How DO I manage this or am I just a crap housekeeper?

[liahgen]

Myself, dh and 5 dc's.

Dh has been cut down to 4 days a week at work, he is now in process of setting up his own business.

He is very excited at this, and although I know less than nothing about the Rail industry and building, then I trust him to make the right decisions.

In order to pull this off, he has to remorgage our house,

If it works, and he is sure it will, and so does everyone else on board, he (we) will be a millionare in 5 yrs.

If not, we will be homeless and living in a council house. I have to say, I am very relaxed, nothing wrong with that, i do think you gott have a go in life.

Anyway, I am now having a £150 budget a week, out of this, I have to buy everything for our day to day living, including petrol etc. He still pays all bills etc and our DD's from bank account.

I am genyuinely struggling to make the £150 stretch that extra day, can just about manaage 5/6 days.

Where am I going wrong?

I have coffee with the girls once a week, at a cost of about £6, I'm not giving that up, it's my time. Neither of us drinks or smokes, I cook mostly from scratch and try to meal plan. Have I really got to buy basics everything?

I try and buy veg and fruit from market but you have to buy such large quantities that it goes off before we've used it.

Tell me your money saving tips please.

TIA

How much petrol do you have to buy? Could you cut back on this at all by walking? What 'range' of food do you buy, is it branded, supermarket premium,own brand or value?

As for budgeting - do you eat meat? Try cutting down and buying cheaper cuts. A tin of beans or two will go in most mince dishes and bulk it considerably - do buy basics for this.

re the veg - carrots keep for ages, cabbage does, parsnips, potatoes, turnips, swede and butternut squash do, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms and all the delicate salady things don't. If you're buying off the market, DON'T buy the 'bargain bowls'. Market traders are extremely good judges of what is about to go off, and will flog it pronto.

Liaghen, your post made me quake - you are very brave to support him and agree to this. Major respect. 'Crap' is the last the word that comes to mind.

Do you have to cover activities from this budget? Can this be negotiated, either with Dh or children - prioritising etc. You will also need the children's agreement to cutting back on other aspects.

100% agree the points on market & longevity - I used to get most of my food from our local market until we had the twins and I ran out of time. Also less packaging . Assume you already get pasta, rice etc on bulk.

I spend this much on our supermarket shop each week, but a big chunk of this is non-alcoholic drinks: cans, smoothies etc, which are not essentials - and again you could DIY with market produce.

I think you might get good advice if you ask on one of the more finance-type fora on MN. You should write down every expense over the next month, post the results (expenses by category), and see what ppl have to say.

with regards to veg etc going off - we buy market veg too, but cut and freeze about half of it to use as 'frozen' veg later in the week.

actually I am soooooo unqualified to comment on this thread . But think you're great and wish you all the best.

thanks ladies,

Some good suggestions here. I think i will write everything down.

Yes activities have to be budgeted for and come out of housekeeping

ds1 football subs, £2 weekly, (though dh normally gets collared for this as he takes him, )

ds2 football subs £2 week and dance £4.50 wk

dd1 - 0

dd2 dance £2.50 wk

dd3 - 0 or perhaps a soft play once in a while

I can see how it would be easy to see where the money is going therefore save etc once written down

Hadn't thought of freezing, will google as i think sometimes you have to blanche don't you? I do grow my own veg and am about to make tomato and red pepper soup as we have loads all of a sudden.

Yes all dc's at school take bottled/cartons/smoothie type drinks to school. Will invest in bottles for them and make juice, squash up.

colditz, I was lutred into the bargain bowls until I ended up throwing away so much, there's only so much banana cake a family can eat isn't there.

Have started to walk to school so that's a saving, and I scour boot sales for bargains to put away for Christmas.

It is a risk what he's doing, especially in the current climate I guess but no risk, no gain I suppose. I have to trust him don't I?

yes it's a risk but not considering the current climate, as rail is ultimately publicly funded and the long term strategic direction is pro-rail. I am much better qualified to talk on that! Can you get him to do the dance drop off too?

at him doing dance drop off. No, he doesn't get home till gone 8pm, and it's payable termly. Wrote a cheque last week for this terms fees though.

I think your DH's venture sounds better than mine's idea but I still have to smaile and support him whilst thinking "oh fuck" a lot but mines not gambling the house and I know if I say one negative word it'll work and then he'll leave me when he's a millionaire lol