One week after payday and a months food budget is gone already! Help

[LowFat]

bah!

We are trying so hard to save money, but it so hard, we are one week and 2 days past pay day (when we do our finanaces and both put into to our household,account for the month)and because we had DS's baptism celebration and DH needed a new security system for th PC - all of which has come out of the shoping budget we have no money left - even with me topping it up by putting the tax credit (which is all I have) in the account.

We are off on holiday next week so should be able to get by without DH has accounted for spending money which includes eating out - phew.

When we get back apart from essentials for the children we should be able to get by for a week as well on what we have in the cupboards.

we have a dwindling reserve in savings which was supposed to be for a new kitchen as ours is so grotty I can never make it look clean. And I have child benefit in a couple of weeks. Also DH is waiting for RAC to send him an invoice so he can claim back money for an insurance job on the car - it has been 11 weeks now and we have already laid the money out - so it's not end of the world, but just once I would like to allocate a monthly shopping budget and not fall outside of it.

Then again when we get back from holiday we have a whole loads of b'day parties to got to as well, not to mention MIL 60th and DD's party.....sob sob

I'm never going to be able to save....sob

nosey question alert

how much did you spend on your shop???

You need to look at some of Miaou shopping threads

What as in how much I budgeted for for each week?

£65 - normally can do this if I am careful - and I get shopping delivered as £3.99 charge is worth it not to be tempted by impule buys.

Hi jabber - yeah, I know I used to check witht he Miaous all the time, bu I fell out of sync, plus DH is a food snob which doesnt help and he wont take me to Aldi or Lidl

QoQ slaps herself on the wrists and tells herself to read thread properly before posting

Just noticed where you extra money had gone....I thought you'd just gone totally over the top on one shop

Hey there, LFM, I wasn't completely sure it was you at first

I know how it is, everything always seems to come at once.

I read the Miaou and was amazed and envious. We spends LOADS too much but have teenage sons and the older one (although he has the most fantastic figure cannot be filled! He eats like the proverbial horse. We don't really buy ready meals - maybe just a couple a month for an emergency and we prob. have a takeaway 3 times a month but mainly cook everything myself. It is things like ham for sandwiches that cost a fortune - don't like that pink square stuff that is made from pressed bits and pieces - however that is all DS2 WILL eat but that is another story. We go through about 4 pints of milk a day and about 18 eggs a week and one of the (few) green things I do is always buy free range eggs (and chicken) so they are never cheap. Bread - we eat a couple of loaves every other day. Also, I buy most of the stuff like washing powder/loo roll at the supermarket and that adds up. We spend about £170 once a month then top up about £40 a week so it is far too much money but, I don't see how I can change that much.