Sticking to a budget

I use Excel spreadsheets of my own devising. I looked at some of the budgetting software, bu their logic was different to my logic when handling financial affairs, so I stay with what I am familiar and comfortable with.

As long as you have your financial affairs at your finger tips and feel in control. That is all that matters.

Not just me then!!

Callistemon I had to ask too. I also thought Ministry of Health. 😁.

Oh, thank you V3ra

I was thinking a pension from a Ministry of Health, now defunct in UK but still so named in other countries.
Duh! 😁

Callistemon21

^I get my OAP later in the year and MOH the year after.^

Presumably OAP is the State Pension but what is an MOH pension, please?

I read this as "My Other Half," ie grace56580's husband, getting his state pension the year after she does.
She's used the term in another post as well.

Yes, I liked MS Money, but I found another programme which works well.

karmalady

Did anyone use m/s money? That programme was a lifesaver for me and I used it for very many years. I had to input details and from then it would alert me to upcoming bills, let me know how much was left in my account etc. I never linked it to the internet for direct bank access. Much better than a chart or spreadsheet of any sort

I was shocked when it stopped, when more modern computers could no longer access it. Something easy like m/smoney would be such a boon for many today. The programme was cheap to buy and easy to use

Look on apple app shop. Lots of programmes on there for keeping your budget in order.

I get my OAP later in the year and MOH the year after.

Presumably OAP is the State Pension but what is an MOH pension, please?

Did anyone use m/s money? That programme was a lifesaver for me and I used it for very many years. I had to input details and from then it would alert me to upcoming bills, let me know how much was left in my account etc. I never linked it to the internet for direct bank access. Much better than a chart or spreadsheet of any sort

I was shocked when it stopped, when more modern computers could no longer access it. Something easy like m/smoney would be such a boon for many today. The programme was cheap to buy and easy to use

Perhaps it depends where "abroad" you lived,grace56580.
Yes, and not just the country itself, but specific locations. grace lived in a very rural area, by a nice river, surrounded mainly by farms. Travel 30 minutes away to the bourgeois main town, and the prices almost double. Its so difficult to compare like with like.

Norah

Whitewavemark2

Add to that taxi-ing children to evening scouts, guides etc, weekend sporting to football, archery, etc in fact I’m not sure how they do it tbh.

Is it anything we didn't do? I was on the road for hours daily (long trip to and from school) and did all the clubs, sports, etc.

I'm not so sure times are different.

I taxi my GC/GGC to their stuff - seems the same, distance hasn't changed since I went to school or our children either.

I never worked until the children were youngish teenagers, apart from the odd stint at nursery etc. when the children were small we lived in a tiny village on the edge of Dartmoor, so life was very village-centred with few opportunities for other stuff, but it was a lovely existence for young tots, spending all their time out of doors.

So I was lucky never to have to balance work/life - until the children were much older. They were idyllic years looking back.

grace56580

After many years living abroad we returned to UK last year. To begin with we spoilt ourselves with the food that we couldn't get ( Takeaways etc...) very soon we found actually wasn't as good as we remembered! so went back to making everything from scratch. This last year has made us really aware we have to cut back, I get my OAP later in the year and MOH the year after. Everything is so expensive, I shop at Aldi & Lidl other supermarkets at the whoops section, I really don't know how people with kids cope. We have set ourselves a daily budget and will see how it goes, the Budget 2024 did nothing for us.

Perhaps it depends where "abroad" you lived, grace56580.

Some countries do have a lower cost of living than others, but of course that is also dependent on salary. If salaries are high in comparison to those of the local populations then food will seem cheap.

The cost of living in the UK is, in fact much lower than in many other countries.
www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp?title=2023&displayColumn=3

I hope things will seem better when you start receiving your pensions.

I think you misunderstand the OP.
I think we can all agree there is a cost of living crisis, food prices have soared and it affects the poorest most.

nadeturbe you are flogging a dead horse. Most of us were in this situation when our own children were small and can see our own children dealing with the same issues and problems.

Just because some people have special problems arising from their special situation1, it doesn't mean that others are not coping very well.

Callistemon21

nadateturbe

Monica, plenty of families don't manage it. You haven't a clue about working parents!
Also one online supermarket order does not allow one to shop around various stores and get the best prices.

Many of us were working parents. I think M0nica was one of them!

We still did manage to cook.

If its 6pm by the time you get home with tired young children, you haven't got much time to feed them before bedtime. And many parents get home later than that.

Well some people with kids cope very well. Others don't. Whats new?

Monica the OP said I don't know how people with kids cope. That is what I'm addressing.
Some families can't afford to buy 5 weeks in advance.

I know very well how most people live in this country. At one end some are poor, struggling, juggling with several jobs. At the other end they are very wealthy, have staff, nannies etc etc .

In the middle the majority of households have an adequate , income, and are not desperate to make every penny work for 2, albeit they need to budget carefully - and cooking from scratch is cheaper than ready meals or take-aways, even if all your provisions are obtained from one supplier.

Why spend hours flogging from shop to shop saving 10p hear 15p there, when you can be at home with your children and a delivery from Sainsbury quickly putting a meal together cheaply from scratch?

Families affording 5 lbs of mince? Where is the difference between buying 5lbs of mince one week and buying no more for 5 or 6 weeks and buying 1lb of mince a week? Take a walk round Currys and see the size of fridges and freezers there. Lots of large fridge freezers, so somebody is buying them.

nadaturbe I understand your concern about those in poverty and very small incomes, but so often I notice on GN many people are so concerned for this group they think they comprise the whole population, bar poverty stricken pensioners. Thankfully, they do not, and discussing issues like this one, we need to look at how they fit the majority of the population, not just one small, though too large, group.

Norah I always think your claims of being a stay at home mother are deceptive. The impression I have is that you had a virtually full time job as an adminstrator for your husband's business, which happened to be based at your home.

M0nica
If only slow cookers had been invented then 🙂

Whitewavemark2

Add to that taxi-ing children to evening scouts, guides etc, weekend sporting to football, archery, etc in fact I’m not sure how they do it tbh.

But most us did.
And I managed it on my own as DH worked away. And cared for an elderly disabled parent some of the time.

"How did I do it" I sometimes wonder.

nadateturbe

Monica, plenty of families don't manage it. You haven't a clue about working parents!
Also one online supermarket order does not allow one to shop around various stores and get the best prices.

Many of us were working parents. I think M0nica was one of them!

We still did manage to cook.

Floradora9

paddyann54 I am astounded by the amount you spend on groceries . We eat well and include wine now and again but do not spend anything like as much as you are quoting . I cannot imagine what you are buying would you like to give us an idea .
By the way someone mentioned private pensions. I took out one before my mean employer decided to include part time workers in their scheme . When I retired I opted to take some of my pp as a lump sum though I had no plans for it . This was a mistake I wish I had just taken the greater amount than I get in monthly pension.

I'm astonished too.

I know the cost of living has gone up recently but to have been £779.95 in 2023 without meat or fish and missing things from the supermarket shelves, whatever they might be, is more than ours and we are not parsimonious, and include wine in our shop. Sometimes our bill is higher but averages out much less than that.
This doesn't cover my butcher or fishmonger - that is a large proportion of the cost for non-vegetarians.

Perhaps it's far more expensive to live in Scotland? 🤔

When I was young many mothers didn't work and also more people lived in extended family situations. So there was always someone to help. Many like my DD moved away for work and have no family nearby.
Many couples need both partners to work as cost of living is so high. They don't all have choice.

In my DDs last office (government job) almost all those with children were in receipt of universal credit.
I don't know how anyone can dispute that many are struggling and food prices have soared. Its bound to affect those with children more than others.

growstuff

Norah

Whitewavemark2

Add to that taxi-ing children to evening scouts, guides etc, weekend sporting to football, archery, etc in fact I’m not sure how they do it tbh.

Is it anything we didn't do? I was on the road for hours daily (long trip to and from school) and did all the clubs, sports, etc.

I'm not so sure times are different.

I taxi my GC/GGC to their stuff - seems the same, distance hasn't changed since I went to school or our children either.

But you didn't have a 40 hour job to fit into all that. Many of us did.

I'm well aware I had no job, but thank you for reminding all of us.

I just drove an exceedingly long distance to and from - they went to school in town, as do their children (Catholic schools are not in every part of the county).

My point is simple, I don't believe life is busier for parents.

Everybody is busy, everybody makes choices.

That post is to Monica.