frugal mums,help to re-educate me, i need to start economising

[milkgoddessmakesthefinestmilk]

hi now we hav dd and we are about to go down to one wage, we really need to start economising, we have never been careful with money, but we need to start.

do you have any tips to help at all wise MNetters?

any particuar shops or anything you recomend for either food, household stuff

and anywhere good for baby toys and clothes?

pelnty of people swear by asda, for everything.
other than that.. um.. go veggie.. other wiser people will inform us both i am sure

Honest truth - don't start thinking in terms of shopping in order to save money - think in terms of how much you can avoid going shopping.

Ask for clothes and toys for children's birthdays; put the word around that you are ALWAYS in the market for things to be handed down (do this everywhere, even with people you don't know that well! sounds embarrassing but many people really love to get rid of stuff to someone they know will enjoy it). Enjoy jumble sales, charity shops and ebay but limit, limit limit how much you spend there - £10 at a charity shop is still £10.

Plan ahead by saying to family this summer that you are no longer buying presents for over 21s (or whatever). I know for some families this would be a bigger deal than for ours so obviously that's just advice.

I've said this before, sorry... If you don't have them, it perhaps is worth getting decent waterproof clothing, good tupperware and drinks flasks for everyone. This means you can eat outside at any time. Always take your own snacks and drinks with you wherever you go - then you are not dependent on a coffee shop for a 'snack' that leaves you with no change from £15.

Plan your meals, write a shopping list. that's absolutely essential.

Good luck!

Get a decent map of the local area and plan interesting free places to go. A local woodland will do a lot more for their cognitive development than soft play. And with those waterproof clothes you can go at any time fo year.

h&m, charity shops & kids clothes from friends.

Meals - little processed or prepared food, bf and have water for older kids rather than packaged juices.

how old is your dd? babys need very little really. Save your cash for buying shoes which are expensive.

jumble sales, particularly near the end when they are selling really cheap.
car boot sales.

you don't need as much as you think.

yes i think your right, i should be strting out thinking about shopping i should be thinking about how to avoid shopping.

ive never bben to a boot sale or an nct sale before so ill keep an eye out for those and start to have a look in the cheaper places when i need stuff.
i have quite a few thing s dd doesnt need anymore that i can flog too

great point about planning free days out

need to cut down on the amount i spend on presents i have 6 nieces and newphews and normally spend about 30 on each at bdays and xmas so thats £180 a year on those alone
i might chop this down to £10 each does that sound reasonable ?

dd is 11 months

a big part of my problem is i never think before spending, i book holidays and buy sfutt without thinking so i need to make some kind of consious effort not to do that

I used to find I spent without thinking (books, magazines and food rather than clothes, as they felt less like 'real' shopping). I found the only way to get over it was to go completely cold turkey for a couple of weeks. i literally bought the weekly food shop and then kept a credit card buried in my bag for emergencies (not in my wallet, as it was too easy to access!). After 2 weeks I allowed myself access to my wallet again, and I was so much more aware of when i was spending. it worked like magic.

Only ever buy things you absolutely need, rather than want, don't impulse buy anything, look around for the cheapest offer, mend or fix things rather than throwing them out and buying new things..

£10 or presents is fine, you can also buy presents ahead of time so you're not rushed at the last minute, I get DS's birthday presents of ebay, you can get really good bargains on there if you look.

There's also nothing wrong with making presents or offering presents that are home-made vouchers for things. DS made a voucher for his friend as a present that was to come over for an arts-n-crafts afternoon and make clay models. His friend absolutely loved it!

Make birthday cards too, you can save yourself a small fortune, cards are expensive and it soon builds up!

I agree with hopefully too.

Go out sometimes and don't take your wallet. Then you have no option.

No magazines

don't look on ebay

menu plan and shop online to stop you picking up extras

Take snacks and drinks with you.

Do cheap things like a free museum or feeding the ducks.

If you don't already access the library it's great for dvd's and you can order what books you want to read online and they will order them in for you.

Find out where your nearest toy library is too these can be good for new toys then when your lo gets bored of it take it back and get another.

Make your own cleaning products and use or make reusable baby wipes.

Grow veg (it's easy}

Only take what you think you will need to spend that day .

Keep a diary of what you buy in a week You will be shocked

definitely meal plan and make lists. it really helps. DH and i used to spend £50 on grocereis easily and not have any meals.

wow thats an excellent idea
"There's also nothing wrong with making presents or offering presents that are home-made vouchers for things. DS made a voucher for his friend as a present that was to come over for an arts-n-crafts afternoon and make clay models. His friend absolutely loved it!"
super impressived by your inventiveness!

perhaps my ecomony drive can even be fun!

yes i need to go cold turkey, even in the last few months ive spent an outrageous amount, so cold turkey or electric shock treatment would help me !

yes toy libary, im definatley going to do that, one of my friends goes every friday, and has often asked me to go too, ill take her up on it.

ive never heard of resuleable baby wipes, where do you get those? thay sound great i spend a bomb on wipes.

is growing veg really easy? whazt is the easiest?

yes and meal plan, i spend far far too much on food

oh yes and a spending diary, that would seriously help me as thats my biggest problem spending without thinking

There are some good recipes on here (esp for rocky road) it's easy to make and looks great wrapped up in cellophane and a bit of ribbon.

I have also stopped sending real card and sending e cards just tell people you are saving the planet

Good presents for older relatives are a photo of your lo with a nice frame (think £land or wilkinsons they are nice ).

Sell on ebay too or avoid fees and use big wardrobe .com

Use freecycle too .

If you have a dryer get some dryer balls they cut down a lot of drying time.

You can get wipes on ebay or get a tupperwear box and bulk buy some flannels make a mixture of cammomile tea ,olive oil and a bit of baby bath and use one side to wipe other to dry IYSWIM.

Potatoes and tomatoes are easy ,herbs are good too there should be tips on the gardening thread here.

HTH

Meal planning was a really big one for us...

Lidl has some good stuff (wipes, nappies etc)

Primark, Matalan and Asda all good for clothes

Get a picnic rug and go for picnics rather than pub lunches (whilst the weather is good)

Shop around for utilities - make sure you're getting the best deals on gas, electric, phone etc

My dd is similar age to yours and has loads of toys but barely touches them... A few plastic bowls and wooden spoons are far more entertaining. Balloons provide hours of fun as well. Join the library for books (also good to go and spend an hour or so on a rainy day in the children's section)

I used to spend loads on toiletries and beauty products (Clarins etc.) - some supermarket stuff is great. Stock up on 2 for 1's on shampoo, toothpaste, deodorants, loo rolls etc)

If you're not up to making your own cards, then buy a pack of generic cards (but don't put them somewhere "safe" and forget where they are and buy new ones - not that I did that of course ). Same with rolls of giftwrap. Books are great pressies for children and Red House is great reasonable on line website

Photos of dd are always popular as adult pressies (for gp's etc.) - frames are cheap from Matalan, Primark etc. and I use snapfish for prints.

Don;t buy magazines or newspapers - go online and read them if you want

what supermarket do you shop in? i shop from ocado, i find i spend more when i go to tescos.

perhaps i shpould try morrisons or somewhere else? i prefer doing it on line though.
much easier

i was planing on buying loads of new summer clothes but when dd goes for her nap, im going to go through my warbrobe and see what i have got, its easy to forget stuff

don't go shopping and you will spot your essentials you really need and will manage fine without other things.

sorry am going on now but

get a prepay credit card (IDT PRIMe OR VIRGIN) that way you load it with what you want to spend you don't pay interest (there is a small fee about 80p) and betetr still you don't have to put your real credit card details online.

Join moneysaving expert

I second primark and asda.

sorry am going on now but

get a prepay credit card (IDT PRIMe OR VIRGIN) that way you load it with what you want to spend you don't pay interest (there is a small fee about 80p) and betetr still you don't have to put your real credit card details online.

Join moneysaving expert

I second primark and asda.

Also, have some savings for sale times - know how many family birthdays you have to buy for and buy presents in the sales well in advance ready for them. I don't always manage it (after all, best sales are straight after Christmas) but I also try and pick up BOGOFFs and 3 for 2s on things that would make good party presents (once your dd is over 3, you'd be amazed at how many parties she gets invited to!)

Don't make your budget too tight if you can - allow for a good percentage more than you think you need and drop other stuff that you definitely don't need so you can do this - that way when you consistently come in under your budget each month it's a mental boost, you're not setting yourself up for failure and you can dump the "spare" into a savings account - you'll be amazed at how quickly odd bits of money dumped in here and there add up.

If you have a credit card, try sealing it up in an envelope up somewhere inaccessible (in the loft, back of a wardrobe) so not tempted to overspend on things you don't need but still have it around in case of an emergency (like an appliance suddenly die). The hardest habit I found for economising was not using credit on a regular basis (and tbh, I'm still learning this - find it very hard).

Online shopping for food works best for me, because if you have a strict budget for food you can get to the end, realise you're over then go back through and work out what you can switch to own brands, what is a luxury you can take out of the "basket" etc.

Buy what you need, not what you want. Children don't need many clothes really, especially in the summer when you can wash and dry them quickly and get them back on again.

Go to online sites like The Book People and buy books as presents. You can buy the bundles eg 4 books for a few quid then break the packs and give them individually as presents.

Pasta is cheap(ish) and you can make a zillion different meals with pasta. Buy veg from a market, it's cheaper than the supermarket. Eat less meat. Buy value products for basics eg kitchen roll, orange juice, tinned chopped tomatoes etc as they are no different to the more expensive brands. Save your money for quality meat, fresh goods and the odd treat.

Stop buying coffee, papers, magazines, etc when you're out. Take a flask with you and read papers and mags in the library. Libraries also offer loads of activities for children (even little ones) and they are free.

Write down every penny you spend for 1-2 weeks, then you can see where wasted money is going.

Get some cheap flannels from Asda or similar and use them sometimes instead of wipes. We used to get through loads but I have cleans flannel in the kitchen and use that for post food clean ups. Same with nappy changes (use one or two wipes and then the flannel). Muslins can be used as well (I had hundreds of the things )

Local greengrocer and butcher is good instead of supermarket. Lidl is good for store cupboard stuff (herbs, spices, olive oil, balsamic etc). Your main shop should then only be pretty small - I find Asda cheapest - but not sure they deliver ?

wow im so impressed! you lot are GREAT!
so invententive and wonderful!

i never thought or realisd theres so much i can do !

yes im good at making cards and i enjoy it too.

what is freecycle ?
ill get some dryer balls, wheres the cheapest place to get them?