Due to our recent move to the bungalow, our savings have taken an enormous hit. I have done a financial review for 2022 and it has become clear that if I pop my clogs in the near future G will have enough income to carry on living here, but if he pops his clogs first then I will be in dire straits. His pension would disappear overnight and my own income would barely cover the bills let alone buy food or run a car. With that in mind we are on a mission to put back into the savings a years worth of bills money so that I would have a safety net and plenty of time to decide what to do. We're not being morbid, just practical 😊
January Challenge
Aim: to spend as little actual cash on grocery shopping as possible
Funds: Nectar points £32.50
Asda Gift Voucher £50 (G's gift from work)
Boots Loyalty points £14.77
Tesco coupon £1.50 (found a bit tatty and neglected in my purse)
G's Nectar points £7.50
Rules:
- We can use the contents of both freezers and store cupboard as we need to, but not run them down to empty which would defeat the object of keeping a reasonable stock of food in, in case of emergency or shortages. We can use yellow sticker food or any other bargains we can find to keep the cost down.
- Our usual food delivery day is Wednesday. As there are 4 in January and our budget is usually £55 per week we could potentially save £220
- We will include food, cleaning products, toiletries and a TV guide each week (but NO other mags 👀) in our spending
Our final home delivery (for now) was last Wednesday afternoon and it was well within budget so no cheating by stocking up on a massive scale. Any shopping we do will be reported on here for me to keep track of spending but I don't want to bore you all with photos of our meals, although I might post a weekly meal plan for my own records.
I think we have a reasonable amount of money to spend if we shop with care so a month of spending a minimal amount of cash on groceries is definitely do-able. Fingers crossed 🤞
Is anyone else cutting back for January, ?
I could do with losing a few pounds in weight and this challenge might help there too
Thanks for popping in everyone.
Stay safe wherever in the world you happen to be x
We are in the same position as you, if anything happened to hubby I would struggle, so this year we are going to save as much as we can. back in 2010 we moved, did our home up, I was ill and off work for 18 months (so goodbye savings). I did finish work 4 years ago as it was just to much for me, so getting my government pension late last year will help us.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your savings challenge. I know you can do it. Take care xx
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your savings challenge. This year I really want to get some money saved as would love to be able to reduce my working week but need a good buffer to make me comfortable doing it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm trying hard to cut back. I must emulate you and work out some definite rules but they would probably look quite a bit like yours anyway. Happy 2022.
ReplyDeleteSame financial position here too - husband would be ok financially if I died first.....me not so much. So we're also making this year one of saving as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteI'm being careful because now I have at last found a dentist, I know I am going to have a huge bill to pay when I finally get my 👑 crown. A gold one with jewels would probably be cheaper
ReplyDeleteI have a problem with using up leftovers......they are mainly boxes of chocolates!!
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how you and Sue-in-Garstang get on with your challenges. I'm looking forward to following along
Oh dear I hope you'll find lots of ways to save.. having an allotment will save you lots. I was fortunate that a house I bought , even though my friends thought it was gross and I had given up my regular job.. it all worked out really well for me as I gained a lot of money when I sold it 14 years later.. it bought the house in Suffolk and We still have money left to buy here with enough to put in new bathroom, kitchen and do lots to the garden I am so blessed.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though you are being very thorough with the plans, we both like to plan ahead don't we.
ReplyDeleteIt's surprising how the coupons and points add up isn't it. I mean even the £1.50 Tesco coupon could buy you three loaves of their bread for the freezer. If I think like this and then go into a supermarket eyes ahead and just grab what I need I'm okay, if I start to 'browse' the shelves all is lost!!
Re the magazines my daughters library has digital magazines and as she does not use it I do so free mags for me.
ReplyDeleteI will be cheering from the sidelines as you go on this tight budget in January. Replenishing the savings is a very important project! I reduced my grocery budget for this month, myself, but, it is not quite as strict a budget as yours.
ReplyDeleteWell done on your savings plan. Meal planning is important for success, it does avoid so much waste. Writing a shopping list and sticking to it is really important for me to. Your allotment will be a great help too. Good luck.
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