Super Scrimpers

alisong_2

I can't do that quote thingy but just had to say that I laughed out loud at the post saying the cards looked like ransom notes...thanks, you've sent me off to bed happy!!!

JBD

MandM90 wrote: »

I'll admit to not being thrifty or moneysaving at Christmas, but for those that are, would anyone mind sharing their menu with rough costings?

I am cooking for myself [vegetarian], 2 kids [15,11] , and their Dad.
Meat -mini roast [chicken or pork] - £4-5
nut roast - free [already have ingredients]
Stuffing - 60p
pots - 50p
sprouts -50p
carrots - 20p
peas - 50p
apple sauce [if we have pork]-70p
pudding - £2 [probably chocolate ice cream]
orange juice, lemonade -£ 1.60 [we don't drink alcohol]
after 8 mints -99p [from the 99p shop].
My kids and myself only really like simple food, Christmas or not, so this suits us.
So Christmas dinner will cost under £15.
For breakfast I may cook bacon butties, so £2
For tea I will put on a little buffet - sausage rolls, cheese, crackers etc, so probably about £5.
Boxing Day, we just eat normal meals.
For sweets, the kids will have sweets in their stockings. I don't buy tins of Roses/ celebrations or selection boxes because there are always some left that no one likes. Instead I buy some sweets that I know we like and put them in a gift bag under the tree.
I have already bought the crackers, £3 [Asda's]
jadea I hope you and your family have a better New year. Best wishes to you.

Owain_Moneysaver

angeltreats wrote: »

Wonder if the £50 includes a Christmas cake. If you make it yourself, it's not cheap.

It is if you use the half-price Mary Berry kits at Tesco!

[Deleted User]

daveandjadea wrote: »

Had to turn over, it urked me so much, it was like so many other shows that talk about scrimping/saving it's aimed mostly at middle-classes who have money to spend on £50 for one meal. It's the same as TV chefs who talk about how cheap it is to eat healthy...seemingly not realising some of us can't even afford to shop at Iceland/Lidl/Neto/etc. let alone buy luxuries such as vegetables and meat/poultry/fish! Or the show that was on last week where the guy was checking comparing prices...on his few hundred pounds worth of smartphone...

Honestly, my usual Christmas dinner is a ham sandwich, if you choose to buy luxuries at Christmas then of course it's going to cost! If money is such an issue, don't be so wasteful, greedy, or snobby about what you eat or where you buy from. I'm going with 'bah humbug' here, I don't celebrate Christmas this year due to unemployment, I've done it before thanks to being raised by a single parent, past homelessness and long-term unemployment, I just get irritated by people complaining about the cost when they do it to themselves.

*ducks from angry replies* :P

Im sorry to hear about your unemployment and I do not personally believe that people should get themselves into debt over xmas dinner, but the lady in question was getting herself in debt in order to pay for their xmas. I myself have been unemployed for a while due to circumstances. I am a single mum with 2 children. We never go without. No longer do i put my arm out for a taxi on a whim, i now have an oyster, and i do all my errands on the same day, to make the most of it. I would not buy some expensive bottle of champagne, which is out of my budget and would be wasted on me, when i can substitute for some cheap bottle of sparkle. I know when certain supermarkets reduce their stuff and am not too proud to be filling my basket full. I can fill a drawer of my freezer for a fiver sometimes. If you want to have a ham sandwich, that is your choice, but i don't believe that if you were more money savvy, you could not afford something else, should you so want it. I buy throughout the year from clearance websites like approved food, food bargains etc, so i have a massive store cupboard, three large packs of chicken costs £5 at my butchers, which lasts 2 weeks. I live in a housing trust place, therefore my rent gets paid. I am applying at the mo for 10 plus jobs a week. i feel sorry for some working people. A friend of mine, is barely holding onto her job, she is living in fear of losing it, and losing their house, of which she has a mortgage. They will not pay her mortgate. incidentally, i too have a smartphone, wouldn't be without it, it cost nothing on contract, and i pay £9 a month with loads of minutes, unlimited landline calls and unlimited internet, it started off as a cashback deal. Got my son a smartphone with the same kind of deal, it costs £6 per month on cashback there are deals to be had for those who look, . p.s. I would not spend £50 on xmas dinner personally

Chickenopolis

VfM4meplse wrote: »

The lady who was making the homemade Christmas cards made me laugh...her efforts looked like ransom notes :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

:rotfl:"Cough up or the turkey gets it" , kind of card LOL

Butterfly_Brain

jammy_dodger wrote: »

dont they sell a "luxury " one for £5.99 and a regular one for £3.99 ?? thats what i read on an aldi thread on here

ihope so as going this week to get some in:D

Yes, but my Aldi had sold out of the £3.99 one on Thursday

Butterfly_Brain

In Aldi this week

2.5 kg Maris Piper Potatoes 69p
500g Parsnips 39p
500g Brussels 39p
1 kg carrots 39p
750g satsumas 69p
streaky bacon is 99p
Asda frozen cocktail sausages are £1 a bag
A bottle of sparkling Chardonay or Merlot is £2.99 Cava Brut is £3.99
A 1.3 kg chicken is £2.99
Asda Smart Price Christmas Pud is 98p

Total £8.51 (using sparkling merlot ) £9.51 if you use the Cava

So that is a great cheap way to feed 4 for christmas, plus you can use the leftover sausages for a toad in the hole and the bacon snipped up and used as lardons or even for bacon and eggs, the chicken can b stripped and used for a risotto etc and the carcass for a soup.

Butterfly_Brain

daveandjadea wrote: »

Had to turn over, it urked me so much, it was like so many other shows that talk about scrimping/saving it's aimed mostly at middle-classes who have money to spend on £50 for one meal. It's the same as TV chefs who talk about how cheap it is to eat healthy...seemingly not realising some of us can't even afford to shop at Iceland/Lidl/Neto/etc. let alone buy luxuries such as vegetables and meat/poultry/fish! Or the show that was on last week where the guy was checking comparing prices...on his few hundred pounds worth of smartphone...

Honestly, my usual Christmas dinner is a ham sandwich, if you choose to buy luxuries at Christmas then of course it's going to cost! If money is such an issue, don't be so wasteful, greedy, or snobby about what you eat or where you buy from. I'm going with 'bah humbug' here, I don't celebrate Christmas this year due to unemployment, I've done it before thanks to being raised by a single parent, past homelessness and long-term unemployment, I just get irritated by people complaining about the cost when they do it to themselves.

*ducks from angry replies* :P

Do you not have any family or friends who would offer you a Christmas dinner or why not go along to tha Salvation army citadel, they always have a welcome for anyone in need.

kippers

MandM90 wrote: »

I'll admit to not being thrifty or moneysaving at Christmas, but for those that are, would anyone mind sharing their menu with rough costings?

This is for my family of two adults and two dd's aged 12 & 13 and two extra adults for xmas dinner

Our christmas breakfast:

Usual breakfast (h/m bread & jam / cereal / toast) laced with any sweets we are given as presents = no extra cost than usual

Our christmas dinner for 6 people:

Frozen Turkey crown from Aldi last year (use by Feb 2012) = £8.50
Pigs in blanket from iceland = £2 (I know i should make these but it's christmas)
All veg (except carrots)= £0 (i've got 3 allotments and grown everything myself except carrots)
Carrots (as my dad likes them) = £0.76
Gravy = £0.15
Yorkshires £0.20 (this is a guess as i make them myself)
Stuffing = £0 (my dad brings his h/m stuffing and it's wonderful)
Wine = £4

Xmas pudding = £0.57 (got this reduced in the sales from wilkinsons in January)
Custard = £0.25 (another guess but it must be around this)
H/m Chocolate sponge = £0.50 (another guess but it must be around this)
Mince pies / coffee = £3.00? (another guess as i made them myself-have loads of mincemeat left over for next years mince pies as well).

Xmas tea:

Turkey sandwiches with h/m bread
Chocolate cake


So these are the things i bought that i wouldn't normally buy= £18.26

Turkey = £8.50
Pigs in blankets = £2
Carrots = £0.76
Mince Pies = £ 3.00
Wine = £4

I'm quite pleased with that:):):)

rachbc

Ok - for whoever asked for costings mine isn't cheap and I am inc xmas eve and boxing day

xmas eve

whole ham - £18 aldi - glazed with brown sugar and mustard - will be laods left over for the rest of hols
mash - 50p spuds, 20p butter, 20p milk
peas - 99p a bag full

xmas day

breakfast - coissants, egg benedict (LO ham, eggs from chooks, 50p for hollaindaise, 99p for coissant, 59p for muffins)

Lunch

Baked camembert £4 for 2, bread for dipping 9p reduced and stashed in freezer)

Turkey - from butcher £30
Spuds 69p
Sprouts 39p
Carrots 39p
Parsnips (2 bags) 78p
Pigs in blankets - about £4 for the good sausages and dry cure bacon
Stuffing - £1.50 (or so for onion, sausagemeat, lemon etc)
Cranberry sauce 59p
Bread sauce £1 for butter and cream (breadcrumbs stashed in freezer)

Lemon tart with cream (about £3)

Boxing day

MIL Birthday so big buffet lunch of LO Ham and Turkey,
Large Stand pie form butcher £10
Pickles and chutneys mostly hm but some Mrs garners picked shallots £1.89
Part baked rolls - x3 39p
Fresh salad bits £3

Coffee meringe cake - eggs free, cream and nuts £1.50 or so

Cheese board - £8 or so on 2 nice chunks for cheese
Crackers £1.99

Wine will be at least 2 bottle of fizz on christmas day, one on boxing day plsu 2 bottles of wine each day

Some extras have ben bought through the year, mum buys the ham, I have saved morrisons miles points and got £15 which bought the cheese and bacon/ sausages, £8 of wiatrose vouchers whcih will buy some general bits, and £25 M&S voucher plus £5 etxra off which will pay wine. I also won a £10 voucher for the butcher which will pay ofr the stand pie

The turkey and veg, cream, extra butter, bread etc will come out my usual dec groceries budget but have yesterday mirror aldi voucher too.