As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

ceridwen

EstherH wrote: »

Also, the hairdresser said that they hadn't noticed any downturn in business. Do we live on a different planet?

Well - my own hairdresser has been informing me about a salon going bust round here recently and that the more expensive ones are taking a hit. She hasnt commented on her own business - but I suspect things are a bit worse (judging by how readily I can get an appointment whenever I want) - not that bad that she isnt on holiday as frequently as ever - but a bit of a hit.

It seems to be the expensive places that look like morgues round here (ie half empty). My own is about £14 for a trim - dont know what her other services cost because I dont have things like cut/blowdry or hair dyeing.

sistercas

7_week_wonder wrote: »

I'm definitely feeling a bit fed up what with one thing and another. So much for the forecast of dry weather until this afternoon - we've had non-stop rain since mid morning, which means my washing is on the drier in the spare room.

I did a trip to MrM and like everyone else here: I definitely noticed the price increases. I managed to get four of the last five bags of value pasta on the shelf: but I did notice that there was a definite shortage of value stuff. We also went to Costco where sultanas were £4 for 2kg - exactly the same price as the MrM value ones, so I picked up some. They also had some nice tinned toms at around 30p a tin so I stocked up on a dozen of them. I also noticed that they still have the white manitoba flour (which is fantastic for bread making) for £10.99 for 16kg so at least that hasn't gone up yet. I can't get any just yet as I am still working my way through the last lot.

How do people here keep track of the prices of stuff: do you keep it all in a notebook? I'm thinking of trying to keep a list of the prices of the basic stuff that i buy most weeks so that if I notice a good bargain I can stock up.

Somebody tell me it is all worth while. I sometimes feel that you don't get any thanks for coping and plodding along and doing the best you can and I'm not sure why I bother!

we have sun at the moment so i am up early with 2 loads of washing on the line to at least part dry it before the rain comes,( my tumble drier broke last year and cant afford to replace/ repair it )

i have noticed how prices are shooting up , even in c0stc0 i used to buy cartons of pr!nces orange juice which were way cheaper than even the supermarket basics , but now its shot up to about 72pish per carton :eek:
i have nticed prices in the supermarkets are going up by several pence each week i go :eek: how on earth do they expect us to manage , i already tend to buy the basics/ value ranges

i dont keep a grocery notebook , though i think its a good idea , i just havent got the patience I meal plan then tend to look on [EMAIL="mysuperm@rket"]mysuperm@rket[/EMAIL] and check the offers , then work out which supermarket has the best prices for my shopping list and then i go armed with my list and go to l!dl. a!di, sainsbobs and t3sco, its time consuming and im lucky enough to have a car so that helps . i do save a fair bit by shopping in different shops

LittleBrownFrog

I've started keeping a price book again lately. Everything seems to be going up so much, so quickly that it's hard to keep track of what a 'good price' for something is. I tend to mostly shop at T£sco (because I can walk there) - I make the list online & fiddle with the basket & my meal plan until the numbers match what I planned to spend, then I note down prices in a notebook (Blank notebook with a couple of pages labelled for each letter of the alphabet) - I only tend to note prices for things that I buy most weeks.

CorBlimeyHowMuch

LittleBrownFrog, the idea of a price book is an excellent idea one of which Im going to pinch if I may .

A price rise of a few pence here and there on my very basic shopping list would send my carefully planned mealplan and shopping budget to pieces. I have to be very very frugal and it makes me hang my head in shame at the waste my exOH and myself were capable off, well him mainly.

I had a lovley surprise Saturday morning, I had applied for a Community Care Grant, the Domestic Violence social worker helped me apply and they sent me a giro cheques for £271:eek: it was like winning the lottery feeling.

So I have prepaid some of my electric and gas upfront and water rates too, this gives me some flexibility if I have an unexpected expense appear and I am going on a stroll round the local shops here, there is an A£di, Li£l, Sainsbugs, and a Mr Mor and 24hr As$a..all within walking distance (well it is walking for me Im not paying £1.70 each way on the bus) so this alone will stop me from overspending the thought of lugging all my shopping home makes me careful of what I purchase.

Landlord finally opened up the garage/shed thingey he uses as storage and gave me the rest of what the former tenant left, a lawn mower, hover one and a strimmer, watering can and a few odds and bods...most helpful and useful in my quest to grow my own veggies, I have decided to get the garden into shape this year and start my grand plan of veggie planting in the autumn or whenever is practical as I have quite a bit of clearing to do and some lilac trees trim back.
Maybe when Ive sharpened up my garden knowledge I may start earlier, I am a garden newbie and need to recognize a weed from a flower:eek::o...square foot gardening sounds ideal so need to get my brain cells into gear.

Ladies and gents(??) what do you consider the best value to buy/taste wise in the big supermarket value basics/range??

As I mentioned in a previous post I have met my new next door neighbour she is a single mom to two young girls, she has a wide knowledge on living on a shoestring as she calls it so maybe she will impart some of her knowledge to me over the next few months, she has a sewing machine and I can sew (ahem a bit) so will be using this to shorten my curtains in exchange for some minor repairs to her daughters dresses. i cannot believe what she picked up from the bootsale this morning in childrens clothes, her little girls look like they have been dressed from the best shops in town but as she says the choice is getting smaller by each bootsale as folk are making do and mend which is true, as this includes me.

Im well into my new life/start, have stopped the sleeping tablet at night and sleep a good sleep safe in my new home:T and have started looking for a job, Im not going back into nursing for a while, Im going to try some carework if Im accepted.

MARDATHA, have noticed you mentioned a few times roughly where you live, I was born in Douglas Lanarkshire many moons ago, we moved down here in 1971 when my dad went to work for the NCB in the Staffordshire area, sadly these are all shut down now, I miss the closeness of that mining community, folk dont get very neighbourly these daysand I have moved away from it as well which I miss but Im loving my fresh start.

Ok walk to towns on hold its bucketing down of rain here, and the sky is black clouds overhead so might just go finish painting my bathroom/toilet, am quite proud of my new found skill of painting.

Keep well everyone.

ifonlyitwaseasier

mardatha wrote: »

Within reach of Ikea. Bearing in mind that for Ikea I'd shove a peanut with my nose for 100 miles and it would still be worth it ....

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[Deleted User]

CBHM, I love your positive thinking. You are an inspiration and will learn much along the way. I can see you being one of life`s wise women as you get older

I will not moan at the weather :A, says she after massive drought and killing ourselves getting water in buckets for the allotment and garden. Never mind the fact that it is cold and miserable and pouring down

I am very much back into dehydrating after my wonderful onion successes and am going to get my remaining overwintered onions to dehydrate tomorrow, before they get mildew-ed. I had costco lemons in the fridge for cold lemon drinks outside :rotfl:so I have sliced them and they are now dehydrating together with apple slices and bits of lemon rind from the ends. I was watching some good you tube videos on dehydrating last night. They are inspirational but cor blimey they are extreme re storing for years, just in case, although I can see the case for longer term pasta storage for those living in very humid states. They use mylar bags, oxygen absorbers and sealed buckets so they can grab loads of food at a time

Next food processing that I am going to investigate will be dehydrated potato slices as they will be very useful and quick for topping casseroles and we will have a biggish crop I think and no real storage place

I have ordered myself a proper vacuum sealer from here

http://www.andrewjamesworldwide.com/

and I am giving my little one to dd. I can vouch for the quality of his goods as I have several of his items

I must get changed and am leaving dh to do a meal at lunchtime :rotfl:lol, salad. At least I know it will be good. I`ll do a proper meal tonight, thinking cap on again, how to make one chunky lamb leg steak stretch for two. If you have time then I recommend cornish pasties with skirt beef, a little goes a very long way and they have huge appeal ( and they freeze well)

blackandwhitebunny

I'm once again trying to catch up on everyone's posts after life happened.
I have to shop two or three times a week for school, for classes and for the breakfast club we run and I'm definitely aware of how prices have shot up. Sugar (castor) has gone from £1.12two months back to £1.39. I've been reading that its little to do with production prices and mostly to do with commodities trading. Typical once again a few people get rich on the majorities misery.
I tend to use Sainsbugs mostly because its the most convenient, on the way home and I don't need to pay up front for parking or find a pound coin for the trolley but I do find that if you're buying basic ingredients it is cheaper. I get teased because I can rattle off the prices of many things but it does make it easier to compare when doing my own shopping. Yesterday I had a bimble around the new B&M in town and found a few bits and pieces which were cheaper but there were a lot of things that were cheaper than the supermarket normal price but more expensive than the current offer.
One advantage of shopping often is that I have learnt how to scan the shelves at speed and can spot the red sale labels at 20 paces. I've been finding two or three items a week some weeks:D If its something I would use with a reasonable date I stock up and usually get a few extra for friends as well. Recent finds have included organic ketchup at 32p and huge jars of dijon mustard at 59p. I find the ethnic type shelves are often good for these sales, after passover I found ground almonds (200g) for 52p, vegetable oil for 28p a litre (unfortunately there were only two bottles left) and huge boxes of matzos crackers for 29p buy one get two free.:D
I also make good use of access to multiple computers (isbn addresses) and the coupon thread:D All my cats have their own email addresses now and are registered for the coupon websites. I find that if I only buy one of each item I have a coupon for I never have any problems at the tills.
If anyone hasn't tried the coupon thread its well worth it especially combined with offers. Fairy fabric softner works out at 25p a bottle at Sainsbugs and the bold liquid is £2.
Anyway I'd better make a start on the apricot jam I have planned - the guys on the market yesterday sold me 11lbs for £4 - result:D

laineyc_2

A rainy day here. I am glad I got all my jobs done in the garden yesterday. Today I will get the house sorted out ready for the week ahead.

Cooking roast beef for dinner. It will test my resolve to be vegetarian. Still I can have the yorkshire puddings.

I might start a price book. It is hard to keep track of what is rising although, it seems everything is. I buy my milk in the local shop because it is cheaper than Tesco's.

I really need to get started on my chores but can't seem to get off my butt.

CBHM, I really admire your positive attitude. Good luck on the job search.

I hope GQ is back soon. I noticed Lostinrates hasn't posted here recently, I hope she comes back too.

Mrs_Veg_Plot

charlies aunt fingers crossed that it is good news after your MRI
CBHM you seem to be going from strength to strength, keep it up girl:T

FTM Caesar dressing, 30mls lemon juice, pinch black pepper, ½ teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 crushed garlic clove, 140mls oil and grated parmesan to taste.

I used to do cross stitch and still have kits I never started. I think I might start doing them again as it will keep my hands busy. When I used to go to a slimming class the leader reccomended we kept our hands busy of an evening to prevent picking. This must be where I am going wrong .

Freudianslip bread tends to be raw in the middle if you put too much water in it

Lizzyb1812 my family are not too keen on courgettes but I find that if I add them grated to dishes (cottage pie, stews, pasta sauce ect) they do not notice they are there.

Clairenne welcome to the thread, it’s addictive you know.

Kezlou thanks for the update on GQ, missing her posts.

OH sorted out the garage yesterday so I can get to my stores in there a lot easier now. He is going to inventory it for me later to day when I am at work. I need to re inventory the freezer as well as I have lost track of that.

Weeze210 PM'd me her recipe for sun dried tomato bread. Wow it is fantastic. Kids love it.

Made wraps for tea last night filled with salad and left over sausages for the girls and me. Oh had saugase and egg in his due to his no fiber diet. Nice cheap tasy meal.

Off to do the baking for pack ups next week.
I need to fry and freeze the peppers I bought from Aldi yesterday. I bought 3 packets as they were on offer. I like peppers in a variety if dishes but find them expensive. I have tried growing them for the last couple of yeats but have had no success.
Also need to cook the gammon joint I bought for sliced meat for sandwiches. I have stopped buying the packets of sliced ham sron the super market and boil and slice my own. It works out much cheaper and tastes much better.

Fingers crossed for the sun and rain depending on what you want.

Mrs VP

freudianslip

thank you for the pointer of adding too much liquid to my bread, which is maybe what I'm doing to get some rawness in the middle.

I'm actually really down about my breadmaking. I had one delicious loaf all week and that was one that had over risen and had gone wrinkly.

I'm going to surf the net for another recipe. I've been adding egg to mine as per recipe. I could do without using an egg daily for the bread.

Oh, but. tried out home made crumpets for breakfast and they were alright you know. I haven't bought crumpets for quite sometime now as they are silly priced for what they are and how much you get.

I got recipe from here if anyone wants to try them.