It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

citroennut

Sunflower76, we use our woodburning stove to boil kettles all the time, always ready for a cuppa! We also have a stove top coffee maker which bubbles away on top of the stove happily.

Someone we know cooks his mince on top of his!

mardatha

Oh you lot are SO bad !!

meanmarie

Sunflower and Citroenut....is this on a regular type woodburner, or does the stove have a 'boiling plate'? We are just in the process of organising ourselves to get a woodburner for the kitchen and would like to be able to cook stews, casseroles etc on top...the ones with boiling plates are much more expensive than the regular types...naturally want to go for the cheapest option that works!

TIA

Marie

citroennut

Hi Marie. Our stove is just an ordinary multifuel stove. It doesn't have a boiling plate as such. Ours has the flue coming out of the back of the stove which leaves a flat surface on top which gets very hot. We have cooked a variety of things on it but haven't yet tried a casserole, though probably will soon.

We think it's the best thing we have ever invested hard earned cash in and can thoroughly recommend it!

citroennut

Forgot to say that although it is a multifuel stove, we only ever burn wood on it. We are very, very fortunate to have an endless free suppy of the stuff!

bellybabe_2

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

(reply to Icemaiden)

If you wait until exactly three months* before the date you want to travel, then go online to any of various ticket booking websites (ask if you don't know them), you should be able to buy Advance rail tickets a lot cheaper than the advertised price.

*They don't release the cheap tickets until three months beforehand, and they can get snapped up pretty quickly, so you need to be organised.

I agree with this and the Ralcard suggestions, but the one thing I'd add is that for the journeys we make (Edinburgh-Inverness and Edinburgh-Manchester), they (the staff) always tell us they can't release the cheap tickets before the twelve weeks, but they don't always do it at twelve weeks, and we've often been advised to phone up and ask if they've been released yet, and if not, to try checking every day until they are. They always say they aren't told when they'll be available so you have to keep checking.

Feel for you, Icemaiden.

BB

bellybabe_2

Peartree wrote: »

Is it mean to suggest they actually seem to be enjoying it - the BBC have even had a special new logo designed for it all!

Robert Peston. :mad: Oh how everyone I know hates that man. He sounds soooooo gleeful with every new bit of bad news. On Today this morning when talking about RBS's losses, he smugly said something along the lines of "Yes, yes, I've been predicting this for months...". He's getting so much jollier by the day I keep expecting him to burst into song - maybe Singing in the Rain or something...

exlibris

bellybabe wrote: »

Robert Peston. :mad: Oh how everyone I know hates that man. He sounds soooooo gleeful with every new bit of bad news. On Today this morning when talking about RBS's losses, he smugly said something along the lines of "Yes, yes, I've been predicting this for months...". He's getting so much jollier by the day I keep expecting him to burst into song - maybe Singing in the Rain or something...

Have you noticed how inarticulate he is when speaking from a script? I know it is more difficult to to, but like you I find him smug so I notice anything that pops his ego !!

mardatha

Between him and the Sooty & Sweep show earlier I am now DEAD CRABBIT lol !

mummysaver

Morning everyone!

Tatooed bum - big hugs hun, missing the funeral must've been really hard, and missing your dad's birthday, I'm sure your family understand though xx

Well I now have enough tinned beans to see me though this recession I think! My freezer is so full at the mo that I can't fit in any more homemade ones, and they are such a good standby. Mr M's have 4 cans for 75p at the mo, and even Somerfield have 4 for £1.00. The article about people eating more beans made me smile, guess that does explain the price hikes! Perhaps explains the high winds we've been having recently too lol!

Like many others here I've found that stockpiling, or even just buying a couple extra, of items that we use a lot, when it's cheap saves loads of money. Things like UHT milk, flour, beans, toms, pulses, juice (currently 50p in Mr T's). All those pennies are better in my pocket!

I've also just bought loads of potatoes (49p for 2.4kg in Aldi) and onions 19p per kilo in Lidl), and tipped them into sacks in the garage. They keep well and as we use so many it seems sensible to get them whilst they are so cheap. Of course not everyone has the space to do this, but luckily we do, and for us it works.

I think saving money on food is the simplest thing for us, as after the mortgage it has to be my biggest expense. But the kids are behind me with it, they are more than happy with homemade goodies, and ds has even started to ask before he raids the fridge and potentially devours the next night's dinner!

I guess fuel is my next biggest expense, but the kids have finally started to turn everything off in their rooms, after I showed them the meter whizzing round they seemed to cotton on that electricity isn't free! They have also stopped trying to turn the heating up when I'm not looking, and are wearing slippers and dressing gowns rather than swanning around in towels in the morning and evening! ds has even got organised enough now to give me his clothes several days before he wants them back, so that they can be hung on the airer or line to dry! Perhaps not a big deal to some, but here it makes a difference, chucking stuff in the TD is something that drives me nuts, especially if it's just one item! No I'm not perfect and I do use the TD, but it's the odd items going in there that make me mad!

My car is probably the next biggest expense, but as I live in the middle of nowhere and there is no public transport, well 2 miles away there is a bus stop, one bus in and out per day, my car is a necessity. We already share lifts to school for dd3 and other kids in the village, and my big ones catch the school bus. Anyway I have cut down on car use a lot, now I think about where I need to go and what I need to do, and try to tie in several things.

I guess that now I just think a lot more about how I'm spending my money, and how much I'd prefer that it stayed in my bank account!

Caterina - I have bought felt and dd3 has been practising her blanket stitch so she can make her insoles for her new wellies!