How to Get Through The Tough Times The Old Style Way.

Catbells

I happened to be in the other day when a young chap from Energy Management knocked on the door offering insulation to my loft. He said it was in response to the energy companies overcharging over the past 10 years and was a way of 'giving back the money' to consumers. I would get £300s worth of free insulation to the loft (10"thick) and I would have to pay the balance - about £190. Since my loft is not insulated I went for it. One or two people here are trying to focus on energy saving and this might help.

silvermaid

Hi GreyQueen
I like this one:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4380/very-quick-chicken-casserole
hth, Silver

kidcat

Greyqueen - I would brown them in a frying pan, then throw them into a SC or casserole dish with some herbs, onions, tinned toms, and some red wine. I would probably add some mushrooms and some diced bacon as well.

Catbells

mardatha wrote: »

I have just bought this as my next move in the war -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0563206853/ref=ox_ya_os_product

Oh ZZ just ignore me LOL! It's sugar deprivation!

This looks great - thanks. Just started growing vegetables so it will probably have loads of great recipes and storage ideas for fruits and vegetables. Unearthed some very old Kilner jars in the loft (one dated with a faded label 1958) with rusted lids but the glass tops are still in good nick. Anyone know where I can get hold of new screw tops for them. This thread is SO good.

grandma247

catbells if you get certain benefits you can have loft insulation done for free.

I have decided that I am going to work my budget April to April from now on because all the yearly bills should be in by then. It is too hard to work out what any increases might be.

mardatha

What does everybody think will happen (is that bad grammar? who cares) will happen in the new financial year ? Are there more job losses in the pipeline ?

Frugal_Dreamer

Catbells wrote: »

I happened to be in the other day when a young chap from Energy Management knocked on the door offering insulation to my loft. He said it was in response to the energy companies overcharging over the past 10 years and was a way of 'giving back the money' to consumers. I would get £300s worth of free insulation to the loft (10"thick) and I would have to pay the balance - about £190. Since my loft is not insulated I went for it. One or two people here are trying to focus on energy saving and this might help.

Sounds a bit dodgy. I would never sign up to anything from cold callers coming to your door..

bertiebots

mardatha wrote: »

What does everybody think will happen (is that bad grammar? who cares) will happen in the new financial year ? Are there more job losses in the pipeline ?

My worry is not really about my personal circumstances but the community as a whole.. I worry that so many services will be cut in the local council budget that the most vulnerable people will suffer. I am lucky that I am healthy and can work, my kids are healthy and have me to support them and we have a warm comfortable home. Many don't. I work in my local school (and we are surrounded by 3 very large council estates) many of the children who attend are neglected, unfed, unwashed and sadly simply unloved...who will look after these poor little mites if the services aren't there. Its woefully inadequate as it is and services struggle to provide the support needed now.
*Btw I am not saying that all children who come from council estates are all neglected (i came from one and definitely wasn't!) but this is a particularly poor area.

If prices/cost of living continue to rise then I like to think I have the skills to cope and will cut my cloth as much as I can.

mummysaver

Morning all!

Grey Queen - I use chicken thighs a lot as they are tastier and cheaper (ok I'm veggie, but I trust the kids on the tastier bit lol!), their favourite way of eating them is topped with a blob of mozzarella and then wrapped in streaky bacon - easy to freeze at this stage too. I wrap in foil to cook as I find it keeps them moister.

Annie - oooh yr mw sounds like the first one I had, she was horrible and I refused to have her in my house after her first visit, we did hear that she went to work in the the third world, all I could think of was all the poor women there who had quite enough to deal with already! I'm a much older mum to be this time round, but my mw is fantastic and has pointed out that as I'm healthy and fit and have a degree of common sense, though possibly that is arguable since this is baby number 5, that she can see no problems, bless her. I did investigate potential probs for older mums, but it seems whatever your age there are always risks! Hope you find a lovely new midwife.

Haribo - glad all repaired and working again! Our gas ran out Monday evening, so awaiting another delivery, the expense is likely to finish us off at this rate, have told the kids that they'll all be sharing baths again like when they were tiny if costs keep going up - the looks on their faces was priceless!

We used to eat a lot of rabbit when I was a kid, mainly cos it was given to my mum for free! I used to give it to my lot quite a bit, just using it instead of chicken, but the butcher doesn't seem to have it so often recently, and when the supermarket does have it, it seems somewhat overpriced to me, I just cannot bring myself to see rabbit as a 'luxury' meat!

mrswive

GQ - I had a similar issue ie loads of chicken thighs bought reduced at Waitrose and no ideas. I went on the BBC website, scrolled down to 'Food' and lo and behold, there's a 'recipe finder'; just put in an ingredient and a load of recipes appear - 115 for chicken thighs if I remember rightly.
On another subject, what do people think about the proposed pension changes for public sector workers? As one of the so called lucky (lucky if I manage to keep my job), well paid (£8.56 per hour), NHS employees, my pension might just about cover running a car. I'm wondering where this gravy train is- I seem to have missed it!!
NB. I do appreciate that lots of people earn far less as an hourly rate, and I'm not complaing, just trying to make the point that we're not all earning a fortune and retiring to a life of luxury.