to ask really basic questions about how you shop/cook/spend money?

[Greensleeves]

DH and I are pretty shit with money on a day to day basis. We don't drink or gamble or blow huge amounts on impulse, but we just aren't organised or careful or good at keeping track. I've been having a look at our finances and really, for the amount we have coming in, we should be comfortable, yet we regularly run out of money towards the end of the month, and the problem is definitely our lack of method and general lackadaisicalness about haemorrhaging cash on things we don't really need.

Do you shop weekly? Monthly with weekly top-ups? Do you plan things like take-aways or eating out in advance and budget for them? Do you make lunch the night before and take it to work, or do you just buy something you fancy each day? I try to box up leftovers for lunches but they get forgotten because we're all busy, preoccupied and naturally scatty in our family. Do people actually keep household accounts so they know how much they have and how much they've spent? Do you meal plan and shop accordingly? How do you plan spontaneous purchases of drinks/snacks etc, for yourselves and the kids? We have two teenagers who seem to need constant access to snacks and extras, and are constantly asking for money. It's not unusual for me to go to the fridge for chicken to make dinner, only to find that ds2 has used a significant portion of it to make himself a stir fry or something because he was peckish after school! We have a snack box he can access, but he's not big on healthy snacks like nuts or low-sugar cereal bars (ds1 will eat those) and I don't want him eating crisps and crap every day so I don't tell him off for nicking the chicken and cooking it with veg, I just text dh and ask him to pick up more chicken on the way home from work.

I know, I'm a twat and a normal competent adult should be managing this stuff by my age, but we're both just crap at it. We shouldn't be skint, but we frequently are and I'm fed up with it.

I try to box up leftovers for lunches but they get forgotten
Maybe put them straight in the freezer so that they're still fine for when you remember.
Apart from this idea, I'm not very organised about it all myself. I need to lift my game.

My teens know they're not to touch basic ingredients for meals. They know that chicken is one of those things.

You need to tell your son that this is not on....and make sure there are other snacks in the house for him. Having said that, he's obviously hungry enough after school that he wants his main meal immediately.

So could you do that in advance for him?

Mine are 14 and 11 and have to eat immediately....I have the main meal ready for 4.00pm daily but I know others work so can't do that. I would freeze meals for mine if I was out of the house.

He might not like healthy snacks but what about things like scrambled eggs or noodles?

With our shopping, we buy the same things weekly. Those things make up our meals for the week.

On top of those, I buy nuts, noodles, crackers, cheese and eggs....sometimes one large bag of crisps and a tub of icecream.

My kids have to eat fruit or cheese or eggs/nuts if they're hungry between meals. I certainly don't give them cash for snacks and drinks whenever they ask.

They do get pocket money and I will give extra if they're going on a shopping trip...but that's only about once a month.

Not that organized either but we did work out a broad brush budget per month

£x babysitting, eating out etc
£x supermarket
£x bills and cleaner

I don't sit down and add up everything we actually spent on each thing unless we seem to have a problem though (and I forgot to budget for my amazon habit 😂) just if it feels like we're overdoing it I try to
slow down a bit.

And we put a regular amount in savings by direct debit (so if we get it wrong we can bail ourselves out)

Do you shop weekly? Monthly with weekly top-ups?
I shop monthly but that's just because of how far I live from a supermarket, if I lived closer I would do a once a week or once every ten days shop with plans for those days.
Do you plan things like take-aways or eating out in advance and budget for them?
Yes we have a budget for one meal out and also have freezer pizzas for our Friday fake takeaway!
Do you make lunch the night before and take it to work, or do you just buy something you fancy each day?
Lunch gets made the night before, usually left overs from dinner or a sandwich. If your walking out and forgetting about it you need a post it note on the door reminding people to grab their lunch from the fridge.
Do people actually keep household accounts so they know how much they have and how much they've spent?
Yes I move my household money to a ssperate account after payday so its really easy to keep track of it, once it's gone that's it, we're on a tight budget so I can't afford not to know
Do you meal plan and shop accordingly?
Yes I go with a shopping list and I don't deviate! Prior to shopping with a list I'd just fling all sorts in and the cost would run up. I don't know on what day I will cook it but I have a meal for every day type thing on my list.

How do you plan spontaneous purchases of drinks/snacks etc, for yourselves and the kids?
The only drink I buy is tea and milk, otherwise its just water and for snacks I only buy fruit which is preplanned into the budget. I'd be seriously unimpressed with someone taking a main component of a family meal like chicken for themselves as a snack as I couldn't afford to buy something like that twice.

Try one of the new bank accounts they are divided into pockets so you can see where you money goes
Munro does this

It’s shoes say food shops clothes gas electric and even can compare prices and recommend suppliers to save the pennies

You can also set up pockets for savings or holidays

The best this you can do is focus on the money and check your account several times a week - it does help

It’s the things you forget that add up

School lunches
Petrol
Or even bigger things that crop up
School shoes or trips

Bit keep an eye on thins

We budget a set amount for shopping and shop weekly , online. We also set aside an amount for top up shops of milk, bread and eggs. With our weekly shopping we buy a multipack of crisps , 3 different types of fruit , yoghurts, and a pack of mini chocolate bars. We dont replace them until our weekly shopping arrives. The kids have learned to ration themselves!

We always meal plan , and have a menu on a fridge notepad.

We also set aside money for one takeaway per month and a nice lunch out each weekend. Once it's gone it's gone.

Any spontaneous purchases come out of our personal spends , we allow ourselves a set amount each month after all bills are paid and we've tucked away a reasonable amount into our savings.

Work lunches are made at home and brought in.

I check our accounts every morning , and track spending carefully. If we didn't have this system in place we'd most likely run out of money two weeks in and have to give up our yearly holiday , we'd probably have no savings also.

If you box up the leftovers, why not freeze them and tell your son to heat them up for his after school snacks ? If you write on the box, what's in it, he'll know what he is getting.

There is a while section on here dedicated to this op, I think it's called Credit Crunch

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch

Whole, not while

I keep a little notebook with a running balance of what's in my current account.

I get a receipt for every debit card transaction including ARM and fuel. These get subtracted from the total money in my account - money into account gets added. Every few days I check with the account on line and update my little book with direct debits etc.
Sometimes the two vary and I don't worry if it's a tenner or so out. Any more and I do a check to see what I've missed. This way I know how much is left and how long it has to last.

DH laughs but I did this when I was on my own as I was afraid of debt and now it's automatically done, just habit. Little book stays in my bag ready to be updated.

Do you shop weekly? Monthly with weekly top-ups?

I get a small delivery once or twice weekly with a delivery saver plan, as we mostly buy fresh stuff and I think it’s better fresher IYSWIM. Most days something will get picked up on the way home- the supermarket I use for delivery doesn’t stock everything we eat regularly, but the supermarkets on DH’s way home from work stock the other stuff.

Do you plan things like take-aways or eating out in advance and budget for them?

Lots of foods to avoid with us due to a medically prescribed diet for me, so we tend to avoid takeaways etc. The one place we can sometimes manage is Pizza Express, as their allergen lists are so comprehensive. The nearest ones are in cities an hour/hour and a half drive away though. DH is in those places once a month or so for work, so he might pick up some pizzas for us on the way home. Alternatively, I swap the points from the supermarket loyalty scheme for vouchers for there so we can eat in and only pay for drinks. We do one or the other about once a month, so I’m aware that will be likely to happen when we get a chance. Also, as we can’t really use any of the local places on a whim, I get in treat or the weekend so I can make something special. Might be some king prawns to make a Chinese fakeaway, a steak or even just some posh crisps and olives to eat when watching a film.

Do you make lunch the night before and take it to work, or do you just buy something you fancy each day?

I eat at home so that’s either leftovers or something I knock up at the time. DH buys his lunch. He used to take a pre-prepared lunch, but since I’ve been in the medical diet (low fodmap) he keeps me company on it at home so we don’t have to cook multiple meals. So him buying his lunch out is his way of being able to enjoy foods he likes (like onions/garlic) that we don’t really have at home anymore. It helps him get variety.

Do people actually keep household accounts so they know how much they have and how much they've spent?
We tried to, it didn’t really work for us, was a lot of faff and hassle. What we do now is have a separate credit card for daily stuff (food, cleaning stuff, toiletries, essential basic things like socks, tights, knickers) and set a monthly target range for that. It gets paid off in full every month. We keep an eye on the credit card and if it’s edging to the top of the range, we rein it in a bit, eat out of the store cupboard/freezer a bit more.

Do you meal plan and shop accordingly?
Meal planning is the death of joy for me. And since doing low fodmap, you need to eat a bit more intuitively than a meal plan allows (if I feel my tummy is on the road to being upset, I stick to something plain like chicken and rice for a couple of meals). I do have a repertoire of favourite meals and ingredients though, so there is some pattern to what we eat, it’s just not planned down to the extent of “Wednesday dinner- shepherd’s pie”.

How do you plan spontaneous purchases of drinks/snacks etc, for yourselves and the kids?

Mostly it’s just by keeping an eye on overall spend, as long as that’s ok anything is fine. I can’t really spontaneously get much- the only things easily available to me that are ok for the diet are ready salted crisps or a Coke Zero. DH likes things like Naked bars and vegan protein bars so I’ll add them to the delivery if there are any offers, or he can just pick up what he fancies for his lunch. He is gluten free and dairy free, so I do make him a tray of banana flapjacks once a week to take to work as a mid-morning snack. I have fun experimenting with flavours. Also I make a batch of chia pudding or rice pudding or quinoa pudding or a crazy cake once a week so he can have a small pudding each evening, as there is a limited choice of that kind of thing and what there is quite expensive. Again, I have fun experimenting with flavours. Chocolate hazelnut rice pudding is always a favourite.

I hVe a set budget for shopping and transfer it to my housekeeping account on pay day.

I shop weekly and make my shopping list by what i have already, so I'm buying bits to complete a meal rather than the whole meal. This saves a lot of money and random midweek purchases!

I batch cook and freeze the other portions.

I buy my lunch the three days I'm at work, I can afford the luxury. This and coffees come out of my pocket money I allocate myself - if it's gone by the end of the month I'm bringing a packed lunch! We have a canteen at work which is inexpensive though.

My DD is only 7 so not a teenage ganet yet! She isn't allowed to help herself without asking, but has easy access to some snacks if she's hungry between meals. Tbh she doesn't really snack. She's just at the end of universal FSM so next term she'll take a packed lunch for half the week and have school dinners the other half, as that suits our schedule.

I sit down towards the end of the month and write out a budget for the next month. I include anything coming up that month like birthdays, special events, etc. I save back some for Christmas, holidays, kids activities, emergencies etc. Then petrol, food and other monthly expenses. I know how much I’ve got to spend each week and if I go over on food one week then I cut back the next week. I check in with my online banking around once a week to make sure I’m on track but I don’t keep a record of what I’ve spent on what etc.

I do write a meal plan and accompanying shopping list each week though I only plan main meals and usually buy generic breakfast and lunch things. The day before the food shop I just use up whatever is left for lunch and dinner so it’s all a bit random that day but does save too much food going in the bin.

I make my own lunch and lunch for my eldest child the night before. My youngest is in KS1 so gets a school lunch. I also line up everyone’s bags all ready packed and get the kids clothes out ready. It makes the mornings much easier, though not really a budgeting tip!

weekly online shop: gives you a chance to meal plan and but sensibly

Meals out and takeaways: special treats that are planned

teens asking for money: sit down, work out how much they're likely to need in a month and give them pocket money. At least they can start learning to budget for themselves.

I keep a notebook and a running spreadsheet in Numbers on my phone.

In my notebook I plan meals a week at a time and do an online supermarket shop for those meals and extras to be delivered at the weekend. I do this during breaks at work. Takeaways and meals out always planned - the odd spontaneous one when out or busy but rarely. I build lunches into the meal plan so purposely leave leftovers to take in a food flask as often as possible. In the afternoon I think about tea and tomorrow’s lunch and pick up bits on the way home if needed.

DC too small to eat proper food out of the fridge for snacks but I keep a snack basket with stuff they’re allowed to have and they can also have fruit.

I keep a running total of how much I’ve spent each month on food shopping, food and drink out, household stuff, clothes etc. If I’ve had an expensive month this allows me to see clearly where I spent most, and where I can trim if I need to.

We shop weekly - saturday morning, aldi then butchers for meat. I cook a whole chicken on a sunday which is shredded up and used for sarnies/wraps and salads for the week.

We meal plan but not too strictly, we know what we are having all week but dont stick to set dates.

We have a £50/wk each (Dh and I) extas budget in case we need to get stuff from the shop, fancy a takeaway - we dont usually spend it all and dont really monitor it but never spend more than that.

We have a Bill's account and then our own separate accounts - wages go into and dds all come out of the main account, we transfer our spends out of there as and when needed. On payday £200a month goes into a savings account like another bill.

I wouldn't be handing the kids money, ask them on food shop day what they'd like adding in, give them £10 each for example per week for extras they might want.

I would go nuts if my kid ate the stuff for dinner.

They are allowed ham. I always make sure we buy family packs of ham. They can have a ham sandwich, no problem. Or a cheese sandwich. But beyond that it's fruit.

We have a lot of small storage boxes kept from Chinese takeaways - all leftovers go into them straight after dinner and straight into the freezer. I pull one out every night and leave it to defrost in the fridge and bring it to work. I don't buy coffee - tbh very few people in my work still do that. They all have keepcups and make their own.

We shop in Aldi once a week. It does save money, no question. No matter how mad we go in Aldi, we still spend less than an average shop in Tesco.

We don't tend to buy jars. We make ragu and curry from scratch and tbh once you get into the hang of it, it's really quick as you just do the same thing every week. You can do it on automatic pilot after the first 2 or 3 times.

But the main issue with money is that whilst you don't necessarily have to budget, you do have to watch it like a hawk and be fully aware of what you're actually spending on everything and everyone. Then you make obvious changes.

Oh and yeah we also have a freezer pizza night. That can be very cheap (especially in Aldi).

We don't do takeaways anymore as we moved rurally but even in town it was one takeaway per week max and we tried to skip a week if we could as it got too expensive even once a week. It was literally a fifth of our entire weeks food budget and we were just blowing it on a Chinese that wasn't even nice half the time.

Dh was off work for a year. This is what we did.

Track the money for a month. It’s dull but necessary so you know where it’s going. I used an app called toshl. There’s others. Or just pen and paper. You both have to do it.

I don’t meal plan but when trying to save money I check the cupboards and freezer before shopping and make a rough plan for the week, including lunches etc. Plan in hungry teens.

Have a couple of storecupboard cheap meals. An egg chips and beans night.

Stuff in the freezer for the hungry teen tha5 he knows he can eat.

Money saving expert website is great for budgeting www.moneysavingexpert.com/

But to answer your question I have a pretty good idea of money in and out. My dh keeps a spreadsheet of his, we’re comfortable and have savings and no debt....mostly down to tha5 I think.

Leftovers forgotten? I put post it note on my bag saying ‘lunch’ so I remember to get it out of the fridge in the morning. It isn’t my usual routine so highly likely to forget if I don’t put a note.

We meal plan. Supermarkets spend hundreds of thousands of pounds figuring out ways to get customers to part with their money, every single product in store is placed on a shelf position that has been analysed for optimum profit. Someone just popping in for a loaf of bread is usually very unlikely to leave the shop with just that loaf of bread. If you meal plan you can reduce the amount of times you need to set foot in the supermarket so straight away you'll save cash.
We found that once we started doing this that we stopped buying takeaways too, I think our main reason for buying them had simply been because we couldn't decide what to cook. Now I'd say we have a takeaway once every couple of months.

Why don't your DC make tea when they get in from school so that they are eating when they are hungry?

I have a spreadsheet budget and enter my spending each day against the different categories.

We only have one DS and he is almost 3 (although I swear he eats more than me).

I meal plan every week and shop weekly. I only buy the ingredients we need, and then always stock up on fruit. We only buy frozen veg now, unless I'm doing a casserole, as it is much cheaper and lasts longer.

We don't buy many snacks as we tend to snack on fruit, rice cakes or just have seconds of dinner. Also, I work from home and I would eat all of it

For lunch I tend to have leftovers or something quick and healthy like an omelette or soup. My partner works too but not from home and he sometimes takes a sandwich or salad in. He makes it in the morning so he doesn't forget it.

I do a monthly budget but that's it, I don't track spending throughout the month aside from checking my bank balance every day.