Black-Saturn's Menu Planner

SueRob_2

Hubby & I live on £10.5k when he has no work, plus he gets a minimum disability benefit. We get no reduction in council tax as there are 2 of us.
My take home pay is approx £760
Mortgage £400
Council Tax £160
Water £28
Gas £30
Electric £38
Phone/tv £25
Car £25
That doesn't leave much for food. So I'm gratefull for my lodgers contribution & try to save any extra for when times get hard again.
Sue

Curry_Queen

I apologise if anyone thinks I have spoken out of turn in this thread or caused offence, as I certainly didn't intend to, but I was rather concerned to read that some posters were feeling somewhat inadequate and a failure for not being able to attain the targets that BS claims to achieve, or even come close to it!

That was my sole intent of posting - to highlight that her information was rather misleading and several factors had been ommited which would make a huge diffeence to someone else's budget - not to judge or criticise the work she'd put into writing up the meal plans, recipes and shopping list, which I'm sure are a help to many. No I wouldn't be happy feeding my own family on the same sort of diet, but each to their own, and maybe I should have refrained from commenting on that aspect as I can see now that it may have offended BS, and for that I'm sorry

Lady_E

I love the way that BS has done the meal planner and the recipes. For me ,she has taken the fear out of cooking , as I hate all that" measure 2.5 oz sugar" stuff , these recipes are achievable in my opinion and I will let you know how Lord E and the Tribe enjoy my efforts. Lord E has already mentioned that a chocolate cobbler sounds yummy. Well done, any one got any similar easypeasy recipes plse?

Spendless

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

You'd not print mine off:D . In fact I think I'll do it to give everyone a laugh and then ask squeaky to kick it in the arms.
I used to live on my own with a mortgage and take home £772 a month. So about £8.5k a year back in 1997.I had debt and also needed a car as I worked 30 miles away and sometimes started and finished at times when public transport wasn't available I could manage cos my mortgage gave me 2% off for 1st 3 years of having it, I got 25% off council tax bills. The biggest money saver to me was having a subsidised canteen, so my food bills were minute.

As I mentioned earlier a fortnights holiday meant we paid off a big overdraft last year. Also I spent the last 6 months of 2005 working as a dinner lady where I got a free dinner as part of the job. That and my nan feeding my DD whilst |I worked knocked quite a bit off our shopping bill, not just the free lunchtime meal but it did mean that I wasn't as hungry at lunchtime. Unfortunately school dinners don't have the same effect on my son who is a eating machine:rolleyes: .
I couldn't just have a mug of soup for my dinner but I know people who can including family members.

I've got a lot of the ingrediants in now so I look forward to trying some of these recipes -especially the fruit cobbler everyone has raved about:)

Sydney_2

Wow - thanks Black Saturn you're an inspiration to us all.
Well done - can't wait to try your recipes. Thank you for taking the time to help in our money saving mission!

Skintmama

I made the fruit cobbler for lunch using a tin of peach halves, they looked lovely peeping through the golden cake after baking. Three of us enjoyed half of it for pudding and it really cheered us up on such a chilly day. Pancakes tonight, so hopefully the rest will make it through to tomorrow.

Thanks Black-Saturn for sharing your ideas, it has made me realise that I am quite extravagant in the way that I cook. I am always lobbing in an extra lump of butter, or cheese, or a slosh of this or that. Some of it I may still do for my own taste but now I'll be thinking about how much it costs to do it and curbing some of my impulses!

Have a great time in Germany

Trow

Black Saturn - didn't you claim something like £53 for 6 weeks? I have to say I fail to see how this menu equates to that average of £8.83 per week - you yourself said that the menu would be £16 this week but reduced to £11 the week after - and that this shopping list didn't include drinks.

Am I missing something?

I also think that more fruit and veg should be incorporated into the diet - although everyone may be healthy now, there is a lot of essential nutrition that is missing IMO. Far from the government deciding to claim that to aid farming, they actually took an acheivable standpoint for most people, as from a health standpoint the recommendation is 8 or 9 pieces per day - but realistically the gvmt knows that this will put people off trying, and even just 5 will make a real difference.

Having said that - I understand how tough it is to balance a tight budget - I was on a much tighter budget during my pregnancy years and it is amazing how well you get through it - but have to admit that I doubt if I was as health motivated as I am now that I have to look after my kids health as well.

Trow

Lady_E wrote:

I love the way that BS has done the meal planner and the recipes. For me ,she has taken the fear out of cooking , as I hate all that" measure 2.5 oz sugar" stuff , these recipes are achievable in my opinion and I will let you know how Lord E and the Tribe enjoy my efforts. Lord E has already mentioned that a chocolate cobbler sounds yummy. Well done, any one got any similar easypeasy recipes plse?

Lady E, I just want to say - don't worry too much about weighing exactly, most recipes are fairly flexible - although you can get cheap scales at some supermarkets and you'll find that the weighing of ingredients isn't so hard once you try it!

I would say - have a look at the recipes in the index and if you don't know what a term means then just ask on here, we'll happily explain.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Maybe the answer is what percentage of one's wage/benefits less any mortgage/rent/council tax is spent on food compared to what's spent on internet/mobile/holidays/clothes. Obviously people on a lower income will spend a larger percentage of it on food than someone with £60k a year, just as they spend a larger percentage on heat and light.

Sydney_2

Curry_Queen wrote:

I apologise if anyone thinks I have spoken out of turn in this thread or caused offence, as I certainly didn't intend to, but I was rather concerned to read that some posters were feeling somewhat inadequate and a failure for not being able to attain the targets that BS claims to achieve, or even come close to it!

Lets just be thankful that people like Black Saturn take the time and effort to try and help others. It's a shame that you reacted in the way you did. I would certainly be offended by your attitide. I just hope she accepts your apology. Perhaps you should have a bit more consideration towards other people who are just trying to do their best and bring up their families to be potential money savers!