To ask about your daily spending habits?

[GingerbreadGingerbread]

I am in the midst of a realisation about my spending and how much money I actually waste. I am in a position where I need to save up some money and have just say down and looked at where my money goes. Turns out I am wasting so much on lunches, extra bits and pieces at the supermarket all the time, all the bits and pieces here and there. I'm ashamed to say I'm spending about £30 a day (so at least I know why I'm not saving anything) and I want to reduce that to £15 a day.

There are some obvious things I can do: breakfast at home and lunch brought in or from Tesco, not places like Pret and Leon and just getting what I need at the supermarket not being lured in with loads of little extras. The amount I could save by doing this is a great motivator.

Just to be clear £15 is for all daily spending including household food/ other items for myself and DH but does not include rent, car insurance, household bills- they are all accounted for separately. Does anyone want to join me or share their tips?

[Mosseywossey]

I defiantly want to join you! I have just come to the same realisation. I was thinking about doing a set dinner plan and sticking to the things I need for it. I was also thinking online shopping as I won't be tempted with any of their offers. Also taking in lunch, cutting cost with finding cheaper things suck as shampoo. I am also thinking about getting a seperate card with a limit of whatever a weeks so even if I wanted to I can't and using my other card to pay bills

[BettyOBarley]

Could you meal plan for the week and do a big online shop so that you have everything in and don't need to stop off for bits each day?

If I do that I barely spend anything during the week but as soon as i stop for bread etc £20 has gone before I know it!

[rosesarered9]

This is an interesting BBC series about saving money when shopping for food.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07r1qgg/eat-well-for-less-series-3-5-the-hoyland-family

[GingerbreadGingerbread]

Hi Mosseywossey great to have someone who wants to join!

I think having a daily limit will make it easier for me to stick to as I won't really be able to lose track of spending throughout that day, whereas when I think: "OK I have £200 to spend on food this month" (or whatever) I check after a couple of weeks thinking i haven't spent that much and it's all gone.

I'm actually pretty excited about this and (hopefully) seeing some savings emerge. Betty Thanks that's good advice, it is the daily supermarket shops that are a big problem so online could be a good solution and I know I need to meal plan instead of buying for the day and then wasting things. Does anyone have ideas for healthy ish dinners on a budget?

[ineedamoreadultieradult]

I filled in a budgeting thing on the Money Advice Service website, then anything that wasn't covered by Direct Debits I added up and food shopping, dinner money, diesel, kids clubs etc came to £140 a week. I take that out at the beginning of the week then that's the budget for the week nothing gets put on the card. At the end of the week if anything is left over we either treat ourselves to take away etc or put it in the holiday savings tin. Has helped us all cut down lot on just picking bits up we don't actually need.

[LBOCS2]

Do it in cash! Take out your weekly spends (I'd suggest doing one withdrawal for mon-fri) and discipline yourself to say that's it. So £75 for your work week, if you divide it up then you have £3 for a coffee on your way in, £10 for lunch, £2 for bits at the newsagent, etc. Or if you know you want to go out for lunch on Friday with colleagues then you spend £10 a day for the other 4 days and have £35 to spend on Friday, etc.

It has to be realistic. I'd love to say I have the time and inclination to make my own packed lunches but in real life it doesn't happen - so I don't set myself goals I'm not going to achieve.

Good luck!

[ExtraMushroomsPlease]

I need to do this, I spend money like its going out of fashion. For me it's lots of little bits so I do a shop for the week, but still end up in morrisons spending £20 nearly every night, then I buy lunch at work £4, then a drink £2, walk past the shops and a new top for £15, buy DD a magazine £5. This is nearly every day, I actually feel embarrassed thinking about that, what a waste of money! Just so pointless, I'm thinking about taking say £40 a week in cash out and that's for all those spendy bits.

[BarbaraofSeville]

If you haven't done a budget, have a look at the moneysavingexpert budget planner

They also have the demotivator which helpfully tells you how much your £30 daily spend costs over a year and how many hours etc you need to work for it (a lot).

You say you spend £30 a day. Does your DH also spend more on top? Remember if you are having breakfast at home and taking in packed lunch, you will need to buy more grocerties than you are now, but you are absolutely right that you are currently spending a huge amount of money and it is a fairly easy way to cut down.

Even saving £15 every working day is about £3k per year which would buy a holiday or two, just from making your own food most days. It might seem hard at first, but it becomes second nature after a while, and you should be encouraged by how much money you are saving.

Also sign up for the Moneysavingexpert weekly email - loads of tips to make extra money (cashback sites, loyalty cards for all those lunches and coffees?) or save (discount codes, shopping around).

[oldlaundbooth]

Why are on earth are you having both breakfast and lunch out of the house?

Just eat before you leave, or take stuff with you?

Lunch I can understand more, 5 x per week eating out of Tupperware is tiring, but if you say to yourself I'll only eat lunch twice per week, that's already a huge saving.

[oldlaundbooth]

Saying you work 5 days a week, for 50 weeks per year, a 3 quid coffee per day on the way to work costs you 3000 grand a year.

3000 grand!!

[Paulat2112]

Cash!! Have a look on YouTube and type in cash envelope system.

[FelixFelix]

Definitely meal plan and only buy what you need for the week. If you need to buy extra milk/bread etc through the week, then go to the shop and take a small amount of cash only. Then you can only buy what you intend to. I find if I don't meal plan, I keep nipping in to the local co-op for bits and end up spending a fortune.

Eat breakfast before you leave home or take something with you, then as suggested above just buy lunch out maybe 2/3 times a week and take your own lunch the other days.

I can't get my head around frittering away £30 a day!! Although I've been on a budget for the past couple of years since dd was born so now I'm really tight