Silly question ... but I need to ask it !

[paul1978]

Do other people continue with CD despite having loads of household bills and having a very, very tight budget ? I am in a very difficult situation (or maybe Im just thinking its difficult.) I want to do CD again as I know the weight comes off very quickly and need to lose about 3-4 stone by end October. But I have bills coming out my ears (not literally ) and a budget, like, after everything we have £50 a week left, thats needs to pay for me, my partner, and our baby. My partners still on maternity leave so thats why money is very tight but should be going back to work in Sep/Oct. I know what I want to do - Do CD, as its only a few months until partner goes back to work and we get more money in. But I also cant stop thinking about the bills piling up. Can I have some of your ideas and what you would do ?

[kerryberry]

i am the worse person to ask my OH thinks it cost £20 a week as i am living on student loan while looking for a job money is running out fast but i need to do this.

maybe you can llok at the shopping budget and justify it there or give up something else which i doubt there is if your like me we have 2 kids eating all th espare cash lol

sorry i couldn't be much help

[tillyfloss]

Hiya paul, you will hear mixed reactions to this question, but \I honestly believe you can do it if you want to...

Without getting too personal, I am a non working single mum at present and living soley on benefits! There have been a few times where I have literally raided my jars to make my weekly amount BUT overall, there is NO way I could possibly be spending more than when I was eating my way through obesity!
I would say Look very carefully at your grocery budget. I have removed processed foods from my families, diet, they all eat much healthier now and I have recuded the family grocery bill by over half. I am better off even paying for my own packs each week.

Only you can know if you can jiggle your money, but I have a book and every income and exp goes in it... I struggle to pay scout subs etc... but I hoienslty beleive this is worth it....
Remember you do not have to pay for any personal food for youraelf whislt on this plan, so your food costs can be taken straight out of your household budget...
I think many people underestimate what they do in fact spend on food and extras....

Good luck whatever!!

x

[RuthG]

I think if you can fit it into your budget without missing payments on your other bills/rent/mortgage then fine, but don't let your bills fall to the wayside so that you can do CD. I know thats hard when you desperately want to do this, but you need to make sure your prioritise thingd the right way round. I hope I've not been too harsh, but I know what it's like to play catch up with the bills

[tryer]

for me it's a case if you can juggle, then juggle. but you have a baby.
and i have been on the other side.... no money at all and for me bills came first.... but that's just me..... i learnt to cook everything from scratch.... that saves money.
basics are the bees knees.
potatoes...pasta....rice....
making sure when no using something it is plugged out.....
free gym membership ..... ie walks..... bike rides..... in your case.... baby buggy walking......(doesn't use petrol and burn up calories)....
i think at one point i was that desperate.. i did car boot sales... and ebay sales...(car boot was more successful).
anyway what ever you do it's up to you good luck on your decision.
xxx

[LizzMB]

i'm another one who sticks to a tight budget. I work F/T, but my dh lost his job in november, we have a 3 year old and a dog!

I never have anything for myself, so this is my ME thing! I buy my clothes off ebay, i sell LOADS on there as well to fund various things. We do a monthly shop (£100) and stick to it and utilise the food in the cupboard/freezer for dh and dd. Its June the first and i have £300 for the rest of the month! lol...but CD is worth the juggling about! We pay all our bills by direct debit, cut down sky, elec, water, gas etc....we rejuggled our life/house insurance to get the cheapest deals to save more money and we buy annual ticket to the local kids places (£25 a year or £5 a time...its a bargain!) so Freya doesnt miss out. I cook everything from scratch, get eggs from local farm which is a lot cheaper than the shops...
So many things you can do to accomodate CD in my eyes, but then i dont know what you have already done.
We now no longer leave our heating on for our water all day like we used to...instead its off all day and we just put it on for an hour in the evening for baths etc....saves a fortune!

Personally, what we save on eating out, food and socialising costs (waters free in pubs), goes on my CD and its worth every penny!

Hope that helps

x

[Zoe.D]

I didn't think we could afford it either but my food shopping bill and the money saved not having the odd take away or going out for a meal has paid for CD. My Husband and 2 grils really are eating better too.

It is hard to make the decision when things are tight. Maybe try it for a couple of weeks and if it really doesn't work out money wise then at least you know you have given it a try and come back to it later when money is less tight. Good luck Zoe xx

[Big H]

A male doing SS will probably lose 4 stone in between 10-12 weeks (I don't know how heavy you are, but I lost 7 stone in 13 weeks) I would just consider it a very essential £500 and put in on the overdraft. Life's too short and we're not talkin about fortunes. I'm skint too, so I'm not making light of it

[badger1980]

Depends how you look at it, my weekly food, beer, takeaway, snacks, bought coffees/soft drinks bill was about £80 a week compared to a lot less on cambridge.
Ofcourse I didnt/dont have a wife or kid too support so i'm not so sure. Is that £50 left after food or before?

[wellandgood]

Many of us are on very tight budgets me included. i have 4 kids. My CD does cost me more per week with the shopping but what i have done is cut back in several other places to make uo the difference per month. You must look at your situation and find places(not just in grocery) to cut back. It can be done, if I can do it for sure!!! For example, I dont buy as many clothes or junk food for the kids, we dont eat out anymore(well maybe once a month for the kids) and I have cut off a lot from my weekly petrol bill. staying home and inviting friends over a lot more than i used to. Hope this helps. If you want, you can do it