Urgh.. how depressing...

I just did our new budget up, taking into consideration the new car loan now since we had to trade in both our old cars for a new BIG car to take the eventually 3 little monsters we have.

And at the end of my budget - we were $48 DOWN every week. So nearly $100 every fortnight was coming out of our savings - we are officially poor!

The only way I can make it work is to limit ourselves to $200 a week for food (with a bub on goats milk formula which is nearly $35 a tin up here a week) its going to be pretty cheap meat in this house (we've now done a meal plan with mince, sausages and chicken thigh fillets for soup).

No extras - no chocolate, no biscuits - not even my beloved ice cream. And I'm gonna have to go crappy cheap coffee (we do buy coles brand - but its the GOLD brand one which is pretty good considering) now we'll have to buy the normal one.. or heaven forbid - the savings brand.

I might just die :rolleyes:

I give thanks to the universe that I use cloth nappies and wipes or else I might have to live on baked beans for the rest of my life!! :lol:

:hug: I know exactly how that feels Arimeh! We were exactly the same a couple of years ago. THen i discovered ebay!

Use ebay to sell anything you don't want or need!

I used to go to op shops with $50 and buy anything I thought would sell. From $50 I would easily make $100 in my pocket after fees etc. I ended up having a booming business! It was fantastic $ and came in every day which I just loved.

Now that I am working it's so much easier to make ends meet.

Yeah I have a few things to sell, but don't think they will get much for them, maybe my Ergo will? Dunno :dunno:

*sigh*

Things will be much better once we sell the house and rent off my mum.

Although - the good part is that I shouldn't gain so much weight during this pregnancy.. LOL

babe we will work on driving traffic through the store hun xxx i know how this feels atm

i hate sasuages this week

Hon, If Miss M has to have goats milk formula, get a doc to give you a script for it... much cheaper!!! ;)

PB - its the only one that actually seems to be helping the constipation issues. But she might also be growing out of her problems? Dunno - not really in a rush to switch to cows milk formula cos its just so distressing hearing her scream when she poops :(

Babe, I meant if a doctor says she has to have it, you can get it on a script as its a neccesity. ;) When Tay needed thickening formula, we got it on script heaps cheaper.

So if your doc is a friendly one, get a script babe!!

:hug: We are exactly the same right now. Our food & petrol is $200 atm. Thankfully DH finally started work on Thursday, so hopefully soon we'll have a bit more.
We are planning on adding to our bills though, lol. Considering trading on a newer car & actually getting some savings behind us. Then, eventually one day, house repayments!
I'd love to have chocky, or bikkies or something in the cupboards too. Cheese & sao's are what we usually have instead. Much healthier, lol!

I know how it feels too babe, totally sucks. We've really had to tighten the budget around here since I lost my part time job and DH's hours were cut back.

But hey, we're surviving, we have a roof over our heads, food on the table and our bills are paid :hug:

PS A tip I got here from BB girls - start baking! It is so much cheaper to bake your own sweet stuff than to buy chocolate, biscuits etc. I usually make at least one slice and one batch of cookies a week now. Yummo! Bonus is DD loves helping me too so it's something we can do together.

Big hugs mel i know too how it is altho i only get to shop every 4-5 weeks now spending only $150 - $200 and thats for 2 adults one formula fed child and a 10 year old 8 year old and a 3 year old. I cant wait to get my shop running . I hope and wish u all the best and hope things get better for you. i know meat costs heaps we dont eat much meat here good thing im not keen on meat too then hey. we struggle with rent being 58% of our income.. If we can do it so can u i have every confidence that u can make it work :) wishing you all the best mel.... I do trully understand your frustrations. xoxoxo

Oh hun I know the feeling, we had weeks like that (it was up & down as DH is on commission) when we had our house & our investment property. Once we sold the investment we were fine however. Hang in there, it helps to know you arent the only one.

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Big hugs mel i know too how it is altho i only get to shop every 4-5 weeks now spending only $150 - $200 and thats for 2 adults one formula fed child and a 10 year old 8 year old and a 3 year old.

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How the heck do you manage to only spend $150 - $200 every month!?! I need to see your shopping list I think!!!

Madsmum - it does help to know that I'm not the only one.

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How the heck do you manage to only spend $150 - $200 every month!?! I need to see your shopping list I think!!!

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hehe well basically if ya dont got it to spend ya cant spend it hey and it makes u more creative and we get all our fruit and veg from this cheap shop in caboolture. Im happy to give ya the link/ details :) at bigger food chains We buy in bulk amounts of what ever is on sale that week so it might be cereal buying 6 packets or pasta sauce. I have had to humble my self alot in the process.... Thing arnt so bad when hubbie can work but its been 7 months no work and loads of interviews down. i guess thats why its good im starting a business as just like you... we could use the extra CASH very easily:)

BTW mel i have to add this... VERY IMPORTANT!!!

i DO NOT substitute on coffee it so aint worth it i need GOOD caffine lol:lol: i buy maccona and coffee beans my substitute if short on $$$ is nescafe think 48 or whate ver that number actually is hehehe (pre coffee need one) but i buy in a LARGE tin as cheaper and also with the maccona... I check the grams against the price on everything. That's my brain work out at the shops. We make our own food and i freeze them adding just 1 more tin of cruched tomatos a or maybe a bit more stock can make things go that little bit further... we also used to shop every week spending heaps then every week i delayed it by 1 day saving me a whole 1 days shopping... so it would look like this

• 1st week 7 days
• 2nd week 8 days
• 3rd week 9 days

over the course of a year thats MASSIVE savings and it was so easy.
so if i was spending 120 a week for 7 days food that would be about's 17 dollars a day so to stretch that to 8 days thats a 17 dollar saving :) and the beans grind in the automatic coffee machine, mostly drinking instant as im slack. hope that tip helps :)

Mel - after 7 months of having limited income due to me not working, and DH having enforced leave due to fires and the down turn in his work (which, yay, is finally starting to pick up when i need him home!) i know what it's like to be on minimal income and really struggling financially

DH and I can get away with minimal grocery money each fortnight if we make use of the slow cooker and bulk cooking. i know you've mentioned not having a big freezer, which isn't a huge help, but can i suggest you give it a go? and try to see what you can do. as i mentioned in my SC thread about my aunt with diabetes - we managed to cook just short of 90 meals for 240 - almost all of them in the SC. it's not great eating the same stuff over and over, but once you start experimenting with what you can make, you find a lot of stuff that is great and oh so tasty! and the best bit is, it's relatively simple to use. we make a lot of "versatile" type meals - stuff that you can eat today as something plain, next time you can make into something completely different (spag bol today, pasta bake late in the week - just freeze in between kwim?) - by packing it with extra veg, it's more nutritious, tastes better, and the veg is a hell of a lot cheaper...

as willow suggested - baking at home is heaps cheaper too - just make sure A isn't around cos he's not super helpful! i'd be looking for recipes that keep well over a period of several days so you only have to cook stuff like that once a week.

oh mel i didnt know u didn't have a large freezer, we had a upright full size freezer bt thought with all those bonus going round before we should invest in something to help us save so we bought a chest freezer for 250 i think and that one has helped heaps we use it mostly for bread which ya can get as low as 1.00 or 1.10 in coles and for home made biscuits scones and cakes and kids pre made lunches... sometimes i saves to spend iykwim

We're running on a pretty tight budget here too. I shop mostly second hand or clearance for my kids clothing, and for myself, and buy all my groceries at the discount grocery store. I bag my own groceries there, and have a little less selection, but that's no biggie to me. Stick to the cheaper meats (chicken and ground beef), and try some meatless meals, try baking your own bread (so yummy!), don't buy the little pre-packaged stuff - buy in bulk and divide into portions yourself, avoid the prepared foods - you can usually make it yourself cheaper, ummmm.... go bulk where ever you can, but be careful that you don't consume more, just because you have more in the house.
Watch your "extras". WATCH YOUR CREDIT CARDS!!! It's so easy to let those get out of hand! Only buy what you can pay for.
Check your budget for things to cut, or hunt for cheaper providers - memberships, cable, satellite...???
Hope things ease up for you soon. I know it can be really stressful trying to keep ahead of all these things. We just had our property tax bill come in, a car repair bill, income taxes, and a dental bill all at the same time. OUCH!!!
Hang in there! You'll make it. :hug:

I've only got a couple of tips to add, what everyone else has suggested is great advice & I'll be using it myself! :)

I extend mince meals like chilli con carne or spag bog with TVP - vegetarians use it as meat substitute, its cheap as chips and absorbs heaps of flavour from the sauce that its being cooked in. Most people wouldn't be able to tell that there was TVP in there if they didn't know, they'd just think it was mince!

Lentils & beans are some of my favourite things to add to meals to bulk them up in a healthy way. And they taste great!

Pots of soup are seriously good too, use up your old veggies in the bottom of the fridge, are nutritionally good if you chuck in heaps of legumes etc and oh so tasty for winter!

The one thing that I have been doing lately is using up everything in the pantry and freezer. I have basically banned shopping apart from the bare essentials until we have emptied them both and we can start filling them up again.

TVP? What's that?

Meat-free meat - and it is cheap! Meat-free mince is 50p/lb cheaper for me, using the cheapest supermarket brands.

Shopping lists and sticking to them. That helps. Write out meal plans and do your shopping around that.

The "rule of 3" I have heard, which I already did, that is good. You just split into 3, not 2. So shop every 9 days, not 6. Put 2 bags in a teapot, not 3. Cook a big meal, partly for the freezer - split it into 3, not 2: smaller meals but you have an extra one.

Take a packed lunch to work.

One that saves me a LOT of money: take your own coffee granules to work. Seriously, ?1.10 for a decaf instant but 20p for hot water. My coffee granules don't cost 90p a time!

Look at what "luxuries" you get and how to get them cheaper (such as my coffee above). Cake? Bake it. Flour? Switch to the cheaper brand. Veggies? Grow your own.

Can your DH carshare to work?

Look at your bills and see where you can save. Water? Use dishwater on the flowers and share baths. Electricity? Books not TV. Meat? Try vegetarian alternatives, good recipes on the web. Clothes? Cheaper brands and washing more often. Ask for clothes for birthdays.

Good luck!

Textured Vegetable Protein - you can get in it health stores for next to nothing. You just soak it in water and it triples in size before chucking it in with your mince and cooking it exactly the same way.

mel. i know how you feel- it sucks- dunno how we will cope with number 2 anyways- a suggestion- people normally still give gifts for third babies right? so maybe ask for tins of formula?? this may behlp a lot

hugs.

We're down $37 a week, so know the feeling well. We just run up the credit card & pay it off at tax time. Not ideal, but we have no other choice without savings. We scrimp & I rarely buy clothes for Aaron & I unless is absolutely essential.

That said... You're selling your Ergo??

You can get TVP from the supermarket, Sanitarium make it.

I was also going to suggest vegetarian meals, slow cooker stews with cheaper cuts of meat.

It is cheaper to buy meat from the butcher rather than the supermarket, sometimes you can get meat at wholesale prices, look in the local rag for adverts. Fruit and veg at the fruit market/barn is also cheaper.

Pasta and rice based dishes can be cheap meals. Home Brand wherever possible.

Chemists and Priceline often have cheap washing powder, dishwashing liquid and odd things like that on special. And formula is often cheaper at the chemist.

I shop at Safeway (Woolies) and I notice that now they have the price per 100g listed on the shelf so you can pick out which is the best value for money which is great for things like toilet rolls, cleaning products etc.

Water saver shower heads? Cakes of soap rather than shower gel? Use decent quality shampoo and you can get away with a cheaper conditioner. Roll on deodorant rather than aerosol?

Another one...if you have one locally, the Shaver Shop sells razor blades far more cheaply than the supermarket if your DH is a Gillette user - the price of razor blades is scandalous. I have also noticed Big W toiletries and cleaning products are often cheaper than the supermarket.

Check Bunnings too for bulk items of dishwashing liquid & spray & wipe concentrate.

The 5L Glinz dishwashing liquid has lasted us a good 7 or more months and far cheaper than buying bottles from supermarket. Think its around $13 for 5L but dont quote me :p

I agree with meal planning saving money - I've been doing it for about 2 months now and it's working well. Nothing fancy, I just sit down and write out a fortnight's worth of meals, check what I need to buy to make those meals and that's what goes on the shoppping list.

I find this way I'm not buying heaps of things 'just in case' like I used to. We have only what we need and it works.

i definately feel your pain, i'm a sahm, and df gets paid ****e, and he's a supervisor! we just got a suspension notice for our phone and electricity bills which are depressing, and we'll probably have to borrow from one of our mums to pay them.

a few things that i am picking up on the way though.
*i shop at aldi, and buy more than i need so that it'll last longer, and i wont need to go to the shops where i can be tempted by other things.
*got a phone and internet plan with aapt who are brilliant, all of their deals are cap plans and you can pretty much tell them how much you want to spend a month and they can cater to you.
*i've started baking too
*big fan of beans and lentils to fill out meals
*freeze leftovers
*take lunches
*when i go out, i always have drinks and snacks for kids so i don't have to buy
*trying to make sure i turn lights off when i leave a room - working on that one

that's all i can think of at the moment. oh what i'd give for a money tree...

Best tip I can add is to make a reusabale shopping list. In fact, I might put my computer print out on on my webbie and people can ask me to pm the link. Its utterly invaluable. It sounds like a whole lot, but we feed our brood for $400 a fortnight. Thats $4 each a day. What made that possible was having this list. Every tuesday we go through the cupboards and mark down what we need. This way we arent forgetting anything (limiting impulse buys) and only buy exactly what we need - knowing we need it because we checked the cupboards thoroughly before heading out.

With my list though - it does have all excluded additives on there and so some items are also missing because we couldnt get one without the additives. There is also yellow boxes over items that we need to make sure we are getting the right brand to be additive free. Its mostly ingredients too, so its back to basics cooking. But this could be a real contributing factor to our ability to budget it well.

If we didnt do it, we could not squeeze out needs into our guaranteed income. But although I have been a bit lazy lately, you can see by the dinner thread that we do eat some really nice stuff. Oh, and Nescafe. We refuse to skimp on our coffee..

And I will 50th the meal planning!

We haven't been going too badly - I've managed to get our food bills under $200 a week for most weeks - which is amazing, and I have been cooking (bad, terrible biscuits, but they still get eaten!!)

I don't have a slower cooker, and we have an upside down fridge, so our freezer is quite tiny. So can't really stock up on meat unfortunately (Thanks for the PM leash!)

Sarah - thanks for your PM - there is one in maroochydore so i'm going to send them an email - thanks for the tip!

We've been buying our fruit and vegies from the local fruit market - I can get a weeks worth for around $32 - which is great considering how much fruit DS and DH eat. So that saves us money, plus I've been only buying sausages and mince once a week - and chicken once a fortnight (I make an awesome chicken soup which does us for 2 nights meals and I use chicken thigh fillets - cheaper ;))

Ooh good point on the pantry list Mags. I downloaded a pantry program the other week that I haven't used yet but it looks really good. Basically you load into it everything in your fridge, freezer & pantry and as you use things take them off the list & it makes your grocery list for you. I think it will be very handy cos I will then know what's lurking in the back of the cupboard & won't go out buying a tin of crushed tomatoes when I already have three IYKWIM.

The other thing I think would be helpful & I try to work on constantly is to keep your pantry & fridge tidy & organised. Whenever I do it I find I spend less on groceries because I can see everything easily & know what is there.

Someone mentioned not buying individual packets of things, but dividing big packets up. We do this too. I buy 1kg of sultanas or dried apricots from work & divide them up as snacks for the kids rather than buying the little boxes. An added thing to this is to use little containers over zip lock bags, waaay cheaper.

Oh & another way to use up leftovers that we love is to put whatever (stirfry, spag bol sauce etc) on top of a baked potato or sweet potato with some cheese. They are pretty cheap, you use up your left overs & it's YUM!

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I will then know what's lurking in the back of the cupboard & won't go out buying a tin of crushed tomatoes when I already have three IYKWIM.

The other thing I think would be helpful & I try to work on constantly is to keep your pantry & fridge tidy & organised. Whenever I do it I find I spend less on groceries because I can see everything easily & know what is there.

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YES! Totally agree, I did a massive cleanout of our fridge and pantry, reorganised and even labelled everything so now I know exactly what's there and what we need.

Labelled? *snigger*

Nerd *points finger at Willow*

LMAO

Dude...I'm VERY pregnant and nesting...alright??!!

DH went out and brought me a labeller....:rofl:

PMSL

I have a labeller too - but not for tins in my cupboard.. ROFL

:rofl:

I didn't label the tins!!! Just the storage containers that are in the pantry so I know what the hell is in them!

WILLOW - I was going to say if you can't read the label on the can already then I think it might be expired!! Lol.

My pantry storage containers are labelled....:D

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:rofl:

I didn't label the tins!!! Just the storage containers that are in the pantry so I know what the hell is in them!

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rofl!!!!!!!

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:rofl:

I didn't label the tins!!! Just the storage containers that are in the pantry so I know what the hell is in them!

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As long as they aren't alphabetized :rofl: