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

mardatha

My soil is still frozen and snow forecast tonight and monday so stop talking about seeds please or I will HAVE A TANTRUM
I would love some hints on veggie meals that are dead easy to cook, might save some money that way. I want to grow as much veg as I can in square foot gardening this year but the long term forecast is not good.

jackieglasgow

Mardatha have a look at Ginham's vegetarian meal planner

Butterfly_Brain

mardatha DH is going to build me some cold frames using old glass that will slip over the raised beds so that will help keep things warm and cosy, I heard that this year's weather is dicy too. I usually start my seeds indoors in the utility room which is on the cool side.

Have you tried the Asda meat free packets like this
http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/catalog/sectionpagecontainer.jsp?departmentid=1214921923813

We have at least 3 vegetarian meals a week and lots of HM soups and bread
My lot also love mushroom rissotto, macaroni cheese ( use whatever pasta you prefer -we have fusilli, penne or spaghetti) I also do a version with tomatoes, onions and peppers added, HM pizza is another favourite.
Veggie curry is also cheap and tasty.
I buy tvp from Holland and Barratt and that only costs £1.15 and a bag lasts ages it can be added to a veggie curry, or stew to make meat eaters think that there is meat in it. I have used this on my carnivorous DH and it fooled him.


Left over pie - If I have leftovers from a roast diner I simply put it all (potatoes, veg and meat) into a pie crust and bake it.

maryb

OOOH it feels like snuggling down in a comfy bed to be back here

ChocClare

Aarons_mummy wrote: »

I've not long started posting here, I feel a bit like I'm intruding. . . .

You're not intruding at all - everyone is friendly on here and not cliquey, even if it looks like we all know each other...

I agree these boards are brilliant for inspiring money saving - just making you think about it focusses your mind, I find.

Mar, you can start your plants inside (and leave 'em there) even if it's froz outside. Please don't have a tantrum *offers chocolate*

It's like a scene from Scooby Doo here. Full moon obscured by thick fog and mist swirling in off the river. DD's gone down the beach for a party. Obviously.

NualaBuala

Luis wrote: »

I'll join in after a long long break from these boards. Just become a single mum of a feisty toddler, and have got to work out how to manage household with £750 less per month Got £5 to last til the end of the month and no fuel in the car.

Job security also looking very shaky as they are selling off part of our role to the private sector, so a very real possibility of losing job too.

Emotionally and financially stretched to breaking point

Luis, sorry you're having such a tough time. Have you enough food in to manage till the end of the month?

kidcat wrote: »

Nuala - have decided to ignore the eviction notice until we know whether we have won the bid for the house - sealed bids on Monday - then will either ask for an extension for DD16 exams or until the exchnage and basic work are complete - I estimate I need another two months - and I do not feel its unreasonable to ask for the extra time - especially as they have been planning this for months.

Good luck for Monday Kidcat. 2 months is not unreasonable at all IMHO. Hope your LL does the decent thing.

zarazara wrote: »

I agree about affordable treats. I have a list of them writtendown in a file. They include long soak in a hot bath instead of a shower; painting toe nails;dressing up ! even for everyday household work,its amazing how putting on a decent ironed blouse and clean pair of jeans with a scarf or neckless lifts the spirits,no need to dress shabbily just because we aint got much spare money; the occasional flowering plant or bunch of flowers or magazine or DVD, I try to budget for something once a month,otherwise it all becomes drudgery.

I love your ideas ZZ! I think I need to do more little things like that, I've noticed that the small things can buck my spirits. At this time of year I get the bunches of daffodils in bud from M&S for about €1.50 and sometimes it's 50% extra free. They cheer me up so much and don't cost very much. I do a deal with myself and say I won't buy chocolate and will get them instead.

maryb

I just had to post my 1000th post on this board!!

ChocClare

maryb wrote: »

I just had to post my 1000th post on this board!!

:beer: Congratulations maryb!
I was disappointed not to get an extra medal thing when I posted mine. I didn't notice the others when they came on and I was looking out specially on the 1000th post...:(

maryb

ChocClare

I thought I would at least get a bar on my medal!! Ah well, KBO as Churchill said (keep b*ggering on)!!

budgetboo

I think it's a mind set that leaves us old stylers so much better prepared for what's to come than some. Personally right now I'm finding so much inspiration in the Shabby Chic threads.

I'm firmly of the opinion that frugal living is only possible to do successfully long term if you embrace what I call "elegant simplicity" in how you add a few splashes of "luxury" in what can otherwise be an austere existence.

You can easily add a touch of luxury without breaking the bank if you are creative. It's the little details that make all the difference as any posh butler of a luxury hotel will tell you. Think "refined" as opposed to gaudy consumerism.

I spent £1.99 in Aldi on some Narcissi plants this week to cheer up my flat. (The bulbs will get put away and used again next year). I've also planted some nasturtium and sweet pea seeds on the window sill. (They almost grow themselves once germinated).

Edited to add:- As a lone parent I'm bricking it re changes to kids DLA and benefits.

A vase of fresh sweet peas on the table will add a wee bit of affordable luxury to my frugal home. The more you cut them, the more they grow. I use a few drops of lavender oil and white vingegar on my towels and sheets in the wash. DS loves the smell on his sheets. I made hot water bottle covers last year for my 99p hot water bottles and boy did we appreciate them when the snows came!

DS loves his homemade pizza and popcorn nights. Originally instituted when he was around 3 cos I couldn't afford the cinema and he's dairy intolerant (pizza take aways like his mates had were out!). The pizza topping uses up the last scraps of whatever odds and sods are left in the fridge. It's become a big thing in our house as friends love to join us, so I can entertain without feeling like scrooge in comparison to the "Jones".

Proper tea made in a proper pot with home made cakes or scones (& home made jam). It makes an "event" of something so simple for a generation raised on trays in front of the telly (or at least the Mums & kids in my neck of the woods, older people appreciate the return to old skool civility). A lot of the fun is in the "ceremony".

Window sill herbs make the simplest of meals taste gourmet, and cost pennies to grow yourself.

Freshly made bread or pancakes filled with stewed fruit (stew anything in the fruit bowl that looks as if it's on the turn) on a Sunday morning.

Add a few drops of perfume or essential oil or your favourite perfume to an unscented 99p body lotion.

Board games for "family night", rather than an evening out bowling etc. Nature trails with lively kids rather than expensive leisure centres - at the right time of year you can set em blackberry or rosehip picking

Homemade Xmas decorations on the tree. (Victorian Farm from the BBC was full of wonderful cheap ideas for this). A gingerbread house, a home made wreath on the front door.

Too much processed food is causing an obsesity and diabetic epidemic in the nation's children so getting them invoved in simple from scratch meals is a gift of good health they'll thank you for when they are adults after the demise of our NHS!

Generations before us had fun on far less than we've been used to and I think we forget that sometimes.