Too late!! I already have!!
I had a huge spendy day today and blew the rest of the food budget plus another £10.29!! Bringing my total food costs for September to £110. 29. However in my defense I did start the month with just half my normal monthly amount of £200. So if I look on the UP side I have saved money.
We have done really well for the last couple of months and eaten lots out of the huge amount of food I had stored in the freezer and storecupboard. I have also kept costs down by making a menu plan based on what I already have, then writing a shopping list for the extra items needed. I have been very strict with myself when we've been shopping, I kept out of the big supermarkets and used Lidl and Home Bargains plus a flying stop at Sainsburys for tomatoes, which after my comparison test I know I can buy the same quality from Lidl. I think the downfall today was going to Asda because it was convenient at the time plus I needed to buy PJs for my grandaughter (seperate budget).
Our lovely son, daughter in law and step grandaughter are coming for the weekend and I needed extra meats, veggies and treats, anything left will be portioned up and used in our October meal plan, nothing will be wasted. Its 3 months since we last saw them and I'm starting to get excited about seeing them again, I don't care how much it costs lol
I have all our meals for final week of the Stretch it out September challenge already frozen and plenty of soups for lunches. We have a good stock to start us off on the Stoptober challenge and I will do my utmost to keep my spending down. I have done a calculation of my average spends for the last 9 months and its £36.85 per week for that we have eaten really well and had the occasional treats.
My hubby has been on a mission again this week and managed a better deal on his car insurance, saving us about £90 over the year :-) Thats BT sorted and the Car......whats next?
What steps have you taken to reduce your budget? any tips will be gratefully accepted x
Take Care
You've done so well on your food budget. Brilliant. X
ReplyDeleteThank you. I couldn't have done it if I hadn't had such a good stock of food and cleaning stuff. xx
DeleteI agree with you, seeing people you love is the most important thing, if that means spending a few bob then spend it. Surely part of the point of all this saving is for times like this after all.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I would give my family my last penny! I don't see them often enough to worry about the cost.
DeleteWe had a lovely weekend.
We have spent a lot of money since we got back from Norfolk, just generally being around family and friends that we have not seen for 6 months, Mums birthday, Dad's 'special' 90th, my 50th coming up - but it is family and you only live once!! My food budget for the month is £150 and that is difficult enough, so do not be hard on yourself if you went over your budget by £10 - and you have extra people to feed. You have done really well, and I know you will continue to do so. Have a lovely weekend. X
ReplyDeleteI'm not really being hard on myself because I know if this weekend hadn't happened I would have been on my target. We have had a great weekend. x
DeleteI wish I could stick to a budget like yours Karen. I find we pop to the shops several times a week and the cost runs away.Our problem is that we dont have much freezer space nor storage space in our kitchen so I dont have change to prepare much in advance. Plus working almost full time and having elderly parents to look after weekends leaves me with very little time.One day I will have to adopt this way of budgeting though, retirement time will be upon us in a few short years.
ReplyDeleteIt does help not having any shops close by, I have always been fairly organised regarding meal planning and shopping I had just got into the habit of buying BOGOFs and too many bulk buys!
DeleteAbout a year before hubby took early retirement we lived off the amount of pension he would get just to see if we could manage, we did and quite well, so at 55 he was able to take his pension and finish work. We have never looked back and love it!!
You are so organised, I really admire you and wish I could be more like you x
ReplyDeleteJust be yourself Sarah, you are a busy working mum who loves to cook from scratch, bake, craft and spend lots of quality time with your kiddies and thats the most important thing. Me, I have loads of spare time to get a bit geeky lol xx
Deletealways a good excuse now and again, for a bit of a splurge! You do so well week by week anyway, so go for it! Lx
ReplyDeleteWe went for it and had a lovely weekend!! x
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