to the till. You should also shop around - do you have a Home Bargains or B + M - they have branded foods at cheap prices. Have a serious think - are you throwing away food from your shop. It is easy to get into the habit of buying the same things every week and not realising how much you are binning. One of the os mse members has a cheap meal website lots of good ideas. Get the children on board - perhaps they won't get through so many socks!!!
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
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    If you like a decent bottle of wine and a takeaway, then look at the meal deals the supermarkets do for £10 that include wine

    I know most of they say 'dine in deal for 2' but if you choose the right bits, they can pad out to feed 4. Ie. choose whole chicken and trifle, rather than chicken breast and cheesecake slice
  • peachyprice
    peachyprice Posts: 22,346 Forumite
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    ScrimpingandSaving wrote: »
    We don't drink mid-week!
    .

    Sorry, I didn't realise that the two bottles were for one night. You said 2 bottles lasted a week so I assumed you drunk one at the weekend and one through the week, my mistake.

    I don't think you drink alot at all, it's not the volume of alcohol, it's the amount of money it costs.
    Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
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    peachyprice wrote: »
    Fexofenadrine (Telfast) is different to loratadine, loratadine doesn't work on my DD, although it it a little better than citirazine which is a complete waste of time.

    You say DD, so I'm assuming that means child? If so her medication should be free, so no need to find cheaper alternatives
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    Just one query, do you know what causes your rhinitis? I take it you have had allegy tests? Because if it's year round, its got to be something in your immediate area, not pollen based
  • peachyprice
    peachyprice Posts: 22,346 Forumite
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    flea72 wrote: »
    You say DD, so I'm assuming that means child? If so her medication should be free, so no need to find cheaper alternatives


    Yes, hers are free at the moment, but when they no longer are I doubt she'll be able to use OTC, her hayfever seems to be getting worse with age. It's relatively short lived, but very severe. We're pretty sure it's Linden blossom pollen and there are a hell of a lot around here!

    I really would prefer to be able to use OTC for her, even if they're not free, it's so much easier to nip into a shop than faff with doctors appointments.
    Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear
  • dolly84
    dolly84 Posts: 5,851 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    flea72 wrote: »
    If you like a decent bottle of wine and a takeaway, then look at the meal deals the supermarkets do for £10 that include wine

    I know most of they say 'dine in deal for 2' but if you choose the right bits, they can pad out to feed 4. Ie. choose whole chicken and trifle, rather than chicken breast and cheesecake slice

    I do this with the meal deals, add in some extras from home and it feeds us all and I save the wine for the evening. Best of all I pay for them with vouchers from surveys and I think I enjoy those meals the most:rotfl:
    Debt Free and now a saver, conscious consumer, low waste lifestyler


    Fashion on the Ration 28/66
  • Honey_Bear
    Honey_Bear Posts: 7,077 Forumite
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    ScrimpingandSaving wrote: »
    I don't really have this sense of entitlement though. We don't have cable TV. We don't go out as a couple. Restaurants are for special birthdays. No weekends away. No theme parks. No expensive take-aways or ready meals.

    We buy a supermarket curry every Sunday. It costs around £7.

    We buy drinks out at the weekend and our time together as a couple consists of a DVD and a nice bottle of wine or 2.

    That's it. I didn't think that was overindulging. I really didn't.

    Scrimping I don't mean to suggest you have a sense of entitlement. What's happened is that we all think we should be able to afford things because everyone else seems to be able to.
    Better is good enough.
  • ScrimpingandSaving
    ScrimpingandSaving Posts: 143 Forumite
    flea72, no I haven't. We have moved around quite a bit, been here now for almost 2 years and have had hayfever for 10 years.

    It's definitely pollen in spring and summer. Rapeseed and sunflowers are a killer. But it can last through the autumn (fungas pores?) and I will also get the odd day in the winter. It makes no sense. It doesn't help that we live a bit out in the sticks.

    If I'm allergic to something in the environment there's not a right lot I can do about it. Hayfever runs in the family but my sister's has more or less stopped so I'm hoping I'll be the same in a few years.
    "Funny how just when you think life can't possibly get any worse, it does." - Marvin (Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy)

    DON'T PANIC
  • kathrynha
    kathrynha Posts: 2,469 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker Car Insurance Carver!
    We have about the same income as you, though only 1 child and manage to save about £500 a month.

    In the home:
    MobilePhones: £10 - OK
    TV Licence:£12.12 - OK
    Internet:£17 - Can you combine with phone for less?
    Home phone:£9.72
    HouseholdMaintenance: £15 - OK
    Electricity£29.04 - OK
    Gas £66.67 - More than ours, but you prob have bigger house
    Water:£29.17
    Council Tax:£130 - OK
    HomeInsurance £6.42 - Very cheap
    Mortgage:£448.40 - OK
    Food andhousehold shopping: £600 - Our is about £250 and includes toiletries, school stuff, etc. I've almost halved mine by switching to Aldi
    Drinks forhome £90 - Cut down/buy cheaper wine or look out for offers

    Motoring
    Petrol: £280 - Seems a lot, but you mention a commute
    Car Tax £74 - A month? do you need such a gas guzzler?
    CarInsurance: £44 - OK
    CarMaintenance: £63 - If you can learn to do basic repairs yourself you can save a fortune
    Breakdowncover: £3.33 - ok

    Debts
    Credit card:£50 (I use it for Paypal)

    Savings
    Childrens£40
    Lump sumsavings: £100 (for tax and pension)
    Regularsaving: £16 (spare change saver)

    Family
    SchoolTrips: £20 - Guess your kids are older than mine so more expensive trips
    SchoolMeals: £9.97 (one meal a week) - That's expensive. I pay £1.95 a meal
    PocketMoney: £17.33

    Entertainment
    Days out(incl cinema, etc): £25 - ok
    Books,music, films, etc: £14 - I mainly read free books on my kindle. Saves me a fortune
    Shopping forfun: £90 - what are you buying that isn't in other categories?
    Pet Costs:£2.20 (hamster) - If you have The Range near you it is cheap for pet stuff.
    Antivirus:£3.38 - I find AVG free as good as the paid ones I've tried
    DVD Rental:£5.99 - Not really neccesary
    DrinkingOut: £65
    Eating out:£21.67

    Clothes,Health, Beauty
    Haircuts:£8.67
    Clothes: £25

    Big One-Offs
    Birthdays:£30
    Holidays(incl weekends away) £83.33
    Christmas:£41.67

    Odds andSods
    Newspapers£36.50 - If you go near a train station pick up a Metro for free
    Tax and NI:£12.13
    Regularcharity donations: £5

    Obviously you want some luxuries and treats in there, and as long as you can afford them, that's fine, and family days out and holidays are important.

    I pay for treats out of the previous months budget, so basically they only happen if there is money left for them.
    Zebras rock
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