Turtles-Paradise

Food has often been one of the most expensive items on our list of expenditures – even by making a weekly meal plan, shopping for stuff that was on sale, downgrading to the store brand and making lots of things from scratch – we would spend between £230 – £260 a month on food for the two of us.

Last month I managed to drag our spending on food right down – to £180. How did I do this?

By shopping every day. I gave myself a daily budget of £5, and from that £5 I had to get breakfast, lunch and dinner for the two of us. I thought it would be more difficult than it was. By shopping every day on my way home from work, I was able to pick up the fruit and veg that was being reduced, and snap up any major bargains. It meant I didn’t have to plan beyond the next three meals, so I never forgot any vital ingredients. I frequently came in under budget, which was a dramatic difference from my weekly shopping.

It didn’t even mean that I missed out on bulk buys – picking up 8 cans of baked beans on a ‘Buy 2 for £3′ deal, and several ‘buy one get one free’ deals on frozen pies etc.

It did mean I had to downgrade some things. I couldn’t spend £4 on two slices of cheesecake for a start. I also had to downgrade my washing powder – to a brand that actually made my clothes smell nicer.

In short I would say the experiment has been a great success. I certainly haven’t felt deprived – especially since I’ve been feasting on a fantastic greek salad for the last three days – olives are always amazing!

My kettle has broken. My guess is that the heating element has burned out, and it being the dirt-cheap value-brand kettle purchased for less than a fiver, it’s not worth trying to get it fixed.

In considering replacement options, I considered getting another dirt-cheap one (easy on my pocket), or doing some research and getting a good kettle that would last. On the one hand, I wanted to be able to get rid of it easily in the event of our eventual move – I didn’t want to sink a bunch of money into something that would only be used for a year or so. On the other hand, cheap disposable appliances use energy and materials in their creation and transport, and they frequently (not always) break down faster.

Then I realised there was a third option I hadn’t considered.

Not replacing it at all.

Here was a golden opportunity for clearing some counter-space, reducing the number of items in my kitchen, and solving both my ‘not spending a lot of money’ and ‘not buying cheap appliances’ problems in one swoop.

I don’t need a kettle. I have two other methods for boiling water – slowly, on the stove-top. And quickly, in the microwave. Do I really need a single-purpose item that does the same job?

The main thing I used the kettle for was making a cup of tea in the mornings. This morning I made it in the microwave. Easy!

The next time something of yours breaks down, ask yourself: do I really need to replace it? What else do I own that can do this job for me?

Every Tuesday I will be posting some short and simple tips on how to spend less money. Short, simple, easy.

• Stay fit. You don’t need an expensive gym membership – go for a long walk, or take up running. You’ll save money on medicine and health insurance.
• Quit smoking. Not only will that help you stay fit, it will also save you money. Okay, this tip might be short and simple, but it isn’t easy. It’s worth it though.
• Quit drinking soda and fizzy drinks, and stick to tap water. Cheaper and healthier!
• Make a meal plan – or download one that’s already made.
• Set up a savings account, and automatically deduct £10-25 a month straight from your paycheque and into that account. Use the money to deal with emergencies and one-off expenses.

I struggle with money. There, I said it, even despite all the posts about tips on reducing your spending!

The cold hard truth is that I spend over 50% of my take-home pay in one go. My rent payment. If you factor in my utility bills, council tax, and other bills – I pay out almost 75% of my income on bills.

Over at Get Rich Slowly, there’s a post on the Balanced Money Formula originally from All Your Worth. This is what the picture from it looks like:

Even after I pay 75% onto bills, I still have the basic need to eat some food once in a while. I spend an average of £200 a month on groceries for two people. That’s 18% of my take-home pay.

In other words, around 93% of my take-home pay goes on what I would call needs.

Ouch.

There are some basic and obvious steps we can take to make our spending a bit more balanced.

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Every Tuesday I will be posting some short and simple tips on how to spend less money. Short, simple, easy.

• Don’t eat meat, or use it sparingly as flavour. Instead of having a steak, have beef and barley stew.
• Don’t buy new clothes. Learn to love charity shops and ebay.
• Use the library and rental services instead of buying books, games and movies.
• Quit the gym, and go for a run in the park instead.
• Spend a day looking through your bank statements and tracking down any errant direct debits or subscription fees for services you no longer use.