It isn`t tough for us. We are OS and we COPE

mardatha

The one big thing that hit me hard in the 70s was the price of potatoes. They went through the roof and we ate a lot of them then as (normally) cheap and filling.

Justamum

mardatha wrote: »

The one big thing that hit me hard in the 70s was the price of potatoes. They went through the roof and we ate a lot of them then as (normally) cheap and filling.

Oh yes! I vaguely remember that (I was only a child then) If I remember correctly things like chips from the chippy became very expensive, and the price didn't drop again when the price of spuds did.

GreyQueen

According to my leccy bill I'm using 1.8 kwH per 24 hours down from 1.9 last year. Don't know what changed to bring it down that fraction. I switched from an electric kettle to a stove-top kettle on my gas stove a couple of years ago as I'd read that this was more energy efficient and it freed up a bit of counter in my tiddly kitchen. Running a desktop PC, washing machine, standard undercounter fridge (B rated), countertop freezer (A rated) and a small radio/ CD player. Don't have a TV at all and all lightbulbs bar the one on timer are low energy ones. I've heard plasma tellies are energy hogs. Has anyone changed from CRT tv to plasma screen and can you see the difference on your bills? I should add that I'm solo in a tiddly flat, not running a family house on that few kwHs! Leccy is currently £2.45 a week.

mardatha

My daughter changed last week to a huge plasma effort and says her elect went up from 11 units a day to 15, and she can't get it any lower than that. We found that getting an ordianry whistling kettle made a big difference, because in this house the kettle's always on We currently use 5 units a day and can't get it any lower than that.

mardatha

Meant to say, if there's anything we import from Egypt then it might get dear or scarce soon, depending on how long the trouble there lasts. I am sure we get a lot of fruit & veg, including tatties, from Egypt.

Greying_Pilgrim

Grandma247 is it you (apologies if not) that has previously advocated the use of chappati flour for baking (including bread????). Just wondering if it would prove an economical ingredient if used in conjunction with the potato or rice water recipe. I can't believe that I was looking at bags of chappati flour yesterday, but didn't really take in the price/weight ratio. I'm sure the price was £5.99, and it was a big bag - not sure if 10 kilos tho. Also, it was in a 'posh' supermarket (think Delia & Heston) so not necessarily the cheapest available price. Hence also whilst I was 'looking' not buying!

However, in the 'Free' magazine in said supermarket, Heston had come up with some 'frugal' (not by OS standards) supper recipes. I'm going to make the blueberry & apple steamed sponge recipe with some frozen whoopsied berries and some whoopsied apples from the CO0p, with my normal sponge recipe. Fat duck style on lean sparrow budget!

Greying

kidcat

Greyqueen - we run six TVs, and changed almost all of them to LCD, this year (kids got them as presents etc) we run one plasma (several years old - bought second hand) and one CRT. The CRT is in the dining room and when its just me and the kids here I use the dining room tv for the kids to watch as its alot less than the plasma in the living room. The LCD ones in the kds rooms dont make that much difference as far as I can tell, but they are all only 19inch so the size of a monitor really.

charlies-aunt

Being in Lincolnshire, our news is currently running many articles on the plight of farmers - this week it was on TV that not only has a large chunk of the potato harvest gone rotten in the field but the sugar beet crop is badly hit with field after field of sugar beet turning to mush in the ground after the freezing December weather....and British Sugar Factory rejecting load after load as unusable

My OS instinct is telling me to get a few extra bags of it in my store cupboard over the next few weeks before the price on that rockets too.

grandma247

GP Yes I use chappattie flour for bread and I am going to try the potato water to see what happens. I use the medium for bread mostly but I use the fine for all other baking. The price isn't too bad considering it is wholemeal flour. I got mine around ramadan from the local asian supermarket and it was on special offer 25kg for 5.99 but it was only for those who shopped there regularly and spent a set amount of money each week for four weeks. Each time I went I got my leaflet stamped to say I had spent the required amount and when the day came there were loads of good offers. I used the prevous weeks to stock up on dried beans etc.

I bought a sack of sugar there yesterday for marmalade £16.60 for 25kg.
I am getting some more before it goes up because I bottle a lot of fruit,make jams,chutneys and bake cakes

Pitlanepiglet

I'm doing a big stock up shop next week rather than doing my usual clearing the cupboards that I do this time of year.

It seems to me that everything is going up on a weekly basis and as I get my last salary payment this week it seems like the right time to fill the cupboards to the brim to avoid price rises and also with an eye to the "winter of discontent" strike scenarios that are looking increasingly likely.

I will have to experiment with chapati flour, I was thinking that I might have to revert to making just white bread rather than half/half wholemeal as I can't find a cheap supply of wholemeal flour once my existing stash runs out.