How to not overspend for October Anyone want to join in with me ??

[poppyandsneeze]

I am determined not to overspend in October and thought that I would start a new thread for this month. My dh has just been paid today, so were are in credit. Yeah!!! We have also just changed bank accounts and so I am moving the money (left over from direct debits for the month) into the new bank account. This is the money that we will live off for the next month. We don't have any real overdraft facility on the new account (or if we do - we will be charged highly as it hasn't been set up yet). So we really do only have to live off the money in the new account.

Real budgeting from now on, any tips and ideas on how to cut down would be appreciated. I have to purchase new shoes for the little one and will have a dentist bill at the end of the month, but apart from that haven't got to spend anything apart from petrol and food. Will need to spend as little as possible on food and shop in Aldi now.

Any other good tips.

Don't take your purse with you as a matter of course. If you don't have money with you, you can't spend it. If you do need to have money with you, go to the cashpoint and take out what you need rather than taking your debit card with you.

Putting your spending into a spreadsheet can also help. I did that with DH and was actually embarrassed and horrified to see how much I was spending on non-essentials and little bits here and there.

Yes, I am only going to spend cash. Have sent out my dh this morning with cash, will be interesting to see if he can stick to this and not use a card.

I am also going to make sure I use the spreadsheet and stick to it and enter all the details onto it.

Thanks

Start menu planning. Have a look what you have in cupboards, freezer and fridge and start from their. Make sure you and DH take a packed lunch into work rather than buying sandwiches from the shop. When you go to get petrol, get petrol and don't be tempted to buy that bar of chocolate. Also make sure everyone has breakfast in the morning rather than grabbing something on the way. Bulk cook where possible. Invest in a slow cooker, get a bigger one than you need so you can do extra and freeze. Go onto the Oldstyle Moneysaving board at www.moneysavingexpert.com.

Oh! And don't buy newspapers, you can read the news online for free.

Draw out a certain amount of cash on a weekly basis and don't allow yourself to draw out any more or use or your card for the rest of the week. Hide your cards. Make sure you have bought all essentials at the start of the week and that's it then, if you run out and have to live on next-to-nothing for 3 days then you learn to budget even better the following week. Have a secret £20 someonewhere in case of a complete emergency, then you have no excuses.

Im also trying for a very low spend month, so will follow thread with interest. Trying to get to £250 after essentials except for food.

I have a tendency to cram cupboards full of food, so been on a storecupboard challenge for last two months, and will continue this month, just buying fresh fruit and a few bits to finish off a meal.

Im also using up all toiletries before I buy more, inc bath bombs etc.

I have no-spend days. Ill only be allowed to be in a shop on Monday. If I run out of milk, I send DD ;)

I spend on card only, as it tracks every penny, but this doesnt work for everyone.

If I see something I want, I put it on my "to buy" list and in a fortnight I go back to the list and see if I still wanted it. Most of the time, Id forgotten that Id wanted it. If its still on there, I put it on the salewhale site

I am going to have a good look in the freezer and cupboards before I go shopping on Thursday to see what I can cook up for next week (so I don't spend so much on food).

I haven't spent anything today, so that is good. Told my dh not to use his card as he is the one that uses it. I did have to get him to buy nappies last night, as I only had one left for the little one. But these nappies will now last for 2 months. So that is something.

Will see how well we do with spending tomorrow.

Don't do the food shopping on a Friday! You mightl be tempted to buy lots of treats just because it's Friday. I went on Thursday and didn't buy croissants, plants or DVDs, just stuff that we needed.
Also don't go on a Monday, shops are often poorly stocked after the weekend. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the best days I find.

How are you getting on poppy?

Ive been very good and only bought planned purchases. We had a day out that had been planned for a while, but tesco vouchers paid for lots of it.

Shopping on line stops you grabbing at things just because they're there.

Oh, and I saved money by having the milk delivered. Whilst it's more expensive, I'd often spend an extra five or ten quid in the supermarket when actually all I needed was milk.