Honestly don't think I can save on outgoings, so how can I try to make a bit extra cash?

[gretagrape]

Hi. First time on this section, but would really appreciate some input. It's me, husband and 6mo and our outgoings per month are as follows:
mortgage and council tax - can't change those!
water - on a meter - £27
gas/elec - fixed - £95
house/contents insurance - £23
phone/bb - £16 (paid line rental in advance for 12 months already)
petrol - £300ish
cat insurance - £16
tv licence - £12
sky - free until December then will be cancelling
mobile - £35
sainsburys - £220-£240 (includes cat food, bathroom/kitchen stuff and own-brand nappies)
abel & cole organic fruit and veg - £60 (only just started this as son onto solids - no more expensive than food at sains but better variety so would like to keep)
That's it - no ciggies, no alcohol, no gym, no going out or takeaways. We walk with the pram if we are going less than 1hr walk each way (petrol is mostly work mileage); 90% of son's clothes and toys are family's seconds, and we probably average £20 on clothes (not joking, almost nothing in the last 12 months apart from maternity wear for me!).
Even with this we are struggling - husband got free upgrade on phone so it was sold on ebay, but we really don't have much other 'tat' that we could sell.
Can anyone suggest any ways of trying to make a little bit extra?
Thanks
x

post totally agree with you! I was giving the OP suggestions to help her stay organic on the bits and bobs that she would like to eat organic. My budget could go way below £50 if I didn't eat organically, but I'm not prepared to risk my health for it so it's a line I've drawn for myself.

Depends what that 50 includes really, does it include enough for packed lunches, cleaning stuff, loo roll etc or is it just meat and veg?

I could have titled the thread differently I guess - it was never intended to be a "poor me" kind of thing, just a genuine request for as much advice as possible. I suppose partly because I'm on maternity leave I don't have much contact with other adults so I haven't really been able to ask for advice anywhere else. We are lucky that we have managed to avoid going into debt and I feel sure that all the advice I've had is going to mean I can actually start putting cash away for emergencies.
Thanks again all
x

valium no meat we're vegetarian which is why I can eat in that budget, lots of pulses etc. enough for packed lunches for two children, one adult (my DH has a free hot lunch at work) all our dairy, fruit and veg and all the usual staples.

It does not include loo roll (I buy value packs when I see them on offer) cleaning products not really an issue, a supermarket own brand spray lasts for ages and ages so it's not something we buy weekly.

Our clothes washing liquid gets automatically 'doubled' as I only use half the recommended amount which makes a bottle last ages too. again a bottle will last a couple of months so isn't on my weekly radar!

Oh I do the half a measure of detergent too

I've just discovered Aldi washing detergent which looks and smells the same as Ariel acti lift AND got the Which best detergent award and it's only 2 quid a box. I feel smug every time I load the machine

Bother we don't have an Aldi!

...it might be worth me stocking up on some when I go to a town/city with an Aldi...

And washing up liquid too if you do go! I am VERY fussy about it and think it's a false economy to get the cheap stuff but their stuff is better than Fairy and about 50p iirc. Dishwasher tablets are good too but my best find was tesco own brand dishwasher tabs for 1.60 which apparently are the same as megga expensive Finish ones.

I need an Aldi! Over half term holiday I'm going to plan a holiday and stock up, is the washing power and washing up liquid easy to find? Is there just one Aldi variety if you see what I mean?! I'm going to get both

In general where you have the option I would avoid buying liquids as you are just paying someone else's water bill, so I would go for powder detergents over liquids, and buy as few drinks as humanly possible.

Benefits of having a baby waking up at 5am is that I'm making progress already:
Gas/electric - switched to a new fixed deal - price per kwh isn't any less but it will beat all the new price rises, and we'll just work on actually using less.
Cat insurance - just renewed for the next year for £6.79 per month, saving more than £9.....WITH THE SAME INSURER!!
Next task for today is to get loads of stuff listed in local free ads and gumtree (baby clothing, maternity stuff, 3 pairs of curtains from last house that don't fit any of our windows - why have I kept them? Do I think they will grow until they eventually fit???). Less hassle as no postage, then if they don't sell I'll just bung them on ebay.

I'd second babysitting - with a 6 month old you could take them along if necessary?

Plant/house sitting when people are on holiday? My dps used to pay a neighbour to come round and water their garden when they were away (millions of pots so couldn't really ask a friend to do it).
Dog walking? Again might combine nicely with a 6 month old if you are able to carry her in a sling?

I think house/cat/plant sitting would be good for this area - there aren't many people below the age of 70 round here so ours is the only baby in the neighbourhood!

Husband is going to be printing some little leaflets for me over the weekend at work so hopefully something will come of them - all I need is for them to find the door of an elderly lady with a cat and a beautiful garden who goes on long holidays and can't stand doing her own ironing or cleaning!!

This may make me sound weird but just in case useful, we saved on nappies with not using them or using them part-time (started when DD was 2 months and I just tuned in to when she needed to pee. Google Elimination Communication if interested). even if you only decide to hold your baby over a potty or bowl as soon as she wakes and make a 'ssss' noise she'll associate with peeing it should stand you in brilliant stead for potty training! They always need a pee straight after a nap but the rest take more practice (instinct or with DS he luckily needs a pee whenever I do so I just offer. Easy)
Ours were both dry at night too by 18 months and although there's simply no rush it helps economically & I liked it for environmental reasons plus felt we communicated even more as I understood tiny DD's cry just before a pee!

I love that idea! No idea when he does his wee though as he doesn't seem to care how wet he is - several times I've gone to him normal time in the morning to find him soaking wet but he hasn't woken any earlier to bark orders for me to change him!

I'm watching some reusable nappies on ebay that finish at the weekend so I'll hopefully get them and that should start saving a bit (I've read up on it, and the money savings are good even when you cost in the use of the washing machine and water). Also, I've heard they help in earlier potty training as the baby can feel that they have weed more easily than when in disposables.

Check your councils website, some councils give you £20-30 if the HV signs a form to say they have seen the child in cloth nappies.

Greta I love your attitude to all this! you're so positive, just an inspiration!

greta, if you don't get your ebay nappies, its worth thinking about old fashioned terry squares. I had fancy shaped ones passed on to me, but they had totally worn out by the time dd was about 18m. I bought some cheap terry squares + ultra basic plastic pants + nappy pins, and honestly they were a million times better & leaked less (admittedly this may have been because the shaped ones + fancy covers were on about their 20th baby ). But of course the advantage with terries is you fold them to fit whatever shape your dc is, not that I could remember how to fold them these days, mind you, luckily those days are long, long gone.

Terry squares will dry quicker on the line/dryer too as they're so thin when they're flat and not folded into happy shape.

That's very true - they are a doddle to get dry (no tumble drier here)

Matilda, no our earnings this year, including my SMP, are £22k - I know that £26k is the threshold, but we've applied and then appealed twice and have still been told we can't get anything?? I'm going to speak to them again on Monday - I know it can't be right, but I've spoken to them on the phone several times and they all say the same.

Joint income after tax is approx £1900 - mortgage is £1010 and council tax is £190. So income is only just matching outgoings and not really allowing to save for car insurance/tax/one-off bills.

Terry nappies - yes, going to get some of them as well - saw some good sites showing different folds for different builds of baby! We're on Kidstart so can get 4% back on Mothercare (I think). I looked into them a while ago but as we were having a lot of problems with baby early on I just didn't have the energy to deal with them.

Got some veggie books from the library yesterday and we had a veggie and chick pea curry last night - even my primitive meat and two veg husband thought it was nice! I'm going to alternate veg-fish-veg-meat each night now and that should make a big difference. Also, I didn't notice how I eat expensive food during day just cos it's less effort - ham and cheese sandwich etc, so yesterday I made a massive batch of soup using a squash and some potatoes - enough for 4 days for the cost of 1 sandwich.

MM - thank you! It is ALL OF YOU who are an inspiration - you have made me wake up to being positive and taking action instead of just thinking I can't do anything about my situation.
xx

Oh actually what am I saying? I can probably get the terries on ebay too.

Definitely look at second hand nappies but also see what your council offers. Some give you £70 to spend on nappies, some give you a free months trial.