Tips on how to become an OS Moneysaver

Madaboutmoney_3

Eels100 I have just got hooked on Lidls this week, what good value for money.

dlb

Lidls is great as is netto, and our local sommerfield is closing down so i keep popping in for closing bargins!!

Iv learnt that the butcher is a good habit to get into, and also do a use up week, use all your toiletries, cleaning products that you have in dont buy any new until you run out.

Addiscomber

jellycat40 wrote:

OMG can't do the rubber chicken thing they don't make chickens that big. 3 adults, one child, 2 dogs and 2 cats = nothing left at the end of the roast.

Oh yes you could! We are DH and me, son aged 21 and son aged 17 - so effectively 4 adults, and in fact the boys eat more than I do.
We had a large chicken roasted. That day we used one breast and part of a leg.
2nd day (not consecutive, to give variety) - I used the other breast and decent chunks off the carcase for a pie, using a can of condensed celery soup as sauce.
3rd day - the rest of the legs and whatever bits I could get off the carcase were put throught the food processor and combined with fresh breadcrumbs and 2 eggs, then shaped into croquettes, floured then fried. (Unlike bought chicken burgers they actually tasted of chicken and had texture.)

We have decent but not huge portions, helped out by vegetables and roast potatoes, stuffing and gravy, pastry or whatever else is a suitable accompaniment for the meal in question. We have puddings most days too. A steamed pudding and custard costs well under a pound for example, but fills empty tummies a treat.

A big part of O/Styling is portion control. Just because meat, or anything else for that matter, is there doesn't mean that it has to be eaten that meal. If you need something for another meal in your plan it is better to put it aside, and preferably out of sight, before you serve up. If you have a batch baking session, or double up your main dish on the "one for now, one for the freezer" principle, then it really helps to get the food that isn't for immediate consumption away as quickly as possible. If my boys catch sight of a second meal then they think they need it as seconds. If they don't even know that it exists the thought doesn't enter their heads. I am convinced that DS1 would eat his way through the freezer if he could - he frequently comments that "there is no point in having all this food if we aren't allowed to eat it". What he doesn't seem to be able to grasp is that we do eat it, but in rotation and more importantly for my H/K budget, in a controlled fashion.

Mermaid

Madaboutmoney wrote:

It would be lovely to hear from anyone that has any tips for me. Where I should start. I am sure there are lots and lots of things I could be doing.

Firstly, you should think about where you can save the most money - this is probably going to be on utility bills, credit card bills, insurance and mortgage. Look on other parts of this site to make sure that you have the best deals for all of these things. Put in a day or two of work here and you'll probably save more from these two days than in months of making your own jam or whatever (unless you eat an awful lot of jam!).

Make sure that you don't overload yourself with moneysaving activities, otherwise you'll burn out! If you know that you only have a few hours free per week, don't plan on taking on an allotment, making your own bread, sewing your own clothes and making every meal from scratch in your first week. Try just changing a couple of things per week, and you'll soon be saving money hand over fist.

Regards,

Mermaid

Working_Mum

The key thing is to stick with your course of action - this is a marathon not a sprint!
My life is manic but I have had to find economies - I challenge every penny I spend. Can I save some moeny or can I do something now which will save me money tomorrow.
My husband lost his job last year (long complicated story and very stressful along the way) but he is now emplyed again and earning more than previosuly but I haven't stopped any of my habits because the quality of my life had improved as a result of small changes made to my spending habits.

I would imagine cumulatively that over the course of my lifetime I will save tens of thousands of pounds!

You shoudl remember to pat yourself on your back when you do something constructive towards reducing your spending or increasing efficiencies.

This site is a great source of inspiration - I have just spent 2 hours browsing old posts - I still ahven't got the hang of everything - but I am learning lots along my journey!

Good luck and keep us posted,

Working Mum
x

rls1973

Smashing wrote:

Spend about 5 minutes in this forum. This OS lark is infectious, I swear.

i'd second that. can't remember what i used to do with my time before i found this!

Chipps

Rubber chicken: you can do it!! We did it with 5 of us, 2 adults & 3 kids, with 2 of them in their teens (by the time YS got to teens we were down to 4) Even if you only get 2 or 3 meals out of it!
Day 1 roast
Day 2 the smaller, less beautiful bits of the chicken become chicken pie (white sauce or campbells soup, leftover cooked veg cooked on day 1 as deliberate extras, mashed potato topping - also cook extra potatoes on day 1. This all saves fuel as well as time. In the oven for about 1/2 hour along with a pudding and/or cake)
Day 3 the carcase becomes soup.

I usually get DH to cut all the meat off on day 1, then hide day 2's quota in a tub in the fridge before picky fingers get hold of it. Then chuck the carcase in the slowcooker, covered with boiling water & leave till the next morning. Before I had a SC I used a pressure cooker, cooks stock in about 45 mins. My mum does hers in the microwave.

hope this helps.

edit ps. forgot to say: the dog only got what was left on the plates after the meal!!!!

thriftmonster

Also it is worth sweating the small stuff. Yes you can make savings on bills, but all the tiny bits add up as well - the packed lunches, the rubber chicken, the home baking etc

katieowl_2

thriftlady wrote:

Hi Mad,
One of the things you might try doing is working out how much your job was actually costing you....
do the maths and you may find it's cheaper to stay at home or at least you may not be as badly off as you think.

If you do some of these frugal things such as; cooking from scratch, packing lunches for the kids, making presents, preserving, growing your own veg, raiding the hedges for blackberries, shopping around, mending, recycling, reusing - in short being creative with your resources you may find (as I do)that you not only save money but you enjoy saving money and find it an immensly satisfying and rewarding way of life

Give Thriftlady a round of applause..... I have been a SAHM for the last 16 years (:T ) My DH just about died on the spot when I told him I was expecting No.2 and that I would not get my job back because I hadn't been at the company for long enough to automatically qualify for my job back (Remeber this was 16 years ago - things may have changed!) and No.2 was followed quite swiftly by No.3....What Thriftlady said is so true....when we first worked it out we were only fractionally worse off by me being at home, by the time the fares, childminder, clothes etc were all taken into consideration.

But I swear we have just about the best QUALITY of LIFE of anyone we know.....OK we don't have much spare money sloshing about....But we have three kids doing well at school/sixthform/uni who LIKE having me on hand at 4pm, we have two allotments that give us fresh organic vegetables, everything we eat is made from scratch, the house is as habitable and comfortable as any other. We may not go out and buy things the moment we need them, but they arrive eventually by hook or by crook! (Try Freecycle LOL!)

OS'er become creative

Regards


Kate

foreverskint

I found the biggest savings to be made have been on making meals last longer than 1 day, So if I make a bolgnese one day I make it stretch buy adding lentils and extra veg to the meat sauce for instance, and using it for spag bol 1 night and lasagne for the freezer.

Using your oven to batch bake, so if you want to make one cake, make sure you use the rest of the oven shelves to their capacity by making other stuff, even if it's to freeze for another day.

Checking out the recipes in the indexed collections. Lots of good economic meals there.