To think if I only have £10 to last us till thurs dh should not take £8 for coffee at work....

[Saw444]

leaving me with £2 for milk, juice and car parking at the hospital tomorrow!!

It's not the end of the world I know BUT we have a couple of large things to pay for so I have been sticking to a strict household budget ( first month) and thought I was doing well having £10 left which would have done us till I "allow" myself to draw more out for the household budget.

We both agreed to this and I have loads of cans in the house that he asked me to buy at the shop.

Even if we were the beckhams I would grudge that on coffee!!

Add up what you have to buy over the year and divide it by 12 to get a montly amount. Then work out how to organise the cash flow side. Could you open a small savings account and put aside an amount each month for clothes and presents.

Does he need £8 per day every day (8 cups @ £1 each)? I'd be horrified if I had to work somewhere like that, it's like a tax on being at work!

We also get £70 each for "pocket money

Oh give over, I thought you were actually broke! He should spend his own 'pocket money' on overpriced coffees but he hasn't 'left you with £2 for milk, juice and car parking at the hospital tomorrow!!'

I have never once put that I was "broke"

We both want to clear our feet and save up for a couple of things but to do this we need to budget!!

How is the budget supposed to work if I have the mindset that taking out a extra £10 won't make any difference?

Doing that twice a month would add up to £240 a year, hardly a insignificant amount!

Could you look on the Sainsburys website for ideas on how to budget for food? They have that "feed you family for £50" thing up at the moment. Not all the ideas are amazing (I would personally not eat toast every day for breakfast, but porridge would be fine), but it's a good start. You can even order all the ingredients automatically from the page with the recipes, which would save you an hour or two.

I also find that shopping online keeps my budget down, as I'm less likely to buy something spontaneously.

Yes you're right - I just misunderstood where you said you only had £2 left. I thought you meant you actually only had £2 left, not £2 from your budget :) You are quite right of course, but I was all fired up with righteous indignation for you and felt all cross that I had wasted it.

You are forgiven Eric

Squashy we actually get given boxes (upon boxes) of all kinds of porridge from my cousin who works in the oats factory. Plain and the stuff with syrup/cinnimon so I don't even have to buy much breakfast stuff.

I think I need to be a bit more strict with the shopping. Why is it that at the end of the month we can survive of £40 a week but other times I need £150

Saw444 - congratulations on doing all this before you really need to. Really. So many people don't.

And, yes, a budget is a budget. Okay, so this time you can just draw the money you need, but you're right to say that it adds up, as you proved. Plus, it's the little things like coffees which burn money people don't realise they're spending.

Either, include ALL work food and drink in the food budget (and you should be able to) if it's a reasonable work purchase i.e. Canteen sandwich, 40p in the kitty for a cuppa OR say to your DH that it must come from his pocket money if it's 'designer' coffee - i.e. Breaktime £2.50 Costa everyday.

BUT, you will have to be strict with yourself as well - no sneaking stuff into the food budget that's really for you, even though you justify it well.

One of the best tips about budgeting I ever got was from my Great Aunty, who hated Debit Cards and used to keep all her money in a drawer in labelled envelopes. Then she'd take what she needed for the right things at the right time, and if she borrowed from one, it got paid back from another immediately. They were even arranged in the drawer in order of priority, so that the really critical stuff was at the back and hardest to pilfer from.

Obsessive, I know, but it worked. I don't think she ever paid a bill late in her life!

If coffee was £1 a cup where I worked, I would have no apprehensions whatseover about taking a kettle in to save money, and I would be amazed that someone hadn't done it already and set up a coffee fund.

I work the "envelope" system. I have different envelopes for different things. Clothes, kids clubs, going out, food, petrol, presents etc. etc. I put a set amount into each "envelope" each month (DH and I sat and worked it all out) If he says "shall we get a takeaway" I'll look in the "going out" envelope and if it's empty then we don't, simple as that. If DH goes to the supermarket he gets given the "food shopping" envelope. If he buys petrol, he gets paid back from the petrol envelope. It's worked for us for 10 years and we are both happy with our system. I know some may think it's restrictive but I never go over budget and we're not going through the bills every month working out how to pay things.

you are right to begrudge it. Rip off.

When working I never bought coffee from coffee shops and was very out and proud in declaring to all and sundry in the office that it was a rip off and I would make my own! No shame in that whatsoever.

Mind you I am a cheapskate and am often heard declaring loudly in shops "how much? I'll make my own/get it cheaper in Matalan/look on ebay etc..". Poor DP!

I have a budgetting tip. Do meal plans and then only buy stuff for those meals - no impulse buys, no wastage chucked out cos you didn't eat it, and you can tailor meals to your budget - eg shepherds pie if you're broke or steak if you're not :)
HTH