OHbaby! Forums : Frugal 2010

Frugal 2010 : misscheeky, that's a big...

Mon, 24 May 2010 07:34:02 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�May�2010 at 7:34am

misscheeky, that's a big savings on your power bill.

My MIL is pretty good at getting bargains for kids clothes at the 2hand shop...pity it is usually girls stuff she give my...I have 3 boys good thing about xmas is she always asks for a list so I add clothes & shoes so she buys them & toys so they do well at xmas, lol

Frugal 2010 : Ooh awesome thread. We've...

Sun, 23 May 2010 19:05:25 +0000

Author: Guests
Subject: 30604
Posted: 23�May�2010 at 7:05pm

Ooh awesome thread.

We've been saving lots this year so far. We have managed to cut $50 off the grocery bill per fortnight, mostly just by doing a meal plan.

I switched my phone to prepay and that is saving $50 per month

We have been switching off stuff at the walls and not using heaps of light at night. Aprils power was $190 and Mays is $130 woo hoo.

Maybe we should set a up a clothes swap thread on here for used clothes and just pay postage ?

I love searching through the second hand shops I've found really good stuff for $1.

I'm making the kids trackies form now on and may attempt tops at some point.

Frugal 2010 : Ok so DH told me yesterday that...

Sun, 23 May 2010 13:30:34 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 23�May�2010 at 1:30pm

Ok so DH told me yesterday that he wants us to save more money...which made me laugh as he is the one that spends heaps. But I want to save more so am thinking of doing BB's again for xmas oh & have not done the grocery xmas club yet should get a move on with that.

Now that there will be a bit more in the pay packet thanks to the tax cuts it makes me more aware of what we are spending our money on & I know as a family of 5 we will spend more that what we get in the long run.

We have bought the kids nice thick blankets & hot water bottle in an attempt to not go overboard with the heathers but I know we will

I went to the supermarket today & instead of buying cookies & bars, I got some flour & butter & will make some scones, muffins, cookies, some bread sticks & donuts, I have been doing more baking lately & they love it. Better lunch boxes too & they eat it .
I have also made some really great meals with not much in the pantry as I try & use up stuff & it has amazed me what you can whip up.

Frugal 2010 : So far so good for us I am taking...

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:24:13 +0000

Author: ohanlon82
Subject: 30604
Posted: 07�February�2010 at 1:24pm

So far so good for us

I am taking out spending money out each week and we are sticking to that.. Food has gone under budget everyweek so far with out 3 weekly meat stock up - saving so much

We are pretty much on target for bubs and getting heaps done around the house...

Frugal 2010 : Yeah then you list clothes on...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:23:42 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�February�2010 at 11:23pm

Yeah then you list clothes on trademe & no body blimin buys them...should just take them to the cancer bins or find friend with younger kids than mine.

I'm lucky my Mum loves buying my kids clothes

Frugal 2010 : Kalimirella, also have a look...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:04:55 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�February�2010 at 9:04pm

Kalimirella, also have a look around the salvation army shops and such like for clothes. I can never be bothered with trademe (or more to the point dealing with all the stupid people on trademe) and just take the boys old clothes there and some of them are pretty good brands cos my family send stuff from England or buy from PP for them and the sallies sell them for like 50c each.
The warehouse is my friend too, their clothes are just as good as anywhere else. In fact I bought a top from there and my friend got one sent from England that was from Next, which is a high end high street shop. Exact same top, just mine had the hippo warehouse tag in it and the boys get just as much wear out of them as the more expensive brands. Plus no one knows you buy from the warehouse unless they also buy there

We are doing ok, although out heat pump did blow up, will it didn't blow up it was leaking. Dh has fixed it buy smashing a hole in the wall to run a drain under the house cos it was the pump that pumps the water out that's broke, so it's working again, but we have some repair work to do to the wall now, plus the other repair work from re-wiring. I am ignoring the washing machine, it is not making that hideous noise. Dh already had the engineers at work "fix it" but it's barely holding it together, i can only put it on 400 spin..lol

We have managed to save some money but we've been saving ready to pay the accountant and I need new tyres Always something to pay for

Frugal 2010 : Hey, I haven't read through...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:22:20 +0000

Author: Kalimirella
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�February�2010 at 8:22pm

Hey,
I haven't read through the entire thread, but me and DP are trying to be frugal and save this year too, with our unexpected surprise on the way its been a bit hard but trademe is my friend for all baby stuff second hand and family members with babies who have outgrown clothes.
We are very lucky and his parents are letting us stay with them for minimal board so we can save towards a deposit on a house.
I'm not working and he's only parttime atm, so we do our best to put money away.
Babies are really expensive.....

Frugal 2010 : We've been pretty frugal...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:07:11 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�February�2010 at 8:07pm

We've been pretty frugal over the last few weeks...matter of having two when DH didn't get paid on time Then the first invoice back after Xmas had to allocate for 3 weeks of bill money not 2 so we were at the same point of nothing extra (bills & Tax covered) least this time we had some left over but that has to last the next 2 weeks

Frugal 2010 : Well so far I have not cut down...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:41:39 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�February�2010 at 8:41am

Well so far I have not cut down on spending & am spending more school is back so books, bags, uniforms, blah blah, then DS1 (8yr) comes home with notices asking for $$$, school trip nearly $200, $5 for this & that.

DS1 b'day next week more $$$, a wedding to go to $$$, DH wants things $$$ oh & bills arghhhhhhhhhhhh

Maybe the savings will start next month

Frugal 2010 : That gas bottle price is the same...

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:16:19 +0000

Author: minik8e
Subject: 30604
Posted: 12�January�2010 at 9:16am

That gas bottle price is the same as what we pay...$106 per bottle. Ours lasts us about 8 weeks though....gas hot water only.

We haven't been doing too bad. I have splurged and bought some more gym clothes for me (and still need some more normal clothes too) but I got them from work and they were on clearance already, less another 40%, less my staff discount, so I ended up paying about $5 each for a singlet and a t-shirt, instead of $20-25. I'm also going to get some more black pants/shorts which I can wear for work (so I get them VERY cheap) as well as outside of work. I also got DH some more work tshirts the same way - on clearance, less another 40% then less my staff discount. And some trackpants for the girls for winter.

We weren't too bad over Christmas either....we had stocked up the pantry so well that we didn't need to do any groceries for 2 weeks, except the essentials like formula and milk.

Frugal 2010 : I've managed to arrange to...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:25:50 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 11�January�2010 at 2:25pm

I've managed to arrange to cut the boys hours down with their carer. Means I still get my much needed break but it will be a few dollars cheaper each week and even cheaper again once Spencer gets the 20 free hours. Woohoo, the alternative was to cancel them going all together, which I didn't like the idea of.

Cheers Wrxandjosh, when we have some cash for one I will look into that guy in woolston, does he have a shop? We use to live out sumner way and I remember driving past a repair/second hand shop so wondering if he's the same guy. Our tenant is keen on a big freezer too as the one in her unit is tiny so we could write part of it off on our tax if she uses it as well

Frugal 2010 : We have a chest freezer and never...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:10:45 +0000

Author: kebakat
Subject: 30604
Posted: 11�January�2010 at 1:10pm

We have a chest freezer and never really use it and when it has stuff in it it only takes up such a small amount that its hardly worth it. Instead we got a decent fridge freezer where the freezer part was bigger than our last one but we can switch our chest freezer off now.

I'm being good and listing baby stuff on TM etc. Its paying for my dive gear

Frugal 2010 : Bizzy wrote:i took the kids...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:35:22 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 11�January�2010 at 12:35pm

Bizzy wrote:

i took the kids to butterfly creek on friday and spent $3.50 on a coffee for me! and i used the $5 i found in my wallet that i had forgot was in there, so that was bonus money!

still hangin out for hubbys pay... so dont really have any money to spend anyway.

part of me being frugal involves spending money tho. i really want a big chest freezer so i can do monthly meat shops and stock up on bread and stuff too... and have been thinking of getting one of those water coolers for the kitchen. probably wouldnt save money but would be so much healthier for the kids having easy access to chilled water.

I want a freezer also, then can stock up.
We have a bench top water cooler, but it takes so long to fill a glass, I usually filter the water & stick it in the fridge as it is quicker. I think in uses a lot of power in the summer to stay cooler, so we have not bothered with it this year.

Frugal 2010 : Ill have a look i think i still...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:33:28 +0000

Author: WRXnKids
Subject: 30604
Posted: 11�January�2010 at 12:33pm

Ill have a look i think i still have the receipt with the warranty he wrote out but im not sure it was 3yrs ago and we have moved twice since then so not totally sure where to look

Frugal 2010 : Hey - we are really keen on getting...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:27:53 +0000

Author: shelleybean
Subject: 30604
Posted: 11�January�2010 at 12:27pm

Hey - we are really keen on getting a freezer - do you have his number? We are in Chch

Frugal 2010 : If your in chch there is a guy...

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:52:06 +0000

Author: WRXnKids
Subject: 30604
Posted: 10�January�2010 at 1:52pm

If your in chch there is a guy who sells freezers through the buy/sell we got ours from him and its awesome. He was a freezer repair man and just tinkers around now from what i can remember. I think he was working from an old hospital or school or something like that in woolston (it was about 3 yrs ago we got ours so my memory isnt flash). The freezer we got was cheap compared to the shops and in really good condition he even gave us a warranty with it not that we had to use it

Frugal 2010 : I really want a chest freezer...

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:38:57 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 10�January�2010 at 1:38pm

I really want a chest freezer too. Will add it to my list of things to save for. The freezer part of our fridge freezer is teeny tiny

Frugal 2010 : We had a lovely frugal outing...

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:29:21 +0000

Author: xLUCKYx
Subject: 30604
Posted: 10�January�2010 at 12:29pm

We had a lovely frugal outing yesterday - took the kids on a bus ride (free for them $1.60 each way for me and DF) and then we went to the park and they had a packed lunch and a 60c ice cream cone from McDonalds. Was a nice cheap wee outing :)

Bizzy the freezer is a good idea - we got one last year and it is such a life saver.

Frugal 2010 : i took the kids to butterfly creek...

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:41:50 +0000

Author: Bizzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 10�January�2010 at 10:41am

i took the kids to butterfly creek on friday and spent $3.50 on a coffee for me! and i used the $5 i found in my wallet that i had forgot was in there, so that was bonus money!

still hangin out for hubbys pay... so dont really have any money to spend anyway.

part of me being frugal involves spending money tho. i really want a big chest freezer so i can do monthly meat shops and stock up on bread and stuff too... and have been thinking of getting one of those water coolers for the kitchen. probably wouldnt save money but would be so much healthier for the kids having easy access to chilled water.

Frugal 2010 : Nikki, I think we pay about $65...

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:10:11 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 10�January�2010 at 10:10am

Nikki, I think we pay about $65 a year hireage for one bottle & depending on price of gas between $95 & $113. We are with Ongas.

eta yes that's a 45kg bottle

Edited by Aliasmum

Frugal 2010 : So far I am not doing to good...

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:35:25 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 10�January�2010 at 9:35am

So far I am not doing to good with being frugal, but once I have done all the school shopping, new bags, uniforms, books & list goes on, I should be able to do it.

Keep the ideas coming

Frugal 2010 : I think I've been alright....

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:43:30 +0000

Author: kebakat
Subject: 30604
Posted: 08�January�2010 at 12:43pm

I think I've been alright. Our new years resolution has been to build up a collection of camping gear and diving gear (for me, then DH). We are using trademe as our main source for this but then we can go on some cool holidays for cheap. Dunno about taking DH diving/snorkelling where I've gone with a friend cause hes not as strong of a swimmer as we are.. we'll see lol.

But I've started going round thinking what I can sell to help fund this.

And I'm hoping to get a car upgrade this year. We want a 4WD and my car is a crapper. We will only get a 2nd hand vehicle in any case but thats a good reason for me to save. I'm trying hard on the food part for the next couple of months. My plan is to do a 3 weekly big shop, and little shops on the weekends in between and then once I'm use to that I'll push it out to monthly

Frugal 2010 : thats for a 45kg bottle...$100ish....

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:17:39 +0000

Author: peanut butter
Subject: 30604
Posted: 08�January�2010 at 12:17pm

thats for a 45kg bottle...$100ish. Is that really high? If so we are so getting screwed here.

Well I managed to save $18.95 from my groceries/fuel budget last fortnight so I stuck that in savings. Hope I can keep it up. Groceries today came to $200 but that was with some large packs of free range pork (YAY our stupid supermarket has it now) and some $4.99/kg chicken drumsticks. $200 is our weekly budget so so far ok....but what about the stuff I forgot. Hopefully I can last till next week

Frugal 2010 : Also Muz when meal planning you...

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:01:47 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 08�January�2010 at 11:01am

Also Muz when meal planning you take a look at your own pantry first to see what you have in there so you don't do as I used to do & double up on what you already had 10 of!

Frugal 2010 : OMG Nikki, a bottle of Gas here...

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:59:55 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 08�January�2010 at 10:59am

OMG Nikki, a bottle of Gas here is a 1/4 what you pay.

I think I'm going well on being frugal. I went away for a day or so & resisted getting coffee, helps limiting myself to one a day.

Frugal 2010 : We were always paid monthly in...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:59:07 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 6:59pm

We were always paid monthly in England too we found it quite hard adjusting to weekly pay out here. There was also only a monthly option for paying your mortgage (that may since have changed), is suppose to save you money if you pay in more frequent intervals, I think someone correct me if i'm wrong.

I had a frugal crash at the supermarket, oh the shame. I have decided to regroup next week though and will minus my excess from this week off of next weeks. I bought some big bulk things so hopefully next week will be a cheap shop as I won't need meat for a start and this week I had to buy rice and pasta cos had run out of both and I always bulk buy them.

Plus I saved some petrol by taking Dh's car

Frugal 2010 : I am writing up absolutely every...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:09:19 +0000

Author: SMoody
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 3:09pm

I am writing up absolutely every cent that we are using at the moment and then giving it in a spreadsheet form for hubby at the end of month. Shame man he earns all the money but I sort of put everything in all accounts and besides his hobby money he first asks me if he can buy the following. (BTW he is totally fine with it as he keeps on forgetting to put money over for rent before or pay certain bills ect so I am in charge of everything)

Food stuff we are eating very healthy. Got veggies in the ground and buying stuff next month for raised gardens.

Bizzy we are getting paid monthly here too. We are used to it as you only really get paid monthly in South Africa. But what is weird is this paying mortgage fortnightly or monthly ect.

I hate for our first 3 payments in one month. So just devided it into monthly amounts and put it in the seperate account for mortgage.

Frugal 2010 : markets are the places to go for...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:39:09 +0000

Author: lizzle
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 1:39pm

markets are the places to go for fruit and vege. side of the road places are good too. Just don't be like me and get only peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots and then find the whole lot needs to be eaten within three days.

Frugal 2010 : I didn't see free range chicken...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:32:55 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 1:32pm

I didn't see free range chicken at mad butcher, that I got at the veggie shop, which isn't a place I would look for free range chicken. It was all the rangateikei stuff. They had whole chickens, chicken breasts and the big bag of chicken allsorts. Was $15.99 for four frozen breasts which I thought was quite cheap too, I can't remember how much the whole chickens were. Our countdown only occasionally has small packets of breast which I have to bulk buy and freeze cos I never know when they will next have it in. Good that the madbutcher is stocking free range pork though, our countdown has the ham and the bacon but not the chops and I do like chops

Yep I know all about power prices down there, we spent one chilly and expensive winter in Queenstown...brrrrrrr....I feel cold and poor just thinking about it. (our rental was very poorly insulated and had no proper heating so we were using a gas heater and some oil fin heaters)

Frugal 2010 : I am so jealous Marisa....$55...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:24:37 +0000

Author: peanut butter
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 1:24pm

I am so jealous Marisa....$55 a week for all your power needs and some! I am hoping that our $215 a fortnight will be enough to get us through winter. Our power bill goes up...god knows why since our heating is gas. I guess lights are on for longer with shorter days but thats about it. THat and the power company automatically charge you more in winter anyway. But our gas bill in August last year (not the coldest month..but the first month we were here) was a tank a week!!! Thats $400!!!

Thats good that the mad butcher has free range chicken and pork. I always avoided Mad Butcher as I didnt like the quality of the meat...or was unsure where it came from but that sounds really good.

Here we have no choice but New World or a crappy butcher, so I order a quarter of a beast from a place in Southland. It just means that we pretty much only get beef. I cant find free range chicken apart from whole rangateikei ones which we buy like they are going out of fashion but at $10.70 per frozen chook its not that economical. I cant find free range pork here at all.

We also dont have a green grocer and our New World charges ridiculous prices for some pretty crap produce hence we are trying to grow our own

Frugal 2010 : cuppatea, had a laugh about your...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:20:22 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 1:20pm

cuppatea, had a laugh about your DH, hee hee, typical guy as we still have to do everything & they watch to make sure we do it right

I too am wondering about the eg shops, I am always happy when I walk out with a big bag for about $20, but wonder if I would of spent that or less at the shop anyway, might do a price check next time also.

I need to do a big shop but the kids always play up & I end up doing several small ones & buy rubbish & pay more than needed. Went out with them today & they drove me nuts & now DH has to stop on the way home to get a few things hmm might get him to get me a bottle of wine...cheap one of course

Frugal 2010 : I still automatically think winter...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:02:05 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 1:02pm

I still automatically think winter when someone says xmas, maybe when I have been this side of the planet for 20 years I will start thinking xmas = summer.

Well me and the boys went on a little expedition today to the fruit/veg market and then to the mad butcher, I then checked the fruit/veg prices against my countdown receipts to compare prices and it's not that much cheaper and some stuff is the exact same price per kg, so after you factor in petrol it probably saves nothing, I did however get some frozen free range chicken, a huge back of legs, wings and breasts for $21.50 so might be worth a drive down each time I want to get that as our countdown rarely has free range chicken. I also found free range pork chops at the madbutcher, I didn't get to have a proper look around though cos Spencer was out of the trolley (they only have ones for one kid) and was running around shouting "what's that mummy?" and then telling me to "wait up" so figured I will have a proper look another day when I can go without the kids. Nearest mad butcher is a 20 min drive away though so it will need to be a fair bit cheaper to make it worth the drive.

Is Kyle's birthday on Sat so am gonna need to buy a few extra bits for his party, which is just a morning tea, and I might buy a cake, I would bake if I could.

We pay $55 a week on easy pay for our power and that pays for our house and the rental unit on the back of our garage. So two hot water cylinder, two washing machines, three heat pumps DH is anal about power saving though so everything is efficient, efficient, efficient and he follows me around the house turning the lights off!

Oh I fought the urge to buy a coffee today, stupid fruit and veg place has a coffee stand, might be another reason not to go to often

Frugal 2010 : ha ha nzpiper I knew what ya meant. Thinking...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:43:31 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 12:43pm

ha ha nzpiper I knew what ya meant.

Thinking about getting online shopping from foodtown again, because I am not enjoying taking the 3 kids with me

Frugal 2010 : Just re-reading my post....Christmas?...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:31:24 +0000

Author: peanut butter
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 12:31pm

Just re-reading my post....Christmas? What was I thinking? That should have been winter. Guess I am still in saving for Christmas mode. Winter is when it will bite down here.

Frugal 2010 : nzpiper wrote:Oh and I have...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:20:14 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 12:20pm

nzpiper wrote:

Oh and I have set up an AP of $100 a fortnight to our power company so hopefully we will get ahead a bit for winter. I also need to transfer $115 a fortnight (yes, that much) for our gas to save up for Christmas....unreal!! That is an average of $215 per fortnight for "power" . Our power in winter is exorbitant!

ouch & I always moaned about mine I have just set up fortnightly auto payment for our power ($100), phone ($65), sky ($50). Just go to work out how much for water.

Frugal 2010 : i havent had a chance to see what...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:53:42 +0000

Author: Bizzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 10:53am

i havent had a chance to see what everyone else is doing in here while we were away. But i have already blown out the budget and we are only in jan.

we had to join the AA while away as we had car troubles so that went on the credit card, then the extra $70 to pay the auto electrician means we came home to no money in the account and no pay untill the 15th. my husband is paid monthly so that gets a bit tricky sometimes. Luckily for savings, i pt most on the visa (it was going to go there anyway to pay for the holiday accommodation) and kept some back for food and stuff.. oh and it sucks that this pay we had three mortgage payments coming out! instead of the normal two!

nzpiper sounds ike you have come up with a good plan! way to go!

Frugal 2010 : Oh and I have set up an AP of...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:33:02 +0000

Author: peanut butter
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 10:33am

Oh and I have set up an AP of $100 a fortnight to our power company so hopefully we will get ahead a bit for winter. I also need to transfer $115 a fortnight (yes, that much) for our gas to save up for Christmas....unreal!! That is an average of $215 per fortnight for "power" . Our power in winter is exorbitant!

Frugal 2010 : Well so far I have kept our food...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:30:38 +0000

Author: peanut butter
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 10:30am

Well so far I have kept our food bill down. I set up a second account and transferred $450 a fortnight into it. That is food and fuel for the fortnight. More goes in on Friday and there is still $30 left . I was feeling a bit crap that I only had $30 in that account until I realised that that meant I hadnt spent the full amoutn we budgeted. YAY!!!

So all the money in our other account is for bills and will start to accumulate to pay for things like car rego etc that will come up through the year. We just need to stop buying things like a compost through that account.

I also siphoned off $50 a fortnight into our savings account. According to our budget we should be able to afford it and I figured if we do need that money for something I can always take it out of savings but if I leave it in the other account we WILL spend it.

I must admit, being frugal takes the joy out of shopping...but so does having no bloody shops to shop from.

I am saving up my sanity money....and trying to decide what clothes I REALLY need so that I can buy wisely. I do NEED new ones but want to make sure I get good ones that will take me far.

Any extra work I do, I will bank it straight into the mortgage account.

Frugal 2010 : Ok - I get it. Have my meal plan,...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:17:00 +0000

Author: Muz
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 10:17am

Ok - I get it. Have my meal plan, shopping tonight when the kids are in bed then!!!!

Frugal 2010 : Yep thats it and it helps to make...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:05:21 +0000

Author: xLUCKYx
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 9:05am

Yep thats it and it helps to make sure you dont fall back on other options like takeaways too that ends up costing more.

You can also plan your meals around more economic options like a vege meal a week and using more vegies less meat as meat is usually the most expensive component in a meal.

Frugal 2010 : A meal plan saves because you...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:00:04 +0000

Author: minik8e
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 9:00am

A meal plan saves because you know what you need and buy only that, rather than just this and that in case you "might" use them. That's how I understand it anyway. It also means you're more organised and more likely to cook than have to think up something each night - it's already decided for you!

Frugal 2010 : Ok - silly question here....... how...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:52:01 +0000

Author: Muz
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 8:52am

Ok - silly question here.......
how does a meal plan help save? I have made my meal plan, and a list - but what if the items arent on special? Normally i buy whats on special and go from there - but I seriously need to save on groceries, we spend $200+ a week on groceries for 2 adults, 2 kids and baby.

Frugal 2010 : Ok I really need to do this, as...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:41:37 +0000

Author: minik8e
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 8:41am

Ok I really need to do this, as my work hours are varied and unreliable at the moment. I worked as many hours as I could over Christmas/New Year while DH was home to look after the girls, and it included 3 stat days, so I got a very nice pay this fortnight, which will give us a bit of a buffer for the tyres we need to get for my car

Our biggest expense that we need to work on is the groceries. At the moment we spend around $200+ a week, which is way way WAY too much. Before the girls were born we spent $150 a fortnight, and the only thing that has changed is formula, so the rest is junk. I need to start meal planning as well, instead of just buying stuff willy nilly. I will probably start shopping at the butcher and the fruit & vege shop instead of the supermarket as well, which means doing them on the weekend, as it isn't practical taking the girls in.

One luxury I have which I'm not going to give up is the gym. I need it for motivation and it is working, and I really enjoy it (plus it's my "time out"). It's $14.90 a week, so not too bad and gives me access to everything.

Frugal 2010 : Well we start our new budget this...

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:56:18 +0000

Author: xLUCKYx
Subject: 30604
Posted: 06�January�2010 at 7:56am

Well we start our new budget this week so I have already planned out a weeks worth of meals (all from a new cookbook so will be fun trying some new recipes) and charted them on a white board so I can see what I need to pull out of the freezer each day.

I am TTing DD so we will have less nappies to buy and I am going to start using cloth on DS again (it was just waaaay to much work for me with both of them in cloth).

Because our power is on a even pay I don't really think much about our power costs but I should. We cut it down by loads though just for turning our hot water down to as low as we could stand it (which is still fairly hot for me!)

Starting a money tin today (using an old formula tin) because I am always finding coins around the house and now we will be using a cash budget so any funds left over from our shopping money can go into it.

Frugal 2010 : I just did a big grocery shop,...

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:47:00 +0000

Author: kebakat
Subject: 30604
Posted: 03�January�2010 at 3:47pm

I just did a big grocery shop, spent $300 and I'm hoping that will be our big shop for 3 weeks with a little $50-80 top up on the weekends for like bread, milk, fruit and vege etc. That should save us some I think.

Saving however needs to wait until after Jan, we are painting the garage at the moment (or I am) and the parts of the house that aren't brick. Adds up to a few hundy plus some bits of rot that need to be taken care of. Luckily we have some vouchers to cover some of the cost

Frugal 2010 : lol I started my money saving...

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:09:45 +0000

Author: ?Lolly?
Subject: 30604
Posted: 03�January�2010 at 3:09pm

lol I started my money saving by spending haha. I brought a go go bag from TM for $46 so I guess it could have cost a lot more if I had brought new. I still need to get a few more since I have twins! Still, other than that i haven't spent any money at all this year haha. I suppose it helps that we have stayed home and not gone anywhere because otherwise I would have been tempted to take advantage of all those post xmas sales

yup I am saving our $$ in my account so DP wont get tempted. I just have to restrain myself

Frugal 2010 : Well I have decided to do bonus...

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:05:50 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 03�January�2010 at 8:05am

Well I have decided to do bonus bonds again this year & I am not telling DH. I want to save $200 a fortnight, so will bank $50 into our saving account..which looks very sad at the moment & then the rest into BB. I did BB last year & won 2x $20 & then took it out for xmas.
It means a really tight budget, but if all the bills are up to date & paid fortnightly then there won't be any problems.

I know that DH will want to spend what he can get his hands on so if he doesn't know about it then he can not.

I am starting my savings plan in Feb as that gives me time to get school books & uniforms, fees & DS1 b/day out of the way.

I am starting PNS xmas club this week, I was going to do $10 a week but since i want to cut down my weekly visits to fortnightly ones will do $20 a fortnight & that will give me over $400. Thinking I might penalise myself, if I do go in more then I should put in a $5 for every extra visit.

Frugal 2010 : Emiloly, I am with you on #6

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:39:45 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 02�January�2010 at 12:39pm

Emiloly, I am with you on #6

Frugal 2010 : I have just read the whole thread....

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:35:05 +0000

Author: ?Lolly?
Subject: 30604
Posted: 02�January�2010 at 12:35pm

I have just read the whole thread. Some great ideas girls! We so need to get a bit more serious about being 'fugal' We have started growing our own veges which is great. If we owned our own place I would probably dig up more of the garden and grow more but but alas we rent. Part of the reason I want to save money is so we can buy our own place. Some of the money saving plans for this year are

TURN OF MY COMPUTER at the end of theday. It needs capitals because I never end up doing it. I was told off by my 15 year old cousin in the UK for all the damage I am doing to the environment. In fact we hardly ever turn anything off. It just gets left on standby. You don't even want to know how high our electricity bill is.

We have already started growing veges but we now buy the stuff we don't grow at Fruit World, and also buy our meat at the Mad Butcher which is also cheeper

SAVE! I am going to be saving our WFF this year. putting aside $20 per week for myself. Although I am not using that money for gas ect.

Get another design contact - finding the time to do some actual work will suck but I am sure I will manage.

Use the budget calculator to figure out exactly where everything going. I am having a look at AceMoney (can't remember who mentioned that)

Stop buying biscuits as I just eat the whole packet - Stop baking cakes and cookies for the same reason!

Sheesh I am sure I have some other ideas. I will post them later. Now to start putting it all in to practice.

ETA: We use to spend about $200 per week on groceries, we have got that down to about $180 on average. Might not seem like much but it all adds up.

Edited by Emiloly

Frugal 2010 : We love our points we get on our...

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:45:00 +0000

Author: kebakat
Subject: 30604
Posted: 02�January�2010 at 10:45am

We love our points we get on our credit card, they go into airpoints, we get enough airpoints to make holidays cheaper, when we went on honeymoon all of my flights were free. By the end of the year we will have enough to make mine free to aussie so a family holiday will be much cheaper. But then I pay off the credit card every payday (fortnightly)

Frugal 2010 : wow you guys pay high $ for low...

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:40:48 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 02�January�2010 at 9:40am

wow you guys pay high $ for low GB, I know our ph bill is high $130 approx a month & that is with 40GB $80.

mummydee we did the same will saving for mat leave, we saved the difference, so when I was on ppl for 12weeks our savings topped it up. We also paid off & got rid of all CC, we now have a debit card. Which means we can not get things till we have the money & have to save a bit for an emergency fund, but it is great piece of mind not have those monthly CC bills.

Frugal 2010 : ToniLT - we have home phone, caller...

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:31:57 +0000

Author: EmDee
Subject: 30604
Posted: 02�January�2010 at 9:31am

ToniLT - we have home phone, caller ID, tolls and 20GB internet with Vodafone and this costs us $100/month. We rarely make toll calls though so this only amounts to $5 a month at the most.

Frugal 2010 : Well DH and I finally sat down...

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:29:02 +0000

Author: EmDee
Subject: 30604
Posted: 02�January�2010 at 9:29am

Well DH and I finally sat down and worked out our budget. The plan is to save as much as we can while I am working and then spend as little as possible while I'm on maternity leave!

We are setting up a separate bank account and putting away a set amount each payday to cover all of our regular bills. Also I plan on withdrawing cash on payday for groceries, petrol and sanity money. We will aim to make our own lunches for work each day and if we buy lunch it comes out of our sanity money.

I think the biggest hurdle is trying to convince DH that the points we earn on our credit card really aren't worth the trouble!

Frugal 2010 : We did not go out today so we...

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:28:06 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 01�January�2010 at 11:28pm

We did not go out today so we spent nothing.

I have made a list up of things we spend money on so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

HeidisMum thanks for the good ideas.

Frugal 2010 : Simple savings thing for January...

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:08:54 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 01�January�2010 at 11:08pm

Simple savings thing for January is Turn off all the screens....ie as much time as possible with the TV & the Computer off

I haven't spent anything today but DH bought a sausage roll when he filled the car with petrol

I'm going to make him write down what he spends!

Frugal 2010 : So far I have spent $0 dollars,...

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:44:12 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 01�January�2010 at 12:44pm

So far I have spent $0 dollars, not bad.

Frugal 2010 : As of today I am writing down...

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:23:09 +0000

Author: BeLoved
Subject: 30604
Posted: 01�January�2010 at 11:23am

As of today I am writing down everything that I spend and will get DH to do the same, I am hoping this will make me really think before I spend money on things that I don't really need.

Oh and I am also going to do my meal plan this week for the next 2 weeks and include 2 new recipes out of the millions of recipe books and magazines I have.....EXCITING......not!

Frugal 2010 : Game on girls time to start being...

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:51:57 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 01�January�2010 at 9:51am

Game on girls time to start being frugal, roll on payday, ha ha

Frugal 2010 : www.simplesavings.co.nz has some...

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:46:25 +0000

Author: lizzle
Subject: 30604
Posted: 30�December�2009 at 8:46pm

www.simplesavings.co.nz has some great ideas. I haven't joined but I get the emails. some great ideas. Also there is a group on yahoo, called freecycle. palmerston has a group and people advertise for things that they have to give away, or things that people want. I'm planning to ask if anyone has free fruit and vege from their trees when we get back from holiday.

Frugal 2010 : I think I need to join in too! We...

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:13:05 +0000

Author: HuntersMama
Subject: 30604
Posted: 30�December�2009 at 8:13pm

I think I need to join in too!

We will be fine when I am getting PPL, but once that stops it will be a bit of a struggle.

Im hoping to consolidate a few of our debts. We have tried really hard these last few months and have paid alot off so its not too bad.

I have set up APs for ARC, council and water rates so we pay a small amount each week, rather than a BIG payment every few months. We dont even notice it coming out anymore.

And even though I hate doing it, I think I need to do some menu plans. I manage to save so much money and stop wasting food when I know what I need to buy each week.

Frugal 2010 : Aliasmum wrote:Also we've...

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:26:57 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 29�December�2009 at 7:26pm

Aliasmum wrote:

Also we've planned two holidays this year. One for DH & I & the other for the family. I'm saving for the Oz trip by selling stuff on Trademe & also a small savings amount.

So we are having 2 bigger hols rather than shorter trips around.

Snap, kind of, hee hee.

We are planning a weekend away to Oz & the IL are looking after the kids. Around Aug, we are going to save like mad as I want to go crazy at duty free

We are also planning a holiday to the GC with the kids at the end of year or early next year, so that is my motivation to be frugal next year.

Frugal 2010 : Yeah I tried a mooncup but also...

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:47:48 +0000

Author: Flutterby
Subject: 30604
Posted: 29�December�2009 at 4:47pm

Yeah I tried a mooncup but also didn't like the mess of it. Didn't help that are bathroom and toilet are seperate so had to take it out, empty it then move to the bathroom to clean it and then put it back in.

We switched to Freeview as we found we didn't watch sky much and it was costing us about $90 a month. I only get DVDs out once a month. And I bake all our biscuits and cakes.

DP is a hunter so he gets a lot of his own meat. We do a big stock up at Pak n Save when we have some extra money and mum brings down a heap of fruit and veges when she comes to visit.

The thing I find hard is that we only have the one supermarket in town (New World) and no fruit shops. And it is an expensive place to shop. I really must make a list of groceries as I always forget something and end up having to go back there and then come out with more then I went in for

One thing I have been meaning to do is find a better internet provider. We are with Compass and it normally works out around $100 a month for 5GB and toll calls. We always go over the limit by about 1 GB. Also it often goes offline (so annoying).

Frugal 2010 : Also we've planned two holidays...

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:21:33 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 29�December�2009 at 4:21pm

Also we've planned two holidays this year. One for DH & I & the other for the family. I'm saving for the Oz trip by selling stuff on Trademe & also a small savings amount.

So we are having 2 bigger hols rather than shorter trips around.

Frugal 2010 : One thing that has saved me lots...

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:19:41 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 29�December�2009 at 4:19pm

One thing that has saved me lots of money is joining the local toy library. Cooper has had lots of different toys this year & I haven't had to buy and store them, just rotate them every three weeks I have a leapfrog table for the holidays

Yeah Jazzy, bread was expensive as DH would go through 2 of the expensive loaves a week just by himself!

Frugal 2010 : I have one and find it a bit awkward...

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:52:30 +0000

Author: SMoody
Subject: 30604
Posted: 29�December�2009 at 8:52am

I have one and find it a bit awkward but I know I must just get it right. And that is one of the things I am going to do. Not really for the saving money part (which is a bonus) but for environment wise (and yip doesnt make total sense as I use disposables for nappies. )

Frugal 2010 : They are a "cup" that...

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:51:55 +0000

Author: kebakat
Subject: 30604
Posted: 28�December�2009 at 7:51pm

They are a "cup" that you use instead of a tampon which collects all the blood products and you tip it out down the toilet.

I used one for a few months but gave it up. It takes practice to get the positioning right so you can have some leakage as you are getting use to that. But I found it gross lol I didn't care about the tipping out part it was cleaning it that I found nasty and I'm not overly squeamish either. But some people love them.

Frugal 2010 : mooncup, I have heard of them...

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:41:48 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 28�December�2009 at 7:41pm

mooncup, I have heard of them how do they work?

Frugal 2010 : Yea part of me really likes the...

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:32:19 +0000

Author: palomino
Subject: 30604
Posted: 28�December�2009 at 12:32pm

Yea part of me really likes the idea of a mooncup, but i just dont know about the umm 'logistics' of it.

Frugal 2010 : Emmecat have you thought about...

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:29:29 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 28�December�2009 at 12:29pm

Emmecat have you thought about a mooncup? I think I'm gonna get one, although I'm not sure it will cope with my flo (tmi!)

We have a huge vege patch with no veges in it cos we need to dog proof it first and have run out of money to do that.

Frugal 2010 : OMG I am TOTALLY gonna joint his...

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:58:01 +0000

Author: Emmecat
Subject: 30604
Posted: 28�December�2009 at 10:58am

OMG I am TOTALLY gonna joint his thread!!

I'm already pretty tight lol but here's what we do already:

Eat vegetarian/vegan- massive savings!
Cook almost all meals form scratch and freeze
Have a vege garden...and making a bigger one soon
using cloth nappies all the time
making my own cloth pads now my AF has returned (damn it lol)
walk son to school and try not to use the car much

My goal this year is to cut back even more by using the car even less and convincing DF to eat less bread, less peanut butter (he goes through nearly a loaf of bread a day! ) and make even more stuff from scratch.

I'm a total anti consumer anyway with a list of companies I don't buy from so shouldn't be too hard lol

Keep the tips coming though guys...so awesome to hear other peoples ideas

Frugal 2010 : Good idea about the passes, we...

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 09:31:12 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 27�December�2009 at 9:31am

Good idea about the passes, we buy the zoo one & go a lot in the winter, the kids get to run around, splash in puddles & not many people there.

We got a Motat one also but have not used it as much as don't think the little one enjoy it that much.

Frugal 2010 : Yeah we only recently got sky...

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 07:58:27 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 27�December�2009 at 7:58am

Yeah we only recently got sky through one of their deals so it was $11 a week for the whole lot, now it's gone up so we have stripped it back to the basic plan and will only pay $33 a month but we only get basic channels. I personally think sky is pretty crap though and we mostly only watch the free channels anyway.

We just downgraded our internet/phone as well, not sure which plan, DH did it, but it's only $90 a month. He looked at how much GB we generally use and got us the lowest plan that still allowed us to use that much.

We normally hire DVD's from civic video and we have an entertainment book so use the vouchers from that.

Maybe I should look at going to a hairdressers school to have my hair done, I normally pay $80 when I have mine done cos i go to a decent salon, but if there are professionals over seeing the students and putting right for free I would feel ok about that.

For people in Christchurch you can buy yearly passes to Orana park and willowbank which costs double the normal entry fee but you get to go all year, well worth it for kiddy entertainment that isn't too expensive and is cheaper the more times you go.

Frugal 2010 : We only have the basic plan for...

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:57:20 +0000

Author: kebakat
Subject: 30604
Posted: 27�December�2009 at 6:57am

We only have the basic plan for sky. No sports no movies. Movies I buy as dvds from my spending money - usually get them on trade me or amazon, very cheap averaging about $10 a movie and at least we get to keep it.

Frugal 2010 : Aliasmum, I usually spend $4 on...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:20:24 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 11:20pm

Aliasmum, I usually spend $4 on the nice grain bread for lunches.

Frugal 2010 : We use 40GB & that costs $80,...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:18:02 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 11:18pm

We use 40GB & that costs $80, so all up is $130-140

We have mysky HD & 2nd decoder & movies & sometimes sports. Thinking about changing to tivo. We pay approx $1200-1300 a year for sky ($25-30per wk). We don't go out (only a couple of times a year) or hire movies, so that is entertainment but wish I was not hooked on UKTV, lol.

Edited by jazzy

Frugal 2010 : jazzy wrote: Aliasmum wrote:We...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:08:26 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 11:08pm

jazzy wrote:

Aliasmum wrote:

We bought a bread maker & we go through a loaf a day now.

How much does it cost to make a loaf of bread?
We used to use our one all the time & to make pizza doh, but have not used it for a while & have forgotten if it is worth it.

TBH I'm not sure. but I don't I'll be paying the equivalent price of the loaf that DH likes!! It's about $1 for the flour & then you have yeast, salt & sugar so not much at all.

Frugal 2010 : Sorry I should probably clarify...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:48:54 +0000

Author: monkey33
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 10:48pm

Sorry I should probably clarify that better as it doesn't include Sky itself, just the MySky part - the plan I looked at is with Vodafone (you need to already be on a basic or better plan).

$90 a month: 20GB data (we currently get 10GB data for $100 and go over every month, therefore paying between $10 & $20 per month), home phone (including directory calls which are usually 50c I think) and MySky (you still need to pay the $10 HD ticket per month, so plan in total is $100 per month including all of the above).

The only hook seems to be that you need to sign up for 12 months and you need to pay your whole Sky bill through them but that seems to be okay with us.

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/sky-tv/mysky.jsp

Edited by monkey33

Frugal 2010 : monkey33, what plan? We pay $140...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:40:55 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 10:40pm

monkey33, what plan?

We pay $140 approx for ph a mth & $100 for sky a mth

Frugal 2010 : This has got me motivated Thought...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:38:04 +0000

Author: monkey33
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 10:38pm

This has got me motivated Thought I would shop around online for our internet/home line and have found a plan for $20 cheaper a month which includes MySky which we were going to get - so a saving of around $35 per month.

Hmm going to see what else we can shop around for.

Frugal 2010 : A friend cuts my hair lol - when...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:30:58 +0000

Author: flakesitchyfeet
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 9:30pm

A friend cuts my hair lol - when it annoys him.

We cope fine on one income, but with another child on the way our family tent is shrinking as the family is growing! And savings could be better too. So I'm in

Edited to add:
We have $50 a fortnight ( currently less to pay off our ipods out of our accs) sanity money. We didn't for ages, till we realised how much we both spent on junk food etc. Most of mine goes on craft stuff, thats what I do when he's playing computer games, and generally I make kids stuff anyway.

Edited by Flake

Frugal 2010 : I go to hairdresser about 2 a...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:25:22 +0000

Author: isabel
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 8:25pm

I go to hairdresser about 2 a year.sometimes i go to the hairdressing school, where you can get it for much cheaper. we cut DPs hair at home.

Bake bread and sweet treats at home.

we do a lot of budgeting and that way we can quickly see where the money are going. We spent heaps on power so hunted around the companies, switched company, got energy saving light bulbs and always switch stuff of at the wall.

Phone companies are the same. We switch to slingshot and it is way cheaper than telecom for homeline, free toll calls, and broadband.

trying to get food costs down as our grocery bill should be tiny, considering we get meat from farm. seem to spend it an the basic stuff, we dont buy any sweet treats just the normal, yoghurt,butter, milk,cheese, cereal, pasta, spices, flour.

someone was taking about dogfood.a lot of petstores does the buy 5, 6th one free for some brands. other wise buy from farming stores like RD1, wrightsons if you are close to them as you can get 40kg for $65.

sorry about the long post.

Frugal 2010 : oh & also I am not going to any...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 08:56:39 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 8:56am

oh & also I am not going to any sales, the way I see it if I did not need it when it was full price I don't need it now.

To carry on our Frugal 2010 I am going to start a new topic about groceries as that is where a lot of us are having trouble with over spending.

Frugal 2010 : SMoody wrote: I am not happy...

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 08:51:23 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 26�December�2009 at 8:51am

SMoody wrote:

[QUOTE] I am not happy with the way I look and therefore dont really spent loads of time in a clothes shop so dont really buy. Next year I want to work on my body as well as my mind and later go and spent some money on clothes for myself.

I know how you feel...I have decided to take $20 a week for me & I am going to weight watchers. I like most mums on here never spend money on me it always goes on the kids of DH, so time to invest a bit into me next year, need to feel better & look better & lose weight to keep up with the kids.

DH is getting a push bike in Jan that will cut down the cost of petrol & he will not be buying his lunch as he is on a get fit & healthy eating drive also.

So no more crap in the house & the kids are just going to have to learn to love fruit & veg more.

Frugal 2010 : BooBoo wrote:OK so maybe I...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:56:56 +0000

Author: Guests
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 10:56pm

BooBoo wrote:

OK so maybe I just need to pull the rains in a bit then and realise that it IS acheivable!

What do you guys do when you want to go to the movies with a friend, or go get clothes, or get your haircut, eyebrows done etc? Do you then take more out of the account?

I don't do any of those things, I get my hair cut maybe twice a year. If there is spare money it goes on clothes for the kids or I pay extra on bills.

All that kind of stuff takes a backseat when you're on one income. I sometimes wish I had more for me but wouldn't change it for the world, zI love staying home with my daughter

Frugal 2010 : BooBoo wrote:OK so maybe I...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:19:16 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 10:19pm

I rarely get my hair done, like Genie I maybe get it cut twice a year, no way I can afford the 6-8 melarky that I did pre kids. The last time i had my eyebrows done was last year as part of my b-day present (my b-day is in dec).
I don't go to the movies, Dh and me do DVD night though, friends I mostly just meet for coffee and then that comes out of my sanity money. Clothes I normally only buy with b-day or xmas money or if I desperate needed something I would get it with some of DH's overtime money, or put it on the credit card, which with no card now will not be an option next year.

This year in total though I have bought 2 bras (breastfeeding ones), an outfit for a wedding, and some cheapo jeans off of trademe.

I tend to always choose to buy for the kids instead of myself, probably cos I enjoy shopping for them.

Frugal 2010 : BooBoo wrote:OK so maybe I...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:48:28 +0000

Author: SMoody
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 9:48pm

Okay movies will be under entertainment, clothes out of the clothes account for everyone. Haircut is what I save out of foodbudget as that all falls under there but Grant keeps on saying I should spent more money on myself.

I am not happy with the way I look and therefore dont really spent loads of time in a clothes shop so dont really buy. Next year I want to work on my body as well as my mind and later go and spent some money on clothes for myself.

Frugal 2010 : There are some awesome ideas here!!!...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:55:48 +0000

Author: monkey33
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 8:55pm

There are some awesome ideas here!!! I'll definitely be trying some of them out.

I think I have our budget down pat for 2010 (let's see how well we stick to it lol!). I have just finished up work for a year and got about $8500 in annual leave plus we have the PPL payments. I have planned to stretch this out and pay for my petrol, insurance, rego, $30 spending a week for me and mobile phone bill for all of 2010. Will also pay for food for the first 4 or 5 months ($150 a week, but am sure I can get that down). DH to pay rest of bills.

Some things that I have planned to help are: Just changed the mortgage to come out the day DH gets paid (used to come half way through the month) & the rest of the bills come out a few days later by AP - so all the bills are paid and DH can manage with what is left (this is going to be a BIG shock for him!), buy takeaways once a fortnight, not once or twice a week like we do now, continue to make DH's lunch 3 times a week (can't do 5 otherwise he gets sick of it!), bake biscuits, make homemade pizzas etc.

This year I saved $10 a week into my savings so that by christmas we had $300ish to spend on christmas presents. Needed more, but at least it was a good chunk and I never missed the $10 per week during the year. I'll get DH to save $20 a week in 2010 and will buy bday presents from this account throughout the year.

Frugal 2010 : BooBoo wrote:OK so maybe I...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:19:19 +0000

Author: Genie
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 8:19pm

Errrmmmm geez I don't really do any of those things, now I'm wondering if I should feel ripped off! Ok thats not quite right, I do get my hair cut but probably about twice a year at $28 a pop, and I do buy clothes, just not for much expense, I usually get things at the sallies, or yellow stickered at the warehouse. And now I feel ashamed! I don't think I look like a slob or anything though! And to be honest going without and spending on the kids instead doesn't bother me.

Frugal 2010 : BooBoo wrote:What do you guys...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:33:35 +0000

Author: kebakat
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 7:33pm

BooBoo wrote:

What do you guys do when you want to go to the movies with a friend, or go get clothes, or get your haircut, eyebrows done etc? Do you then take more out of the account?

TBH I haven't been to the movies in a few years. If I wanna watch a movie I buy it on dvd so at least I'm not paying a fortune to watch something only once. Its just as cool to get some goodies and sit down and have a dvd night.

All those things all come out of my sanity money. I use to buy clothes all the time but now I don't. I had so many items in my walldrobe that I had only worn once or twice and forgotten about, so really its just wasted money.

eta: the only thing that doesn't come outta my sanity money is for bras. Bras in my size are between $70-110 a pop depending on the type and its not something I can do without

Edited by kebakat

Frugal 2010 : Aliasmum wrote:We bought a...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:24:54 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 7:24pm

Aliasmum wrote:

We bought a bread maker & we go through a loaf a day now.

How much does it cost to make a loaf of bread?
We used to use our one all the time & to make pizza doh, but have not used it for a while & have forgotten if it is worth it.

Frugal 2010 : BooBoo wrote:OK so maybe I...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:57:21 +0000

Author: jazzy
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 6:57pm

I don't budget for them, I should & will next year. I find when we have extra money it goes on the kids & DH, I go without & always put myself last.

So next year will be changing that.

Thing I find & reading here I am not the only one, I spend too much on groceries. So need to plan better there.

Frugal 2010 : OK so maybe I just need to pull...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:35:17 +0000

Author: IVFGirl1111
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 6:35pm

OK so maybe I just need to pull the rains in a bit then and realise that it IS acheivable!

What do you guys do when you want to go to the movies with a friend, or go get clothes, or get your haircut, eyebrows done etc? Do you then take more out of the account?

Frugal 2010 : I think I need to join this too....

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:07:04 +0000

Author: Turtle
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 11:07am

I think I need to join this too. My main problem is the food shopping. We go in to get a couple of things and come out with a trolley load. I am hoping that being home most of next year I will do a much better job of pre-preparing food. We already take our lunches to work as well. At the moment we spend about $120-$150 a week on groceries and that doesn't include fruit and veg which we buy separate, or dog food which we buy at the pet store. That is a huge expense for his food!

Frugal 2010 : We bought a bread maker & we go...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:53:33 +0000

Author: AandCsmum
Subject: 30604
Posted: 24�December�2009 at 8:53am

We bought a bread maker & we go through a loaf a day now.

I remember reading somewhere with Easiyo that you can make up one packet & then keep yourself a culture that you start your yogurt with each time so you are not buying packets.

Pleased to say we have started our Xmas tin I got a heap of change in return yesterday when I met the girls for coffee, it was the first time meeting where we had to pay for coffee, all of $3 but do I put all this change into my tin?

Frugal 2010 : I'm a serial lurker in here....really...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:46:50 +0000

Author: minik8e
Subject: 30604
Posted: 23�December�2009 at 9:46pm

I'm a serial lurker in here....really should join, but yeah...great at procrastination!!

Re. the hairdresser...see if there are any trainee hairdressers around who are looking for clients. I get mine done by a trainee at one of the top local salons, overseen by a national award winning hair stylist, and it costs me nothing. DH has the same. They do a REALLY good job and if anything doesn't quite work, it gets fixed at the end by the stylist.

Frugal 2010 : Dh gets $75 a fortnight for beer...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:05:32 +0000

Author: Guests
Subject: 30604
Posted: 23�December�2009 at 9:05pm

Dh gets $75 a fortnight for beer and his cricket . I get maybe $10 if i'm lucky and that goes mostly on dd, music/playgroup etc.

The popcorn is a good idea.

We go through 4 loaves of bread a fortnight. And a kilo of cheese , but cheese is my pregnancy craving ,mmmm .

We try tobuy budget/homebrand stuff, canned fruit sauce etc. Plus dd is is disposables overnight now so we use th homebrand nappies 50 for $20 and they last all night.

Cuppatea we don;t go out at all really, dh parents to old to look after dd and my family aren't here.

Frugal 2010 : we have $60 a week sanity money...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:30:22 +0000

Author: peanut butter
Subject: 30604
Posted: 23�December�2009 at 12:30pm

we have $60 a week sanity money but DH pays some of his life insurance out of his...I need more. we also put $30 a fortnight into a spending account for the kids things.

I find $60 a week tough at the moment as I so desperately need new clothes as mine are all old pre pregnancy work clothes...which I dont where now and preggy clothes which have seen 2 pregnancies and everything in between. I need to dress a bit better so I am trying to use my money for that...and then I have haircuts and waxing to do too. I know waxing is a luxury......but I get seriously hairy bikini and thighs and shaving just ends up in rashes. Haircuts I only do about every 4-5 months....I need to do that more often so I look presentable for work. My hair is NOT low maintenance and it pisses me off.

$100 a week would be awesome!!!

As for how we survive on less.....kids stop you having too many meals out or lunches.

One thing we havent factored in is babysitters. as we have never used them and have this week and sh*t its expensive

Frugal 2010 : DH & I have $50 ea fortnight...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:02:15 +0000

Author: Mum2ET
Subject: 30604
Posted: 23�December�2009 at 12:02pm

DH & I have $50 ea fortnight 'sanity money'. DH's is for lunch (he tries to bring lunch from home ) and any extras. Mine is for me & Ella- I hate paying money to eat out for lunch so normally eat lunch at home. Have also started selling Ella's clothes so trade me so any extra I make from that goes to me as well.

Bread- we go through a couple of loaves a week.

Frugal 2010 : We have $50 each a week but we...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:57:21 +0000

Author: cuppatea
Subject: 30604
Posted: 23�December�2009 at 11:57am

We have $50 each a week but we each buy our petrol out of that. I normally go out to lunch once a fortnight but have started choosing a cheaper option when I go, like getting a savoury scone instead of a full meal. I use to dip into the joint account for extra coffees when so that is stopping cos there will be no extra money in the joint account as we are gonna transfer all excess out at pay day to a non eftpos account.

Booboo, I buy pretty much nothing for myself ever. I only get new clothes for my b-day and xmas (and this year haven't as we couldn't afford it), I can't remember the last time I bought a cd or dvd or anything like that. I don't wear make up or use much cosmetic products at all, except sun lotion.
Most of my socialising is done through coffee groups so apart from petrol it only costs me money when it's my turn to host.
Dh and me rarely go out, too much hassle to get a babysitter mostly cos we have no family out here so we don't spend any money on dinners out.

We get through 2-3 loafs a week and a block of cheese lasts about a month I think. We are getting through heaps more eggs recently with me baking more. Have also started doing my own muesli bars and they last quite a while, not overly convinced it is cheaper than buying them though

Frugal 2010 : Bread we do not buy any budget...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:03:13 +0000

Author: SMoody
Subject: 30604
Posted: 23�December�2009 at 11:03am

Bread we do not buy any budget stuff. Grant will eat it and eat it and eat it and still not get full. Same with McKayla. We buy the more expensive brands but by about 2 a week and it works out cheaper as well and a bit more healthy.

And $100 a week sanity money? Woa. That is a lot. Grant is the only onIe earning money and he gets $100 a month that he can spent on whatever and even then he sometimes dont even spent it a lot.

I dont really have sanity money as such (even though hubby tries to get me to just spent on myself)

For me I hate hate paying $30 or so just to go out and have a coffee and a sarmie that I know I can make better at home. I do however go out with kids and hubby now and then and for a real nice meal out can spent up to $150 - $200 and for waffles and all that under $50 but definately not every day of the week. (or even every week for that matter, more like once a month thing)