# Any advice how I can cut costs



## doubledeb

Age: 34
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 35

Annual gross income from employment or profession: 34k
Annual gross income of spouse: 16k

Type of employment: Public sector
                             Self Employed


In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or - spending everything we earn
(b) saving? - saving €160 per month (xmas and rainy days but keep having to dip into it)

Rough estimate of value of home -210k
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: -274k
*What interest rate are you paying? ECB + 1.25 (tracker) €889p.m*

Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc - 2 cars one owned outright the other has 19 months left. fixed bank loan 7% - €238 p.m
Joint Credit union loan over 10 years of 26k, 1500 in savings. paying 300p.m
Personal CU loan of 14k 4.4k in savings. paying €364 p.m
Groceries cost about €600 per month
Diesel about 160 per month
Both smokers ( I know I Know)
Creche fees €300 per month 
Home phone and broadband €46 per month
2 mobiles €56 per month
Sky €31.50 p.m

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? no
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? €1300 interest free till dec 2010. paying €25 p/m

Savings and investments: Just the CUs but held against the loans

Do you have a pension scheme? Yes Public sector

Do you own any investment or other property? no

Ages of children: 14 and 2

Life insurance: dual life mortgage protection €150 p.m


*What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you? *

*Ok on paper we seem to be well able to afford to live comfortably.  But every week all the cash seems to just disappear.  *
*Is it obvious to anyone where we could cut back (obv the smoking bit). Have already tried the mort protection but I have a few ailments and partner has discovered some (non life threatning) since taking out the mort in 2006.*
*Sick to death of having nothing left every week*
*any advice appreciated*
*Please don't go on about the smoking we don't drink so we have to have some vices.*
*I know its not a very serious situation to be in and there are a lot worse off out there*
*but every little helps*
*Thanks*


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## woodbine

won't mention the fags. you know yourself. 

But your grocery bill seems VERY high for your family. We're a family of three, two adults and a 13 year old. Our bill is in or around €300 or €350.


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## aristotle

Check what mobile plans you are on. I know with O2 there is a plan for 20 euro per month that gives you unlimited calls to O2 mobiles and Irish Landlines.


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## niceoneted

Can you clarify if the savings against the first joint credit union loan is 1,500 or 15,000. If the latter is there any way you could talk with the CU in relation to lumping all the savings together against the 2 loans, ie you would have 19.4K saving and 40K loan - they may take shave some of the savings off the loan. 
The sky package could be brought down to the basic package ie cancel all the 2euro add ons. It's small saving but one none the less. 
Appreciate you don't drink but you could still cut back on smokes or give up - how much do you spend a day on them - it also will benefit your health and that of your children. 
Start a spending diary, write down every last cent you spend  and see where you are losing money. 
Grocery shopping could be cut significantly. Lots of specials on at the moment, make use of the freezr if you have to stock up on fresh stuff on special such as breads/meats/fish etc. 
Also I would aim to have all of the cc balance paid off by Dec so you'll need to up the payments perhaps saving from grocery, sky and if you get to alter CU loans will help with this. then cut it up.

ALso if you can say what the take hime pay is it helps re calculations.


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## doubledeb

Thanks for the replies
Fags are the bain of our lives, but just not ready yet to take the plunge!
the savings in the joint cu is €1,500. we already used some of the savings that were there to cut back on the loan thats why its only €1,500. We spend about €60 p.w on smokes. Its horrible when you see it like that.
I always look for offers when i shop, we never go to a convenience store for food that is all the meat and milk etc for the week. some weeks it might be only 125.  We don't buy frozen foods and everything is cooked from scratch.  I don't use the CC at all. I did a transfer back in feb to get the interest only and have never used the card, and am planning to transfer again in Dec to another provider offering interest free. We don't smoke in the house ever. one mobile is €20 per month the other is €15 per month with an add on of €16.50 including vat then its €36 p.m. take home in total is 42k.


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## aristotle

I didnt realise it was so expensive to smoke, thats over €3,100 per year. It would pay for 3.5 months of your mortgage repayments.

Maybe you can seriously cut back rather than go cold turkey.


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## doubledeb

I know isn't it disgusting.
I have cut back from 20 a day to about 10 a day if not less.
OH however different matter, think I am the sensible one! He would smoke about 20 a day alright.


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## Protocol

doubledeb said:


> Life insurance: dual life mortgage protection €150 p.m


 
This seems high.

I pay 100 pa or less than 10 pm for MPP on a 20 yr loan.

Is it just pure MPP? Or has the policy extra cover?

Get a fresh quote on www.labrokers.ie


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## doubledeb

We are both insured for €280k.  If I die OH gets €280k less whats outstanding on the mortgage.  At the moment that would be about 6k!. The surviving person is insured for 280k for next of kin in the event of their death. I have tried to get this down but its more form filling and it would probably go up even for less cover because of conditions that have been diagnosed since the policy was taken out.  We had so much hassle getting it in the first place it took over 2 months and we had both passed a birthday by the time it came into effect (convenient or what) so it increased by €30 from the initial offer (originally €116 pm)


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## niceoneted

Op when I asked about take home pay I mean how much actually is brought into the household each month, after tax, prsi etc. 
I appreciate some weeks on grocery shopping is more expensive, I usually do one monthly big shop usually in and around 80 and then a weekly shop of around 20/25. That includes all household stuff too. 
Are you buying fruit and veg in lidl/aldi great value especially on the weekly deals super 6 is it?


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## doubledeb

42k per year.  thats 3500 per month.  Tried aldi for a while but dont have time to go to 2 shops every week certain things can't be got in aldi for smallie.


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## niceoneted

Are you being paid in cash and therefore avoiding any tax inplications so.If not then this is where your problem lies, you do not realise how much money is coming into the household.


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## doubledeb

I wish
The 34k income take home is 26k per year


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## niceoneted

That gives you 2,166 per month. What about the 16K is this taken in cash so, allowing  1,333 or are there deductions there too?
I'm wondering how many posts it will take to get the answer!

Seems y ou only have 250 to play around with at the end of the month. 

You really need to cut the grocery bill and the smokes. 
You also have no provision for bills such as ESB, Heating, car tax, ins, tv licence. what do you do when these arise.


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## doubledeb

You asked was i paid in cash the answer is no I thought that would be obvious when the gross is 34k and the take home was 26k?
If you ask the question properly i will give you the answer.  Self employed gets approx 16k per year, not liable for tax till oct 2011.
So at the moment we bring home 42k per year or €3,230 per month 
Outgoings are €3,160 per month, esb and gas usually paid from savings.
What else do you need to know niceoneted?


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## doubledeb

Sorry meant to add that the childrens allowance is 300 per month too.  This usually goes on anything the kids might need or bills tv licence car ins tax etc.


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## niceoneted

I was trying to work out what the take home was so I could minus the outgoings and see what is left. That way people can help better. If it is clear you will get a better response.


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## doubledeb

So why so smart?
I thought i was very clear in my original post


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## fizzelina

doubledeb said:


> You asked was i paid in cash the answer is no I thought that would be obvious when the gross is 34k and the take home was 26k?
> If you ask the question properly i will give you the answer. Self employed gets approx 16k per year, not liable for tax till oct 2011.
> So at the moment we bring home 42k per year or €3,230 per month
> Outgoings are €3,160 per month, esb and gas usually paid from savings.
> What else do you need to know niceoneted?


 
Doubledeb this seems a bit smart of you towards niceoneted, who what what I could see gave some helpful posts back to you and only asked for clarification since your post wasn't fully clear. Anyway I won't give my own opinion or post on it since I don't fancy getting something like the above back at me.


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## fizzelina

*Ok on paper we seem to be well able to afford to live comfortably. But every week all the cash seems to just disappear. *
[/QUOTE]

Have you been keeping a detailed spending diary with literally everything put on it each day. The cash can't just disappear and a spending diary would help you to see exactly where it went.


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## fizzelina

doubledeb said:


> So why so smart?
> I thought i was very clear in my original post


 
Your original post actually didn't say how much wages net was coming into the home each month. Hence why niceoneted asked.


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## doubledeb

I used the money makeover tool and it didn't ask for net.  I should have mentioned that too i suppose. I know that its silly cash doesn't just disappear i can;t seem to see where it goes every week?


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## doubledeb

niceoneted said:


> Are you being paid in cash and therefore avoiding any tax inplications so.If not then this is where your problem lies, you do not realise how much money is coming into the household.


 
fizz - I dont avoid any type of tax.  this is the bit I thought was smart.


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## fizzelina

ok im sorry double deb.
And it's not at all silly I agree the cash disappears! Bringing my lunch to work and only taking small amounts out of ATM at a time has helped me a lot. Also I don't stop by the supermarket / Boots after work anymore (that 1 thing I stopped for used to turn into 6 things!) and I just wait until the weekly shop (I freeze bread and milk would last if you check dates when buying it I find) I don't throw out food (last night I made potato cakes out of the previous nights mash for example) The money can easily disappear, it's hard to account for it all, like for example when you stop for petrol or cigarettes do you also buy the lotto, magazine....these things add up.


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## annR

I still don't know how groceries can be 600 per month, that just seems like an awful lot.   If you don't have time to go to two shops, can one of ye not go to Lidl/Aldi and the other go to the 2nd shop for the other bits?   Or is it that you are buying stuff that you don't realised how much it is costing you?  Perhaps you should have a look at your grocery bill and see what jumps out as being quite expensive but not necessary.

I wrote something about the fags but deleted it, at the same time I am wondering to myself why are we giving you advice when you know what you have to do but don't seem to have any inclination to do it.


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## doubledeb

Ann I know we have to give up the cigs, just not in the frame of mind at the moment. Just asking if there is anywhere else we can cut things down. I agree the grocery shop is expensive alright but i check my receipts all the time and everything on there is necessary, veg, fruit, meat, dairy and nappies etc.  I think those that are smokers will understand about the cigs.
your right there fizz when buying smokes i tend to get the lotto and maybe the paper then a treat for us all so before you know it €20 is gone!


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## Eithneangela

Can you make it through each day with NO cash in your possession?  Try it for a while and you'll soon break the habit of buying stuff you don't need.  I was mugged a few times, don't bring money now, use laser card only if meeting friends or have to buy petrol, but that's all.  
List your weekly groceries - use that list to buy as much as possible in Aldi/Lidl and then to whatever other overcharging supermarket for the rest. Don't deviate from the list. Also, if you both smoke and can't give them up at the moment, try getting a carton (as rarely as possible) so that you're not dropping in to the garage/shop ad hoc and ending up buying unnecessary stuff (glossy magazine, sweets etc.)  Good luck


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## doubledeb

Appreciate your advice eithneangela.  When someone else says it-it makes perfect sense.  Actually doing it is up to me i suppose.  
I appreciate all the other replies too... must quit the fags and cut back on the grocerys, thats what it boils down to really ....


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## Howitzer

No mention of SKY+Broadband+Landline = 77.5 a month = 930 a year.

You have 2 mobiles, you don't need a landline. I accept it probably comes as a package but there are undoubtedly better packages available where you can bundle these together - or pick and choose the bits you need.


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## doubledeb

Broadband and the landline are in a bundle for €46 per month. I'm tied to that for 12 months all in return for 3meg broadband. woopeedo. We dont have sky sports or movies or anything just some music channels for the teenager and cartoons for the baby.


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## poppy1

sorry to hijack your post but 

i posted on here a few months back and like you our shopping bill is 500 to 600 for 3 of us. We too make everything from scratch and our toddler is sent to the creche with a bag full of food every day, and hubbie and i bring lunch to work (so i spend a euro a day in subsidised restaurant).
Hubbie wont buy supermarket fruit,veg or meat so get them from local suppliers. 
I think what we really need to do is a weekly plan and stick to it. We rarely get take aways and dont really drink.
Id just be interested to know what the other 3/4 people families spend a month on groceries, thanks

When i say groceries i mean all my bills from tesco, dunnes, butcher etc


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## fizzelina

If your shopping bill is 500/600 and includes your lunches and not needing to buy expensive sandwiches / meals during work hours then maybe those who say it is too much have less shopping expenses themselves but buy their lunch out during the work week.


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## csirl

Different people have different definitions of grocery bill. For some, it means just the food they buy. For others, it means everything they buy in the supermarket, which may include cleaning products, personal hygene, babies nappies, household items and maybe even some clothes and electrical items.


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## Purple

There’s 6 in our house, including one small baby, and we spend 700-900 per month on shopping ( groceries, meat, cleaning and personal hygiene products etc). I cook everything from scratch and freeze loads of meals in portion sizes. We don’t really make much of an effort to keep the cost down but we wouldn’t be eating strip loin steaks every week (unless they were on special offer).


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## droileen

*Rent a Room Scheme*

Could you rent out a room ?  Great money to be made - Tax Free> would also apply to a converted garage.


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## annR

I admit I haven't counted our grocery bill recently but I'm struggling to see how we could spend more than 400 a month and that's including if we were to take all our lunches into work (at the moment we manage about half of them). We are two adults and a toddler. 
If I was to pinpoint what saves us a lot of money it's probably that we don't buy a lot of meat. Many days we would have had it for lunch already in the subsidised canteen at work and anyway we don't need to eat it every single day. We eat a lot of vegetarian meals at home. I buy beans / lentils/ chickpeas in bulk in the asian supermarket in town, soooo cheap. makes me sound like a bit of a hippy but I like Indian food and a lot of it is vegetarian. In winter I cook a lot of Italian bean soups.
We don't buy any confectionary either like Coke, biscuits etc.


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## yram

Wow -  600 pm - thats a heck of alot of groceries.

It would be interesting for you to post your 600 worth of groceries (or anyone spending that amount) to see what exactly ye buy.

I watched the Dell programme the other night - the way it has devastated families in Limerick and one family, complaining about lack of money, the mammy was unpacking her grocery bags and pulling out tropicana orange juice, huge carton of innocent smoothies and other unnecessary things and she is complaining about money??????

When are we going to wake up about what struggling really means/what necessities are?

I myself, am a (social) smoker - I now only smoke if go out - I couldnt afford it - usually once a week will smoke a few fags - I used to smoke 10+ a day. Its all about habit. And, if you stop, even for a few days, you will notice how fags actually make you feel more nervous/anxious - in case you are going to say they are a crutch for you. My aim is to stop altogether but now I actually enjoy the fag if I have one rather than horsing them into me for the sake of it.


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## doubledeb

I actually went grocery shopping today.  came to €145 euro.  That was without meat as I bought that in the butcher (special offer €20 for 5 meats).  That will do us for the 7 days as I will re-use the left over beef and make a curry or something.  4 chicken breasts included in that so one chicken casserole and one stir fry.  Still don't know where I am going wrong.  Went in to the supermarket with the intention of cutting back and it still was expensive.  I always buy dishwasher tabs and washing tablets when they are on special offer.  Shampoo was half price.  3 pack of baby wipes under 4 euro. No nappies in that. Ok I did get a couple of packets of biscuits but we rarely get take out so I think we should have some treats.  All in all the biscuits all together came to about a fiver.  Am I being completely stupid and should cut out the biscuits as well? I have tried to shop in tesco.. same thing.  My teenagers lunches are included in that as well btw. hopefully next week might be different....


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## Boyd

Ah god no, surely a fiver on a few biscuits isnt the end of the world. I see you mention Tesco, what about Lidl? Lots of stuff is much cheaper than Tesco et al, especially toiletries and the like e.g. Cien brand shower gel/shampoo is 80c in Lidl compared to 3 or 4 euro for head and shoulders......similar experience on deodorant vs Lynx. 1L milk is 75c vs 97c in Tesco, huge block of cheese for E2.50 vs tiny amount you get for that in Tesco.


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## doubledeb

I know I should go there for fruit and veg alright and maybe some toiletries too.  I just don't like the place and i don't really have the time to go to 2 supermarkets.  I think what makes me stay with Dunnes too is the vouchers i get every quarter!  The shampoo i bought today was only 1.34!
As other posters have pointed out my real issue is the smokes.  I just don't know how people can spend €400 per month on food. Forgot to mention that we have 2 dogs as well thats €10 per week on food for them too


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## Boyd

Yeah but how much did you have to spend in order to get the shampoo for 1.34? TBH if you are on the web asking for help I don't think liking the supermarket is the biggest concern if the savings are there....


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## doubledeb

I know I understand that too.  I wasn't asking for help just some advice from an outsiders point to see where i am going wrong with my spending. I'm gonna have to look at different supermarkets for the best offers I suppose.


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## fizzelina

yram said:


> I watched the Dell programme the other night - the way it has devastated families in Limerick and one family, complaining about lack of money, the mammy was unpacking her grocery bags and pulling out tropicana orange juice, huge carton of innocent smoothies and other unnecessary things and she is complaining about money??????


 
Haha my boyfriend and I commented on the same thing!! Innocent smoothies are not exactly the staple of a struggling household. Besides can't you just give your kids an apple?? Don't get me started on the farmer's kitchen with the box of Rice Krispies on the radiator!!


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## sadie

If you smoke just buy the cigs in the bulk. 
This will do away with the illusion that many smokers have is that "I'll just buy these today, because sure I may have stopped by tomorrow". And will stop you going to the shop every day.
If you are not in the right frame of mind then read Alan Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. You can smoke the whole way through until you feel like stopping. I stopped 10 years ago using it and it breaks my heart to see so many people still addicted to nicotine, and counting their life out in 'when's my next fag'. 
If smoking gets you down then stopping smoking will cheer you up. 
I'm sure the lunch in the canteen is probably still dearer than eating a sandwich you have made yourself from the weekly shop. 
The Dunnes Stores own brand Dish Washer Powder is JUST as good as any dishwasher tabs I have bought, and believe me I have tried and tested them all. 
Do you need to buy a paper every day if you have the Internet. You can get the TV pages from one paper at the weekend.


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## woodbine

A few tips about your grocery shopping:


We do the majority of our grocery shopping in Lidl, although there are a few items that are cheaper in Tesco/a local bulk-buy shop.(the large bag of tesco cat food is better value but cheaper than the equivelant weight of lidl bags)

There's a section in the frozen section of every lidl with 30% off frozen meat products. These items might be a few days off their sell by date but are always perfect.We buy as much as we can of these and keep them frozen until required. 

Also in lidl there's a 30% off in the bread section, if it's cheaper than their cheaper bread, buy it and freeze. 

I also find our local centra can be good value sometimes for meat. So when something's on offer we buy a few. 

When we do our monthly shop we buy treats included. In our house, fruit juice is limited to 8 per month and when they're gone, they aren't replaced until next month. 

We allow ourselves one 1.5 litre of fizzy drink per week.(a weekend treat!) and again, when it's gone it's gone. 

If you can find the huge box of washing powder on offer get it. (It's the big box, can't remember the exact volume or price but it's around €13 and lasts us for months. Buy cheap fabric conditioner if you have to use it.

At the end of every month sit down and work out your meals by the week for the following month, eg:

Monday: Lasagne
Tuesday; potatoes, veg, sausages. 

etc etc. 

and buy everything you need for these meals at the beginning of the month. ( some fresh vegetables and fruit will have to be bought fresh but don't have to be expensive)


if you can buy monthly, when you get home, make a batch of stews or casseroles. And when you're making stew/casseroles bulk it out with cheaper vegetables like carrots or whatever's in season (cheap). When you're buying beef for stews it doesn't need to be the best cut. i use stewing beef and leave it to cook (on low temperature) for a couple of hours. The meat is always beautifully tender. 

If you made enough frozen dinners for even two days per week you'll have two days off from making the dinner! maybe use that time to get to the cheaper shop once a week?

Sometimes i make homemade vegetable soup (packed with lovely vegetables)  and we have it for dinner with crusty rolls. We love it and it's all good for you. 

No doubt i've forgotten some ideas, will post if i think of them.


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## variety

yram said:


> Wow - 600 pm - thats a heck of alot of groceries.
> 
> It would be interesting for you to post your 600 worth of groceries (or anyone spending that amount) to see what exactly ye buy.


 
This seriously had me thinking - our grocery budget is €750 p/m and I just couldn't fathom how you thought €600 was a lot. There's only two of us and we don't buy meat. 

But then I realised - €400 goes on smokes (for both of us), €200 on alcohol (nights in and nights out) and only €150 on actual groceries (including toiletries). I shop in Tesco more or less exclusively (except for chinese stores for the cheap lentils etc).

Re the smokes - not struggling with money but believe me they will be the first to be cut if we ever do need to cut back on anything. That is a shocking amount of money!!


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## doubledeb

Less than €40 per week on food?
How in the name of god do ye manage that?


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## pinkyBear

Hi doubledeb, I am not sure if this would help you or not, and I do appreciate that you have been getting loads of advise on your shopping but here are some tips that I did that brought our shop down from about €600 pm (for the two of us) to about €300 - €350 pm. 

We do 1 weekly shop, mainly in Aldi. Like you we (I!) cook mainly from scratch. The thing I like about Aldi, is I go in with a list of things I need and I come out with only those things. Aldi does not often introduce new stock, so you are less inclined to pick things up that you think you need. In terms of produce and the quality, the food there is of a high standard.

However there are things I cannot get in Aldi that I like - my shampoos and conditioners for example, fajita mixes. So I would probably do a shop in Dunnes for these products that I like every 4 -6 weeks. 

But here is another trick I have done on Mr Bear, we were spending alot of money on meat. So I suggested to Mr. Bear (he had high cholesterol anyway) that we should eat less meat, so we eat more fish and veg. We would really only eat meat dinners 2-3 times a week now. 

I cook alot of pasta sauces ( fry a tin of tomatoes, red onion and garlic, add basil and salt ) and apart from being very tasty, very healthy (Mr. Bears cholesterol now down) it is also very cheap and quick to prepare and cook.... 

I am not sure if this is of use to you, but it has worked for us.
Cheers,
P..


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## doubledeb

Hiya Pinkybear,
I am going to start doing that. Bring a list in to aldi and get my fruit, veg, spuds, some toiletries, dishwasher tabs, washing tabs, bread and milk there and get the deal in the butcher (5 meats for €20) and then get the rest in dunnes. Thing is with dunnes etc is there is way more choice so I am inclined to wander from what I actually need. 
I am going to make it my business this week to do that and see then how I get on.
Thanks for everyones help and advice.
Heres hoping the lotto is mine tomorrow night


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## yram

Ill tell you - buy a few of the following:

- Passata - you can get it in a paper carton in Aldi/lidl/Dunnes. Costs like 50cent for 500mls. If you buy a (cheaper/smaller jar) pasta sauce, add the passata to make it for 4 people. I swear you would not know the difference and its actually very good for you (pure tomatoes). You can also use it in pittas/pizzas etc. As a base for a lot of sauces.

- Pasta - baked - refried - boiled.....one of the yummiest things ive ever eaten (and how simple) is leftover spag bol. Make loads of it (again use passata to spead it out a bit). Get it out of the fridge and refry it in a little extra virgin olive oil (olive oil is like an investment), some garlic bread (2 rolls for around 99c in Dunnes), and a little garlic salt to add some bite (again this is an investment).

- Rice. The world is endless with rice. Rice and chicken. Rice and vegetables. Refried rice on its own (again very yummy left overs).

- Eggs. Scrambled. Boiled. Omlette/frittata.

- Baby potatoes. Par boil potatoes. Add 2 peppers, onion, tomatos (or above passata), garlic and roast for 20 mins - season with garlic salt. Use potatoes in an omlette/frittata (as above), or make some rosti or gratin, baby wedges.

- Cheese. I found the dunnes own brand low fat white cheese very good. Use in sandwiches. toast it. add to scrambled eggs/omlette/salad/gratin etc.

Beans. Beans on toast. Beans on bagels (I got 5 for e1 last week). Beans with oven chips and a fried/boiled egg.

I guess its all about organising the meals. Partner and I lived on e40 per week. I know we dont have 2 children and their necessities, but where there is a will, there is a way.

What wont work is if you are walking around the supermarket picking up stuff you dont need - and also convenience food. I only buy cosmetics/toiletries when I need them. To me thats a waste of immediate money. Ok baby-wise you might have to have nappies etc of course.

You should be able to tell what exactly you need and when you need it. Might take a few weeks to get into this frame of mind but youll get there. I agree with one poster above - if they buy something and it runs out, it runs out until the next time they are shopping.


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## variety

yram, you beat me to it! That's exactly how we spend about €40 a week on things. 

Lentils, barley, rice, noodles, flour, polenta, all types of beans (huge 5/10 kg bags from the indian and chinese groceries) costs about €6 each for a whole year's worth. Please be careful with raw beans and chickpeas, though, they can be very dangerous if not prepared properly (kidney beans for example can be fatal!). So if you're not too savvy on this front, please do buy them pre-prepared in their tins.

Big bags of pasta, also really cheap - maybe €20 for a year's worth (although I would only eat pasta one a month so that would likely be more expensive for others). Try a wholesale Italian shop - usually in a commercial area/industrial estate.

Then all I'm buying is vegetables, herbs and fish - mainly leeks, celery (cheap as chips!!), onions, garlic, tomatoes, beans. I make huge vegetable stock pots and freeze whatever I don't need. My stock goes in everything - from curries, soups and stews to pies, spaghetti sauces and noodle dishes. I generally never use anything from a tin (except tinned tomatoes - fresh ones sometimes just don't work!). Even for thai curries I buy a 40cent coconut and use it water and shred the flesh. 

@pinkybear - I would suggest you look into making your own fajita seasoning. Onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, sugar, stock cube, salt (don't add salt if you use the stock cube), then add your meat. For the tortillas, all you need is flour and water. And tomatoes, garlic, onion and chillis for the salsa. If you had all the ingredients already in your store cupboard, it would take you less than 10 minuntes to prepare, less than 10 to cook, and would cost you NOTHING!! Add meat, how much? €3/€4?? 

Sure, sometimes I go over budget, but that means less alcohol (unfortunately, never less cigarettes) is bought that month. But I'm not strict on it at all, either. If I want a fillet steak, I'll have it. LIke I said before, we're not trying to cut back. 

And no, I don't have a separate utility, what I do is buy small storage cans for the kitchen and store the rest of the stuff in large airtight containers under the stairs.


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## annR

Variety
Great to see that it's not just me going on about buying beans in bulk.  Although I tend to only make Italian bean soups in the winter time.  The pressure cooker has been a godsend for cooking beans and chickpeas.  It didn't work for lentils though.

We buy the big bags of rice in the Asian supermarket in town.

Here's another tip:
Buy a whole chicken and roast it
Dinner 1 - roast chicken
Dinner 2 - fried rice with chicken leftovers and vegetables / or chicken sandwiches
Dinner 3 - boil the chicken bones and make stock out of it, use for a risotto or for just a noodle soup with veg

Buy a few recipe books - Nigel Slater is great - and soon you will be able to throw a meal together from next to nothing.


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## annR

Doubledeb,
I'm just thinking that with the dogs, and the biscuits, that's E25 extra per week, so there's a E100 per month.  I'm not saying don't buy biscuits because a fiver on them doesn't seem like much, and of course you have to feed your dogs, but it's not hard to see how things add up.  There's probably a few other things on your grocery list that add up every month and if you weren't buying them you'd be spending E400 per month no problem.  It's just a question of deciding what exactly do you want to spend your money on.


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## suemoo1

4 of us in our house after paying mortgage our next biggest bill is food, it still seems to me food is just as expensive as before the recession, we usually spend 200 - to 240 per week on food..which is the same as before, i dont necessarly want to buy what the supermarkets push as special offers that week.. or let them dictate to me what i should buy..


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## niceoneted

Oh suemoo1 that is an awful lot on food for 4. 
I am one that looks at the specials in tesco when I go there. I only buy things that are on special that would normally go in to my basket. When they have such specials on I buy lots not just that weeks worth. 
eg they had ragu sauces at 2 for 2.50 last night, bought four that will be 12 - 16 dinners.
also go ryvita reduced by half and got 2 packs which will provide for some lunches for next 2 months. They had bread specials and I bought a loaf came home and discovered had 3 loafs in the freezer sorted for the next few months - don't eat a lot of bread.
There were lots of other specials but not things I buy. I usually do one bulk shop a month get all the perishables and stuff I can freeze. then I only have to buy fruit and veg on a weekly basis,


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## suemoo1

thks niceoneted, i think its just with a 16year old and 10year old they are really eating now as adults plus 2 cats and 1 dog. and the girls like alot of variety in their school lunches etc.. try to use my freezer as much as possible and i do get the specials if its something we will use etc, but im still finding it very expensive over the month..


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## niceoneted

I like variety myself. My mum was very creative when I was in school and I always had the alternative lunch. Variety does not have to mean expensive though. 
Are you doing any of your shopping in aldi or lidl. They have great value on nuts, raisins and other nibbles that are great in the lunch box - they do great value choc raisins and nuts too. Also great selection of fruit and veg. 
Cut out on soft drinks and the likes they are bad for the kids anyway. Treats at weekends only.


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## fizzelina

suemoo1 said:


> 4 of us in our house after paying mortgage our next biggest bill is food, it still seems to me food is just as expensive as before the recession, we usually spend 200 - to 240 per week on food..which is the same as before, i dont necessarly want to buy what the supermarkets push as special offers that week.. or let them dictate to me what i should buy..


 
That's expensive for 4 people. Special offers as niceoneted said allow to stock up on essentials, again I agree I only buy specials I'll use but I do allow the supermarket to dictate what to buy since this is how I keep the food bill good value! With regard to school lunches yes most people like variety, but within reasonable cost. Your posts make me think you can well afford the €240 a week as if you couldn't then you could definitely cut it down. I really think food has come down since the recession to be honest. Aldi are great (esp fruit and veg and meat) even Tesco have good specials. You don't have to be spending the same amount as before.


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## Trafford

suemoo1 said:


> 4 of us in our house after paying mortgage our next biggest bill is food, it still seems to me food is just as expensive as before the recession, we usually spend 200 - to 240 per week on food..which is the same as before, i* dont necessarly want to buy what the supermarkets push as special offers that week.. *or let them dictate to me what i should buy..



That's seems odd though if one was trying to save money/cut back on food bill, and the offers are on good quality healthy produce. I would agree with you if the offers were on pizzas and waffles, as I prefer to eat food that I have prepared from scratch anyway.

Our food bill for two has reduced hugely in the recession. It was always between €90 and €100 a week, and now if I spend €70 one week I know it's been a particularly expensive shopping day. That usually only happens when dishwasher or washing machine tablets are needed, or other cleaning products. I tend to buy mostly own brand, but two of three of these in a weekly shop could add a tenner or more. Usually the shopping comes in at €40 to €50 a week, including meat (from butchers - usually special offers) veg, fruit, pasta, rice, milk, cheese, eggs, bread, porridge, tea , and when a cosmetics we use anyway is on offer I will pick that up, like colgate, lynx etc. It means we often have a mini stockpile, but then we don't ever have to buy the stuff at full price. I bake regularly, including bread very often, so once every 6 weeks or so I'll buy flour etc. We both bring our lunches, (sambos for him, ryvita with hummous and fruit for me) and I make fresh soups and freeze them in portion sizes for lunches too. We don't smoke nor buy alcohol. I buy fresh fish and keep a back up in the freezer. Because I tend to buy the same, or similar products from week to week I can shop very efficiently, and run around the supermarket quickly. I know the aisles I don't need to go down because I don't buy stuff from them, so that not only speeds it up but also cuts out temptation by seeing things I don't need. (The crisps, biscuits, minerals, alcohol aisles). Overall I think there is great value to be had if you shop smart and consume smart. We shop every Friday, and by Thursday night/Friday morning our fridge is always bare. We never have to throw food out as we don't over-buy. We plan our meals in advance, and if there's any leftovers it goes into the freezer. That food from the freezer gives us one or two nights off cooking a week.


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## FioBi

Why is everyone going on about the food? 600 is not a lot to spend per month.
I think the real issue is the loans. Its great that your mortgage is a tracker.
The monthly payments on the other loans are 902 per month. If the car loan is finished in 19 months could you ask the CU to switch you to interest only or a reduced rate on the personal CU loan of 364 per month until the car loan is finished?

Maybe you need to replace the car and this is not possible? I know its deferring the debt repayment but only for a 19 months and in the meantime you could live.


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## niceoneted

I hear what your saying FioBi but by cutting back in the food for a while they will be able to lump that extra off the loans. It's about where they can free up money in order to clear the loans, that's what I see anyway, 
Trafford you and I shop alike ;-)


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## suemoo1

fizzelina said:


> That's expensive for 4 people. Special offers as niceoneted said allow to stock up on essentials, again I agree I only buy specials I'll use but I do allow the supermarket to dictate what to buy since this is how I keep the food bill good value! With regard to school lunches yes most people like variety, but within reasonable cost. Your posts make me think you can well afford the €240 a week as if you couldn't then you could definitely cut it down. I really think food has come down since the recession to be honest. Aldi are great (esp fruit and veg and meat) even Tesco have good specials. You don't have to be spending the same amount as before.


 Thks guys for all the tips,, some weeks we can afford 200 - 240e and others we cant. just have to pick up the anti and improve the shopping skills.. im just fed up of going from one shop to the next to save a few bob, i know it has to be done. The only thing i can say though about some of the supermarket deals, a lot of them are for high fat foods, pizza's ice-creams etc that i try to avoid for the kids sake.


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## doubledeb

Its all well and good spending 70 or 80 a week on food when its two adults to feed.  Kids and teenagers won't always eat fresh fish and rice or what have you.  Therefore there has to be other things bought for them.  I would live on less than that if it was only the 2 of us. Its very different when you are feeding kids as well.  I would prefer to clear the car loan first and then increase the repayment of the CU when that is finished. TBH I doubt the CU would do that anyway.  But thanks for the advice FioBi.


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## fraggle

doubledeb said:


> Kids and teenagers won't always eat fresh fish and rice or what have you. Therefore there has to be other things bought for them.


 
No offence but.....


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## doubledeb

No offence but what?
I'm not into cooking 2 dinners some days so I get things that we will all eat, and sometimes that doesn't mean the cheapest foods.
Whats the point fraggle?


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## fizzelina

suemoo1 said:


> Thks guys for all the tips,, some weeks we can afford 200 - 240e and others we cant. just have to pick up the anti and improve the shopping skills.. im just fed up of going from one shop to the next to save a few bob, i know it has to be done. The only thing i can say though about some of the supermarket deals, a lot of them are for high fat foods, pizza's ice-creams etc that i try to avoid for the kids sake.


 
Good luck with it suemoo  It does take time to visit 2 supermarkets instead of 1 (I do Aldi and Tesco) but I find bringing a list makes the shop quicker because I don't just look at every shelf / aisle. I go in and just pick the things I needed in there. I agree about the supermarket deals (just finished a half price tub of icecream lastnight that I could do without!) but some are worth planning meals around - like 3 meats for €10 offer in Tesco (eg get mince, chops, stewing beef or chicken....), add the potato / veg / rice rice cost and it might not work out too dear for 3 nights dinner. You'll get into the hang of it when you're in the right shopping mindset. I'm not as good as the other posters who buy yearly bags of beans and rice but I find I'm getting savvier.


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## fizzelina

doubledeb said:


> No offence but what?
> I'm not into cooking 2 dinners some days so I get things that we will all eat, and sometimes that doesn't mean the cheapest foods.
> Whats the point fraggle?


 
When I think back to when I was a teenager I remember turning my nose up at many a nice dinner my Mum made and raiding the freezer for something unhealthy instead so I totally understand your point doubledeb. It's a challenge to cook something to suit everyone and stay within a budget but hopefully you will get the weekly shop costs down by following some of the very good points made in posts here.


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## doubledeb

Thankfully I don't put any unhealthy things in the freezer that they can get at. Couple of packets of biscuits in the cupboard alright (more for me than them). I have more of a 'if you don't eat it go hungry type attitude'. (teenager is the worst). Therefore I will try and do something we all like and still try and keep the costs low.
I do appreciate all the advice here.... thanks guys


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