I wanna be like you-oo-oo

C1aire

Ok, so I have come late to the MoneySaving thing, but I am keen to catch up. I've done all the usual things to plug the holes in my finances (C/C tarting, finding lowest energy providers, biking to work instead of using the bus/tube) and now I want to try the OS approach.

I'm slowly turning into my mother anyway :eek: - obsessively turning off unused lights (and using candles instead if possible), I bike everywhere, a chicken lasts at least 10 days and I clean with lemons and vinegar, so what I have got to lose?

I was wondering if there is any one OS thing that has really made an impact for people, or is it all the little things that add up?

luckylukey

I found the biggest OS thing that changed me was the meal planning. I used to just throw food into a trolley depending on what I felt like at the time and what looked nice.

Now I do it online with a budget with my meal plan next to me.

newlywed

Yes I'd definitely agree with meal planning and using up all the food instead of leaving it to go bad and throw it out.

Also, cooking extra and freezing some save lots - Every time I do a shepherds pie or lasagne, I make extra and put it in the freezer. Then at about once a week I get a night off, just defrost, chuck in oven and bung frozen veg into a pan. Easy.

Depending on what things you eat, we also saved lots by not buying crisps, biscuits, cakes and fizzy drinks. Squash lasts longer than juice or fizzy drinks and I make most of the biscuits and cakes now which means (1) it doesn't get all eaten up before my next shop as they have to wait for me to make it (or get ones I've made out of the freezer) and (2) we don't eat so many biscuits as if I'm too busy or late from work then I don't have time to make them so we don't have them.

thriftlady_2

As others have said, meal planning is the best way to really cut down your food bill.

I don't meal plan much, but I know that if I ever need to really tighten my belt it is the way to go.

Also using up what you have in your cupboards and freezer before you buy more stuff. Make an inventory and stick it up in the kitchen, cross things off as you use them.

hazzie123

How does your chicken last you 10 days?

squeaky

hazzie123 wrote:

How does your chicken last you 10 days?

This thread pretty much covers that:-

- Rubber Chicken

There are all sorts of threads about geeting started on OS - so perhaps the ones in the link below will be well worth a browse:-

GETTING STARTED

A collection of assorted threads where people have asked "How and where do I start?" There are lots of different answers to browse here.

C1aire

Roast chicken hot, roast chicken cold, chicken sandwiches, chicken salad, chicken pasta bake, chicken everything bake (whatever's in the fridge + chicken topped with cheese and breadcrumbs), chicken stir-fry and finally, more chicken soup than you can shake a stick at. Also, the cat gets the brown bits left on the bones after boiling it down for soup.

I think the main reason it lasts so long is that I only have to feed myself (my flatmate is a veggie). Normally I don't waste much, but cutting down my food bill would be good.

I like the idea of making a list of everything in the cupboard - I love lists!

hazzie123

Wow all those meals out of one chicken:T And I thought I was good at getting two meals out of one :rotfl:

I chuck the chicken carcuss as I`m not a soup person,but I suppose if I just cooked a chicken for one I could streeeeeeeetch it out for a good few meals.I have chicken twice a week and are starting to get rather bored with it.

What other stuff can you streeeeeeeetch?

C1aire

Don't ditch the carcass just because you don't like soup - boil it all up, seive it into a bowl and then leave it to cool overnight in the fridge. Skim any fat off the top and use it for roasting potatos (Mmmmm). Keep the rest to use as stock in things like risotto or gravy.

hazzie123

Does it smell when you boil it up? Can remember my mother-in-law boiling pigs trotters up for the dog and the smell off that made me physically sick.

I have a weak stomach when it comes to bad smells.

C1aire

Throw in a few herbs, that always makes it smell quite nice. The last one I boiled up smelt like roast chicken - I had to shut the cat out of the kitchen to stop her trying to get to it.

Nothing like pigs' trotters!