ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
ChrisFilter said:
Er thats a saving of 40%, almost half even with your crazy £2 sandwiches, what the fuck are you putting in them? A loaf of bread is not even a quid.
Money Management
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Er thats a saving of 40%, almost half even with your crazy £2 sandwiches, what the fuck are you putting in them? A loaf of bread is not even a quid.
ChrisFilter
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ATOMIC SUPLEX said:
£6 for dinner for two cooked from scratch isn't out of this world. Both of us like cooking and like good food.. the meat alone often costs £3!
£4-£5 on lunch isn't all that much either.. your standard lunch thing, ie. salad, sandwich, jacket potato, is £3. Can of drink, 60p. You get bored mid-afternoon so have a fag whilst wondering down to newsagent to buy a kit-kat, 5p. That's £4.10.
I agree, money can be saved by cutting out a lot of the extras, but the money I'm spending is hardly 'nuts'.
What you could do is make sure you have a good stock of stuff like brown rice, pasta, couscous, lentils (whatever you like) and use them as staples for your dinners AND make a bit extra for dinner and bring it in to work the next day. Piss cheap + if you make an effort to make yummy tasty varied meals it won't be so boring (+ you can bring a piece of fruit or make a side salad - also v v cheap)
Basically, you have to put in the effort somewhere and you have to sacrifice some stuff. It's not like you're trying to save up, you have debts to pay.
Basically, you have to put in the effort somewhere and you have to sacrifice some stuff. It's not like you're trying to save up, you have debts to pay.
ChrisFilter
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ATOMIC SUPLEX said:
I dunno.. I could have extra value white bread with extra value spread, a slice of extra value ham, a slice of extra value cheddar and a thin spread of extra-value pickle but fuck that for a laugh. I enjoy my food, makes up for having to be at work for 8 hours a day.
I don't spend half what I used to when I used charly a lot, and drank a lot more.
ChrisFilter said:
I don't think it's nuts but you're in a situation where you can't afford to be buying treats and whatever. It's like weight gain - if you eat all the pies and you really want to lose lots of weight you're gonna have to eat salad!
Might be boring and not very fun but you won't get results otherwise...
ChrisFilter
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SubZeroCat said:
Yep, exactly, I've just got to accept the hassle. It's just such a fucking pain.
baldrick
hmmmmm
ChrisFilter said:
but the point is that you'll be out of debt a lot quicker if you're prepared to make sacrifices. eating home made sarnies and missing an evening in the pub is hardly going to ruin your life.
You think spending £5 on lunch isn't extravagant, i think it's a complete waste of cash. you have to cut down somewhere and it's being prepared to do so that makes the difference.
next time you want to spend your money on something, just ask yourself "do i really need it?" and often the answer is no
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
Jeez, chris, no wonder you've got debt
1. Lunch - You can spend £5 in the supermarket on Monday for ingredients that will do you lunch all week from the fridge at work. (loaf of bread, soft cheese, multipack crisps, bag of fruit) - that's a saving of £15 a week. £750 a year.
2. Fags. Quit, or smoke rollies.
3. Cooking - go to the market and get a fuckload of veg, cook it all up and reheat on the next day or three. 3 day's food for £5 is not un-doable.
If you want to spunk your money around like it's water, get a high payed job
1. Lunch - You can spend £5 in the supermarket on Monday for ingredients that will do you lunch all week from the fridge at work. (loaf of bread, soft cheese, multipack crisps, bag of fruit) - that's a saving of £15 a week. £750 a year.
2. Fags. Quit, or smoke rollies.
3. Cooking - go to the market and get a fuckload of veg, cook it all up and reheat on the next day or three. 3 day's food for £5 is not un-doable.
If you want to spunk your money around like it's water, get a high payed job
DRINK?
bummed by karmachameleon
You have to get compromise...you sound a bit like my house mate....one day he's moaning about being skint the next he's buying £28's worth of scallops and prawns for a BBQ... treat yourself now and then though pasta and pesto for about £2.00 can make 3 or four meals....balance it up
ChrisFilter
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SubZeroCat said:I don't think it's nuts but you're in a situation where you can't afford to be buying treats and whatever. It's like weight gain - if you eat all the pies and you really want to lose lots of weight you're gonna have to eat salad!
I think half way between what others are suggesting and where I am now will suffice. I'm not going all out scrimping, I'm not sure I could.. I just know I'd feel really tetchy after a few weeks and blow a load of money on a £200 night out! Back to square one.
Maybe I had too comfortable an upbringing, maybe my age group are too used to freely available credit, fuck knows.. but everything seems like a real struggle sometimes.. don't spend this, don't eat that, make your own lunch, don't eat saturated fat.
You can't just live, can you. It takes an effort to live as you should.
ChrisFilter
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Crispy said:Jeez, chris, no wonder you've got debt
1. Lunch - You can spend £5 in the supermarket on Monday for ingredients that will do you lunch all week from the fridge at work. (loaf of bread, soft cheese, multipack crisps, bag of fruit) - that's a saving of £15 a week. £750 a year.
2. Fags. Quit, or smoke rollies.
3. Cooking - go to the market and get a fuckload of veg, cook it all up and reheat on the next day or three. 3 day's food for £5 is not un-doable.
If you want to spunk your money around like it's water, get a high payed job
I've got a reasonably paid job.
Problem with 1. is that I'd eat it all on Monday
2. I don't smoke at all unless I'm drinking, don't spend much on fags.
3. Can't live without meat, so double that.
Yep, all easily do-able.
Can I just make the point that I am trying, so a little calm from everyone would be great
I'm serious when I say that the majority of people I know spend more than me on a day to day basis.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
ChrisFilter said:
Look I love cooking and I love good food so I think you are making excuses here, yes meat for two will cost £3 for two but the rest?
If you really want to save money you will have to cut costs, all I am getting is excuses. I earn plenty of money but I always make my lunch (which are never sandwiches or boring BTW).
I don't need to save money and don't watch what I spend but I know I don't spend anything like your budget on home cooking apart from the fact I buy a shit load more wine (which you don't need obviously).
If you can't afford something don't spend money on it. When I lived in Bath on a tiny ub40 budget I spent £10 per week in food shopping. You are asking for ideas on ways to save money and you spend more on food than I do despite usualy ending the month £*** richer.
ChrisFilter
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ATOMIC SUPLEX said:
They're not excuses. I am going to change things. My post was in response to Tony asking rennie what £100 a week could go on, I gave examples. It was hardly a savings plan!
ChrisFilter said:
I know it's shit.
I've realised that to get the best out of everything (cheaper, faster, easier whatever...) you need to ORGANISE your life
Feckin' hate organising.But it's true - if you plan your meals, make your lunch, shop economically, avoid buying daily crap, take advantage of offers, limit your phone bills etc etc you are better off but it's so much effort and I'm so lazy
Of course, you'd need the odd take-away, pub crawl, drug binge etc otherwise you'd turn into a control freak nutcase.
Chris - see how much you can lower your budget and make sure it's low enough to save but sufficient enough not to make you sell your granny for a crack binge
ChrisFilter
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zenie said:
I've never claimed not to be a spoilt little rich kid! My point is merely that it takes effort to live life as you're supposed to: ie. healthy eating, living within means, etc.
Numbers
an ting!
Chris, you need a kick up the fuckin backside mate.. seriously.
all this "You can't just live, can you. It takes an effort to live as you should" is quite frankly bollox.
no pain no gain, doesn't just apply to the gym...
by all means continue to live extravagantly, but be prepared to always feel the need to sort your finances out. whereas, sort your finances out and be prepared to live extravagantly. tough choice eh!
all this "You can't just live, can you. It takes an effort to live as you should" is quite frankly bollox.
no pain no gain, doesn't just apply to the gym...
by all means continue to live extravagantly, but be prepared to always feel the need to sort your finances out. whereas, sort your finances out and be prepared to live extravagantly. tough choice eh!
Ms T
Honey-coloured ramparts
Give it to me! I'm great with money and haven't been overdrawn since I was a student (and that was less than five hundred quid....). I don't really need to scrimp these days, but a few years ago I went back to college and lived on about five grand while I retrained to do my current job.
Anyway, as others have said, taking lunch to work with you is a great way of saving money. I do it all the time (but more because the food in the canteen is shit, tbh) and I've noticed that I hardly spend anything at all at work any more. You don't have to live on sandwiches -- make salads, or do what SZC said and make a little extra for your evening meal to take with you the next day.
The other thing is hard but has to be done if you're serious about getting out of debt. Basically, you need to go out less. :-( But make sure you have a bloody good time when you do go out!
Do you check your bank account regularly -- I find it really helps to monitor what's going out so that you feel in control. It's amazing the money you can fritter away (and I should know -- my New Look shopping habit is out of control. I might lobby for it to close).
Anyway, as others have said, taking lunch to work with you is a great way of saving money. I do it all the time (but more because the food in the canteen is shit, tbh) and I've noticed that I hardly spend anything at all at work any more. You don't have to live on sandwiches -- make salads, or do what SZC said and make a little extra for your evening meal to take with you the next day.
The other thing is hard but has to be done if you're serious about getting out of debt. Basically, you need to go out less. :-( But make sure you have a bloody good time when you do go out!
Do you check your bank account regularly -- I find it really helps to monitor what's going out so that you feel in control. It's amazing the money you can fritter away (and I should know -- my New Look shopping habit is out of control. I might lobby for it to close).
Ms T
Honey-coloured ramparts
The other thing -- stop shopping in the supermarket. Go to Phillips in Loughborough Junction for excellent meat, use the Atlantic Rd deli, the market for fruit and veg, even, dare I say it, try Lidl! (Even hendo swears by Lidl these days -- he claims to have saved thousands!!)
ChrisFilter
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SubZeroCat said:But it's true - if you plan your meals, make your lunch, shop economically, avoid buying daily crap, take advantage of offers, limit your phone bills etc etc you are better off but it's so much effort and I'm so lazy
Exactly!
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tony1798 said:
I'm giving myself a kick up the backside. If everyone read what I fucking wrote then this would be plain! That's £50 by Thursday thing was an example of how easy it is to spend money, not what I'm planning on doing!!
Re: no pain, no gain - this is exactly that I'm saying, and you're agreeing with, so it's far from bollox, is it?!
chegrimandi
associated with adultery
if you make a bit of extra dinner in the evening you can take left overs for lunch the next day.
you get a much nicer meal thann one you buy coz you've cooked it yourself and save loads.
Casseroles and stews are cheap as hell to make and can last ages and tasty etc etc. Or cous cous. In fact pretty much anything you makke in the evening can be taken as left overs next day. Just cook a bit extra. Economies of scale.
Cutting out booze is the biggest money saver. Have a standing order out your wages into a savings account. As much as you can afford as soon as you get paid. When its not there you won't miss it.
you get a much nicer meal thann one you buy coz you've cooked it yourself and save loads.
Casseroles and stews are cheap as hell to make and can last ages and tasty etc etc. Or cous cous. In fact pretty much anything you makke in the evening can be taken as left overs next day. Just cook a bit extra. Economies of scale.
Cutting out booze is the biggest money saver. Have a standing order out your wages into a savings account. As much as you can afford as soon as you get paid. When its not there you won't miss it.
aqua
made of cheese and gin
then can I suggest that ultimately you don't actually want to change anything?
and most of all you are sounding like a spoilt kid - sorry mate but you're in debt, you're there cos you live WAY beyond your means so something HAS to change - and all this about its just so tough, do you *really* want to say that? I can think of many ways my life could become tough, stopping spending so much isn't one of them
and as for your mates, well they may all live like that, but none of mine do and we all have wonderful lives
yes it takes effort, but its hardly bloody life stopping is it
and most of all you are sounding like a spoilt kid - sorry mate but you're in debt, you're there cos you live WAY beyond your means so something HAS to change - and all this about its just so tough, do you *really* want to say that? I can think of many ways my life could become tough, stopping spending so much isn't one of them
and as for your mates, well they may all live like that, but none of mine do and we all have wonderful lives
yes it takes effort, but its hardly bloody life stopping is it
ChrisFilter
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Ms T said:
I do my weekly shop at the Atlantic Rd deli, spend about 15 and that's enough food for 5 days when I'm by myself.
Ms T said:
Lidl is great! They had a big packet of cherry tomatoes on the vine for 49p! They do good probiotic yoghurts, sesame ryvita thingies, olive oil etc for much cheaper. There's a thread somewhere in this forum.
And find a value for money fruit stall (there's one near Holborn station, the bloke does 5 satsumas for £1, 5 nectarines for £1, punnet of strawberries £1 etc) and take a piece of fruit in as your snack.
You don't need to eat meat every night! Do you like mackerel? We made a gorgeous salad using those cheap peppered mackerel fillets. Anyway, my point is there are possibilities and cheaper alternatives.
I sympathise wth you chris. I find it really difficult to give up my food luxuries and innevetably my boozing sffrs. 
I've found that making a big bowl of bolgnese or chilli can be done for under a fiver and wll feed us for good few days. Also making big shepherds pies n stuff is filling and makes nuff portions.
Instead of getting a whole bottle of wine for dinner, I end up gettig one of those £1.50 mini bottles which have around 2 glasses worth in them.
I've found that making a big bowl of bolgnese or chilli can be done for under a fiver and wll feed us for good few days. Also making big shepherds pies n stuff is filling and makes nuff portions.
Instead of getting a whole bottle of wine for dinner, I end up gettig one of those £1.50 mini bottles which have around 2 glasses worth in them.
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