The sandwich piggy

nearlyrich

This is a great thread, I always used to spend loads of money on food as I am out and about all day most days. Recently I have been keeping a bag of fruit, Tesco Value Bananas, crispy apples etc in the car. Minimum you pay for a sandwich is £2 and other temptations lurk in the shop like crisps and Mars bars.....I can eat fresh fruit for at least 2 days for £2. I must get a "sandwich pig";)

DavidMiles_2

I'm the envy of people at work, apparently I have the nicest lunches. After seeing what I eat for lunch every day, I had a colleague ruing the day she was too busy to come around to my birthday party! (Yay!)

Anyway, it's easy. The most important ingredient is a complete and utter lack of spare cash making it a necessity that you take in your own lunch. That way you develop the habit, then when you have more money..... (Just think Ken Livingstone giving free travel to under 18s.. and what is going to happen when they all grow older?)

No spare cash is also easy - I'm sure we can all work out interesting ways to make that happen.

THEN! Every time you cook a meal, be it spag bol, potato and cauliflower curry, ragout, chick pea curry, goulash, chicken curry, leek and potato soup, red lentil, cumin & tomato soup, lasagna, shepherd's pie, chicken soup, chilli beans, anything really - just make sure you cook extra. You don't really need much more to create another meal, especially if you cook mainly veggie meals. Pack it up, yoghurt pots are a great size for me, or buy a few take-aways and keep the plastic boxes. Freeze them, then take in frozen, stick in the microwave at work, and voila, you'll be the envy of all your workmates.

Tomorrow I'm having chickpea curry with rice.

oOMiaOo

Pigsback are now offering a wee piggy bank for 400 points :T

gerretl

HI all.
What a great thread.
Since the new year I have cut out the coffee machine. I was spending 3 x 20p per day= 60p times five days = £3 times 48 weeks = £144 per year. I have now stuck to black tea. 1p per drink times 3= 3p x 5 =15p x 48 = £7.20 per year.
I am fortunate that I go home for lunch, which means I eat whatever is in the fridge, or is yellow label.
If you are tempted to buy that M and S sandwich, at a zillion quid a prawn, repeat the following mantra a hundred times.
"Its beans today, or cat food tomorrow"
Good luck all

Savvy_Sue

DavidMiles wrote:

THEN! Every time you cook a meal, be it spag bol, potato and cauliflower curry, ragout, chick pea curry, goulash, chicken curry, leek and potato soup, red lentil, cumin & tomato soup, lasagna, shepherd's pie, chicken soup, chilli beans, anything really - just make sure you cook extra. You don't really need much more to create another meal, especially if you cook mainly veggie meals. Pack it up, yoghurt pots are a great size for me, or buy a few take-aways and keep the plastic boxes. Freeze them, then take in frozen, stick in the microwave at work, and voila, you'll be the envy of all your workmates.

Welcome David. This works for you because you're not surrounded by ravenous hordes of teenagers who look at you as if you want to starve them to death if you attempt to save even half a portion for your own lunch the next day. It doesn't work for me, because I am!

I've tried double cooking, but if anyone else dishes up, it all goes at once, and if I dish up myself the 'remains' are eyed up hungrily.

Honestly, I haven't managed to starve anyone to death in nearly 25 years (that's how long I've been married), but they all think that's what I'm trying to do! :rotfl:

DeniseNZ

I have a pig at work - but it's so I don't buy munchies from the snack bar. Every time I even think about buying something I put the money in my fat pink pig instead of in the snack bar It's a 'loose weight' plan for me, as well as a 'saving money' plan :rolleyes:

Started on Wednesday after reading about the mortgage pig. Not sure how much is in there already, but plumpy pig has been fed at least three times!

jobbingmusician

gerretl wrote:

HI all.
What a great thread.
Since the new year I have cut out the coffee machine. I was spending 3 x 20p per day= 60p times five days = £3 times 48 weeks = £144 per year. I have now stuck to black tea. 1p per drink times 3= 3p x 5 =15p x 48 = £7.20 per year.
I am fortunate that I go home for lunch, which means I eat whatever is in the fridge, or is yellow label.
If you are tempted to buy that M and S sandwich, at a zillion quid a prawn, repeat the following mantra a hundred times.
"Its beans today, or cat food tomorrow"
Good luck all

I went through quite a long period when I gave up tea and coffee, hoping it would cure my migraine (it didn't)

During that time I always had fruit teabags with me. I was amazed how much money I saved! - cafes seemed happy to add hot water to a teabag for no charge!!!!!!

This was before MSE and pigs were invented :rotfl: - I guess cafes might be a bit more grasping nowadays :rolleyes:

jobbingmusician

Savvy_Sue wrote:

Welcome David. This works for you because you're not surrounded by ravenous hordes of teenagers who look at you as if you want to starve them to death if you attempt to save even half a portion for your own lunch the next day. It doesn't work for me, because I am!

I've tried double cooking, but if anyone else dishes up, it all goes at once, and if I dish up myself the 'remains' are eyed up hungrily.

Honestly, I haven't managed to starve anyone to death in nearly 25 years (that's how long I've been married), but they all think that's what I'm trying to do! :rotfl:

Can't you squirrel away a portion before the RHoT see it? Maybe even when it's half cooked, into a separate saucepan? I really feel for you! I'm surrounded by one ravenous husband who quite often finishes off the pan and eats what I thought was going to be tomorrow's lunch...:rolleyes:

floogy99

Will you guys please stop this. I own an independent sandwich business in Oxford, where we pride ourselves on quality & value. typically £1.70-£2.00 for a really good, well filled, fresh well made sandwich. you could be the end for me.............................................

Savvy_Sue

floogy99 wrote:

Will you guys please stop this. I own an independent sandwich business in Oxford, where we pride ourselves on quality & value. typically £1.70-£2.00 for a really good, well filled, fresh well made sandwich. you could be the end for me.............................................

Sorry floogy, and welcome! I'm sure if we could all buy really good, well filled, fresh well made sandwiches for that price we wouldn't begrudge it (if we could afford it, and we are on the Debt-Free Wannabee board, so some people really do have to tighten their belts!) but I know all I can get is bought-in, made goodness knows when, and while-you're-at-it-double-check-the-date-because-this-shop's-perishable-stock-control-isn't-very-good - AND there's nothing under £2, if you want something that looks appealing it's over £3!

jobbingmusician, hiding it beforehand would be the only way to go, and I shall give that a go next time I think there's heaps. It's what I always have to do when DH is coming in later, I daren't leave it in the saucepan or it will be drooled over, but if I put it in a dish ready for him to reheat they know to leave it! Trouble is, by the time the meal's cooked I'm sometimes dead on my feet, so I collapse into my chair and watch them dish up.

Actually their most recent gluttony was when I left two teenagers to fend for themselves. There were two 500g packs of chilled ravioli in the fridge, and I said to cook ONE of them - I would usually make a 300g pack serve two, although I know they would like more! So I was surprised to find some left over when we got back, until youngest said "I cooked both packs, you never said to only do one." :mad: