Crunching the numbers, hoping it pays off. (How has the Credit Crunch affected you?)

Member Name: apuskiduski

Product:	How has the Credit Crunch affected you?
Date:	20/02/09 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Less frivolous spending, greater thought into buying

Disadvantages: Feel skint all the time, but in reality I'm not

Why do I feel a sudden rush of nausea whenever I hear 'that' phrase? I've had to stop watching the news because it is depressing me so much. Does anyone else feel the same way or am I a lone wolf?

I've always been very careful with my money, I'm not a skinflint but have always known exactly what's in my purse, how much I have spent, and my husband for that matter and I could tell anyone what my monthly bills are to the nearest pound, I've always saved, paid credit cards off every month and made sure that I budget for any loans or HP we've ever had, so I've got a generally good foundation for whatever hits me and my family.

Yet I am filled with doom and gloom and am constantly worried about what might happen. I'm sure there's a statistic out there that states that 95% of whatever you worry about never actually happens. So I've taken to praying on a daily basis. This seems to be working. I prayed on Tuesday for some way of earning a few bob, and here I am, doing just that. Seek and ye shall find so to speak!

Getting back to the point though. We have done several things to curb our family spending.
1. We allocate two 'spend free' days a week where we just get out in the fresh air, take a picnic and try not to splash any cash directly on those days.

2. I take a list and a calculator and definitely no kids or husband shopping and NEVER go when I'm hungry. I shop late at night for freezer bread bargains and make sure I am not influenced by any impulsive tendencies that I might have had once upon a time.

3. We donate to and buy from charity shops when we see something that can't be missed. This is always good for the soul.

4. We are doing lots of eco stuff at home to help us to keep busy trying to save money on utilities and water usage.

5. We use the library a lot for CDs (75p to hire for a 3 week period) DVDs books and sheetmusic as us girls at home all play piano. Two play cello and the little one plays violin. Sheet music is often expensive and photocopying for exams is not allowed. Computer access is free and the coffee bar is comfortable with a free paper to read!

6. The kids go swimming for free as in our local authority under 16s have that treat.

7. I reuse, recycle and reduce as much as possible. Carrier bags in M&S are now 5p each so I always take a bag wherever I go not that I buy in M&S much, I've started to shop around much more although it is more time consuming with full time work.

8. I use comparison sites as this has saved me a fortune on insurance and my supermarket shopping.

9. I always plan my weekly menus and shop accordingly, with top up visits in the week for milk and bread only.

10. No take aways on a weekly basis, only on a treat basis. For instance birthday, friends coming over to share the cost, celebration evening, not just ' 'cos it's Saturday'.

11. Stopped drinking wine. This has been amazing for me. I must have been going through a fair few bottles a week and now I'm better off, fresher, better tempered, less lethargic and miracle of miracles at least half a stone lighter!

12. We've started to use a slow cooker which means I can chuck cheaper cuts of meat into the pot and after 10 hours or whatever, it tastes wonderful. I actually use a bit of red wine here, especially in the beef casserole. This is the cheapest way of cooking for a large group and saves you a fortune.

13. We've started going Youth Hostelling which for a family of 5 works out about £65 to £80 a night sometimes including breakfasts. Because we are a family of five we can never manage to find ONE room to fit all of us, so we always pay over the odds for our accommodation. YHA hostels are amazing as we all fit in one room, invariably have extra beds for storage and the food is brilliant. Not to mention the superb drying facilities and the way the places are especially geared up for walkers like us.

14. No fancy trips abroad. Enough said.

15. Saving as much as possible. We have put as much away each month in our daughters' names so that we can't get our hands on it. When these 'mature' we can decide how to use them, either uni costs or pay off the mortgage. Tough one I know.

And last, but not least my piece de resistance, I keep a magic money book which I got out of the habit of doing when I felt more financially comfortable but it's back and with passion this time.

It's an A4 hard backed lined book from good old Woolies - my last ever purchase there in fact. Across the top in the upper margin I list all my accounts that are in use on a day to day basis - current account, savings, credit card accounts - it's spread across two pages at the moment for 2 of each type of account. The balance is written across the top line and then every bit of financial activity every day it happens is written down. The final column is the balance of debt against savings and at the moment we're in the black, so again I wonder why I'm stressing so much.

It's a useful exercise to deduct all the monthly direct debits and standing orders as soon as wages are paid in, this gives me an exact figure for what I'm working with that month. With three kids it keeps me on my toes I can tell you!

After a few months of this I'm sure I will notice a difference in my bank balance. Time will tell.

Hope this has been of use to someone. Keep on fighting the pinch!

Summary: Sometimes the small things you do have a huge reward