Black-Saturn's Menu Planner

calleyw

black-saturn wrote:

I think before you judge you should try feeding 3 people, paying the bills and clothing on 9k per year and THEN see if you can afford granary bread and fruit. My guess is you couldnt.

Ahh but I do feed and cloth 2 adults on less then you. As you don't have a mortgage and don't have to pay council tax. Which is something my household has to.

Once I taken those items off my husband after tax wages to give a level playing field we are living on £2.6K a year less than you. And we run a car as well as spending a £100 a month on a food.

And my husband is about to take a 25% pay cut due to a slow down in work. And will not get his pay rise that was due to his trail period being up.

We don't get any tax credits or the like and don't get free dental care my husband gets free eye test due to a his father having Glaucoma but I don't. And he still has to pay for his glasses.

And we manage and I buy granary bread, fruit every week.

So before you judge other people like me. As I know you have with me because I buy granary bread, fruit and wholemeal pasta. You need to have all the info and you didn't about about me. So don't assume you are the only one who has a tight budget.

As you can see we have a very tight budget. And we don't have a massive mortgage. We could not afford to rent a studio flat let alone a 3 bedroom house on what we pay on the mortgage.

As I said before it is impossible to compare directly you to anyone else. Because you don't have certain bills that the rest of us have to pay.


Yours


Calley

Dora_the_Explorer_5

I guess everyone has different priorities and lifestyle according to where they are in their life. I prefer to have as balanced, healthy and safe diet as possible. I need to maintain an optimal level of health becuase I've reached the stage in my life when bits of my body are nearing the end of their shelf life and my body can't repair any damage as well or as quickly as it did 30 years ago. I need good nutitrion and adequate levels of vitamins and minerals to help me keep going as long as possible and not, like a good many retired people, present in hospital with malnutrition.
What suits Black Saturn wouldn't suit me because I'm not interested in a DVD and would rather spend that money on, perhaps, out of season produce If I have a fancy for it. And clearly anyone whose work is hard manual work, or who is pregnant will need to ensure they have the right amounts and balance of protein and carbs.
The only thing I would encourage readers of this thread to do is to ensure they eat a minimum of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day as sound scientific evidence shows that this will prevent some diseases, and maintain optimal levels of physical and mental health. Sorry Black Saturn, it's not the government trying to con us into spending more money.
I guess it's horses for courses, and for everyone to take from MSE what helps and what fits with their lifestyle. None of us can be 100% right or wrong all the time.

jcr16

we have about 13k a year coming in, with debts to pay , rent , council tax , plus everything else and we have money over each month. it would be great to have more money , but it isn't everything we value family life and love more than material goods. we still have a 21 inch tv in the lounge and a black and white one with a turn knob thingy , as we can't afford new. but they work fab.

i am truley inspired by black saturn. i don't need to cut back , but it is always fab to know u know how to , if u have too. i love the idea of fruit cobbler , and the suggestion of cocoa powder in it , sounds like pure heaven. i am gonna try and get the printer working to print off some of these fab recipes.

thankyou so much

Petal_3

But surely we can each make up our own minds as to whether we stick rigidly to Black Saturn's recipes (cos we have to to make ends meet) or adapt the recipes (which are great by the way) to include the things we would normally buy/want to eat? I'll certainly be using some of the recipes adapting them with ingredients I would prefer to use. She's only giving a guide after all?

I've enjoyed reading the thread thus far....it's a bit of shame that it's taken a bit of a twist.

Black Saturn - you've certainly answered a question for me. I've seen many of your posts and often wondered how you managed/what you cooked on your shopping budget...and now I know!

Have a good day all x

[Deleted User]

I printed each and every one of black saturn`s recipes. The fact that we are all different makes this site so very interesting and I really think it is unfair of anyone to publically criticise someone who freely gives information. It happened a little while ago with another lovely poster on the OS thread. Sometimes it is better to keep the ethereal mouth closed than to criticise.

If there are issues re a healthy amount of fruit and veg, wholemeal foods etc then perhaps they should be aired on a new thread, without naming names

By the way we eat organic and have at least 5 portions of fruit and veg daily but meals can be adapted. I liked the simplicity of black saturn`s recipes

jaybee

Hope you enjoy your time in Germany Black-Saturn! Your time away will give me time to catch with trying your recipes!!!

Many thanks for sharing with us.

loopylass

i agree i think BS is wonderful for taking the time to do this we are all different with different bills and money coming in we only wanted a basic menu planner and that is what we have got we can adjust it to suit our own family so ive really enjoyed this because i am trying to cut down on the shopping and seeing these wonderful recipes with a few adjustments its still cheaper than what i was doing
so BS thankyou and keep up the good work( by the way i have got the ingredients for the fruit cobbler and i am planning on making it this week i will let you know how i get on )

Liz19 wrote:

Are we not starting to get a bit side tracked here. I think it is wonderful of Black-Saturn to share her meal planner and recipes but I don't think we should be nitpicking at her finances in this way as it really isn't any of our business. She is being so helpful and this kind of thing could put her off.

thriftlady_2

I suspect this is precisely why Black Saturn has not posted her budget before now.

I've printed every meal planner that anyone has posted lately and they are all inspiring.

I think Black Saturn is doing a great job. :T

jaybee

thriftlady wrote:

I suspect this is precisely why Black Saturn has not posted her budget before now.

I've printed every meal planner that anyone has posted lately and they are all inspiring.

I think Black Saturn is doing a great job. :T

Me too! I had got stuck in a rut with doing the same old things all the time (saved thinking!) so I am grateful to everyone for sharing their lifestyles.

Chipps

thriftlady wrote:

I suspect this is precisely why Black Saturn has not posted her budget before now.

I've printed every meal planner that anyone has posted lately and they are all inspiring.

I think Black Saturn is doing a great job. :T

I agree. To be honest, we all have different incomes, & different needs & priorities. And there are going to be times when we look at someone elses ideas & wonder what on earth they are doing such&such for, cos it just wouldn't be a priority for us. Some of us choose to live an OS lifestyle, for others it is more of a necessity. We have always had to do it, but now it could perhaps be thought of as a choice, because we chose to home educate 2 of our children rather than sending them to school & me to work - which means we live on my DHs not very high salary (in fact his basic is less than our 20yos)
But our lifestyle choice is our lifestyle choice. And so I am grateful to all who put their meal plans & other advice on this forum. I don't have to copy all that I see, there are things I would not want to do. That's fine. There are things that I post that others would not want to do. Equally fine!
The whole idea is that we can find suggestions and ideas that perhaps we would not have thought of before, or decide that our own ideas are better! It is just so lovely to be a part of a community who doesn't think I am odd in choosing to opt out of the rat race & live a simpler way, whether for economic or any other reason!
Thanks to all of you!