ok newbi here

squeaky

Then you could always get really experimental and try the odd new recipe from our Old Style Recipe Collection or one from the loads that we have in the MEGA Index sticky. At a rough guess we've got more than a thousand to choose from. Makes us one of the best cook books around!

nikkiandmidgets

Also, have you checked to see if you will get FTC and CTC when your husband starts work? Depending on the level of support, you may still get free school lunches, prescriptions etc... There is a website https://www.entitledto.co.uk. I think you can earn up to £50-60,000 a year and still get help.

csi

i noticed the recipe threads are really good. i suppose with 6 of us we should be able to come up with quite a few as we all eat pretty much anything, no food fads allowed. i'll give that a try tonight. will have to stock freezers/cupboards really welll as going from weekly benefit to monthly salary. good job i always have too much food over xmas

jellycat40

Hi CSI, I don't menu plan, I could not do it as I like to shop for what is on offer at the beginning of the week. However, I do not buy any ready meals, crisps, cakes, biscuits or snack foods. I do buy sweets for my DD3 (9) on a Friday. I don't buy any fizzy drinks either only Own Label Squash.

Value/Saver brand food is ok for somethings. Breakfast cereal is a definite no, tins toms are ok, tin baked beans are ok if you are going to put them in a casserole or pasta bake, sweetcorn is a bit tough, value fresh fruit and veg is great, bread is very wet! and other tinned veg should be treated with caution.

I think £100 is brilliant, it is less than I spend on a similar family. I spend about £120 not including leccy and gas! I use my tumble drier a lot as well, but I try to cut down a bit by putting what I can on the line/over radiator or on airer. Some can go in the airing cupboard if it is needed quickly. If you could save one load a day you will notice some improvement in your bill. Also I only use a third of a scoop of washing powder in my machine and always wash on 30 degrees unless the cat pees on the bed!!!!

You could join the November Store cupboard challenge and use all that you have in the freezer/cupboards etc and not go out shopping except for fresh stuff. I am going to have a go.

Good luck you are doing well already.

Louise

csi

nikkiandmidgets wrote:

Also, have you checked to see if you will get FTC and CTC when your husband starts work? Depending on the level of support, you may still get free school lunches, prescriptions etc... There is a website https://www.entitledto.co.uk. I think you can earn up to £50-60,000 a year and still get help.

thanks for that seems we might be helped more than i thought. things have changed a lot whilst we've been on benefit and yet our benefit never has weird

super41

csi wrote:

at moment kids are on free dinners but will not be after xmas so dont know if packed lunch oR £2 each per day works out cheaper as ill have to give them a proper meal at home then. what is the opinion on this?
i do have a breadmaker and use it for bread/cakes etc and a slow cooker that icouldnt live without. i do have a dryer but with sheets everyday its just not enough, as im finding out as dryer bearings just gone [ thank god for extra insurance] and will take a week for parts

i dont by value/basic at moment as thought it a false economy. do buy mostly own brand though. what is opinion on this?, and as my eldest has a parttime job at farmfoods as well as doing AS we get discount there as well. does meal planning work im always frightened that theyll get bored with the same thing each week even if on different days
sorry to be so pathetic and thanks to you all again

Personally I think a packup for school is cheaper but depends on what you put in it! My DD has one which includes 2 bread rolls (dough made in breadmaker of course!) one or two pieces of fruit, and something like a fromage frais/yogurt and school bar. However she's only 5 and doesn't have a big appetite. As you've got bigger children you'l probably have to give them lots more.

Some value brands are okay - probaby best sticking to things like tin toms and beans which you're using as ingredients in other things. I've found dried fruit is ok too. Can you do your shopping online? I find it saves me money because I can see how much I'm spending, otherwise a bit of a lottery at the supermarket when I get to the till! You can also do advance planning. There are some great threads on meal planning on Old Style. No-one here will think you're pathetic, quite the opposite because you're being so positive and proactive about your changing situation. Sounds like you're quite Old Style already!

csi

i think thats because im old style myself

ally1974

I don't post very often but I was impressed and inspired by your posts as I struggle with the OS life, so very busy it's sometimes hard to fit it all in!
Plus, can I also add how great I think your OH is. Being unable to work for so long due to illness and now getting back out there...he's a fantastic role model for your children.

csi

:A thanks for that ally and all of you. :T

i have to say i am very proud of my OH as he has not let these years go with giving nothing back he has worked part time [12 hrs a week, all he was allowed by hospital]for the last 4 years with sen children, hence we've been on benefits. i am disabled as is my eldest and my oh hasnt been well, yet as well as working part time, he has just completed a degree with a 2.2ba hons and persuaded specialist that he can work full time again as he coped with the pressure of home/work/degree course with no relapse.:A

its just really scary when you think you are jumping without a parachute. when he last worked we both worked, had good incomes and could afford most stuff yet were always overdrawn. since living on restricted means i have learnt that truly money isnt everything and it is quite simple to live a spendthrift life when you have no choice. but i dont want to go wrong now at the last hurdle IYKWIM just as things seem to be going ok again