Bills bills bills
Savings savings savings
I have many of the first
None of the second
I’ve decided that 2012 will be the year I finally change this around.
We have lots of plans that require a lot of savings.
A new minibus to fit us all in.
A new oven.
A bathroom makeover
To just name a few.
The trouble is I seem to have so many outgoings and not enough income. So a few changes are needed.
I’ve been told that it’s now fashionable to be thrifty. It’s seems I’ve been in fashion for the last 17 years, I never knew.
My husband and I don’t have many treats his vice is his RC racing mine is definitely my books. But as we both don’t drink or smoke I can’t see this as a massive expense.
The girls are pretty good, they aren’t obsessed by designer names or the latest gadget, thankfully.
So where does our money go?
Well feeding teenagers is a big expense, I’m sure my kids have hollow legs, where do they put it all?
Diesel costs are through the roof and of course being your children’s taxi is rather expensive.
Gas, electric the prices are only going up and up.
Ice skating lessons, singing tuition , horse riding etc etc
All the above aren’t going to change so where can I save money?
Store branded food stuff maybe, Which do you recommend?
Walk if possible rather than use the car.
Shop around for the best fuel prices.
Cut down on our biggest weakness takeaways.
So does anyone have any ideas, any tips???
Feel free to share..
Rebel with kindness 
We brought up 2 children in the UK on a tight budget and I nearly always bought store brand foods. We didn’t suffer from eating carrots, bread, beans, etc. from the “blue and white striped range” although I drew the line at cheap sausages! In fact I remember the economy baked beans scoring best for flavor in a blind tasting by top chefs. Lidl and Aldi often have great deals and I wish we had those stores here in Texas.
For the new oven you might want to take a look at Freecycle, someone who is remodeling might have just what you are looking for. We always search Craigslist (in the US, don’t know if you its in the UK) and local adverts for furniture and electrical appliances as people are often upgrading or moving, and seem to be getting rid of like-new stuff. If you want new ask stores like Homebase when they will be selling their floor models – one of my family members recently scored a Neff hob and built-in oven for under 50 UK pounds.
Let your girls know that you will be making economies in order to achieve your savings goals and that their help will be appreciated in making good decisions. I’m sure they’d love to be involved in cooking, especially the fun stuff like making pizzas/curries/thai food at home instead of getting takeaways.
Good luck, being frugal can be fun and so worthwhile when the savings start adding up!
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Thanks honey, great ideas. I’m going to have to try the store range products but I agree can’t have cheap sausages xx
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