New guy here - living on my own for first time

hollisterbay

Skint_Catt wrote: »

What cooking facilities do you have and what freezer space? You can often buy multi-packs of beef/chicken etc which are good to stock up on when you see them (if you've got the freezer space). If you do have a big freezer check out your local butchers - mine offer huge packs of various meats & cuts for better price than the supermarket, but I don't have the space at the mo!
I would say for you and your dog you should only need to spend a very max of £200 a month - taking into account the odd extra's like batteries and the cost of meat.

Don't forget to factor in things like Christmas/birthdays/other events if you want to stock up/save for.

C xx

That would be great - I don't want to eat crap though, know what I mean? but yes if I can then 200 would be ideal

I have a good enough freezer - normal sized fridge

Ummm I have a Oven...cooker thing. Never used it ;p

I went out and bought a blender so I can make my smoothies in before I go to the gym

I would be all ears for some recipe ideas or something for £200 a month

culpepper

£500 for food and cleaning bits for 1 and dog sounds very do-able.
For the cleaning side you need stuff like washing up liquid ,laundry detergent and something to use for wiping up/down (white vinegar is good )or star drops.Measure out the washing liquid in a teaspoon so you arent using loads for no reason. Resusable cloths for cleaning so you arent constantly having to replace them. Those micro fibre cloths they have in poundland are good for windows and mirrors, I've seen bigger ones too, for drying your dog or even your hands. Make sure to have a bin in your bathroom as well as the one in the kitchen. My son had loo rolls tubes everywhere when we went up to see him in his flat because he hadnt thought of having a bathroom bin(and is too lazy to take them to the kitchen bin). Have a dustpan and brush in the kitchen just to sweep up the crumbs on the worktops. Dont leave the pots and pans dirty in the sink else you will go and get take-aways rather than face the mess. Have a 'dog'blanket on the chair/bed if the dog is allowed on it so you can wash it ,as dog hairs can get everywhere, dogs can be out in the rain and mud and dont think twice about walking on your clean covers afterwards and their claws can be destructive,once he knows its his place to sit or lie, he should use it but dont trust him to if you are out.

LameWolf

This may sound obvious, but I'd get together a bit of a store-cupboard of foods that will keep.

OK, I know you're not into carbs, but anything in tins, packets of dry stuff, etc - that way. if you're too busy to shop one time, you won't starve.

When you use something, put it on the list to replace; and always use the oldest one first (if that made sense - sorry, I'm tired and my brain's packing up for the day).

I can't help with meat or fish, as I'm a veggie, but are there any vegetarian foods that you like to eat? I'd be happy to ferret out easy recipes if required.:o (And trust me, if I can make it, it's easy!)

Purely being nosey now, what sort of dog do you have? Is he/she microchipped?

Rikki

Is your rent including your gas, electric, water rates and council tax? If not you will need to budget for these too.
Have you looked into getting house contents insurance and the like?

Rikki

hollisterbay wrote: »

TV license is np - I don't have sky/or normal TV connected - I'm into my techy stuff so I have a system which streams videos/movies from my Apply Computer directly to my LCD...I hardly watch TV anyways, more of an internet guy for latest news etc

.

You must be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV. It makes no difference what equipment you use - whether it’s a laptop, PC, mobile phone, digital box, DVD recorder or a TV set - you still need a licence.

Click Here

Stephen_Leak

Rikki wrote: »

You must be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV. It makes no difference what equipment you use - whether it’s a laptop, PC, mobile phone, digital box, DVD recorder or a TV set - you still need a licence.

Click Here

TV set, VCR, DVD recorder, digital box. As they can receive broadcast signals, a broadcast receiving licence required. No argument.

Laptop, desktop, mobile phone. If equipped with TV tuner (card or dongle), then they are the same as the above. Of course, tuner cards and dongles can easily be removed, so these are tricky for Capita to "police".

If not so equipped, then they cannot receive broadcast signals and no broadcast receiving licence is required.

At least not yet. Streamed broadcasts are delayed. But there have been some experimental "simulcasts" of big events.

However, eventually the BBC will get a legal ruling that the internet is a "broadcast medium", and then you could need a broadcast receiving licence for any PC with a modem, or add-on modem.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

ChapelGirl

Our dogs are all gone now but when we had them we used to buy bags of frozen pet mince from the butcher or pet shop. I used to defrost them then put them into roasting trays and bread tins and cook them in the oven for 1.5 to 2 hours until I had some doggy meatloaf, then cut into individual portions and re-freeze in plastic bags. They got a portion of this plus a handful of biscuit, and they loved it. This worked out much cheaper than buying tins, and was better for the dogs as well.

I just had to be organised enough to schedule the cooking session every few weeks when the stocks were getting low.

It also depends on you having a big enough freezer to store the stuff.

People say you can feed the meat to them raw, but I always thought cooked was better.

Silaqui

Hi there :hello:

You sound like you are pretty sorted, but if you haven't found it yet then Martins Budget planner http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning is really good, I used it when I first moved out to help me get things in order.

I would definitely say that you can feed yourself and your dog for way under £500 - my grocery budget for the two of us (people) and a hamster, plus cleaning products, is around £150 a month and that includes alcohol :beer:.

I would definitely get to know a few recipes - if you are on a special diet then it's gonna be better for you to be eating in so you know exactly what you are putting into your body won't it? If you are on a high protein diet, look out for stuff in the shops when they are doing offers on meat, supoermarkets often do 3 packs for a tenner and the like. Check the reduced sections as well - as long as you can freeze it, and it's not already going green, the meat from here is fine. In fact I only even buy non reduced mince and chicken breasts - everything else comes from the 'whoopsies' section! A bit late now but a good time to buy meat is at the start of the summer when all the barbeque offers are on! :rotfl:

Also don't underestimate your local butcher/fishmonger.

Anyway thatll do for now - good luck!

x

ceridwen

...and I have to say it...cant resist it:D - but try googling for "Mr Bad Example" here on MSE. He's had a "famous" cooking thread or two...:rotfl::rotfl:

Dobie

hollisterbay wrote: »

H
Gemma, pasta IS good but not for me ;p - I'm on a high protein, low carbs diet as I do bodybuilding and am working to get "ripped" so I can't eat things like pasta/bread/ as they are high in carbs ... I know I'm a food freak, not really only recently I have become so as I want to get on the cover on Mens Health soon

There's a low carb diet support thread over on the Health Beauty & Fashion board. It's mainly people who are trying to lose weight but there are some fabulous recipes on the first page that would suit your diet & at least one other bodybuilder (female) who posts regularly.