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

HariboJunkie

newlywed wrote: »

Hi all,

OH is self employed but has had no work for weeks and nothing in the pipeline either

Been there, done that over the past few weeks Newlywed so I know how it feels although work seems to have picked up again just now. I hate the unpredictability of self employment.

You sound like you are doing all the right things with your budget. I always say to people who find money tight for a while that it is possible to compromise a bit for a while A few meals of beans on toast never killed anyone.

If your family aren't keen on veggie food could you concentrate on cheaper cuts of meat like chicken thighs or whole chicken jointed yourself. We have soup night once a week (made from the stock of the Sunday roast if it was chicken, gammon or lamb). A hearty soup with filled rolls or hot dogs or soup and a cheap HM pud. My lot complain now if I miss out soup night.

Here are a few threads/websites you may want to check out.

Weezl's cheap and healthy family meals

Cheapest recipes???

Meal for two for 50p. Suggestions?

The Cheapest Healthy Meal Ever!

Feed 6 for £1.62

Cheapest meal

Your Cheapest Evening Meal.

cheap, easy family meals

(Have nicked most of these from one of Pink-winged's posts. )

As well as cutting back we are looking at ways to increase our income to build up our savings for the lean times so I am sorting ou loads of things to go on Ebay in the next couple of weeks.

There is also the Up Your Income board with some ideas for bringing in more cash.

Hope he gets some more work soon and take care.

Haribo x

newlywed

Thanks all. I used to do grocery challenge but usually failed and found other people's more frugal shopping bills made me feel guilty so I'd give up and spend more.

We already buy clothes in charity shops - much to stepson's disgust (though he does wear some of it). One of the girls at work has had a wardrobe clear out and offered to give me first look before it goes to the charity shop

kitschy

JIL wrote: »

Some years ago I did a vegetarian cookery course at the local tec and we used TVP there. Our tutor who was a chef advised us to fry off the TVP with chopped onions before adding any liquid. He said it took away the powdery bittery taste. He also had us frying off the tomato puree in the same way as well. I did not really like the TVP anyway so am not sure if it did make it taste better, but to this day I still fry off my tomato puree in with my onions as it really does take away the bitter taste of some tomato purees.

Brilliant tip, thank you. Will definitely try this - have tried sugar but didn't like it!

jediteacher wrote: »

Sorry, do not know how to post links. If you go to the forums and then to the Grabbit section it is one of the first threads on there. The first few posts explain how this works. It is all part of Tesco's new policy that they will double the difference of any shop that is cheaper in Asda so I bought items I would use but they were branded (birdseye etc) and the difference was £17ish so Tesco double this and I get a voucher for £34. Hope this makes sense.

So, I've only half thought this through, but would it be possible to price your spend before going, knowing that things would be cheaper and thus guaranteeing a voucher?

HariboJunkie

kitschy wrote: »

So, I've only half thought this through, but would it be possible to price your spend before going, knowing that things would be cheaper and thus guaranteeing a voucher?

That's the premise behind the thread on the Grabbit Board. There are various ways of checking the prices before you shop but I don't think any of them are guaranteed.

purpleheather2810

newlywed wrote: »

Hi all,

So I tried to read this thread but to be honest it's too much.

Am very interested in the tvp - can anyone tell me what the salt content of it is please? I already stretch mince with lentils and oats and although OH loves his meat he is ok with Cauldron sausages, so might be able to convince him?

I cook mostly from scratch (other than Bisto and the odd jar of curry sauce) and we are currently trying to reduce salt intake as well.

Hi Newlywed, apologies if someone else has already answered - I haven't yet caught up with the thread. Mine is "Neals yard Natural Soya Protein Mince" and the ingredients say a trace of sodium only. HTH.

jediteacher

kitschy wrote: »

So, I've only half thought this through, but would it be possible to price your spend before going, knowing that things would be cheaper and thus guaranteeing a voucher?

Yes, that is exactly what I did. It is a slight gamble as prices change so quickly. On the thread is a list of items that are cheaper in Asda than Tesco. I looked through this list and just picked out the items I would use and do use (although normally I would use the own brand or value) and got them.

shegar

Hasnt this thread slowed up a bit in the last few days?......I usually come on here of a night and ive got 5 to 6 pages to get up to date, where is everyone ??.......

Things have gone pretty quiet in our local small town, its a little busy in the mornings and the afternoons it tails off and there are not many people in the high street, it must be a sign of the times...........

I do so feel for the smaller shops and wonder how they will keep going this year, shops are empty, theyve still got their rents, taxes, business council tax to pay whether they sell anything or not.........I must admit that I dont support local shops much, I do one supermarket shop then go home, I also dont go in the butchers now, and I buy cuts of meat that are on offer at supermarket.........its a shame to lose small independant retailers but we cant spend what we havnt got can we...??

We havnt got any large chainstores in our local town, we have to travel 24 miles to get to a tesco, asda etc..........and with the price of fuel now you really have to work out if its cheaper to go out so far to shop.........48 mile round trip.....

I always write a shop list now, so I just get what I need and try not to buy much else , or less something is a real good deal........I , like many people are dreading the budget on Wednesday, they say they probaly wont put fuel up..!!well its been rising every week, so they make it sound as if they are doing us a good turn by not rasing it this Wednesday........Martin said on daybreak this morning fuel will never go back to a pound a ltr and hes right about that...........


Yet we have 4 hairdressers in a small town !!. they also must be struggling for trade.......

Im growing a lot of my own plants this year, also going to do a bit of veg.......I notice the price of seeds are very high too.....

kezlou

hi everyone

Been gorgeous here today, the sun was shining on our backs and we very naughtily spent money over the weekend. But we had a great time with friends so its all good. So instead the coming weekend will be cheap and cheerful.

Newlywed, have a look on weezls cheap family food site. its great, loads of ideas.
I trick my lot into thinking they've eating meat simply by adding stock cubes and lentils to whatever i cook. The lentils sock up beef stock cubes up nicely and can be disguised easily.
Another suggestion, is to bulk make a certain amount of food and freezing it. I make a concotion of mince, lentil (can use split pea's), carrots, tomatoes spices and onions , boil it down and separate into containers. I then use it to make chilli, spag bol etc Its saves me an absolute fortune and really does go a long way.
As for the charity shops, try taking your son with you and say oh look this is a desinger label ... My 19 year old brother won't wear anything that isn't a label, he came in with me once and found a shirt worth £175 for £2.50 so now even he looks in them.

I've tried TVP in the past and i despise the stuff, not even massive amounts of chilli powder or booze could disguise. Maybe it the fact that i was a teenage brat with an unrefined taste. But when i tried it, i felt like i was eating mushed up kidney's. I just couldn't get away with it.

Managed to get the boys another couple of jumpers / jackets from the charity shop on satureday. I've tricked my boys into liking them by letting them look at toys and computer games in there . So spent a whopping £4.50 and got two very warm fleeces, ideal for when we go walking next week.

Anyways better shoot x

JIL

As well as TVP and lentils, Bulgar wheat makes a good bulking out mince ingredient, it is also nutricious, it is really good in chillis and bolognaise,

ceridwen

Shegar

Another one concerned about the Budget on Wednesday here - reason being that the Government are talking about maybe combining Income Tax and National Insurance into one tax. Its obvious just why - they dont want people making the mental link of "I've paid in my x number of years to get a full State Pension - therefore its rightfully mine". However - to my way of thinking - National Insurance is a tax that is paid by those in work but, if it were added-in with Income Tax, then it would still be payable even in retirement:eek::eek::eek:. One of the whole benefits of being retired is only having to pay "Income Tax" now - and not having to pay "National Insurance" any more from one's income. I DO hope they won't be changing that....as retirement, of itself, bring so many extra costs (extra fuel, extra water charges, extra needed for "leisuretime activities" and peeps physically need more money for warmth and healthcare as their bodies age).

So - fingers crossed very hard that National Insurance remains a separate tax as its always been.

******************

Another hater of TVP here - yuk! If I want something "meat like" - I use quorn mince, quorn "chicken", etc. Its taste is nothing like meat - but it fulfils that function and I can still make things like "cottage pie", "spaghetti bolognaise" and "chicken curry" that way. I still remember my first vegetarian meal as a teenager - going back after "Meeting for Worship" on a Sunday to the home of an official of the "church" I was in at the time to share Sunday lunch with his family. It was a "roast" dinner equivalent based on tvp - its a wonder that I went on to become vegetarian myself after such an inauspicious start.....LOL