Totally skint at the end of every month... how can I save/earn enough to afford a cheap family holiday this year?

[josben]

I have been trying to save £££...

I try to shop cheaply, (but i could meal plan more ...)

i list on Ebay, (sell some but not all items)
i have a little cleaning job as well as my office part time job...

DH has a reasonable wage (but we are paying off credit card debt which is £347 per month and our mortgage is £1,000)

i must be doing something wrong as we never have any £££ left at the end of the month ...ever!! We have no credit cards so we cannot borrow either...

any tips on building up some savings would be greatly recieved :)

TIA

Assuming that there are savings you can make, I think it helps to put away the money on savings as soon as you get paid. Or put away some of your income from the cleaning job, for example. Then, you will only spend what you have left, on cheaper or less clothes, food, etc.
Look at anything you do where you could save money. Home haircuts, freecycle, etc

Meal planning saves a lot of waste. Try putting the odd pennies from your current account into savings a few times a month, it soon mounts up. Ie if you have £31.47 put either 1.47 or 0.47 in. How long till you pay off the credit card?

Look at all ways you can save money. Are any of the utility companies cheaper or can you get your insurances cheaper? Turn the heating down a little or have it on a few minutes less. Get to know the prices of food and shop in more than one place, Aldi or Lidl have many items much cheaper. Don't buy expensive toiletries, try the cheaper versions - you can ask for recommendations re: cheap food and toiletries on there. We cut back on how much we use the car about 18 months ago by walking to the shops when we only needed a couple of things, going on family walks or bike rides - we've reduced our mileage approx. 100 miles a month. Only go looking at clothes if you really need them - I've started doing this and we are making things last a lot longer. Reduce how much you take the kids out in the holidays - let them have a friend around instead. Always take drinks, snacks and sandwiches with you - much cheaper than eating out. If you do want to eat out, try Weatherspoons (they're coffee is very cheap and really nice if you're in town), or look for somewhere local with a meal deal. It all adds up.

How old are your DCs? Can you include them on a family saving scheme - so every time they ask for sweets etc - suggest to them they put the money towards a nice holiday instead?

Put a chart up somewhere in the house where everyone can see it easily, which shows progress towards your goal, and update it every few days. Have small, obtainable goals as well as a big end goal, to encourage the DCs.

Have a little reward scheme, so you can spend x% of the money saved each week on a family treat (chip shop chips/chocolate/cinema/whatever), so that you're not being totally mean with the kids.

Put the actual cash saved by DCs in a glass pot so that they can see it mount up - so instead of spending, say, 70p on a Mars bar, put it in the pot for them.

Forgot to say, look at the old threads on here for eating cheaply and cutting back. I asked for help and looked at others, and it helped me a lot. Go through all your cupboards, it's surprisingly what's lurking and needs using up - never waste food, if something is left over from the night before, take to work, have for lunch, incorporate into next evening meal.

• If you have items that are not selling on Ebay, try listing them on local Facebook selling pages & on Gumtree.

• Prioritise paying off credit card debt over amassing savings, unless cards are 0% interest, because the debts will only mount up & get more expensive.

• Make use of free stuff & points to get stuff. I get lots of product tests (on here & elsewhere!) which has stopped me having to buy things like toothpaste, dishwasher tablets etc for a while, any money saved on this can go into a pot. I am also saving up Nectar & Tesco Clubcard points for Merlin passes for us, so we can have very cheap days out throughout the year.

• Find out when your local supermarket marks fresh food down & shop then - I often pay 10%-25% of the original price for meat, fruit & veg & bread.

• If you buy anything online, make sure you go through cashback websites.

Be sure to put any savings made by doing the above things into a pot & you will eventually get enough for a holiday (hopefully!)

One last thing - consider booking holidays either very far (one year or more) in advance or at the very last minute (between 1-4 days before departure) to get the best prices. Both ways have worked for us to get us holidays at 50% or less of the full price. Booking in advance has the added bonus that you can pay a certain amount per month, so it not as painful as paying it all in one go . Also, avoid going away in the summer 6-week break as holidays are more expensive then - we tend to go in October/May half-term or Easter holiday & it is considerably cheaper, termtime is cheaper still.

Could you list your outgoings? We can see if your over paying for things then.

Have you added up all your incomings and outgoings (including annual things like Christmas, insurances, car tax etc) to see how much, if anything you do have spare?

The biggest savings can come from reducing the amount you spend on food and drink, especially out of the home. The difference spent per person between cooking mostly frugal meals from scratch and all lunches being leftovers, and someone who buys lots of coffees and lunches out can be hundreds a month on its own – easily enough for a holiday.?

Work out where you spending first.

Create an execle spreadsheet and make sure you have an account of what is spent, right down to the last penny.

Quick easy hits:

1. Do not buy sandwiches. Take a packed lunch.

2. Give up booze.

3. Try and move to a more vegetarian diet. You'll be amazed how much some people spend on meat.

4. Get shot of a car if you have 2.