You know you're a money saver when.....

Alison_Funnell

You sound like my mum! That makes you priceless. :T

tenuissent wrote: »

Good idea about packaging it nicely (though these are huge 1 litre preserving jars, of which I have made 5 so far) but we do have some history here. When I visit on most Sundays I usually take some sort of Sunday lunch with me, perhaps a raw chicken, vegetables from my allotments, fruit to make a crumble with, and as a full time doctor with two children and a third on the way she is very grateful for this, and pays me back the cost of the chicken without hesitation.

The difference here is that I have usually taken a few pots of marmalade with me most visits and it disappears rapidly. I have just retired onto a small pension, and I am starting to realise the cost of things a bit more. She will be happy to pay for the ingredients, I just feel fractionally mean.

I'd love her to water my plants and give me lifts, but she refuses to have a car (lives in London, which I don't), so it is me who gives the lifts at weekends, takes her shopping for heavy things, strims her allotment, raises seedlings, collects sacks of manure and so on. All of which I am happy to do, as she is so extremely busy and very grateful for any help, and a lovely daughter in every way.

It'll be payback time when I've lost my marbles and they have to look after ME. (Joke, ha ha. Slightly uneasy one).

Alison_Funnell

sparrer wrote: »

I love my Miele too sfs, got a free Cat'n'Dog on freecycle a couple of years back because the lady said it wasn't picking up any more. I took it to the local dealer who said it was the latest model and about a year old. They cleared out the blockage and voila! a 'new' Miele for £3!:T

We have a second hand ( bought for £20 about 12 years ago) Miele Washing Machine. It is atleast 30yr old from an Old Folks Home so saw plenty of use. It washes at any temperature from 20degree up and has a big drum (small industrial machine). It has been brilliant but is sadly on it's last legs.


When you realised you have stretched 4lbs of lean mince to feed 3-4 people with various 'extras'(TVP/beans/veg) for 2 weeks! And even you can't really believe it when your OH works it out. :eek:

katieclampet

frugal? wrote: »

when you only try to buy your clothes out of season/sales. I saw a pair of jeans I wanted for my LO at Matalan for £7 in the summer. Guess how much the same pair were at the end of summer! £1!!! So shop for summer in the winter,winter in the summer,etc (look for space,it is worth it!)

YEP! I do this for me and oh. My dds do this for themselves & families. In fact we bought some kids t shirts today for summer.

katiex

calleyw

Kiama wrote: »

When you head upstairs in the dark despite the risks just to avoid having a light flicked on for a few moments.
.

Please don't do it coming down stairs as it is very dangerous. I know someone who did that and they ended up falling down the stairs. Lets say they are very lucky to be alive today as they where in coma for a week.

When you re-arrange the chest freezer and find loads of whoops stickers that had fallen off stuff :rotfl:

Yours

Calley

tenuissent

<< Please don't do it coming down stairs as it is very dangerous >>

I nearly wrote that myself. When I am groping in the dark, I remember a music pupil of mine who went to bed with a living mother in the house and woke up to a dead one. Fell down the stairs - I didn't ask if it was in the dark.

My husband gropes about in the dark too, and the few times I have put something down just before putting it away (eg suitcase) he inevitably falls over it. I left the vacuum cleaner out the other night because he was away, and I thought I would be more likely to nobly carry on in the morning if it was sat there, staring at me.

But he returned unexpectedly, and yes....a crash in the middle of the night.

Stretching mince: I love doing that. Beans, chickpeas, grated root veg, lentils, breadcrumbs from stale bread, whatever you can lay your hands on, but that satisfying meaty taste persists. I was a single mother for 13 years after a divorce, and my 3 teenagers ate like horses. I bet I can make 100 meatballs (added egg to bind them) in tomato sauce out of a pound of mince (exaggerating a little).

Wesker

You know you're a money saver when....your diet goes out of the window cos your fridge freezer has broken down and you'd rather eat all the food in there rather than throw it out

VenusFlytrap_2

Brilliant thread! Just spent about two hours reading all of it, some great tips here, thanks to all who have contributed so far!

Here's mine: you know you're a moneysaver when you've got a bag in the freezer that you keep adding bread crust ends to, saving them up to eventually make a chocolate bread and butter pudding - just looked up Delia's recipe and it sounds delish, can't wait til my crusts bag is full now!

Of course, I got the idea from a thead here on MSE. You guys are fab! :T

jojododd

Hi all

I know im a money saver because: ive turned into my mum (if anyone leaves any meat on the plate in our party of course, I ask for it for the dogs.) woof woof. No really they love a bit of steak. I find myself looking for reduced items, and I only go shopping when absolultly neccesary. For fear of buying things I dont need.

I want to know when exactly did I start mirroring my mum. It only seems like yesterday I was pretending my mum wasnt in the charity shops and #i would be truely embarrased. Now I work in one! Thank you for all your hints and tips, and martin your a genuis!:T

diamondgirl78

You know you're a moneysaver when... you wish your feet were just ONE size smaller because the charity shop have some brand new gorgeous furry-lined slippers for £2, and furry lined brown boots, but just a teensy bit too small... This happened to me yesterday.

katieclampet

You know you're a money saver when;

dd2 slips on the ice, thinks she has sprained her ankle and you take the frozen peas out of the freezer, put half in a bag for her ankle, and the other half back in the freezer!!:rotfl:

katiex

ps She is ok!