September is here and our money-saving steps up a gear

[economymode]

Starting us off for September. Newbies and old hands welcome!

Rabbits, your attitude is nothing short of inspiring.

Just had an afternoon at the seaside with DS. Lovely, although it took the best part of two hours to get there and it'll be the same to get home. This is one of those times I wish I could drive, as it would have been 40 minutes each way in a car! Total spend: £24.55.

Hope everyone finds a way to enjoy the weekend :).

gah just lost my introductory message but please can I join? Recognise some names from amigoingmadhere's thread.

Dp tried to get a huge loan on thu to pay off our zero credit cards as he is sick of them (we got caught out and missed a payment which had been taken off a diect debit leading to £70 charge). I think we can pay them off though if we cut spending massively and the loan was refused so we set to work drawing up excel spreadsheets of out goings. bit of an eyeopener!

Have 1 toddler in nappies and 2 under 8 aiming to spend less than £70 pw on food gifts one off items and cleaning stuff. not sure if thats a bit too restrictive.

Hello Pookey - I'm a newbie to these threads too. Everyone has their own level of credit crunching they need to do. CC debt from previous years when DH earned very little is our nemesis too.

I find it really motivating to check in and see that everyone is trying hard to make sacrifices. And the 'old hands' post great tips!

Pookey, I heard that they dont like making loans for debt consolidation as they think people will not pay the loan but use it to increase other spending.

In other words they would rather people adjust their outgoings than borrow again. Which is easier for some people than others.

They wouldnt lend to me either when I had cc either. They offered me a loan at 20% which would have increased my monthly payments so I worked out which loan was "cheapest" and paid the most expensive one first.

I think it took a year to pay them all off but I still have the letters off them all saying the balance had cleared, I've kept them 4 years now.

Hello pokey and welcome aboard.

I spent a fiver today on hair things in national colours for the school thing. Nada apart from that

Thanks for the warm welcome :) Interesting about the loan info fluffycloud - that seems remarkably public spirited if they are refusing loans so people don't get in worse debt but it could just push people to get more credit cards but yes they may have done us a favour and it has focused us. Very good idea to keep those letters.

Well done AdoraBell - dp always moans about spending money on school things but nice for them to feel they have everything they need when it comes to school.

Have just looked at acouple of the messages randomly and have to say very excited about no 7 cleanser as used to get liz earle - think I have a boots voucher from buying dp razors (gutted there is no aldi nearby) tbh have just been leaving my face bare but want to wear makeup so really need cleanser to cleqn it off.

I spent £2 at dp request to buy a multipack of mckoys and some tonic to finish off a dusty bottle of gin - still its cheaper than spending £5 on wine and a multi pack of crisps means I can use the leftover packets for a picnic tomorrow. Also got 3 loaves of bread (inc 1 multi grain type) for £1 reduced.

Resisted dp's crisps and planned to be really frugal and not eat but have given in and had some toast - ah well at least the thought was there

I think it's more a case they think that people will use any extra spare money to fritter away not pay debts off.

I think I read it off MSE.

Right, no-one is coming to view the house this weekend, apparently they've gone off travelling. Good news tough, OH has some money coming in next month so we can cover the mortgage, phew!

DDs had a party to go to today (short notice) and the money they spent yesterday, on clothes, included getting a skirt free which was intended for something they have planned involving Birthday Girl, so that served as her gift. DDs are learning about bargains. I have a couple of dental appointments coming up and then we can send our docs off to BUPA. It's not worth sending just one thing as the local post is unreliable and so we have to use a courier. I may take DDs for their check-up to include those invoices too. I feel a need to get as much in 1 courier package as possible.

pokey my OH also frets about money spent on school things, but I feel that being the forriners in the school they need to be seen to put in the effort. This month sees their Independance celebration and the kids perform traditional dance in school. This dance is graded on performance and appearance. I got them hair clips with the traditional tri-colour ribbon made, four of them. Plus if we move back it's something nice for DDs to keep because they feel like Chilenas.

Rabbits I am impressed by your positive attitude, good for you and I hope you get the benefits sorted quickly. My sister is living on benefits, she's disabled, and I really worry about her payments being stopped.

Hello all, thank you for all your kind comments. I do panic, don't get me wrong, but I have to use that mantra to keep going and it does work. I've been in worse situations myself, when my mum left my violent dad we were in a homeless unit with hardly any money at all, and it wasn't as bad as you might think, so I know that even at the worst end of the scale it's not going to mean sleeping in a cardboard box.

One thing I want to mention to you all is that I do lots of surveys and product testing, I get the occasional Amazon vouchers as reward for most, which go towards my monthly pet supplies for the rabbits and guinea pigs (they work on a subscription basis, if you order through them on subscription it knocks 10% off of the price, plus delivery is free, which suits me being disabled and all). Sometimes I even get cash, £15 this month for testing something secret I am not allowed to tell you about, lol. Plus it's often things that are useful, I tested washing gel and got a massive bottle that did all my laundry for two months plus, and this month I have two lots of shampoos and conditioners to test, saving on toiletries. It's nice to do if you have a bit of spare time, and can be quite useful too. Most of them work on a referral basis, so I could email you if you like, or perhaps someone you know does the same (really not touting for referrals, promise).

Inspiring attitude rabbits Hope it all gets sorted soon.

Spent £8.35 on Friday on our day out - entrance for me, and an ice-cream for me and DS1. A great day, so was worth the money.

NSD yesterday Another allotment day with my folks- really trying to get as much done while the sun is still shining.

Will be spendy today - £8 on Facebook for a gro-clock for DS's. Trying to teach DS1 that just because he has woken for a wee at 5am, doesn't mean that it is getting up time :(
Have to do a top-up shop today. Need lots of fruit&veg, cheese, milk, yogurts, squash - but hoping to get change from £30.
Back down the allotment this afternoon to tire us out :)

Let me challenge you.

Store cupboard rice recipes anyone? I have a huge bag of rice, but unless I cook chilli or curry (which I can't right now as no chicken or minced beef) I am struggling a bit. What other stuff do you do with rice? Got pretty full up freezer with loads of frozen veggies, and full up cupboards with condiments, spices and sauces etc.

Jambalaya! Great for a rice-based dish. It's great because you can just chuck in whichever bits of meat you have (sausages/ham/salami/whatever) some spices, some veggies and you're good to go. Google Jambalaya recipes and you'll find tons.

I also like savoury pancakes stuffed with rice and peas (again you could chuck in some ham or whatever)

Or a cold rice salad with tuna and sweetcorn, good for packed lunches...

Where do you all buy toothpaste? I usually go to 99p shop but wondering if there's anywhere cheaper?

There was children's toothpaste in Home Bargains as cheap as 29p. I tend to find all my stuff in there. They do a tube of my toothpaste which tends to be three quid a pop for 59p. It's a smaller size, but it means I can spread the cost more.

Rabbits

Last night I did rice with chopped veg and bacon.

Fried onion, leek that was lurking, carrot & half a packet of bacon (optional), then added the rice with a veg stock cube (also optional) and let it cook until the rice was done. I've also done veg curry similarly. Mix chopped veg (frozen is good) with rice, add curry paste or whatever you use with hot water, cover and microwave. Or you could do it the old fashioned way and just mix the rice in. Nit all my meals include meat.

Today is an NSD, we're staying home.

Thanks, rabbits
I'd never heard of Home Bargains before I MNed. I'm in South London and nearest one is in North London. I'm thinking it might be worth the train fare to go and stock up, I'll take my massive rucksack!

Hello all, sounds like weekends have gone well.

Great news on the incoming money, Adora, you must be very relieved.

I hear a lot of talk about Home Bargains, but not sure we have one near us (in Oxford). Might have to investigate further...

Relatively good weekend here, total weekend's spending comes in at under £10. It would have been even cheaper, but we went to some friends' for lunch today and can't go empty-handed so bought a few snacky things from Aldi. I would take some homemade cake/dessert, but left it a bit late to ask if they wanted me to. Will do that next time.

Rabbits - I do loads of surveys , but don't seem to be very good at getting on the product testing scene, where do you sign up for yours?

Nope, no Home Bargains within 25 miles. However, they do have an online shop, so will have a peek.

Hello all. Managed NSD Fri and Sat, but had to go to Aldi with DH and DD x 2 today (so he could drive, push trolley etc),and Aldi spend was £58 which included new wellies for DD1 at £6.99. Unfortunately that's not the week's food bill though, as Tesco scheduled to come tomorrow night, mostly with ready meals for me and DH for the week as he does a lot of things, but cooking isn't really one of them

Another NSD today makes it a NSWeekend for me. Today we all slept in very late, then spent the rest of the day at home doing various jobs and and playing games.

The birthday party we went to yesterday evening was insane! It was a full on wedding-reception style thing including champagne on tap, sit-down meal and disco, but for a 4 year olds birthday. It was also fantastic for DSS, there was a magician, a bouncy castle, table football, giant lego, a wii etc etc...he had a great time. Got to love these friends, I don't think their motiviation is to spoil their daughter but rather to share their wealth by constantly throwing these massive bashes and inviting all their friends and family...

Anyway that little taste of luxury has topped me up a bit, and will hopefully stand me in good stead to be strong and have more NSDs this week.

Oh, and my mum is a big Home Bargains fan, she is always mentioning to me things she got from there for ridiculous prices. If only they would expand overseas...

economy

Yes, very relieved indeed. We're having a few days away soon, kind of half term, and now OH will be able to relax properly.

Happy to hear you have had some good news, Adora :).

I am going to have to spend tomorrow as I don't have any fresh fruit or vegetables. Which means I have to look at my bank balance, eek! And will need bread, milk and butter to. I am good for toiletries I think, and cleaning stuff, although I may need to get some washing powder again soon.

Will have a look at selling some stuff that I have to make a bit of cash for the next couple of weeks. I absolutely have to get my little girl a book bag from the school, but not until half term I think. Plus both of my children need PE kit, although again my DD can wait until half term.

Had a NS weekend, yay!

Oh, and the best survey sites for doing product testing I have found are IPSOS and Synovate. If you need a referral, give me a shout. x

Didn't manage a no spend day but at least I kept away from the supermarket. dc 1& 2 had their first swimming lessons (one of a couple of classes set up before we cut back but I'm glad they are learning.) Went quite well but it was too early. We later went to aldenham country park we paid 3.50 for parking and my mum bought ice creams but apart from that we avoided the activities that required payment. Had a lovely day.

Good luck with bank balance check rabbits well done on no spend weekend also to riverboat - in awe really!

Also glad to hear your good news Adora, what a relief for you.