If I give you a complete breakdown of how much we spent last month can you show me how to save money?

[Ifcatshadthumbs]

Ok so last month I kept every receipt and kept a record of everything we spent, right down to parking tickets. I'm pretty shocked at how much it all comes to particularly as we made a conscious effort to stop frittering away money.

I meal planned and made sure I only do one big shop a week as I knew I was spending too much in supermarkets, have stopped buying takeaways, going to coffee shops so regularly, stopped buying the dc's endless "little treats" that add up considerably and have basically stayed away from browsing around town.

I never kept records of all our spending beforehand so I don't know how much we've improved but I know that we were spending around £100 a month on take away/coffees out etc, plus treats here and there, new clothes etc etc.

Anyway here is September spend, please help me get it even lower!

Mortgage £1050
Council Tax £181
Gas & Electric £100
Life & mortgage insurance £38.89
Water £42.00
Credit Card Payment £170 (Could pay this off but would leave us with reduced savings and it is currently interest free)
Refridgerator breakdown Cover £3.79
Savings for annual expenses (MOT/Car tax/home insurance) £120
T.V License £12.55
Phone & broadband £7.50
Mobile Phone £28.00 (contract ends soon so will get a much cheaper deal)
Family Gym Membership £73.00 (We do use this alot so don't want to cancel)
Contact Lenses £13.00
Speech Therapy for DS £100 (Likely to continue for atleast another year)
Food £323.02
Drink £73.22 (Includes coffee/dt coke/beer/wine/juice for dc's)
Petrol £120.16
Household items (washing powder/loo rolls etc) £34.00
Toiletries/make up £26.16
Clothes £69.98 (for dc's should be set until next spring now)
Birthday presents £10.00
Christmas Presents £22.99
Weekend Away £153.00
Eating Out/Nights out £128.39
Home Items £8.96 (toilet needed a part to fix it)
Cats Expenses inc food £41.18 (unusually high this month due to vet bill)
Train Tickets £12.40 (one off trip)
School Trips £27.20
Toys & games £2.50
Multivitamins & supplements £35.98 (I know this seems very high but ds2 has some big dietry issues, plus other problems)
Cubs (Includes Subs, uniform and payment for 2 trips) £118.90 (should have nothing to pay out now till new year)
School Uniform items £11.75
Haircut £30.00
Eyebrow waX £13.00

Ok so that comes in at £3202.52

Go on ladies work your magic! Oh and just to mention I do shop at aldi!!

I think your gym membership is really good value. I pay £52 for myself and ds3. This doesn't include swimming lessons and has no kids club. Ds gets 1 x 1 hour sports club a week (in term time) and his swimming.

What would differ with us is zero on eating out, zero on going away, zero on drinks (just drink water), zero on clubs, zero on hair (cut it at home), ditto eye brow wax.
Ditch the cat - no pets.
There is a huge debate about whether extra vitamins rather than real food do an iota of good. Perhaps ditch those too.

Interested in seeing this was looking for ideas on how to save on our energy usuage ie tips!

I did this years ago when I was single and found that if I planned for the whole year by saving a little each month for the forthcoming bills, food, toiletries, travel, one holiday of the year etc etc I was actually short by £30. It's all a question of juggling when you are frugal already but I feel for you OP that if you want to save it's just a case of having to do without but how would it make you feel to do without the eyebrows/hair/gym etc and that's the problem, that's what I found even when I was single - there are times when you just need to treat or live with a regular treat. Being careful all the time is depressing at times and then you splash out to compensate and then of course suffer the consequences! Have you managed to change anything this month?

Hi betterandnow. I know what you mean about being so careful and then splashing out!

I have managed to change a few things. Our drinks bill has halved and I have managed to do the last two weeks food shopping for under £60 each week. This hasn't felt like a hardship, we still have plenty of nice meals but better planning and more careful cooking means I don't need to buy as much.

I have been planning car journey's carefully too and haven't needed to fill up the car for two weeks either and I think i can still get another week out of the fuel I have left.

I have avoided going into town too as i think just browsing makes you "want" things you don't need. I bought a jumper and enjoyed the little high of making a purchase but when I got home and made a note of it on my monthly spends list I felt really flat so I returned it for a refund! I didn't need it and I don't feel like I am missing out by not having it.

an still avoiding coffee shops and take aways and the only meal out we had was with tesco vouchers so only cost us £5 in drinks.

I have ebayed a lot of things this week so have some money aside ready for half term so we can do a few cheap days out.

Ah yes half term coming up - weather dependent I intend to go for lots of walks,the children stop maoning after the first half hour otherwise the energy bills will be mounting up as it feels like winter has arrived.

Had unexpected car bill last week, and the washing machine doesn't sound very well now!

Before I start, I want to say I really like your attitude to this stuff. You've acknowledged your spending, which I'd find hard, and you're spot on about the things that are important to you, whether that's the family gym membership, or having a weekend away. So please don't read these as criticism...

Check whether you really need life/mortgage insurance. Does it go beyond your work/pension benefits. If you need it, shop for a better deal.

Fridge breakdown cover... It's not loads, but wouldn't you be better off saving a bit on your food budget by running down the stuff you've got in there so there's no need for this? Or like someone else said, check your contents insurance.

Petrol is a bit high... How much of that is strictly necessary?

Household items and toiletries look huge to me. Try dropping brands... Doesn't have to be cheapest, but many supermarket own brands are good. Or try shopping for your usuals in aldi or cheap shops. Top up your eyebrow wax with tweezers to cut down frequency.

Eating out/weekend away also huge. If you're really trying to save, just don't. You could have a dinner party with friends and family for cost of one person's meal.

Do you spend loads on diet coke? Consider getting a sodastream and making your own. Bet the kids would get a buzz out of making their own fizzy water/squash.

Food supplements: if your son has diagnosed medical needs, see a dietitian and get them prescribed, then consider paying upfront for prescription costs.

Obviously this is analysis of actuals, rather than a budget, so all those ad hoc items (uniforms, school trips, cat stuff, presents, weekends away, haircuts) need an annual budget, divided into 12. As others have said, it's so easy to brush something off because you won't have to pay that next month, but there's always something else that needs paid next month.