New guy here - living on my own for first time

NJW69

I would get the three for £10 on meat. Most supermarkets do this. Even if you eat lots of meat doing this twice i.e. £20 per week would be enough. In Morrissons yesterday they had whole chickens, packs of chicken breast fillets (about 4-5 in each pack), 700g packs of minced steak, packs of 4 pork chops and packs of 3-4 pieces of braising steak. Each pack should do at least two meals so you could take some to work for lunch. I'd get a dozen eggs that you can have for breakfasts and have some hard boiled in the fridge to eat as and when.

If you don't want to use your cooker then I would get a slow cooker (you can pick one up in Asda or Argos for about £10) and then you just throw everything in before you go to work and it's done when you get back. The other thing I use for meat is a George Foreman health grill with removable plates. Electrical 123 have a good price on the 12617 at £37 delivered free which is a decent size and easy to keep clean (usually about £70).

For toiletries I would go to Home and Bargain or your local pound shop for branded stuff at lower prices. You can usually pick up well known makes of deodorants and shampoos for a pound. Cleaning items are also available but most of the supermarkets have offers. Asda recently had Flash products under a pound each. Aldi and Netto very often have pet foods on offer. If you see anything cheap buy two or three to stock up.

Dobie

avstar wrote: »

There is a low carb diet thread on the health & beauty board, which has low carb recipes, meal plans and special offers that might be of interest to low carbers. Lots of peeps doing low carb to lose weight but some also for health reasons. Lots of us on there trying to low carb cheaply :rotfl:

Sorry Avster - I didn't see your post & have just said exactly the same thing.:o

Nomoneymummy_2

Hi there,

For dog food if you have a local pet shop/ farm some of them do pet food in bulk, We get our cat bulk bags of IAMS from the farm that does animal feed etc (google should show you your closest)

Hubby does the low carb too (or trys too!) and have a great low carb soup recipe thats pretty much fool proof

It works of the day befores roast chicken so is OS as we end up getting 2 or more meals of the chicken, the soup makes up a huge pan that we freeze and get about 6/8 servings out of.. Will dig it out and post it later today!!

TV licence prob a good idea, I watch most tv online at a certain website but if you have the tv in the house even for the dvd's the nasty tv licence men will chase you down trying to get you to prove it etc etc,

Where I work a lot of people pay using a top up card thing and put on a few pounds a week.... saves paying the big bill al at oncec I suppose, but I just pay mine direct debit and that way am safe in the knowledge of no hassle!!


Will get hunting down the recipe!!

hollisterbay

Thanks again - Silaqui sounds like you might be someone I should come to for some training

hollisterbay

Nomoneymummy wrote: »

Hi there,

For dog food if you have a local pet shop/ farm some of them do pet food in bulk, We get our cat bulk bags of IAMS from the farm that does animal feed etc (google should show you your closest)

Hubby does the low carb too (or trys too!) and have a great low carb soup recipe thats pretty much fool proof

It works of the day befores roast chicken so is OS as we end up getting 2 or more meals of the chicken, the soup makes up a huge pan that we freeze and get about 6/8 servings out of.. Will dig it out and post it later today!!

TV licence prob a good idea, I watch most tv online at a certain website but if you have the tv in the house even for the dvd's the nasty tv licence men will chase you down trying to get you to prove it etc etc,

Where I work a lot of people pay using a top up card thing and put on a few pounds a week.... saves paying the big bill al at oncec I suppose, but I just pay mine direct debit and that way am safe in the knowledge of no hassle!!


Will get hunting down the recipe!!

Cool yea! IF you have some basic low carb one's I'd be interested - I need my mother ;p

Odette

In terms of general household budgeteering, the best thing I ever have done since moving in with my bf is transfering the washing up liquid to one of those hand pumps that you get handsoap in. In six months we are still not even half way through a normal bottle! (May have watered it down - with no less effectiveness!:cool:)

As you said you will be doing the protein+ veg; my advice is to hit supermarkets just before they close to grab some reduced veg and freeze what you wont use. Cant help with meat as Im a veggie but it looks although you've had some wicked advice already.

Good luck.

Butterfly_Brain

Welcome hollisterbay

Start a penny jar - is my favourite advice.
Just put all your loose change in it at the end of the day and watch it mount up, it can get you out of a lot of trouble when you are a little short on cash.
As a Mum I would say to keep on top of the housework by doing a little every day.
Chicken is one of the cheapest low fat protein meats and I would stock up on lots of thighs and drumsticks there is a chicken recipe thread on the forum.
Good Luck and let us know how you are managing us oldsters aren't as scary as you might think:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Nomoneymummy_2

This isn't a very exact recipe- more like a guideline for soup-making.
It can be altered in any number of ways without seriously harming the soup. try adding leeks or celery, and I add the meat of 1/2 a roasted chicken!! And you can always leave out the potato.

Heat a large pot on medium-low heat. Cut 2 slices of bacon into 1/2-inch pieces (optional).
Fry bacon until crisp (but not burnt...oops). Reduce heat to low. Add 1 medium onion,
finely chopped, to pan and saute until translucent, about 7 minutes
(if not using bacon, add a few tablespoons oil before adding onions).
Add 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped. Cook for 30 seconds more.
Add 2 large parsnips, 4 large carrots, and 1 large potato (or 6-8 small ones),
all coarsely chopped. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes (add a little oil if needed).


Add enough chicken or vegetable stock to cover veggies, about 2-3 cups.
Add about 1/2 tsp dried thyme, and 1/2 tsp dried tarragon, more or less.
Bring soup to a boil, then turn down heat and let simmer, partially covered,
for 30-35 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through.( I add the chicken about 20 mins into cooking)

Remove from heat. Puree soup with immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender.
Add milk or cream until soup is desired consistency (1/2 to 1 cup...).
Stir in some shredded cheddar cheese, if you want (highly recommended). Taste soup,
then add salt and pepper to taste. (I add1or 2 tsp of cayenne pepper as I love spice)

Hope that helps!!! Ohh and Im 26 so not old enough to be your mother

Catwoman103

I keep an excel spreadsheet for all my money. It has the date on the left and columns for money in and money out, I also enter everything I spend and tally it to my bank account. Sounds onerous but once it's set up it is so useful. I can actually see where the money has gone and have taught myself to be more frugal.

If you have a car remember to add in costs of road tax, insurance, petrol and servicing/MOTs. Once I realised how much I was spending I shopped around and stopped using the car for short journeys, exercise if always good.

Catwoman103

See if you can pick up a slow cooker. Pop really cheap meat in it in the morning with some cut up veg and a sauce, leave it on low all day and its cooked beautifully in the evening. There's a brilliant thread on here with loads of recipres. Low fat and low carb, plus no bother. House smells great when you get home too.