Budgeting Ideas
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
Forum Description: For mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, friends -- you name it! And you name the topic you want to chat about!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=34025
Printed Date: 21 August 2025 at 8:14pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Budgeting Ideas
Posted By: _SMS_
Subject: Budgeting Ideas
Date Posted: 13 June 2010 at 4:12pm
|
DP has just got a new job & he will be earning 50% less than he does now.
I will be applying for Accommodation supplement, and more family assistance. But i need tips/ideas on how to reduce costs of day to day living. Thanks -------------  
|
Replies:
Posted By: amme_eilyk
Date Posted: 13 June 2010 at 4:33pm
|
basic energy saving stuff. its a pain but switching everything off at the wall when your not using it is worth it.
pre plan before you go grocery shop. rice, pasta are cheap and are great meal bases. Also you can bulk up your meals using them and you dont need as much meat. Markets for fresh veges are great. I also recommend whenever you have free time avoiding going into town like the plague. You will save heaps as you wont see anything to tempt you. |
Posted By: pikelets
Date Posted: 13 June 2010 at 6:53pm
|
not using a dryer, makes it hard in the winter but definately save money.
We now shop at PakNSave and Mad Butcher and Simply Fresh for fruit and veg - has made a HUGE difference to our grocery bill. Plus we have started Xmas club at pak n save. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
 3 Angels - Dec10 / Mar11 / Dec11
|
Posted By: Flutterby
Date Posted: 13 June 2010 at 7:03pm
|
I don't have many tips as I am terrible at budgeting.
The ones I do have are, write a list before going to the supermarket and only get what is on it. Don't go to the supermarket hungry. I have been buying budget dishwashing liquid and doing half liquid half water in another bottle (hope that makes sense). It works just as well as sunlight liquid and lasts for so much longer. Buy Budget items whenever possible. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: blossombaby
Date Posted: 13 June 2010 at 8:19pm
|
me and dp are both spenders so its pretty hard not having one take control haha.
i find every week i work out what we will be geting on payday and work out what needs to be paid where etc eg rent, phone, food, savings etc. and work out how much surplus we have to spend on wants not needs iykwim?? |
Posted By: Babe
Date Posted: 13 June 2010 at 8:29pm
|
Buy in bulk where-ever you can
Make your own cleaners Make all the food you possibly can from scratch Learn how to use lentils and beans -------------   
|
Posted By: kiwi2
Date Posted: 13 June 2010 at 8:58pm
|
I second the mad butcher and a vege shop. Not only are the veges fresher than the supermarket they are so cheap. I find if you can keep these two parts of the grocery bill down the rest is easy.
Another thing is to go back to dial up rather than broadband. (Did I just say that - sorry) Cut out sky etc and check your mobile phone expenditure. Walk the kids to kindy/school etc to save on gas. Put a jersey on rather than the heater. If you are still cold then of course put the heater on. My DH heads straight to the heater whilst in a t shirt lol. Cook for two nights at once. If making a shepards pie or a big mince dish then make enough for a second meal as it is generally cheaper to make more than a different dish. You probably already do some of this or it doesn't apply I just thought I would throw it out there. |
Posted By: Blankney94
Date Posted: 13 June 2010 at 10:20pm
|
I'm with Babe - I make my own cleaners now (and my skin's stopped itching - yay!). I make my own dishwasher powder and washing machine detergent. I only buy Handy Andy and Spray n Wipe for those occasional hard to shift things, but other than that I bypass the cleaning isle at the supermarket. Also we get homekill beef and lamb. (Not sure if you eat meat?). This works out cheaper, but means outlaying money up front. So we also bypass the meat isle too. I do my supermarket shopping only every fortnight. We top up milk and vege in between though. I do a fortnightly menu and work out what's already in my cupboard that I can use, and what extra things do I need? Before I did the menu system I had about 6 of everything in the cupboard, everything wasn't getting used, and it was all disorganised. Making liberal use of pasta and rice makes food go a long way! Also cook enough for one extra person and then you have leftovers to freeze etc. Other money saving things - I went around all of our utilities and made sure I was getting the best deal. Cellphone contracts, electricity, home phone line, Sky, internet usage, credit card rates/charges, insurance. I cancelled the newspaper because we weren't even reading it. Have a look at all of these and check that you are on the best value plans. All the best with your savings! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: WestiesGirl
Date Posted: 13 June 2010 at 10:58pm
|
Check out this http://www.simplesavings.com.au/ - website . Its based in Aus but still has great money saving ideas. ------------- Our Angel July 08 Gone but not forgotten
And to complete our family, our princess has arrived 
|
Posted By: tictacjunkie
Date Posted: 14 June 2010 at 5:18am
| Another thing to try is to go grocery shopping every 8 days- one day later than the previous week, that way every 7 weeks you don't have groceries comin out of that weeks pay and can put it aside for something else. Hope that makes sense! |
Posted By: _H_
Date Posted: 14 June 2010 at 9:34am
|
ohhh tictacjunkie thats a smart idea!
when you look at the costs of utilities also look at their payment plans- our power company worked out how much power we used in a year and we then pay a set about each month. we still get the pay on time disount (cant remember what it is called) and it means in winter we dont have to pay more also for bills that will be the same each month we pay by automatic payment and they all come out the same night our pays go in- means we never really get to the see the money but dont have to worry about bills being over due |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 14 June 2010 at 11:36am
|
I use pak n save shop n go, I write a list and set a budget for the weeks groceries - and stick to it - If I get to the end of my list and there's $$ in the budget then I'll add a luxury item - packet of biscuits etc - or use it towards petrol - I get 3c a litre off everytime I go to pak n save. Learn to cook - being able to make meals from scratch saves $$ and makes the basics stretch further - I can whip up a pie or a pizza with minimal ingredients and at a moments notice. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: MamaT
Date Posted: 14 June 2010 at 2:13pm
|
Another thing that has helped us and almost halved our grocery bill is to have a meat free dinner every other day. We've gone from spending $120 a week on groceries to $70. -------------  
|
Posted By: sweetpea
Date Posted: 14 June 2010 at 2:31pm
|
Grow your own vege and or Fruit
Buy only what is in season its often cheapest. Buy Pams, Budget or home brand staples Buy meat from a butcher its cheaper Check useage of internet maybe you can go to cheaper plan ------------- http://daisypath.com"> 
|
Posted By: _SMS_
Date Posted: 14 June 2010 at 3:37pm
Great ideas people 
I already do alot of those things. I really dont want to cut down the internet lol I like the idea of only having meat every 2nd night, that would cut down our grocery bill alot because i only buy good cuts of meat. Doing groceries every 8 days also sounds good. I currently go every fortnight now, but i find when i need a top up of things the next week im spending alot on things just because they are on special. -------------
|
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 14 June 2010 at 4:24pm
I second the turning everything off at the switch, we saved $60 last month just from doing that 
And not using any more lights than you have too, once the kids are in bed all the lights go off. Like Babe said learn to use lentils and beans you can make mince go a looooong way with these. I switched my phone to prepay and put the hard word on DH bill has gone from $90 to $30 per month ( including my topup) Take advantage of free kids activities in your area, museum,library etc See if you can borrow clothes for you kids. We have been lent loads and its been awesome. If you can and have 2 cars maybe sell one. I don;t drive so we walk or use public transport, its not hat bad and will save you rego/warrant/repairs/ga etc. |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 14 June 2010 at 4:38pm
|
Also look at the power company you are with. When we moved back to Palmy Nova Energy were just starting residential there and our power/gas bill has halved with them. Last months bill was only $90 and we run a bath almost every night and run the dryer often. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: KitKat
Date Posted: 15 June 2010 at 9:23am
|
Did you know- cheaper cuts of meat are actually tastier.
Whack on a casserole in a slow cooker- which uses very little power, and the meat goes all tender and melty yummmmm. The bits that make the meat tough normally are actually really good for you- full of calcium... If you get a stewing steak, esp the cuts with the ligaments and tough bits (yknow what I mean?) Sounds gross to some... but seriously- cheaper cuts are tastier. Aaaand- I have found markets to be good for some bargains. I agree that a lot of farmers markets now rake up the prices because its gourmet or novelty which sux... but some stalls sell cheap meat offcuts or have bargain bins (ussually early in the morning), bacon bits, and ends of sausages that look a bit funny... but cheap. Kats Meat tips.... lol sorry ------------- 
http://www.littlegreenfruit.blogspot.com - Little Green Fruit |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 15 June 2010 at 9:55am
|
With buying meat from butchers and vege from fruit shops, also need to factor in travel costs, as for us I have to drive across town to get to the Mad Butcher, specialist fruit and vege shops which means I don't end up saving in the long run. 2nd the library I haven't bought books in over 3 years as I use the library instead, even for a little town our library is awesome. You can even get DVDs out for as little as $1. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: sem
Date Posted: 15 June 2010 at 10:23am
|
Buy what's in season and cheap!
Grow your own veggies. Make food from scratch rather than buying packets, jars and sachets etc. It's amazing what you can cook with stuff that is just in the pantry. ------------- Here we go again, another baby on it's way! 
|
Posted By: _SMS_
Date Posted: 15 June 2010 at 10:53am
|
I always shop at paknsave. Although though this week im going to stock up on larger homebrand items.
I dont think the mad butcher is that cheap, ive been a few times but i still find the supermarket meat cheaper. We only have export meats & mad butcher here, i dont really like shopping at either so will just go to supermarket. Although i do get bread & milk cheap from mad butcher. -------------
|
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 15 June 2010 at 11:22am
|
Yeah I've found Mad Butcher is only cheap if you buy in bulk, and as there is only 2 of us that doesn't always work out. I found when working for the Milk Vendor that supermarket pricing was pretty tough to beat - with their bulk buying they really are the cheapest. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: julz85
Date Posted: 15 June 2010 at 12:12pm
|
I use to only buy good cuts of meat , lamb loin chops , Fillet steak, chicken breasts etc . now iv started buying snitzel ( chicken and beef) and chicken drumsticks , casserole steak ( for casseroles), and sausages and to be honest i dont miss the good meat that much , i treat myself once a week with a nice steak but other nights i tend to use the cheaper meats , or try a vegiterian meal . it has cut my grocery bill down so much . ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
|
Posted By: nannyabbey
Date Posted: 15 June 2010 at 2:06pm
| mad butcher always puts their specials on their web site, so i have a looky before i go shopping. i pretty much only buy their specials and their steak mince. And i'm a bulk buyer! a couple of weeks back they had a special on sausages - i bought a huge bag which gave us (two adults) many meals each only costing us $2 a meal! sausages for africa!! he he. was in there today and they have size 18 fresh chickens for 8.95 each...... again a good deal for a large chicken -we'll get two meals out of one of those. |
Posted By: kiwi2
Date Posted: 15 June 2010 at 3:42pm
|
Yes I only buy the specials at the mad butcher. After a few weeks you get the variety in the freezer. I did the sausage special the other week. I bought $14 worth and got 6 meals for a family of 5. (including a 9 year old with hollow legs lol) But the other day I got rump steak at new world for $8 and made a stew for two days meals in the crock pot. If you stick to the specials it works in your favour. Some weeks I don't do the mad butcher as the supermarkets have a good sale but I only buy what is on special. If you don't have a freezer they are worth investing in.
Someone mentioned soup. I make the vege puree (pumpkin and carrot with onions or leak and potato etc) and then freeze it in meal sized serves. Then you pop it in the pot and put the cream or milk in if you want soup. This way you can also use it for a vege mash side or add mince for a pasta surpise etc. Just another way of using veges in season and having flexibility to use them multiple ways. ETA as it wasn't reading right. |