SmlSave MFW diary - where to start?

setmefree2

StuartGMC wrote: »

This regularly crops up on these boards... perhaps I should discuss further, but that would be another item in the kitchen. Although it seems more likely to give a return than the juicer I think. I'll chat to OH about this but don't worry it won't be her Christmas present

Hi Stuart,

I bought Mr SMF2 a bread maker as a xmas present;). I did worry it would take up work surface and never get used. No chance. Gets used loads. Big favorite in our house is sundried tomatoe loaf:D. It's barely out of the bread maker and it's eaten. Even our kids' friends love Mr SMF2s bread. It's good for making Pizza bases too.

Best Regards

SMF2

SmlSave

You're trying to get me to buy a breadmaker aren't you? Does it really work out cheaper than buying bread?

I agree with Stuart and EssexH... why buy a cake when you can make your own? Mt fav is fruitcake followed closely by gingerbread cake. It's lovely that your daughter is a good cook Stuart, could i have her sponge recipe:p mine always goes flat!

My OH's work collegue's chickens have just started to lay a good amount of eggs so we're lucky to know where our eggs come from.

I have to admit that I've never really thought about how diary cows are kept...hangs head in shame...I take it it's really bad

The fact that you guys eat well and without breaking the bank have made me more determined to get myself organised. I think I've just got to get myself use to actually following my shopping list and not getting tempted by other things!:rolleyes:

I finally got round to cooking down the apples I'd been given last night and made a HUGE apple and backberry pie. Think it'll feed us for the rest of the week.

EssexHebridean

Costs of a loaf via a breadmaker have been discussed on these boards (mainly over on Old Style) many times - we costed ours out a while ago.....if our machine goes on overnight on the Economy7 rate (which it usually is) then it uses 2p in electricity. We've worked out that for our plain white loaf the ingredients total 26p. A small white loaf (400g) in Tesco now costs 67p. Bingo - instant 39p saving on each loaf (although our machine made one is slightly larger than the Tesco comparison). Our Morphy Richards breadmaker cost £44 and we make at least two, often three loaves a week in it, (not counting rolls and pizza dough) so it broke even on costs well inside a year.

I wouldn't be without it now in honesty. I don't miss shop bought bread in the slightest - our home made stuff is nicer, plus we have total control over what goes into it. It seems to keep well too. I love the fact that if we fancy home made pizza on a saturday night I can just chuck the ingredients into the machine and an hour and a half later I have my dough mixed and ready to go. I love getting up in the morning to the smell of fresh bread (a novelty that never wears off!) When our last machine broke down we went straight out and bought a replacement next day - didn't even question it. By the way in case anyone thinks "Oh well of course if you have a huge kitchen with lots of room for gadgets then it's easy!" - we don't - far from it in fact, however the space the breadmaker takes up isn't begrudged in any way!

EssexHebridean

StuartGMC wrote: »

Gulp - I don't have the courage to let OH see that comment on the budget for three of us (:eek:). Daughter even at nearly 11 eats similar quantities to OH, so perhaps it would be nearer £50 for two but still much more than EH..

Seriously though EH, I agree it is far better to eat well and to do so in keeping with your own budget than to drop to mediocre throughout.


This regularly crops up on these boards... perhaps I should discuss further, but that would be another item in the kitchen. Although it seems more likely to give a return than the juicer I think. I'll chat to OH about this but don't worry it won't be her Christmas present


You can't beat homemade; daughter has been also baking cakes since she was 3 or so, and now at 10 1/2 can knock out some of the best cakes you'll get, and virtually knows the weights by heart for sponges! She also happily cooks raw meat, fish etc so she has her mother's skills in that respect and our love of good quality items too.

That's exactly it though Stuart isn't it - it's finding the best quality solution to match the budget you have to work with. It makes me mad hearing people say that they "have to buy intensively farmed chicken" because they "can't afford anything else" - so buy an alternative then! Last time I looked it wasn't compulsory to eat chicken!

Your DD sounds like a star - I reckon half the board would happily borrow her - no renting her out as a cake-maker though eh?! :rotfl: All good skills that will stand her in excellent stead when she makes her own way in the world and she'll thank you and your OH for that I'm sure.

StuartGMC

EH
Do you use a timeclock on the socket to control time it turns on?

StuartGMC

EssexHebridean wrote: »

That's exactly it though Stuart isn't it - it's finding the best quality solution to match the budget you have to work with. It makes me mad hearing people say that they "have to buy intensively farmed chicken" because they "can't afford anything else" - so buy an alternative then! Last time I looked it wasn't compulsory to eat chicken!

Well said

Your DD sounds like a star - I reckon half the board would happily borrow her - no renting her out as a cake-maker though eh?! :rotfl: All good skills that will stand her in excellent stead when she makes her own way in the world and she'll thank you and your OH for that I'm sure.

We very much hope so. Of course there are downsides, such as being quite critical on hotel and restaurant food (she long ago stopped school cooked meals when they did things like curry with green beans and baked beans served as the veg; it's not that she doesn't eat those, but she is not going to eat them in one meal.) It goes without saying I have been kicked out the kitchen in terms of cooking for some time, apart from occasional meals...

Oh, and having seen the item on £1 coin forgeries on TV, daughter promptly demanded I replace one she had in her pocket money and took 5p from the side too as "interest because it came from you Dad"... a future MSE user or HMRC tax office employee????? :rolleyes:

Optimisticpair

I agree that food is far more than something you eat to stay alive. You seem to be switched on about home cooking though so I'm sure you knew that already. On the kitchen theme it saves a lot of leccy to only have a microwave on at the wall when you use it. Switching things off so that they aren't on standby saves lots too. I will get a freezer though because we will have a Rayburn which cooks and powers the CH so I can batch cook.

I got used to not having a tumble dryer for 10 years and haven't thought about getting one, there is one in the rented house here and I've seen how fast the leccy meter whizzes round. It was frighteneing I can tell you.

Have you got thick curtains at your leaky windows? I'm going to scour the local charity shops for some for our new home. Is your insulaton up to the job? I'm going to keep in heat as long as possible if I'm paying for it.

Have you tried growing any vegetables, some aren't what I would call decorative but you can choose very nice tasty varieties that shops dont sell.

Good luck with your renovations.

SmlSave

Hello Optimisticpair :wave:

"On the kitchen theme it saves a lot of leccy to only have a microwave on at the wall when you use it. Switching things off so that they aren't on standby saves lots too."

My microwave currently lives in the loft! After replacing the kitchen (all Ikea) it was banned :rotfl: for being ugly. I did have someone suggest that I switch my cooker off at the wall to save power but as it doubles up as the only clock in house I'm going to keep it on.

[/quote]Have you got thick curtains at your leaky windows? I'm going to scour the local charity shops for some for our new home. Is your insulaton up to the job? I'm going to keep in heat as long as possible if I'm paying for it.
[/quote]

I mentioned to OH that I'm going to put up a heavy curtain at the front door to stop drafts - you should have seen the look on his face :eek:

I'm definatly going to do it thou. I'm sure you used to be able to get a rail that you could put up for curtaiins that didn't require 'fixing' - anyone heard of these?

Have you tried growing any vegetables

The plan next year is to grow...carrots, lettuce, peas, radish.. the easy stuff. My garden is roughly 4m-6m and in shade most the time part from mid-summer. If it looks like I have room I was thinking of trying to grow potatoesand maybe, just maybe asparagusyum:A

Anyone grow veggies here?

The breadmaker is on my list of wanted pressies for Xmas.

Stuart, thank you for the spreadsheet, I'm going to have a go at it tonight

SmlSave

Having read through FinancialBliss' thread I thought I'd better try to be as clear as he is. So....

Personal Savings

Halifax £30p/m @ 8% - I should have £370 in Sept 09 which is Xmas 09 sorted!

NS&I ISA @ 5.3% - to be 100% honest the £ there isn't mine, I can use it for emergancies thou but have to pay it back. The interest earned is mine;)

Lloyds Save the Change - every little helps

Northern Rock £400 @ 5.7% - trying not to touch this

...not too bad but when I think how much I had before we bought the house :cool:

I realised that, after catching up on everybody's MFW story's that mine is probably going to be the longest ever!

StuartGMC

SmlSave wrote: »

I realised that, after catching up on everybody's MFW story's that mine is probably going to be the longest ever!

SmlSave, don't think so; we started in 1994 and these days OP etc are taken into daily calculations on mortgage unlike our early years. Yes, it is a long road, but set some near term goals which are achievable with some longer term ones, this will keep you motivated.