Last night I made a list up of all the bills I pay each month and marked which were essential. I then went through the process of deciding which non essentials I could get rid of completely and if I could reduce the costs of any of the others. So I have done the following:
Have been paying about £12 per month too much to electricity account so have reduced my direct debit by that amount.
Rang sky and have cancelled some channels and been given an offer which means it is almost half price. Phone contract with another company is almost up so may move to sky for that too if there are offers on.
I have a budget for Christmas which I save a bit each month for and I have decided to reduce that amount and everyone will just have to make do. I have already started buying toys for the kids in the family when I’ve seen sales on so I’m already a good chunk through my Christmas shopping.
I had been spending about £40 on going to exercise classes. I have just found out that if you receive a working tax credit then the local council give you a reduction on a membership. I have taken one out for £20 per month with no joining fee and I can use it for everything offered at all sport centres in our area.
Our spend on food shopping is normally about £200 per month. I usually order a big shop of about £100 from Sainsburys at the beginning of the month and then the rest seems to be bits and bobs while running in to the local shop which is ridiculous. I saw that advert on tv for Aldi where you have to switch and see if you can save on your weekly shop so I am going to try that. We seem to waste a lot of food too and I think this is because I buy in bulk monthly. I always seem to either run out of milk or the milk is off because it’s sat so long. I’ve contacted the local milk man and I am going to have 4 pints delivered during the week. It’s slightly more expensive than it would cost for a pint in the shop I think but it means we won’t run out and it won’t go off.
I buy my lunch at work almost every day even if there are leftovers. I must spend at least £20 a week on lunches. I will start buying food to make packed lunches up with and make sure I take on every day. This will be a massive saving.
I’m going to have a look and see if I can find any work at home roles to try and make a little extra money which would help. PS. My partner just thinks this is me trying to save us some cash.
debtfreewannabee 
Hey! Welcome to the world of getting debt free! Sounds like you are really in the zone of wanting to get out of debt and getting in the right head space is key to winning the battle! Having a blog about my debt free mission (even if no-one reads it!) has been extremely helpful in keeping me accountable. and certainly worthwhile. It will be especially helpful for you if you need an ‘outlet’ for your debt free planning if you are unable to tell your partner. However, once you have made some progress in the right direction, perhaps you can share the situation with your partner so it doesn’t feel like a big secret. I have been open with a lot of friends / family that I am working towards being debt free by the end of the year. But only 1 person knows the amount of debt I am actually in. On a practical note, your plan to bring work every day rather than buy will save you so much! It’s a great step forward and one you will see a good amount of saving on quickly. Good luck – I look forward to following your progress!
Thank you for the advice and encouragement. I think at this point that it is embarassment more than anything else which is stopping me from being honest with anyone. I would like to reduce the debt I have to a more reasonable level before I reveal to anyone that I am in debt.
I was disgusted with myself when I realised how much I spend on lunches at work! It’s frightening just how much money I waste on stupid things that I don’t need to. Hopefully this blog will hold me accountable and stop me from doing it!!