It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

sammy_kaye18

well I am determined to get our waste down and save some pennies in the process. Made too much veg last night - mixed sweetcorn and carrots so saved it covered in the pan and am thinking I might use it tonight to make bubble and squeak fritters for boyfriend and serve it with some sausages but no idea what else to put with it! :(:( any ideas peeps? I'm thinking I might make Ben some plain potato fritters as he's not a fan of sweetcorn.

second load of washing on now though - determined to make a dent in my washing mountain. x

anguk

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

Thank you toomuchdebt!!!!

Think that has solved my rice issue with boyfriend and his curry.

4 x 200g sachets are £1.25 so that's only 31p per serving. Must make sure to get some of them when I next go to Tesco. Will need to label then with instructions for him though if i take out of the big bag but that's easy enough done.

Do you have an Asda nearby? They have the 4x200g bags of frozen rice for £1.17 but they're on 2 for £2 so it would work out at 25p per serving. They recently had them on 4 for £3 which was even cheaper.

I always buy frozen rice now, it's perfect every time and the portion size is perfect, normally when I boil rice I do too much and it ends up wasted.

oystercatcher

I always read and love this thread but don't post too often.
We're having to tighten belts though as I have now lost my job after a year off work unwell.

Sammy-Kaye I am always amazed by your energy and the way you manage. Well done.

My husband loves chicken curry which I thicken with lots of lentils and pad out with whatever veggies I have in the fridge. I always freeze the leftovers together with rice in a small ice-cream tub and he takes to work to microwave. He feels he's had something really nice when he's done that. I'm sure home cooked rice would work out cheaper than sachets.

Toomuchdebt

We don't have an asda here-nearest one is 9 miles away so not really worth it in terms of petrol.

sammy_kaye18

anguk wrote: »

Do you have an Asda nearby? They have the 4x200g bags of frozen rice for £1.17 but they're on 2 for £2 so it would work out at 25p per serving. They recently had them on 4 for £3 which was even cheaper.

I always buy frozen rice now, it's perfect every time and the portion size is perfect, normally when I boil rice I do too much and it ends up wasted.

Thank you ang.

My nearest asda is 10 miles away in Swansea but i know my sister in law shops online with them so may see if i can get her to order me some with her next shop - many thanks!

sammy_kaye18

oystercatcher wrote: »

I always read and love this thread but don't post too often.
We're having to tighten belts though as I have now lost my job after a year off work unwell.

Sammy-Kaye I am always amazed by your energy and the way you manage. Well done.

sorry to hear about the job loss oyster. chin up and you know where we are if you need us! x

and thank you - getting back on the OS wagon well and truely at the minute.

BigMummaF

ginnyknit wrote: »

....But Mums always know when theres something wrong....Oh yes & it hurts so much more when they try to deny it too....sorting out (his) problems and now is helping me out with jobs here in the garden Best bit that, when they are so appreciative that they offer practical help--sort of shows how they're learning the true meaning of giving . I sometimes wonder how I keep going but (both) my kids are loving and generous of spirit so at least i know I am appreciated. Ditto! Its hard for us all at the moment guys isn't it and bad luck seems to follow when things are tight. So thinking of you all and crossing my flipping fingers for us all:grouphug:( thats really a group hug tho it looks a little odd!!!!

Out of my three, No2 Offspring struggles the most with budgeting Just yesterday we ended up--as is often the way--in a full blown shouting match over a ruddy mobile phone :mad: The current handset took an early bath last week SIZE=1]don't ask, but perhaps you can imagine into which ground level domestic amenity[/SIZE so of course 'we' had to think about getting a new one. The contract ends in July or can be bought out for £135 & a new contract "will save me £25 a month so I might as well get it now". Ah--no! It will be the same as paying the £45 you do now PLUS the new £20 for the next three months..but do you think I could get them to understand that :wall:Again, as usual, a couple of hours later they came back looking a bit sheepish & agreed with my reasoning. I just wished we could get on the same page without war breaking out each time

lilac_lady wrote: »

....I was in charge of the financial side of things when I was married as ex "couldn't be bothered with all that". I was always aware of the misery debt can bring so was happy to balance the family books no matter what the circumstances were at any particular time.

It must be so hard to keep on track if someone else doesn't follow the rules, so hats off to all you people (seems to be women?) who carry on and keep the family going financially.

I was the same while 'he' was living here & now--getting on for twenty years later--I have to admit that there are the odd occasions when I have a silent weep & offer up a plea for the mythical white knight to ride his stallion into my life. It all becomes so wearisome & never-ending at that point, but it usually passes after a brew & a bourbon I made a vow that my children would learn how to look after their money for three reasons; no partner they have, would:-

• have to shoulder the burden of 'doing it alone'
• be able to take advantage of their often generous nature

but mainly--& most saddening for me--I KNOW I shall never be in a position to help them out financially, even if I wanted to

And yes, I do agree that whoever said "Women are the Weaker Sex" needs their bumps jiggled A five minute stroll around any supermarket will soon change their attitude!

ceridwen

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

well I am determined to get our waste down and save some pennies in the process. Made too much veg last night - mixed sweetcorn and carrots so saved it covered in the pan and am thinking I might use it tonight to make bubble and squeak fritters for boyfriend and serve it with some sausages but no idea what else to put with it! :(:( any ideas peeps? I'm thinking I might make Ben some plain potato fritters as he's not a fan of sweetcorn.

second load of washing on now though - determined to make a dent in my washing mountain. x

Well - personally...I would put something tomato-y with something like that (maybe a tomato sauce - made with canned tomatoes/salt/pepper/sprinkle of mixed herbs and/or something like paprika?). Bit of fried onions in that tomato sauce as well might be nice...:)

slowandsteady_2

Gosh i do love this thread! Ive always popped on it but been shy about posting until recently, i usually haunt the GC thread:)

I was pleased today because my bank account has been credited with the money that was stolen from my cloned card:j. I still cant get to it though because i have no new card yet, and im too lazy to make a special trip into town to withdraw it again, so we are making do with GC cash, and what i had to withdraw in person the other day that the thieves left me with :mad: im actually really pleased because although its only been a week, its made me realise how much money i spend willy nilly, by 'just' withdrawing the odd tenner, and that actually half the time ive no need to spend money, i just seem to enjoy it! I was discussing this with my friend today and i was saying i think i tend to 'comfort spend' as i suffer from depression and although i probably comfort eat too:o i definately comfort spend when im particularly down. My friend has bipolar, and she said she can understand that, dunno if im making sense or if anyone else does this or have i just completely gone crackers:rotfl:We were laughing though because i dont comfort spend on extravagant clothes or shoes etc but on nice food! My friend said she does that too. Hmmm thank goodness for GC!

Oh well ive waffled enough, sorry!!

Well im off for a nice bath, and to get in my new PJ's which cost me a whole £3 from Primarni:rotfl:

Night all xx

sammy_kaye18

Morning All

Well OH is off ill today - he came home last night with a bad back and pounding headache and is still bad this morning so I've left him in bed and I presume his day will consist of not doing a lot and hes off tomorrow because Benjamin has his first football match. I cant wait - just hope he remembers to play and not mess about too much!

Must be said I am very much looking forward to pay day on Tuesday too though. We are in the horrible last where neither of us has money coming in - so its make do with what's lurking in the cupboards/freezer which doesn't seem to be a great deal at the minute! Really must remember to ask work colleague about that fridge freezer.

Rang bank yesterday and sorted my bank account that had almost £100 of charges - they refused to refund the charges despite having it on the computer that if a transaction was due and the funds weren't there it was not to be taken out - so I told them I want the account closed and said I could only afford to pay back £10 a month (ok that's a white lie but am going on maternity allowance in 7 weeks so god knows what money ill be getting!)
and have email the coop with new bank details like i was told to over the phone by the payroll assistant so fingers crossed that should get sorted and its going into a bank account that I have a cash card for and no overdraft so from now on I have no overdrafts to rely on! scary stuff. Good thing is the bank card i have fro the new account is changing so I will be able to use it as a chip and pin card as of June/July.

Made my bubble and squeak fritters only for boyfriend to come home last night and tell me he had eaten food at his mums house so he wasn't hungry so they are still sat in the fridge. Might cook them up later and freeze them instead or give him some with his breakfast/lunch with fried egg, beans and sausage. who knows - we will see.

Think I might join the GC this month to see if i can get monthly spending down. I think we spend about £140 - £160 at the minute but that's me buying rubbish I fancy and top up shops in the coop where i inevitably see bargains that i have to have! so need to knock that on the head and will be baking/cooking from scratch a lot more i think. might even get back into the swing of bread making by hand too!

Right that's me done for now me thinks. Will probably be back on later - off to nose at some other threads!

x