Are you ever embarassed by your money-saving ways?

charlysez

i love being thrifty and get exasperated with other peoples extravagances, however, i did get embarrassed for about 20seconds at the weekend. my friend was emptying her fridge of "out of date" food (some of which was only hours out of date!!) when she said i could have it. obviously i said thank you and restocked my own fridge. no different to buying the reduced stock in the supermarkets.

zippychick

I made a roast chicken dinner for myself and two friends on Sunday. My friend had been there on friday when i was making stock so as he was clearing the plate he was shouting "LK Shall i keep these bones for you?" Like he knows fine rightly I don't waste a drop. I also got him to keep the gravy. He asked did i want him to keep the mash off peoples plates, but it was a bit gravy-y and manky - bits of food mixed in, that I didn't keep that.

I did however throw the carrot and parsnip cooking water down the sink, and nearly had a heart attack as soon as I realised what i'd done!


Normally for making people dinner i would just serve the breast, but i gave them legs and dark meat too and not one complaint. In fact it was described as "sensational" and "top notch" so I was very pleased with myself indeed.

I worked out the cost of dinner for 3 as follows

FR chicken £4
Carrot & Parsnips £1 (got in corner shop in rush , shame on me)
Bag reduced potatoes £1

Frozen sweetcorn and peas from freezer, butter from SC, and goose fat for the spuds would be my only other expense. Including the goose fat , about £8 for 3 meals ! The previous Sunday I spent that on a scuzzy chinese for myself which in no way matched my dinner.

I had such a good feeling from that - producing 3 fabbo dinners for so little , compared to how I can easily give in and end up buying takeaway!

Thoughts like that make me not ashamed in the slightest of being OS/moneysaving. I really do feel sorry for other people who don't appreciate the value of money.

Norman_Bean

zippychick wrote: »

I would just mix the ham with the cheese, and use it with pasta! Toast or JP sound good too :money:They are probably the kind of thing that keeps for ages anyway

I used a few of the cheese spreads last night on a 'scrapstastic' tea for the kids.

Pastry scraps spread with leftover tomato puree with bits of ham and the cheese spread broken on top. I put it in the oven for 10 minutes, told the kids it was pizza (they are 3 and 4 so easy to deceive!) and they loved it!



Oh and your dinner party sounds delish - well done!

I had one of the spreads on toast and it was yum! Only 8 more to get through :rotfl:

Mini_Bear

Ive always been careful with money. like other posters im as quiet as i can b about it. most ppl think im savin for a house and thats the reason i dont hav the latest clothes etc. truth is im waitin for the jan sales and savin a massive lump so when interest rates rise i can cut my hours down and not b a slave to the wage.
my mum always told me to look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. i tell my boyf about the wonders of value supermarket ranges (no additives - extra sugar etc) and now hes totally on board. he used to look at me in a way that made me embarrassed!! i told him to stop wasting money and signed him up 2 quidco!
he cant understand why i dont spend more on myself but im happy just giving to others and have a massive goal ahead of me!

joshieg3011

pupsicola wrote: »

Im not embarrassed at all. I just get on with life in my own way. Most people I know aren't even aware of how carefull I am with my money. Its just a quiet, practised part of my routine.

I have been in your situation once and decided from then on to not say a word to anyone. If they want to be careful they will be, if they dont thats their choice.

Yes, you are right - I should just keep my mouth shut but the problem is, when I see a bargain/food being wasted, I want everyone to know about it!!

Guess what my New Year's resolution is?;)

richj

I have slowly brought my parents around to this way of thinking. It is great they save everything they can :-)

phizzimum

zippychick wrote: »

butter from SC,

you've intrigued me zippy! butter from slow cooker? do explain (or am I being thick? has happened )

zippychick

phizzimum wrote: »

you've intrigued me zippy! butter from slow cooker? do explain (or am I being thick? has happened )

He he!Sorry for the confusion. In this instance I mean Store CUpboard! x:o:rotfl:

phizzimum

I knew it was me being thick! I thought you'd come up with a new way to churn butter!

MrsBartolozzi

You're not the only one Phizzimum:D, I was wondering what SC meant in this instance! my first thought was slowcooker though ...:rotfl: