It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

sammy_kaye18

Right I thin sensibly the second option is better as ok I lose one maternity payment but my debt is near enough gone but realistically I am likely to do the same again if we were short.

Have been sat here and worked out bills, what needs paying asap and what can be put off until the second maternity payment on the 16th. Have taken the total I will get and taken off £80 for a good food shop (for us) and then used the remaining to calculate bills from and I end up left with £42 that wont cover a bill completely but will be handy to have as top up money etc or as stand by in case babe runs out of milk (not likely in two weeks but hey its a back up).

We still have two boxes of 80 nappies and a change box full from when she was born so we are ok with them for now and my dad is due at end of the month and is doing a costco visit before then. Also coop has BOGOF on nappies at the minute and they are £9.59 but with my discount it would be £8.63 so may pick them up and store them under her cot. Also from that £42 I'm hoping to find Ben a new school coat so will look in ethol austin, store 21 and peacocks for a bargain as these are the only shops locally available unless I order from a catalogue.

I've calculated putting gas and electric on meters too - there is still about £20 on electric and £30 on gas but have taken money for them (£40 gas and £35 electric - half of what I usually pay) and the only things I'll need to pay later in the month are a reduction payment of £25 to halifax, and £80 NTL (thats phone,internet and tv but had a bad month with holidays and watching films with boy due to rubbish weather)

so off now to plan my food shop around what's in the cupboards ~ that's to last us a fair while but will be a fair bit of baking stuff etc and basic meals so more home made things in lunchboxes etc. Thinking too that fruit will probably be our main expense and boyfriend likes fruit with his packed lunch so think if i can get some plastic tubs from poundland I'll get a few big tins of cheap fruit from tesco/b&M/Home Bargains/Poundland/Iceland/Wilko (all of these I have access to) and make a big bowl of fruit salad for in the fridge for him to eat (he's the type to snack on it at home too) and take a portion to work.

right going to make a list now. will post back although any cheap meal favourites anyone has will be appreciated. x

sammy_kaye18

northwest1965 wrote: »

Morning all.

Did you see this?

see what????

taplady

Sammy - good luck with your planning! one of my favourite cheap meals is cheese and potato pie with baked beans - I use a bit of pastry on the bottom of the pie and also add any leftover veggies such as peppers and mushrooms under the potato layer. It freezes well too as I make it in individual pie dishes so we dont scoff the lot in one go:D

I'm waiting for the freecyclers to come and pick their damsons - hope they can get to them all!
Going to slice up the runner beans too if time.

ceridwen

mardatha wrote: »

Why waste chocolate on dogs anyway - I'm a little old lady and I think its a treat every day, but nobody gives me it

Mardatha my ducks - You're 60 - sorry pet....that doesnt qualify you as "old" in my books.

Nice try though:rotfl:

sammy_kaye18

taplady wrote: »

Sammy - good luck with your planning! one of my favourite cheap meals is cheese and potato pie with baked beans - I use a bit of pastry on the bottom of the pie and also add any leftover veggies such as peppers and mushrooms under the potato layer. It freezes well too as I make it in individual pie dishes so we dont scoff the lot in one go:D

Thanks tap. God I haven't had potato pie in ages.

Thinking I might see if i can get a big bag of potatoes as i think it might be more purse friendly plus there is a market on a tuesday that does big bags so will see if they can deliver them.

Meals I usually make are
* chicken thigh casserole
* basic tomato pasta dish
* cheesy bean and bacon pie
* stovies
* shepherds pie

so need a few more ideas, all our other meals are usually meat of some sort + veg type meals.

edited - anyone know if you can buy thick crust plain pizza bases?

D&DD

Morning all :j don't faint sun's out!!!

Hippee have you been doing sunshine dances for me:rotfl:
Washing is locked and loaded and doors are all flung open

Sammy lol fortunately I loooove Spongebob,no choice when its on permanent repeat here and DS3 has all the seasons on dvd theres no escape!Hope you can manage to stretch the pennies this week,I usually make up some pasta salads for the fridge,and live on jacket potatoes when skint!

Carer is due this morning so going to hoover round quickly while DS3 is out will probably be on for tips how to mend my clogged up dyson later...

D&DD

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

edited - anyone know if you can buy thick crust plain pizza bases?

Sammy do you have the stuff to make a batch of dough it'd probably be cheaper?

14 oz strong flour
pinch of salt
sachet of yeast
8fl oz warm water
1-2 tblspns of olive oil

I usually chuck in a tblspn of the mint/red pepper and olive scwartz mix too yum!
Roll out and open freeze on trays

taplady

Sammy - if you're buying a sack of spuds how about making some HM fishcakes with a tin of tuna - cheap and yummy plus they freeze too.

parsonswife8

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

Thanks tap. God I haven't had potato pie in ages.

Thinking I might see if i can get a big bag of potatoes as i think it might be more purse friendly plus there is a market on a tuesday that does big bags so will see if they can deliver them.

Meals I usually make are
* chicken thigh casserole
* basic tomato pasta dish
* cheesy bean and bacon pie
* stovies
* shepherds pie

so need a few more ideas, all our other meals are usually meat of some sort + veg type meals.

edited - anyone know if you can buy thick crust plain pizza bases?

I got basics pizza bases at Sainsburys which had tomato base on and quite a lot of grated cheese. They were reduced too.:T
Put a few bits of chopped up ham or salami on and a few thinly sliced mushroom and a thinly sliced tomato, a sprinkle of oregano and a few halved black olives. the base was massive and we got 8 big slices out of it, enough for 4 meals with a bit of salad on the side.

We also eat a lot of baked potatoes...topped with tuna mayo, or baked beans, or chilli con carne, or soft white cheese with sliced spring onion or chives, mushroom sauce, cheese and a few bits of bacon or ham.

flipperOSN

ginnyknit wrote: »

Oh does that mean that soon I will finally get revenge on my DD after all these years - that will be good!:rotfl:

As for human medicine for animals I have used golden eye ointment on my dog once, on the vets recommendation as it is so pure. And fairy liquid apparently can be used on everything from animals to antiques- I just wont waste money using it on the pots I think they mean sustained feeding of chocolate to dogs - like little old ladies who think its a treat everyday. If it means you can get them to take medicine without stress to all concerned its ok.

Gardeners world tonight said they have recipes on the web site for preserving veg. Some of them sound yummy.

I used to use golden eye ointment for my guinea pigs, they'd occasionally get a cloudy eye or a small hay seed stuck in there. It helped a lot (you can't just yank the seed out as the seeds surface will scratch and embed itself in the eye).

I miss having my piggies, great company and they lived mainly off thrown away veg e.g. carrot tops and peelings, offcuts of celery, cauliflower leaves and banana skin. And some freshly picked grass. I got too sad when they died though