Give me your best money saving tips.

[Kabsy30]

I know this has probably been done to death.

Currently a one income family. Dh earns £30,000 a year before tax. Brings home just under £2000 a month.

Two dc with sen, currently receiving DLa for one, I get Carers allowance, £50 a week tax credits (used to be only £20 up until 2 weeks ago due to over payment), maintenance off my eldests of £160 PM and child benefit

So this brings our monthly amount of to around the £3000 mark but why are we struggling so bad?

We don't go out, smoke or drink. Dont have sky tv, only subscription is Netflix. Don't have expensive clothes. We haven't had a holiday in several years. Admittedly our bills are quite high, energy as is everyone's but we seem to use more than average, water bill is high, running 2 cars is also a killer but necessary as dh works shifts and I need to get to places with the kids. and House is mortgaged but mortgage is only £350 per month so that's not the killer here.

I've been through all our bank statements, I admit we spend a lot on food. Could probably save if I changed to Aldi but I like to get my food delivered (sen children and live in the middle of nowhere!).

Trying to get our bills down is impossible.

I'm at a dead end. I really need new clothes for spring/summer but just can't do it.

Both our kids birthdays coming up. Dd wants a party which will cost ££!

Then it'll be uniform (DS is starting secondary school so uniform will be getting meow expensive!). School holidays etc.

We can't afford any house updates, not even a lick of paint right now!! Carpets are in desperate need of repair.

I appreciate there is people in far worse situations but I just feel shit about all of this!

The school always wants money for something like a trip, charity or a dress up day to buy for.

Dd has had 4 birthday parties recently that were joint with siblings so a lot of of gifts to buy!!

I've had to stop buying gifts for family on birthdays etc. We just can't do it!

I'm trying not to use the car to save fuel (@8?3 in middle of nowhere) so that means I'm very isolated right now, not seeing anyone as don't want to spend money on fuel!

We go over drawn every month. We are in a small amount of debt (about 1- 2 grand between us!) so not through the roof I don't think. We've both had a lot more debt in the past we have managed to clear in more recent years!

Not forgetting I spend £50 a month on school lunches for ds. He won't eat a packed lunch... Dd is still an infant so gets free lunches!

Can either of you get a second job until the debt is cleared and you have a buffer to stop going into overdraft.
It won't be pleasant but it'd make a huge difference.
And do online shopping with the cheapest you can find.

Have you checked if you would get more with UC than with tax credits?

Have you made a spreadsheet of each and every expense?

Group things into categories and see where most of your money is going.

If it's food, meal plan and head to Aldi once per week max. Don't be tempted to go to the corner shop for bits and bobs.

You could always withdraw the cash you want to spend on the weekly shop and take only that to the supermarket with you. So if you set the budget at £80 per week for example, you would just take £80 in cash and not your phone for Apple Pay or cards.

Check all your direct debits and subscriptions. Cancel everything.

If you have a mortgage check see if you can reduce your payments when it's up for renewal (extend the term, etc).

Could you do one shift per week when your OH is off work? Min wage is £9.50 per hour. You wouldn't get taxed, so that would be extra 70ish quid per week (for 8 hours).

If you had a debt of £2k and put £70 per week towards it, you would pay off £2k in 7 months. So it's not forever. You may find you enjoy it!

(Hope my maths is right, but you get the point!)

Op we survived on far far less.
The first step was adding up all bill's and essential s.

Set bills.

Then what do you need for petrol.
Set that aside.
What do you roughly spend on food..set that aside.
What's left.

Devide up what's left no matter how small into savings for bjgger expenses like b'day, holiday, Xmas , weekends.

If the DC needs tutors or activities have a separate area for it.. etc etc.

K always find the add up the treat coffee. Little cart before horses.

Find out what you can afford to spend on anything first then assign money to different things

Turn the thermostat down a few degrees. If you have a power shower keep your showers short - they use a lot of energy and water

How much are your cars costing you to run? Are they owned or leased? Could you sell and get cheaper to run cars?
No need to go to Aldi if you are savvy with the online shop... give us an idea of your meals etc that you currently have.

I think rural living is part of the issue, cars are so expensive to run!

How much are your utility bills?

I assume you meal plan?

There is a big thread on 30 days only on this

• i find aldi cheaper. Can you go when the kids are at school?
• if you’re water meter and your children disability means you need to use more water you can move into a flat charge.
• small party at home
• what is your thermostat set at, how long is it on for
• if you have a combi boiler is the hot water set to e

My neighbour has recently got a temporary job as a lunch time supervisor. Is this an option?

Aldi do click and collect, so you just have to drive up to the carpark instead of trudging round the store.

@DogandMog

Aldi do click and collect, so you just have to drive up to the carpark instead of trudging round the store.

My closest one (10 miles away) actually doesn't offer it which sucks 😪 one a little further afield so though... I guess it might be worth it!

Try click and collect at Aldi. Like home delivery in that you don’t actually have to go into the shop so you can’t be tempted by the middle aisle.

Look at ways of reducing your energy use, make sure the house is insulated, thermal curtain liners, stop leaving everything in standby, turn the thermostat down, use heat throws/electric blankets/hot water bottles were possible instead of heating up the whole house. Change lightbulbs to leds, use a slow cooker rather than oven/stove top to cook. Wash laundry on cold cycle (you can add laundry sanitizer to ensure all bacteria are killed), hang washing outdoors to dry, hand wash dishes rather than using dishwasher.

Look at where you can cut your grocery costs, shop at Aldi, meal plan, have one ‘cheap’ meal night a week, make sure you/your partner takes packed lunches for work, cook from scratch as much as possible.

With regard to petrol - limit outings to twice a week, walk when/if possible if walking will take less than 30 min.

Write down every penny you spend for a month and see where it is actually going, and what can be cut.

What are you spending the other £2650 on if mortgage is only £350?

How much do you spend on food (groceries and takeaways, eating out etc)?

Our mortgage is £900 and our basic outgoings are about £1700 all in (before food).

@Duracellbunnywannabe

There is a big thread on 30 days only on this

• i find aldi cheaper. Can you go when the kids are at school?
• if you’re water meter and your children disability means you need to use more water you can move into a flat charge.
• small party at home
• what is your thermostat set at, how long is it on for
• if you have a combi boiler is the hot water set to e

Thank you 💕

I should go to Aldi, I actually really like their products but find the packing at 100mph thing scary. Sounds stupid but I get really bad anxiety going shopping! Suspected asd myself and I just hate shopping 😅I may try click and collect but my closest one doesn't do it, one a a little further along does though.

I've looked into the cap on water. We don't seem to meet the criteria as my son doesn't have an actual condition that needs more water but he loves bath time and we aren't on a low wage. We are in the southwest and southwest water is generally expensive and not washing machine is non stop 😪

Small party is a good idea! Just not sure how my own anxiety will cope. The local village hall costs £7 an hour to book so may consider it just to keep my own sanity 😅

Our heating system is pants. We have gas central heating but have massive problems with it. Blockage in the pipes so takes hours to warm the house! Our boiler is so cheap and nasty (here when we moved in) and I have no idea how to work it! We can't afford to get it all fixed. Thankfully hot water supply is totally fine!

It's just one thing after another!

Make a spreadsheet and categorise everything you have spent in the last 3 months.

Go through it and decide where you can cut back.

Then start a budget for each month and record all outgoings. Once the budget for that category has gone it’s gone.

@BasinHaircut

What are you spending the other £2650 on if mortgage is only £350?

How much do you spend on food (groceries and takeaways, eating out etc)?

Our mortgage is £900 and our basic outgoings are about £1700 all in (before food).

2 cars (dh's work vehicle which he's had for 15 years and our newer (new to us) family car. Bills, food (£100 PW on food at Tesco), maybe McDonald's twice a month at around £20 each time (yeh I know I could save by not doing this) but sometimes it's nice not to cook! Things like to go wrong on us too! Already had the washing machine go wrong this year, car repairs and the heating system! Also the bloody lawn mower! Our bills are high.. £100 PM on water for us instance, we have been paying £150 PM for gas and electric which I assume will go up due to current events, we don't have a smart meter so haven't monitoring it until the bill comes, internet and phone line £55 a month (before anyone asks, we have no choice but to pay that, bt is the only provider in our deserted village and hike up the price for it, we need a phone line as no phone signal here! Two full tanks of fuel usually last each car a month (costing me about £60/70 To fill mine up, compared to £50 a while ago). Dh's costing about £80-90 for a small car! Never bloody ending 😪

@Mamiamamia

Look at ways of reducing your energy use, make sure the house is insulated, thermal curtain liners, stop leaving everything in standby, turn the thermostat down, use heat throws/electric blankets/hot water bottles were possible instead of heating up the whole house. Change lightbulbs to leds, use a slow cooker rather than oven/stove top to cook. Wash laundry on cold cycle (you can add laundry sanitizer to ensure all bacteria are killed), hang washing outdoors to dry, hand wash dishes rather than using dishwasher.

Look at where you can cut your grocery costs, shop at Aldi, meal plan, have one ‘cheap’ meal night a week, make sure you/your partner takes packed lunches for work, cook from scratch as much as possible.

With regard to petrol - limit outings to twice a week, walk when/if possible if walking will take less than 30 min.

Write down every penny you spend for a month and see where it is actually going, and what can be cut.

Thank you. Been trying to cut energy use, we do tend to have a lot of stuff on. I haven't had my oven on in a few days, been using the air fryer 😅

My dryer is a energy guzzler but trying to line dry when the weather allows!

Walking would be a fab idea but we live at least 8-10 miles from everything. There's only one tiny little shop here and have no choice but to dry but I haven't been going out much in the week. Dh drives 8 miles to work!

Definitely need to do the cheap meal things! Thankfully there is no cafes where dh works so he has no choice but to take pack lunch 😅

Why are you paying so much for water?! Are you on a meter?
I pay £40.50 PM and that's fixed, I'm in the midlands so not sure how much it would change.
I agree to write every single thing down and budget to hell on food shopping,
If it makes you anxious the fast pace of Aldi/lidl then just put the food back in the trolly and bag it up afterwards at your own leisure.
Turn your thermostat down one too.
And don't be afraid to shop in charity shops for new clothing

@mamabr

Why are you paying so much for water?! Are you on a meter? I pay £40.50 PM and that's fixed, I'm in the midlands so not sure how much it would change. I agree to write every single thing down and budget to hell on food shopping, If it makes you anxious the fast pace of Aldi/lidl then just put the food back in the trolly and bag it up afterwards at your own leisure. Turn your thermostat down one too. And don't be afraid to shop in charity shops for new clothing

South west water is generally more expensive than most places I think - gotta pay for all the beaches I guess 😅 but we do use more than average as a family!

But yes on a meter!

I’ve done the grand total one at home party and I’m doing another soon. I basically used the plan in a book called Austerity Housekeeping’ by Susan Bradley. It went well. If you would like an outline of the plan let me know. The book is actually quite good too. I may have to re read it.

I went to Aldi the other night at 9 and it was really quiet.

• once you have pinned down all your bills and essentials you shouldn't be writing down what' else you spend on.

You should be controlling and setting what you spend first

All your money should be flowing into various pots.

We have a b'day money pot into which years ago, £2 per week was going in.
To give us something to help ease the cost of bday.

More goes in now.

Sometimes it doesn't cover all costs but having the brunt of that expense covered...by little by little saving each month make's a massive difference.