how we got out of debt, to start saving for our dream home, being a savvy shopper part 1

My Dream has allways been to own and live on a smallholding, but could never afford one, due to the ever increasing prices of property, and because of our personal debt, which was starting to spiral out of control.

Then one day, while i was surfing the internet going from one estate agents to another looking at what properties were for sale, and feeling the lowest i had ever felt. I had one of those lightbulb moments, and i havent looked back since.

I wasnt going to get my smallholding if i didnt actively try and do something about our debt,so then we could start saving.

So instead of looking at estate agents on the internet i started searching for help and ideas on how to cope and pay off what we owed.

I came across a fabulous site called moneysavingexpert  which has been the help and the inspiration i needed .

The first thing we done was to work out EXACTLY what outgoings we had and what money we had coming in....and yes you guessed it we had more going out than what we had coming in ( hence the debt). So the first thing we done was stop going out for a drink down the boozer on the weekends.

For the next 2-3 weeks i had a spending diary, where i wrote down everything that we spent, right down to those sneaky bars of chocolate we bought at the petrol stations ( well they are there just calling out your name while you are in the que to pay)

Flip did i have a shock...i seriously didnt realise how much money we were spending on .....well....... nothing really, non-essentials, things we didnt really need. while i was doing my diary, i wasnt wasting any time... i was constantly reading through the different advice and forum posts on mse...and realised with a few tweaks here and the odd couple of phone calls, visting a few sites on the internet i could save a packet.

My main savings was done with our food/grocery shopping. I realised i was throwing un-eaten food away every week, not only a wicked waste, but i might as well been throwing our hard earned money straight in the bin. So before i went shopping i would see what i had in my cupboards, and started meal planning, so i would only buy what i actually need, and this way i was using up everything in the fridge, so our waste went down to zilch.

The supermarkets are allways doing some sort of offer to entice you to spend and buy things you dont really need or want.. These tend to be 'loss-leaders' for the supermarkets, just to get you in through their doors to spend loads of money, Now this is where a Savvy Shopper, will be at their best....and play the supermarkets at their own game....

Here are some Savvy Shopper points.

1.... Work out a shopping list of the things you need.

2..... only take cash with you, until you get into the thrifty way of shopping. work out how much your shopping list will come to, and take x amount extra for the true offers that will be of use to you.

3....... find out when the supermarkets do their final reductions... normally around the 7 - 8pm time. this is where the extra bit of money comes in. You can pick up fresh food and vegetables from about 5p upwards ( depending on the supermarket policy on reductions). Dont forget things can be frozen... so fill your boots.....

4.....Coupons...... find out what the supermarket's policy on money off coupons... I have had a field day in the passed with coupons, but they have got very stricked now.

6......Email companies and ask for samples of their products for you to try, especially if it is a newly launched product, you normally get money off coupons too.

7.....Sign up to the supermarkets loyality card schemes, its suprising what you can get back if you work them right.

8.... take your own shopping bags, as some supermarkets will give you loyality points for using them ( tesco)

9......when you are buying a product, look at the various sizes and offers. as some times the larger size isnt allways the best value or cheaper.

10.......keep a look out for those special offers and only buy stuff in bulk if you can store them, or use them before their use by date. dont buy it just because its cheap.

Now after i learned how to shop and became a savvy shopper i had cut my weekly shopping bill to a third of what i was spending....I had stopped buying ready meals ( except if they were reduced down to a silly low price) and started cooking more honest wholesome food.

now i was on the long road of being debt free.

over the next few weeks i will be hubbing about the rest of our journey to where we are now...