I'm eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge

Lynsey

Hi frizz2, lots of couponing info right here on this site.

Coupons - HERE read page 1 for help also.

and PDF coupons HERE

Coupon chat HERE

All should help - think when printing coupons that you are printing cash - coupons is just another way of paying, similar to using cash - it helps and adds to the fun.

Freezer running cost??
John Lewis site has estimates for each freezer and generally looks like just under £20 per year to run an A rated freezer.

JOHN LEWIS site may help.

Good luck.

Lynsey

Lip_Stick

Today feels like a bit of a write-off. Spent most of this afternoon trying to fix my damn vacuum. Also my veg box isn't coming til next Wednesday.

Phoned milk and more about the money they owe me and it's supposed to be in my account tomorrow after speaking with a supervisor and giving him my card details. Feel fairly certain it will go in, but also noticed when I logged into my account they've credited my account with the same amount. Tempted to spend it and muck them about with getting the money back lol.

Had Pad Thai for tea which was really nice, except for burning the roof of my mouth lol. Could have been a bit more spicy but it should be ok for ds to have as I've enough sauce left for us both.

No idea what I'm doing for meals tomorrow. Maybe haggis and mash.

recovering_spendaholic

Hello everyone - I have just caught up with the thread as I haven't been on here for a week or so. Lately my good intentions have been derailed, mainly due to kids driving me mental. They have become even more picky than normal and older one (21!!!) is really agressive about it all - she refuses to eat stuff I have bought reduced and makes a right fuss about almost everything I cook - I despair and have given in to pressure and let them have pizza and other cr*p because it is the line of least resistance - sometimes it all seems too much, given that they are messy and untidy and generally drive me mental. Their rooms are disgusting, they leave a trail of destruction all over the house (empty cans and pop bottles, wrappers, dirty clothes, wrappers, used plates and cutlery, used tissues - they never throw anything away or put it back in its proper place) - I feel like all I do is shout and rant about it but it makes no difference - the other day the 13 year old said "what the f**k kind of mother are you?" because I told her to get her own tea - it's so hard sometimes. They also refuse to eat breadmaker bread any more saying that it is "vile" - they used to love it.

Anyway, rant over - I went to Tesco yesterday and stocked up the freezer with some reduced stuff and other staples which I use regularly. I have enough food in to last about 2 - 4 weeks so I am going to make a real effort to get back on track. Only thing is I bought weetabix without my glasses on and now I see I have bought golden syrup weetabix which aren't at all nice - might have to make weetabix brownies with them - will look out the recipe in a minute.

Tea tonight is Hunter's Chicken for kids (reduced but have thrown out all packaging!) with chips and I am having fish finger butties because I love them!! I made chicken soup earlier and there is enough left over to last a few days I think.

Right! sorry to have gone on a bit - off to look out the recipe for weetabix brownies and look at the coupon thread!

Kirri

RS, I don't know how you put up with them... I know teenagers are a bit difficult but I'd never dream of being like that to my mum back then! If we didn't like the food we just had to eat it, go without or buy extra stuff which I did once working. There was an interesting recipe in the Morrisons mag for Weetabix nests - crushed weetabix with chocolate I think made into a nest with choc mini eggs in.

Here it is:

http://www.morrisons.co.uk/Food-and-drink/Recipes/Index/C/Chocolate-Easter-nests/

Aw lipstick, not good day, I was looking forward to hearing what you got in your veg box!


Dinner tonight - lazy meal as am in middle of big declutter - used my last potato in wedges and stuck a hm pasty in the oven. I'll have some fruit later to make up for it.

Tomorrow I need to make bread and might do some soup too.

Welcome Frizz

Lynsey

:mad:

Wanted to get to Sainsbury's for 7.30 tonight as that's the optimum time there now for bargains - got speaking to someone and got there 7 minutes late and missed all the cheap veg!!!!
They could have waited a little longer.

Only spent 68p as I was there and bought a Pukka pie for 39p and a Kingsmill loaf for 29p - froze 12 slices and birds breakfast in the morning for what's left.
I'm sure there is a Kingsmill coupon, should carry a few with me just in case - probably could have been paid to take the bread away. :money:

Welcome back Jane - keep on top of those "kids".

Lip_Stick - probably quicker if you had sown your own seeds!! :rotfl:

Lynsey

gailey_2

recovering_spendaholic wrote: »

Hello everyone - I have just caught up with the thread as I haven't been on here for a week or so. Lately my good intentions have been derailed, mainly due to kids driving me mental. They have become even more picky than normal and older one (21!!!) is really agressive about it all - she refuses to eat stuff I have bought reduced and makes a right fuss about almost everything I cook - I despair and have given in to pressure and let them have pizza and other cr*p because it is the line of least resistance - sometimes it all seems too much, given that they are messy and untidy and generally drive me mental. Their rooms are disgusting, they leave a trail of destruction all over the house (empty cans and pop bottles, wrappers, dirty clothes, wrappers, used plates and cutlery, used tissues - they never throw anything away or put it back in its proper place) - I feel like all I do is shout and rant about it but it makes no difference - the other day the 13 year old said "what the f**k kind of mother are you?" because I told her to get her own tea - it's so hard sometimes. They also refuse to eat breadmaker bread any more saying that it is "vile" - they used to love it.

Anyway, rant over - I went to Tesco yesterday and stocked up the freezer with some reduced stuff and other staples which I use regularly. I have enough food in to last about 2 - 4 weeks so I am going to make a real effort to get back on track. Only thing is I bought weetabix without my glasses on and now I see I have bought golden syrup weetabix which aren't at all nice - might have to make weetabix brownies with them - will look out the recipe in a minute.

Tea tonight is Hunter's Chicken for kids (reduced but have thrown out all packaging!) with chips and I am having fish finger butties because I love them!! I made chicken soup earlier and there is enough left over to last a few days I think.

Right! sorry to have gone on a bit - off to look out the recipe for weetabix brownies and look at the coupon thread!

How many kids?

how old did you say eldest 21?
does eldest work?

why cant they do their own?
do you charge keep?

when growing up as teenager my mum either brought readymeals or expected me to cook my own. I worked in safeway age 16 so used to buy a few bits myself. I used to be a veggie so mum always moaned I was difficult!

My advice

get a few blackbags start bagging up anything left out and leave in garden.

ensure they have bin and laundry bin in own room.

inform them if they dont want what you cooked or brought then tough!

ensure basics there like

bread for toast.
fruit in bowl
cereals/milk for brekkie
tea/coffeee
double concentrate squash.

maybe buy them a cookbook each!
set up chores rota on fridge.

keep anything nice under lock and key so

crisps,. biscuits, choc, pop and booze and when they can be good and respectful then maybe they get a treat or they go hungry!

Charge eldest keep! as guess in ct must add to bills.i would spell out to them the budget look this is the

rent/mortgage
gas/elec
water
council tax

food and other stuff so they appreciate the cost of stuff.

Mine are just little and make mess drives me mad.

did spag bol tonight which was ok. warned hubby 6 more days until payday it will get quite dire

have 4packs mince in freezer

hoping to buy some more stuff to make lasagne and sheperds pie

could do a soup and pudding night

we have lots frozen partyfare reduced so could do a buffet night.

if can get some eggs will have some more options.

savoury pancakes
quiches
frittata/omlette.

want to do cakes but low on sugar.

sorry to whinge earlier just seems so hardnow supplies are dwindling as think been creative last few weeks.

got call from school eldest was ill so picked up from school walked 3miles to docs and cold/tired.

just about to have a coffee and a rest as havent stopped but need to do chicken casserole and chicken soup tonight as cant waste anything.

Lynsey interested in your food budget hun.

how did you get to £1500 a year as thats less than £150 a month.
you not including other stuff why? how much would it be all in?

when you say you have mini shop what kind of stuff have you brought with coupons.

i need 2things to help me save money

a pushbike so can get to supermarket reductions easier.
a printer to use coupons.

how much would you say you buy with coupons per month?
love extreme couponing just cant imagine it working well in uk ,im on extre couponing fb group.

Lynsey

gailey wrote: »

Lynsey interested in your food budget hun.

how did you get to £1500 a year as thats less than £150 a month.
you not including other stuff why? how much would it be all in?

when you say you have mini shop what kind of stuff have you brought with coupons.

The £1500 came to be and bramble1 is the same, by discussion really. I would loved to have done £1200, but Xmas etc would have added pressure. Last year when I started the monthly budget, I was doing £100 per month (had a freezer full then also). Couponing helped last year when I found out about it and TBH, I abused it a little - well a lot at times.
There were some great coupons last year, Campbells soup - coupon scanned at 82p, soup was 58p (Sainsbury's), so 24p off shop per coupon. I was a little clever, or devious, depending on point of view and for every 2 tins put through I also bought say a shower gel (half price) and the 2 x 24p also came off that - so 2 tins of free soup and a half price shower gel with another 48p off. I "bought" dozens and dozens of soup and ended up with loads of shower gel, toothpaste, deoderants etc.
Sacla coupon, got dozens and dozens of free Dallaglios sauces - sauce 99p, coupon scanned at £1, so 1p off shop plus free sauce....and the beat goes on.
Unilever coupons - hammered them and got loads of stuff, especially dove stuff.
Innocent coupons were brilliant - free Veg Pot - coupon scanned at full price, but they were on offer at BOGOF - used 2 coupons and £3.79 off rest of shop. Got loads of them.

My "stash" means I no longer have to buy toiletries, bleach, toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, soap powder/liquid, toothpaste etc, etc, for the rest of the year, maybe just a few deoderants.

I think I hit the couponing at a great time, they were coming in "thick and fast", but it will happen again.

PDF coupons are unlimited, so combining them with offers works a treat - this is max up time, especially when stuff is free.

Have a look at the couponing thread and see what's available and achievable. Lots and lots of coupons I haven't even touched, baby stuff etc, not having another baby just to use more coupons.

The £1500 budget was going to be £2000 all in, but decided just to set a food and grocery budget to include most things, but my sig excludes a few (alcohol for instance).

I don't buy as much with coupons per month at the minute as it's quiet on the couponing front. Got the Persils from Coop and ASDA and cheap Comfort from Wilkinsons and free Persil washing up liquid from there also. Free puddings (not terrific, but free).

This year is mainly targeting "whoopsies" and offers (Lidl etc). Massive savings there, long may it last.

HTH's a little and shows what can be achieved - you have to be organised, committed and have the time though - I have the time, get by with the other two. lol

Lynsey

recovering_spendaholic

Gailey - I buy sainsburys basics eggs - 79p for 6. They say they are barn eggs of different sizes, but lately I have been getting free range or even organic in my boxes - I think it just depends which eggs they have which don't conform to the exact sizes - sometimes the eggs are super large, some are very small. I always spend ages going through the boxes looking for the biggest!!

Well I made the Weetabix brownies and also some coconut flapjacks. They were nice, but the weetabix brownies were a bit "bitty" - nevertheless they will do for lunchboxes.

Yes DD1 does work and is also at University studying to be a pharmacist. She probably has more money than me but, even though I charge her keep she never pays up!!

Had fish finger butties for tea and kids had hunters chicken - they said it was nice:T so I will look for it again in the reduced section in Tescos.

I have really fallen behind with my couponing, although I am still ploughing through the Campbells soup from last year! If I use alot of coupons, I never use my Nectar or Club cards and always pay cash - that way they don't know who I am (or at least I don't think they do). I only use PDF coupons in multiples - the ones just for you I only use once, even if it will let you print two.

I must also start paying more attention to the newspaper coupons thread - twice now I have missed the £5 of £30 in Aldi coupons in the Mirror and the Sun. I could use them and stock up on cleaning stuff - I think Aldi cleaning stuff and bin bags are brilliant value.

I also find the Amazon threads useful too - I just got 4 sacks of dog food for £7.96 delivered, thanks to a post on there, and if I bought them in the supermarket that would cost me £14!!
Off to put the flapjacks and brownies in the tin!

Lynsey

recovering_spendaholic wrote: »

I have really fallen behind with my couponing, although I am still ploughing through the Campbells soup from last year! If I use alot of coupons, I never use my Nectar or Club cards and always pay cash - that way they don't know who I am (or at least I don't think they do). I only use PDF coupons in multiples - the ones just for you I only use once, even if it will let you print two.

I couldn't stand the soups, just wanted the 24p's off rest of shop. I think we ate 1 or 2 cans and gave the rest away. I got a bit "nervous" and started to pay cash most of the time.
The coupons that let you print 2 Jane have different PIN codes and are fine.

Lynsey

Ilona

I have been reading this thread but not posting on it, it's about time I did. I have literally eaten everything out of my cupboards and fridge freezer, apart from three loaves of bread bought for 5p each, 48 tins of tuna fish at 45p each, four boxes of bran flakes, a salmon portion, a jar of honey, and a few packets of pulses and seeds. There was nothing left I could have made a meal from.

Tonight I have stocked up for £26, a lot of yellow stickers included in this. I am challenging myself to live on £10 a week for food, so far I have been monotoring it for 16 weeks, and it's cost me £160, so on target. I'm all set for another 16 weeks. I tell you what though it is flippin hard work. Cherry picking all the best prices from a lot of different shops. Shopping at night in the supermarkets to get the reduced stuff, and buying out of date food from a cash and carry. Onwards and upwards though, stick at it everyone.
Ilona