Shopping...
We worked out when the reduced items come out at our local supermarket (friday 7pm) and it saves us a fortune! We buy meat and just freeze it straight away, other items are usually fine for a few days. We also bulk buy, when something we use a lot of or buy regularly is on a really good deal we stock up, no point paying full price next month. The 800g mayo you see below was £1.62 usually £3.15! It's one of the few expensive brand names we do shell out for so when I saw this deal I was so excited. The meat is an amazing deal - each packet was £4 now 40p (only use by tomorrow) and lamb is my favorite too!
The big bills...
Rent - always the same but we love our home, so don't mind paying for it each month. Electricity - we are just sensible with it. Internet and phone deal - we regularly check we are getting the best deal, they change so often its really worth it (mobiles are just PAYG). Car Insurance - same as Internet we change up nearly every year and haggle down the phone! Car Tax and running - we own a small clio so tax is really cheap. It's a diesel and we share it, only having one car can be an inconvenience but its so worth it for the money we save.
The wee bills...
We write it all down, on a notepad in the kitchen, one page for each week and it really helps us. From that we can see if we are on track for our monthly targets or if we've spent a lot and need to cut back next week etc.
So those are some of the things that help us reach our savings target each month, nothing ground breaking lol but they work for us :) I will say that we are not in high wage brackets by any means and we are not scrimpers, we are savers. We do treat ourselves, we go out, we put the heat on when its cold enough and we use lights at night. We don't believe in sacrificing or struggling now for something in the future, we believe in happiness today while doing what we can to ensure a secure, comfortable future :)
If your on the same page/journey and have any tips to share I'd love to hear them
Astra xx
Oh, yes we are on the same journey Astra and of course you can make it happen.
ReplyDeleteWe love reductions and stockpiling. They have saved us a fortune over the years.
Is your T*SCO a large store? Try and visit on Christmas eve if you can as they will be reducing stuff to silly prices.
I think you've got a sensible head on your shoulders, no point going to extremes unless you need to. Enjoy your life and have fun!
So are you going to make your dreams into official challenges?
Just think what you can achieve?
Sft x
We have been trying to stockpile as well. I have a ton of meat now and hopefully it'll last us a bit.
ReplyDeleteHi SFT, yeah our store is quite big - not a huge superstore though. I'm sure Christmas eve would be a great time to go stock up, will do next year because this year we will have just arrived in Dublin for the 1st night of our honeymoon! Thanks for the encouragement it means a lot to me :) As for official challenges, I don't really follow? Do you mean set a time frame and stuff? xx
ReplyDeleteMichelle - isn't it a great feeling to have a kitchen/freezer full of food! There's something comforting about it :) xx
Yes, I am now on this path. Just this month I have stocked up on HP baked beans (I dont like them myself but Mr loves beans). Lidl had an offer of 4x250g for £1.00, usually £2.50 At the same time they had an offer of 24 toilet rolls for £5 when spending £30. So needless to say we did our normal shop and then bought £30 worth of beans........enough to last us a long time. Good job we have storage and that Mr loves eating beans for breakfast most days.
ReplyDeleteHaha brilliant! Thats a lot of beans! We don't have a lidl close by unfortunately, I'm thinking it may be worth a drive too though. Thanks for your comment Cheri :)
ReplyDeleteHave you checked on MSE on the printable supermarket coupon thread? Most of the coupons are for things that I don't want or need but sometimes there is a lovely one - like now when there is a coupon for 75p off Comfort Pure which is on offer in Sainsburys for £1 at the moment. Tesco have elderflower presse on offer at BOGOF and there is a coupon for 50p off which means £1.09 for 2 bottles - this is in the cupboard for Christmas because we are hosting it for the family this year. There are one or two other gems in the long list too. Combined with a hunt for yellow stickers, we do quite well but I haven't filled the freezer 40p meat packs yet so you are doing great ; )
ReplyDeleteNo I haven't got on the coupon bandwagon yet! I've been wanting to but never sure of where to get them, didn't want to get caught out with fakes or anything - that would be really embarrassing! Thanks though I will try MSE for sure, anything to save those pennies :) I think 40p meat is rare but so worth the wait! xx
ReplyDeleteGo on the MSE forums and search for "supermarket coupons". There is an incredibly dedicated team who list every coupon and also the shops with the best offers which use those coupons. Lots of advice too.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, I don't go mad with coupons because I wouldn't use many of the items but sometimes there are some real winners : )