Hard Times: How to cope with everyday living.

quintwins

i know it's been said but with regards to the rasins we buy tesco dried fruit it's around 80p per bag but on 3 for 2 at the mo i put it in bowls or pots for the kids and they love them

i also have a crochet blanket my granny made me years ago it's fab

and with regards to the woman who's hubby took 3 sandwichs aday it could be worth buying a joint and cheap slices as the price per weight of pre sliced meats is alot highter, i cook gammons/pork shoulder or reduced beef joints for picnics done in the slow cooker any cut of beef is tender on the other side of the scale pre sliced cheese is usually cheaper per weight and i'd never get 10 sandwichs from a block of cheese so i buy these

one of our most frugal meals is a veg stew, i once forgot to put the meat in and as it was nice i still do it, it's basicially peeled studs in different sizes, onions and carrots all boiled up in a pan adding some gravy at the end i like mine mushy, we also add beef shin if we want a normal one one packet at £1 does all 5 of us with a leftover portion

i was acually talking about this with a friend and in the last year my food bills have went down instead of up like others mainly due to this site as money was tight before anyway

karren

JackieO wrote: »

As one of the slightly ...err older ladies on here I honestly can't remember a time when I wasn't fairly frugal.growing up with wartime rationing must have impinged on my psyche I think.I live and eat well and can afford to have a week in the spring and a fortnight in the summer on holiday.What i use my savings for are these and helping my two Dds out when they have finacial crisis( which in the case of my youngset Dd is a regualer occurance at times .Both her and her OH work full time and are raising their five children so money is always a bit tight.Son-in-law works in local government and in the past year his original job has dissappeared and the whole department has been regigged ( read pay scales lowered) and it was a case of take it or leave it .When you have a mortgage and 7 mouths to feed you put up and shut up in this day and age .So anything I can do to help out I do.even if its buying extra bits of groceries for the kids.I bake cakes and biscuits for them and when buying veggie will always throw any extra bargains their way .Luckily the kids are brilliant and will eat almost anything including veg.I think I budget very well and this month has been exceptional as I have been shopping from my freezer and so buying only dire essentials and nothing else. Its possible to be quite inventive with food if you have the time and or inclination.I hate waste of any description so rarely does anything get binned in my house ,certainly not if its edible.I amke all my own soup and use that to extend my meals in the evening or as a ligght lunch at mid-day.I buy a big pot of natual yoghurt and portion it out during the week and flavour with foraged blackberries or recently some stewed apple from windfalls that I had been given .I peeled and stewed two huge bags of apples last week and ended up with 8 boxes of stewed fruit in the freezer.great for crumble,pies or just on its own with a dollop of custard.if I have a soup starter then I don't need a pudding andif I have pud then soup gets the heave ho.meat in smaller portions that normal but the meal extended with veg will stretch a meal,and oats or lentils will pad out a pound of minced beef very well along with chopped carrots and a few diced onions.I like to think even with say a can of sardines or tuna how can I turn one meal into two and it is possible .a small tin of tuna mixed with a dollop of mayo and a small tin of sweetcorn will make a salad one day and the remains in a jacket spud for the next day.
Well I'm off to have some porridge for breakfast and a cuppa and that will take me through until lunch.That will be probably an ommeltte and a pice of fruit and dinner tonight is left over chicken casserole with left over broccoli and left over apple crumble from yesterday
have a frugal and fruitful day everyone
JackieO xx

thank you, its brilliant that we have such common sense on here, as we have 2 reasonable hols a year and will cut back as much as we can in year to help pay for it, not mean just sensible x

tiff

We are struggling as in finding it very tough to live within our means. I've been on this forum for years and do a lot of what has been mentioned on this thread. I think more people sell things now rather than give/throw them away and more people buy secondhand rather than new.

My friends offer me clothes their children have finished with. We have just got our fireplace working and told everyone we know. This has resulted in being offered wood from a roofing job and some offered on freecycle. I think this is the way things will go, swap with friends, do favours etc

WeegieWumman

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that there aren't quite so many quality second-hand goods being sold in the car boot sales and charity shops? Also, at the car boot sales, there used to be an abundance of electric cookware etc. still in their original boxes.
People must be holding onto their belongings rather than changing them at every opportunity.

Cat501

quintwins wrote: »

it's basicially peeled studs

Wouldn't mind a peeled stud myself for winter.....:D

ets - never normally take notice of typos but sometimes they just work out brilliantly....mine never do though!

prepareathome

WeegieWumman wrote: »

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that there aren't quite so many quality second-hand goods being sold in the car boot sales and charity shops? Also, at the car boot sales, there used to be an abundance of electric cookware etc. still in their original boxes.
People must be holding onto their belongings rather than changing them at every opportunity.

I have noticed that and also people freecycling less, plenty of wanted requests but about half the offered posts there were a year ago

andrewi

i have never had a starbucks or any other expensive coffee as i feel they are a rip off and am perfectly capable of waiting till i get home to have a drink.....[/QUOTE]

If we all thought like you then we would not as a country or a person be in debt.

queenie68

hi everyone i have been reading this thread from the start and it's great we have always been pretty frugal but even more so now i did at one point get dragged into the jones road and got sky put in but have cancelled it and it finishes on 2nd december that will save us a good £42 a month:eek: can't belive we paid it and hubby has picked me up a blu-ray player in the sales for christmas for £70 and it is able to connect to the internet so will be able to start watching the iplayer and other channels download programmes:j

i have managed to stretch one pack of mince into 3 different dinners with lentils and oats added my hubby was amazed at that one and when i went to sainsbugs i came home after paying only £16 i was very chuffed
we have always cooked from scratch so it's just a case of stretching it further
the heating has been on all summer BUT thats because my hubby has been having chemo and radiotherapy and just can't get warm at all bless him he has done so well i am dead proud of him and he has just had his 6 week check and all clear now :beer: so it's just every 6 weeks for a while so fingers crossed all will go well

we are having a quiet christmas and i always put money aside over the year for it and have only got a couple of presents left to get and next year we will be cutting back on who we buy for

anyway thanks for all the great advice everyone gives on here i will be watching and reading everyday to pick up lots more tips and ideas

WartimeScrapingofMarmite

queenie68 wrote: »

the heating has been on all summer BUT thats because my hubby has been having chemo and radiotherapy and just can't get warm at all bless him he has done so well i am dead proud of him and he has just had his 6 week check and all clear now :beer: so it's just every 6 weeks for a while so fingers crossed all will go well

I will keep everything crossed for him

Wish I could stretch mince as far as you have managed to, queenie!

queenie68

WartimeScrapingofMarmite wrote: »

I will keep everything crossed for him

Wish I could stretch mince as far as you have managed to, queenie!

thanks for that it was my first try adding the oats and lentils and my slow cooker looked fit to burst by the time they had all puffed up i kept looking at my hubby for any face pulling but he loved it and so did my son and his lovely girlfriend so i was chuffed to bit and tubbed the rest up to the freezer and the dog got to lick my plate clean we really should stop spoiling the dog :rotfl: