Need help budgeting

[GailC]

I am in need of some advice. I have been living in algarve with husband and daughter for 9 years. Over this time I have been going from job to job and we lived ok, going out for meals and buying clothes etc., and then I got made redundant last year. Ironically the "dole" pay was 50% more than I am earning in my present job and now I am having such a hard time trying to make ends meet. In fact our outgoings are more than our incomings and I just dont know where I can cut down any more. Both have old cars and mine keeps needing maintenance costing in the hundreds. We dont pay rent because we live with my m-i-l but life here is so expensive with ther crisis/high taxes,no free dental treatment for children, no proper healthcare system (unless you are dying or dont mind waiting 1 month for an appointment). We have to pay for all school books (€200+)and equipment for our daughter not to mention the constant nagging for clothes,etc. The minimum wage is 485 € a month and we do not earn much above that. I have been trying so hard to cut down on expenses but its just a no win situation.Please help.

[baileysgnasha]

The best advice I can offer is if you have takeaways limit yourself to one a month or if you want to be really good like we are limit it to once every 3 months.

Shopping advice - When doing a shop , If stuff like laundry powders, Fabric conditions , shampoos etc are on offer if you have the spare cash buy it whilst on offer, It will save you money in the long term for when you need the items but the prices or offers have expired.

Take a look at your trolley/basket at the end of a shop , See if you can take out at least one item that you really don't need , Its all too easy to pick up snack food because its on a buy one get one free something.

At home, Make sure you turn off lights in the house that you are not using it, Turn the tv off if no one is watching it, Buy clothes from second hand shops or ask family or friends for hand me downs when they are having a clear out.

In life it is hard to budget and its a shame that its more bills that cost us and those simply cant be cutback half the time. I wish you well I hope you can find ways to manage your money.

[pavel131]

Hi there
A couple of tips that I think would help. When shopping.....never shop on an empty stomach, otherwise you will buy stuff that you fancy at the moment. Steer clear of the deli counter at all costs, and as for the bread department, they have special fans to waft the smell of fresh bread around the store.
Go for "buy one get one free" but only if you really need the product. Try to shop later in the day, the closer to closing time the better because the fresh food will have been marked down.
Go for supermarket own brands, which are a lot cheaper than named brands. Quite often they are exactly the same as the named brands because they have been especially packed for the supermarket chain by the brand company. You will find the cheaper stuff on the bottom shelf, because that is not eye level.
A few things need to be worked out occasionally. I have noticed that if you for instance buy a 500g tub of butter, it is cheaper to buy 2 by250g tubs, not always, but worth looking at.
Forget buying organic fresh vegetables or fruit, it is more expensive and is of no better quality or taste, it is a con.
I could go on forever, will try and post some more tips later. This is of course only portent in England, what it is like in Portugal, I could not tell you.good luck.

[lancashire lass]

It might help to list the essential outgoings (forget the food, clothes and car at this moment - concentrate on the main items that you have to pay each month) What's left after it's deducted from the wage?

If one of the cars is getting expensive to maintain, it sounds like it's time you got rid of it. If you can't get by with just the one car, how about replacing it with a scooter as a run about?

Lots of tips about shopping already mentioned but unfortunately bargains seem to be reliant on having the money available. When doing a grocery shop, definitely go out with a list and keep to basics. Look out for seasonal food as these do tend to be cheaper. Be more inventive in the kitchen and see if you can stretch meals out - I was brought up with servings of bread and butter with a meal to fill you up, but these days with the price of bread, it is a bit of a luxury. But a little extra pasta or rice, and I tend to have what I call stewey or soupy dinners with extra vegetables (I grow my own - you might be able to grow some of your own fruit and veg but I'm not sure what would do well in the Algarve that you could grow with relative ease and be productive enough to be worth while) But perhaps you could preserve some things when there are gluts.

You don't mention how old your daughter is, but maybe she is old enough to realise that money is very tight - unless she has outgrown her clothes, then tell her that new ones are not possible and she'll have to be more inventive with her appearance. Maybe work on a basic wardrobe so that clothes can be mixed and matched up with some accessories.

School books - is there not a second hand store where some can be bought?

Dental and healthcare - is it possible to have a look at medical healthcare insurance and see how much it costs? Otherwise, the only other thing I can suggest is that you put something aside every month in a "just in case" pot.

Your situation sounds so desperate Gail - I do hope things turn out for the better

[spudley]

get a monthly bank statement. go through it and mark everything in green that you cant change (such as insurance and such) then things in orange that you have some controll over like fuel, car costs ect. Then red for the things like cash taken out, shopping, take aways and thinks that you cant remember. Its the red things that cost you the most. the £10 here and there that you cant remember, those are what you can control.

Its not a case of just cutting down for a month, its seeing where you spend and what you spend it on and breaking the habbit. I dont take cash out now, I know that it goes £ here and a £ there on rubbish and have nothing to show for it, once you break into that tenner its gone.

Its true though, those offers in the shops are not always good, why buy 2 for one if you wouldnt use or normally buy the one anyway. or why spend the extra to get the two for whatever if you wouldnt use the second (its getting the extra 50 60p off you that really add up)
Offers are only good if its a product that you would buy and use normally. AND the other piece of good advice you have been given is NEVER go shopping hungry it is leathal, never then the OH wander off with the trolly unsupervised. You will be suprised when you unload at the till what has been slipped sneakily into the trolly!!!!!

[GailC]

Thank you all for your very helpful tips, I'm very gratefull. Any other advise would be gratefully received also.

[marigold.b]

Hope it's OK to recommend another forum (if not, would a mod please remove this), but the Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert (MSE) website has loads of really useful info about budgeting and coping on a small income. Obviously it's aimed at the UK, so a lot of the detail won't be relevant to you, but the principles are excellent and the DebtFreeWannaBe board has a link to a really useful Statement of Affairs calculator which will help you organise your finances whether you are in debt or not. They also advise keeping a spending diary so you can see exactly where the money goes.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/

Is there any scope for buying books/clothes etc second hand? If not maybe you could start something yourself amongst your friends - a "swap shop" party or bring and buy.

[Bollybarb]

I'd recommend a spending diary, and lists!
Shopping lists, list of whats needed, ie return to school, Christmas. Plan, i knew that running a car was beyond my means whilst i was at college, but i hired a car to return home as it was cheaper than train!!

It's great if you can sit down with husband and work things out together. (It's hard to do, i know ) Then explain things to your daughter. Today was new shoe day in our house and i took the kids to town, only 1 needed new shoes but i was still tight! i took juice and a snack to town so we didn't have to go to a coffee shop, it the small amouts that add up. I bet if we had gone out for coffee it would have been the best part of £10, the snack and juice cost me approc £1.20.

Good luck, by discussing it you have taken the first step

[Richard]

Great replies

My input would be 'only take cash to the shops'. leave the cards at home

[Hellebore]

In addition to feeling the pinch, like a lot of people here in the UK, I have also recently had a heart attack and been advised to cut down on the amount of red meat that I eat. Recently I have made the most tasty vegetarian meals, mainly Moroccan, that have cost pennnies to make. I find that the spices used seem to make up for the lack of meat somehow and the chick peas and couscous that figure in a lot of them make them very filling. I imagine that in the Algarve you will have access to much nicer/fresher fruit and vegetables than we have in the UK from local markets. I am very lucky in that I have an allotment, have you got any space that you can grow your own fruit/veg? I find it very rewarding and the produce really does taste much better. The vitamin content is also higher 'cos it hasn't travelled hundreds of miles before I use it.
Something my friend does which I haven't tried yet is this. She buys a box of high end washing powder and mixes it with a box of supermarket rock bottom value powder. She reckons she gets excellent results doing this and saves quite a bit.
One more thing, when I do one of the veggie stew/tagine type things I make double and freeze half. Saves on energy and effort!
I only ever go for BOGOFS and only then if they are for things I use regularly. I view the buy 2 get 1 free with suspicion, just as a way of getting me to part with more cash.
Good Luck

[albertajune]

As far as the weekly shop goes, always use cash, not a card. I have always shopped this way and can see exactly how my housekeeping money is going. If I have a heavy shop one week, ie having to buy cleaning aids,then we eat cheaply, but still well. A chunky veg soup with little dumplings for instance is very filling as are pasta meals.
Nothing here gets thrown away as there is always something that it can be turned into. Left over bread can be made into breadcrumbs, croutons or a pudding. Veg into soups and potatoes the base for tasty patties.
Look for meat that can be bulked out by making into pies or pasties.. If hard up, steaks, chicken breasts and expensive roasts are a no no.
Home baking is so much cheaper than buying from the supermarket and much more healthy than bags of crisps etc.
In the home, lots of us are over generous with cleaning products, me included.
Most of all don't impulse buy. That is something you can't do if the only money you want to spend is in your purse.
I have always been careful with money but still manage treats like buying wine and going out for lunch.
Good luck and I hope that things soon get easier for you.

[Sandra]

Hello Gail. One question. Do you absolutely need two cars, or could you manage with one car and a bike? If you really need 2 cars, I would highly recommend ditching the one needing 100s in repairs? You need a bit of luck, but 18 months ago I managed to track down a very old car (85,000 miles on it and 16 years old), but it's running well and not costing in repairs. Before that I was commuting by Metro/bike for 2 years, which was hard going, but manageable. If my car does go wrong and start costing, it will be going, and I'll be back to other means! Maybe also try and tack down a garage that is less expensive? Cars are nasty for eating money...

[LynneP]

Cash cash cash whenever possible, you feel it spilling away. If you can dump that second vehicle do it, nothing takes cash like a car (except some teenagers). When budgeting, no matter how little one has, put 10% net earnings in cash in an envelope for end of month emergencies. I can't remember how many times in my poverty years that saved me. I know it can be brutal making ends meet but thank goodness you can depend on your housing! Bless you and keep up the good fight.

[baldrick]

Im struggling too but have found these replies very helpful. Ive been on unpaid maternity leave and I cant believe the overdraft that has ensued. Im horrified. Unfortunately if it were down to me I know I could cut corners etc. as I seem to already do a lot of the things mentioned, and know where every penny goes. Unfortunately my OH is a nightmare with money. Id love to have the key electric meter removed for example, but I think I actually save money by allowing the electric to run out when all the lights get left on and my weekly budget runs out etc. I have hidden the fan heater to stop that being used and left on, and Ive made it clear it no longer acceptable (if it ever was) to come home from the shop with fags, cider and a loaf but nothing else due to lack of funds.....Im still in a panic about clearing my overdraft and paying the bills though. Im also very worried about his. As we are married if anything happened to him am I correct in assuming I would be responsible for repaying that? Im going to write my list of outgoings and entire hh incomings on a paper, ask him to write his outgoings factoring in fags as they will get bought anyway, and sort out standing order for the bills around that which takes account of more than we need from when my wages return. I have always set aside money monthly for car repairs etc. which is useful when his car goes as he never saves anything but this year Im so worried as I havent been able to :-(
Also does anyone have any useful tips for dealing with overdrafts? With mine I was going to attempt to only put £50 a month aside and put £50 off the overdraft, or is that too slow? Reckon the overdraft will be about 2.5k by my wages start again. God knows what his will be.

[Stef]

£50 a month is fine - more than a lot of people manage. The bank will see that amount as a proper attempt to reduce the o/d.

DO NOT reduce the o/d limit though.... you never know when an emergency will hit and if you have no savings then the o/d may be all the wriggle room you have. Only reduce it when you are in credit with yourself.

Many years ago when we only had one wage I started saving regularly. Only £10 per month but the saving habit had to start somewhere!

Having a nightmare OH can be really destructive. I sat mine down and laid it all on the line, calmly and coldly. He blanched, shouted, went out and got, erm, merry and then came back handed over his cards and accepted pocket money - we both lived off pocket money for about 3 years. Yes, I am a bossy mare, but someone had to do something and he is basically useless at economising. He either spends oodles or sits and smugly spends nowt! Neither option is useful. So I took charge.

Sit yours down and make that list. Be calm, like you say factor in the fags and don't moan, let the figures speak for themselves. Set up a bills account and get online banking if you think that sort of control will help you. I have control over all of our accounts, he could too but never does as he knows it is all sorted. Set weekly/monthly limits, draw cash and stick to it. If your OH cannot see the point or struggles with the idea then tell him how much you need him to contribute per month, set up a SO or DD and tell him to sink or swim with what he has left - that works really well for some couples I work with!

The one thing you cannot do is let it slide. 2 of you doing that will be ruinous.

Good luck!