What is Saving September

[Mo]

Well I think that the frugal times mean that there is a bit in reserve for the times when you need to relax.

Mind you I had to laugh. I have just splashed out on a new car (well all that money in the bank was getting pitiful interest), I could forsee problems ahead with the old one and wanted to be one jump ahead rather than stuck with a big bill or an MOT failure. Having got my signature the salesman cheerfully told me just how much I was SAVING on my petrol bill. Oh yes, but will I live long enough to be in profit???

[saint-spoon]

In recent months we have actually saved ourselves a bucket load of cash just by shopping and swapping our insurances, TV package and so on. It was amazing that virgin media were able to reduce my monthly bill for cable TV, broadband and telephone by over £50 a month by playing around with the package that they supplied. Two cars and the house insurance switched to brand new customers only saved nearly another £70 odd. I also binned the contract on my mobile down to the lowest that served what I wanted, this saved another £30… and the youngest daughter has left nursery and gone to school which saved us a whopping £400+ in childcare fees every month… I’m still skint though

[Spreckly]

Really blown it this month, as I said earlier, two rallies, saved the money for the second one, first one was paid for earlier, but we were a bit fed up to discover that we had to pay for the electric hook up on top! Survived that. Met up with old friends and had a meal together - normally don't see them under ten years, so that was worth it. They all travelled for the reunion.

Our fuel bill was surprisingly less than we expected, so that was a bonus, and we had been saving that up since last year.

Like I said earlier, have the boiler service tomorrow, and the chimney sweep on Monday, plus the car service bill to pay off the credit card. Oh dear.

Whilst away, camped next to friends who have an allotment. They eat homemade veggie soup, for lunch. All their vegs go into the pot, and it smelled wonderful. We normally save homemade soup for the winter months.

So, a big belt tightening needed for us.

[mardatha]

How good are Aldi? Everybody on other forums advises change to Aldi to save money, but for me the nearest one is 16 miles down a horrible twisty road (during harvest time full of tractors) or else 20 miles on a decent road.

[Mo]

You have to take account of petrol costs too.
I tend to shop at Tesco as they are open when I'm passing, + co-op local & farm shops to top up.

[Ryan]

We shop at Aldi as its in the same place as the other supermarkets and it is cheaper as long as you are not a brand fan. The prices have been going up gradually but my weekly shop (3 adults & a teenager) dropped from around £100 per week give or take a bit to £40 or £50.

Now that could be down to Aldi not having the vast choices available in the other supermarkets or I do the shopping without the other half :D

[mardatha]

I would need to do a menu plan then a wee list ... lol. Will try it and see how it compares.