Turning a new leaf on our thriftyness

jamars · 27 April 2015 at 8:59AM

The wife and I have decided to turn a new chapter in both our lifestyles and our finances, both of which go hand in hand. We have taken a step back and reviewed our finances and found that we have far too much leakage and seepage of money being lost on all sorts of unnecessary things.

Although the bottom line of our books balance every month, there never seems anything left for savings and investments.

We have decided that we will no longer be victims of commercialism, no longer be bound by branding and trapped by gadgets and gizmo's.

So from here on in, we are growing all of our fruit and vegetables, eating only eggs that our hens lay and eating only rabbit meat that we breed or we shoot.

We have estimated that this will bring our food budget to between £2.50 to £5.00 a week - for flour, tea and coffee. What are your thoughts on this food budget?

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Pollycat · 27 April 2015 at 9:08AM

Do you mean you are only going to buy flour, tea & coffee?

No cheese?
No milk?
No bread?
No.......et al?

To me, eating only rabbit would be very boring.

jamars · 27 April 2015 at 9:16AM

Cheese is one of the things that we will miss, but . . . we are hoping we can get our hands on an udder of a goat and plan to make our own!

Milk, we do without anyway - the last time I bought a pint of milk was over two years ago - and the dog had most of that.

As for bread, we are buying flour and will bake our own. It's tastier and much cheaper.

We do love rabbit, and find that you can substitute it with chicken, and it's the style of cooking and herbs etc that add the flavour and interest.

Hmmm, alcohol - that also fits into our "No buy" philosophy. . Good job I work part time in a brewery, and also another part time working in a cider farm - plenty comes home with me!

craigywv · 27 April 2015 at 9:19AM

I think its a great idea but fruit and veg wise depending on where your living our country doesnt grow oranges and bananas etc if that's what your into, I am so it wouldn't suit me. I do grow very easily apples,pears, rhubarb,blackcurrants ,strawberries,plums and can yield enough to keep my small family in these over summer, also all salad bar veg and tomatoes grow great,potatoes,turnips,onion,scallionsbeetroot etc are good too but it takes time to grow them I bought fruit trees 4 years ago and its only last year they fruited enough for me to be able to not have to buy in supermarkets. im sure another poster will come along and give you better advice but yes its a great idea go for it! I could never survive on a fiver a week im not careless with money just have a young son!!!!!!!!!!!speaks volumes.also maybe get a friend or relative to go on board with planting fruit and veg ,my mum and sister do also grow so we swop between us our different things,my jams are better than theirs lol so I make lots and they give me eggs and sister has a poly tunnel so get big peppers etc ,mum has best cooking apples etc. deffo saves a bundle. I work in a pound shop so temptation is hard but I have gotten better ignoring all the goodies. good luck with your progect and don't forget go to supermarkets at reducing time its amazing just what you get xxx

FairyPrincessk · 27 April 2015 at 9:24AM

You might also want to buy cooking fat apart from what you might render from your meat....you may want some source of sugar, be it the white stuff or honey. I suspect your diet might be deficient unless you have a lot of experience, a lot of space and time and a fortuitous climate this summer for growing your own. What about grains and lentils apart from flour?

GreyQueen · 27 April 2015 at 9:40AM

I like the idea. But one thing to bear in mind about rabbit is that it is a very lean meat and, if it were the exclusive diet (you're going to have a few other things, of course, so not exclusive) it can cause what's known as rabbit starvation.

If you're going to shoot, how about game birds? As there is more commercial shooting going on than there are eaters of game, you may be able to get these given to you for free, if you play your cards right. And there are always the dreaded woodpigeons.

You will be restricting your cooking methods if you don't have some fat in your diet and game meats won't provide you with much. Lard has now been rehabilitated, in dietry terms, and a block of it sells for about 40p, so you might want to have some of that. Without fat, you can't make pastry and most breads require a little fat or oil - I bake stoneground wholemeal with a glug of cooking oil in the mix.

I eat a pretty conventional diet and have spent anything up to £50 a month feeding myself (April's spend thus far has been £21.49 and that includes topping up the stores a little) - I'm a singleton who grows her own veggies on an allotment but haven't got hens.

jamars · 27 April 2015 at 9:46AM

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

You might also want to buy cooking fat apart from what you might render from your meat....you may want some source of sugar, be it the white stuff or honey. I suspect your diet might be deficient unless you have a lot of experience, a lot of space and time and a fortuitous climate this summer for growing your own. What about grains and lentils apart from flour?

Many thanks all, I am really considering all the points raised.

We are planning on setting up 2 - 3 beehives in the near future, I just need to learn the methodology and techniques, so the hives should start providing honey next spring, and provide candles and mead. With sugar costing 49p / kg in Aldi, a bag a week won't break our budget and can be converted into wine / preserves / chutneys.

I have had a bag of lentils in the cupboard for several years now and very rarely utilize them, but, as they are cheap, I am sure that they would fit into our £5 a week budget.

We have about an acre of land that is all planted with enough crops to tide us over, weather is always unpredictable in the UK, especially where we are - 1000ft above sea level where frosts last longer into the spring. . .

GreyQueen · 27 April 2015 at 9:54AM

Perhaps, as you have ample ground, you might want to look at extending your growing season and the types of crops you can grow by looking at a greenhouse/ polytunnel. Earth-sheltered greenhouses seem to be an excellent idea, if you want to google them.

I guess you've probably got a copy already but it you haven't, may I recommend John Seymour's Complete Self-Sufficiency?

calleyw · 27 April 2015 at 11:34AM

Nothing to do with what you eating.

it might be idea to pay yourself first rather than last. In other words have DD or transfer to another account when you get paid and live off the rest. Rather than the other way around.

As everyone does the same and says I will save out of what is left and normally there is nothing left at the end of the day.

Yours

Calley

retiredlady · 28 April 2015 at 6:05AM

It sounds a hard life to me! What about toilet paper, shampoo, soap etc? I wish you luck, however! I'm thrifty, but I save so I can relax and enjoy myself. I do grow some veg and some fruit but I only have a small garden:beer:

purpleshoes_2 · 28 April 2015 at 6:18AM

Perhaps just stop the unnecessary seepage. Nothing wrong with growing your own fruit and veg, but if you cut out buying the gadgets you'll save money and you can buy food without putting yourself on some extreme food budget diet that you'll probably come off due to sheer boredom.

I buy mostly yellow sticker food and I eat well. Toiletries from Superdrug and other bits and pieces from home bargains and b and m.

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Turning a new leaf on our thriftyness

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