money saving tips

[manxminx]

As i'm sat here freezing cold cus i can't afford to have the heating on and typing by candle light i just wondered if anyone had any good tips for me to save money . I can't change suppler as i live in the isle of man and we only have one suppler for gas , electric and one phone company on the up side i have manage to get my shopping bill down to £50.00 a month which is no small achievement with 2 growing boys and 2 cats to feed and that should go down even more once things start growing . so any tips no matter how small a change it will make will be gratefully received .

kerry

[sunpuppy]

How about joining a Local Exchange Trading Scheme (LETS), if there is one on the Isle of Man. If there isn't, you could start one up. Everyone's got some kind of skill they can offer others, whether its gardening, helping with shopping, walking their dog, or something more specific like carpentry or sewing. In the one I belong to in Kingston, Surrey, you can get massages, haircuts, lifts in people's cars, computer help, veggies, and all sorts! It's a great scheme to belong to if you don't have a lot of cash.

There's loads of info re. LETS on http://www.letslinkuk.org/.

Another site which might be useful is: http://www.frugal.org.uk/

[manxminx]

Thanks sunpuppy they are both great sites and i will definitely look into starting up a Local Exchange program great idea thanks again

[Andy Hamilton]

Have a look around the main site here too for stuff.

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/budget.htm- budget food. In fact lots of the recipes are for cheap food. Do you have freezer space? pauls burgers are cheap to make and you can freeze loads http://www.selfsufficientish.com/paulsburgers.htm

mind you it seems like you have already got it covered when it comes to living cheaply with food. How come you spend so little, what do you eat?

If I am sensible about money I will sit down and work out exactly what I am spending it on. Well actually my girlfriend will sit down and work out where money is going. Giving up smoking has saved me a fortune, bit that is another story. Then you rationalise where the money goes. Make sure Tv is not on stand by, computer not on constantly, light off, less cups of tea if toom much goes on electricity.

Use a pressure cooker to bring down the cost of cooking (gas) by using one ring to do a whole dinner.

If you get really fed up with sitting inside being cold then on a dry night why not sit in the garden and have a bonfire, you could also do you cooking on it. As a boy I used to find doing that exciting. Once more it is free heating/cooking/lighting for the evening. Just a thought thinking off the top of my head here.

[manxminx]

Hi Andy i keep my shopping bill down by planing ahead i have some great cheep recipes and make everything myself from scratch i'm very lucky that the kids like there veg and i have found that if they help me cook the dinner they never complain or say they dont like it . I also buy shops own brands which saves ALOT of money . I dont buy booze any more so have to wait until the homebrew is ready to have a well earned drink .The kids seem to prefer home made cakes and biscuits so they still get there treats

[Wombat]

One of the thing I used to do years ago was make lollies for the kids, maybe it would be worth an article Andy?

Nev

[manxminx]

One of the thing I used to do years ago was make lollies for the kids, maybe it would be worth an article Andy?

Nev

Well the kids agree with you on that one

[Andy Hamilton]

One of the thing I used to do years ago was make lollies for the kids, maybe it would be worth an article Andy?

Nev

Ah yes myself and Dave have talked about doing a bit on recipes for children and babies. There is something in the wings but any suggestions will be greatly recieved.

[Chickenlady]

£50 a month? Blimey, I have a long way to go in the money saving stakes! I have found this a really useful site though:
www.moneysavingexpert.com

We've saved loads following the advice on this site.

[rhyddid]

...

[Chickenlady]

Good advice above, but I reckon Kerry is already working to a budget. I still can't get over the £50 monthly grocery budget. How???? What do you and your children eat? Do you grow a lot of your own food? I think I need tips from you actually Kerry. Even with the frozen and preserved produce from 2 allotments, I would find it hard to feed our family of 5 for less than about £70 per week (well, not without jeopardising our nutrition). I could I suppose if I had more time to cook absolutely everything from scratch, but I work so I can't.

[manxminx]

I have not been on this site for a long time now and as I sat reading some of the posts I started to wonder if I really have a place here anymore or ever did. You see I’m not a vegetarian or an environmentalist I recycle yes but I still do my shopping at those big bad supermarkets and buy the products that are the best value for money. I hurt my back very badly in august and am still in a great deal of pain most of the time (bad days 2 walking sticks good days just the one) so it’s even looking like I wont be doing much with the garden this year (but I’m still going to have a damn good try). Infact I’m really only here because I’m in a lot of dept and trying to get out of it. I don’t have any useful advice to give anyone and was feeling rather sorry for myself (and maybe a little unworthy and selfish) after I had read a few of the topics. I’d come back on to delete my profile and decided to have a look at my old posts and that reminded me why I love this site and why it’s after all this time still my home page because it really helps the advice, kind words and encouragement of the people that took the time to help me was sometimes the only lift I would have in an otherwise dark day. So I’m going to be really selfish once more and stay. To anyone who remembers me I am still freezing and sat by candle light at night but happy to say a little further out of dept I still manage to do my shopping for very little although with 2 growing boys it’s up to about £70 a month now (good god where do they put it) I had a wonderful Christmas making all my own cards (the kids did to that was fun since they send about 40 each) and presents (the home made bandy truffles went down very well). I do still have more than £20,000 worth of dept so really need your help as I have said before any tips no matter how small a change it will make will be gratefully received.

[ina]

Kerry, don't be daft - nobody would think you selfish for being on here, even if you don't get round to doing the gardening at the moment! We all have our "down times", when we are nowhere as selfsufficient(ish) as we'd like to be - but this site has helped me at least through quite a few of those times. And everybody knows that for you getting rid of your debt is priority number one, so what the heck - you'll just have to stay with the cheapest shops you can find for now.

If gardening isn't an option for you - maybe you can do a bit of windowsill gardening? Not so hard on the back, and at least it could give you fresh herbs etc, which can make a plain meal so much more interesting!

One good thing you have already done to me with your post: It's put my current back problem into perspective. Yes, it's been hurting like mad for the last week, but I can still walk about without sticks and work, if more slowly and with more breaks than usual. Compared to you I have a very small problem.

Hope you stay with us!

All the best
Ina

[Shirley]

Hi Kerry

I don't think we've met before but just want to say a big hello!!

Don't think that you don't have a place here - we all do whether we are completely self sufficient or even if we just hanker after it in a dream land. Remember - the key word to this place is the 'ISH'

We all do our bit and there is plenty that you can do AND ARE doing that helps - and don't think that you can't offer any advice mate because you can - I'm certainly up for hearing how to feed my family for less!!

Looking forward to hearing a lot more from you matey.

Shirlz xx

[Muddypause]

It's my observation that prolonged debt can be one of the most grinding, soul destroying, dispondent and lonely experiences you can have. And so often it is brought about by blatant iniquety - who have to pay most for a loan? Poor people. Who are targeted most easily by lenders? Poor people. Those that are least able to pay, have to pay the most. Debt keeps poor people poor, and provides healthy returns for shareholders and directors.

Kerry, I expect in your situation you have already explored all the posibilities of what you can do about it. In my limited experience a decent financial advisor who takes an interest in your situation can be a help. I believe also that the Citizens Advice Beaureaureaureaux (how do you spell that word?) are experienced at advising people with debt problems, and also finding out if you are entitled to any welfare benefits.

Some basic ground rules of managing debt seem to be:

If you have any savings, it is nearly always better to use them to reduce the loan.
Consolidate all your loans into one single one, especially if credit card loans are involved.
If you can secure your loan against property, or extend an existing mortgage, this is usually the cheapest form of borrowing.
Don't be afraid to contact your bank manager, or to speak to the lending company to see if they can cut you any more slack (though be careful you don't just increase the amount owed by 'rolling up' the interest).

Remember that every pound you manage to pay off will make the next pound a little bit easier. It makes sense to skrimp as hard as you can in order to pay off the next £5k, or even £1k, because that will be the hardest bit. It sounds like you are doing a serious job on this already.

And remember to check back in here everytime you need a virtual cup of cocoa and a chat.