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Saving cash in times of austerity!

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By *-and-K OP   Couple
over a year ago

Back of Beyond

OK so we have been thinking lately of how to pay extra off the mortgage, reduce outgoings etc.

So far instead of 'wasting' cash, ie spending it without realising where it was going. We've been able to pay an extra £200 a month off the mortgage.

Today however I was stung by how much we still waste! We were in Costa Coffee, a regular haunt for us, when he asked for £9

Now we use Costa for breakfast 3 days a week, can you believe £30 a week for coffee and toast.

So New Years resolution No1, only use Costa 1 day a week on sundays, if we both are not working! That's another £80 a month to go towards extra mortgage payments.

Anyone else realised just how much cash they are 'wasting'???

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Everyone should have a simple list (Excel is good), of what they pay out and when, preferably each month and yearly (some things are misleading on a monthly plan i.e. insurance).

Only then will you have a clear image of what your spending your money on.

And it's nothing to do with being tight, spend less on what you have to, more to spend on your priorites, mortgage, holidays, fun

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By *andcCouple
over a year ago

London and Cheshire

Nah...spend spend spend... you carn't take it with you!

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By *andcCouple
over a year ago

London and Cheshire

On a more serious note.. surely if we all save or cut back, then this will mean less chance of a receovery, more unemployment and longer austerity!

I not saying lend to spend, but if you have the cash!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

ooo very interesting

i was just thinking the other day how wasteful i can be and decided i would for a month get all reciepts together and keep a log of all outgoings and incomings and hope it would be a bit of a wakeup call as to just how much i was wasting and make me sort out my spending habits as i am constantly complaing about being skint but when i think of how much we have coming in as a household we really shouldn't be

i wasn't going to do it yet as jan and feb are my poorest months income wise but now you have me thinking it might be actually the best time to do it as we could do with the savings as i'm sure if i was doing it it would naturally make me think twice about some of the purchases i would normally make anyhoo

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"

And it's nothing to do with being tight, spend less on what you have to, more to spend on your priorites, mortgage, holidays, fun "

this was my thinking if i could sort out my spending we could have the sort of holidays we talk about and yet never manange to find the funds for

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

[Removed by poster at 05/01/12 10:54:36]

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

i waste so much money its unreal

I have to sit down sometimes and work out where its gone, you dont realise, £20 here, £15 there, £10 at the chippy for the kids, i dont drive but can get bus saver for £37 a month, but i get taxis everywhere and i recon i easy spent over £50 a week on taxis when i could get the bus for a while month for £37, every time i go to the shop i bring back my nipper a bag of sweets and a can of pop even tho we have it in the house, every time the nipper shopping i take her out to eat, i really do just waste so much its unreal

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I always wast loads on curry's etc. Especially when I've got the kids. I've clamped down on McDonalds too, at the dismay of the kids

It cost's 20 quid a pop and I used to get them quite regular when the kids are over because it's easy and you wan't to treat them. Honestly I could easily spend a hundred pound or more, just in a weekend, on fast food. Not anymore.

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By *iamondsmiles.Woman
over a year ago

little house on the praire

I tend to know where all my money goes. Im awful, i have pots top put different bits of money in for different things, I know im old fashioned but i dont have the problems some do with banks. Yes i have a bank account and a credit card with small limit on it. I give myself £120 a month for luxuries, ie hair or makeup or whatever i want that month. Then after my bills i save the rest

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By *-and-K OP   Couple
over a year ago

Back of Beyond

As you say, its amazing how much you can sqander on stuff you don't really need. I mean, £30 a week on coffee! that is over the top out of control almost.

But its more a case of enjoying something without realising just how much it is costing you. If we all applied this thinking, how much could we all save?

I think where we fell into the trap of spending actually came with the drop in interest rates! As the morgage payments fell, we spent the cash we were not paying.

Sooner or later those rates are going to go up again, so best use the saved cash to pay off some of the capital rather than spending it frivolously.

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By *ruitWoman
over a year ago

near kings lynn

Costa breakfast 3 times a week.....wow. I treat myself on average every other month to a frescato and look at the cakes and see the cost and dont bother for what it costs.

Well done you for cutting down and do a similar version myself but on a much less grander scale but buying multi packs of sweets for the kids for after school treat rather than 1 choc bar each which realistically is probably double the cost to buy singularly than in packs of 5

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I'm overweight...and lazy.

The walk from home to the station is around 10 minutes...tops. I take a cab to and from at £10 a day, £200 a month...disgraceful.

As part of my fight for fitness I intend ditching the cabs and putting the money towards the wood sash double glazed windows I want but can't afford as the lowest quote I've had is £2,450 each...and I need 14!

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By *edhotminxWoman
over a year ago

Turn left at the Singing Ringing Tree

I always cook our evening meal from scratch. Now I cook extra and then freeze what's left for my own ready meals.

I recently made a huge fish pie using haddock, cod and salmon. The fish alone cost me £22, but I got 11 portions out of that pie - so it worked out at £2 a portion.

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By *adchickCouple
over a year ago

Cyprus

Jason filled my car with petrol at the weekend and I've been taking my lunch to work..........

I purposely don't have any money in my purse and I've not needed it so far.

I might have to do this every week for a couple of months and put my lunch money and 'just popping to the shops' money into a tin and see how much I save.

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By *atisfy janeWoman
over a year ago

Torquay

Good move paying off your mortgage early if it's at all possible, also a good idea to liquidate any major profit in a property, we recently downsized in a major way to realise the 'paper profit' in our old property which was not only too big for us now we are on our own, but as it had multiplied Fivefold in Thirteen years it was time to reap the harvest before the bottom drops out of the Euro and property prices crash....

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