A Thread for After Debt?

rising_from_the_ashes

QueenB do you have a market anywhere near you?

I went to the one up the road a couple of weeks ago & got a net (12.5kg) of gorgeous swede (approx 16 in the bag) for £3.50 - they're about £1 each in the sm!

Also had huge sacks of spuds, carrots etc.

QueenB.

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Veg curry must be cheaper then chicken curry

I went through a phase of having vegetarian twice a week... and I found it can get quite boring if you want to keep it cheap. And you need a balance!

Do you do Soup and Pudding night???

Have you tried those veg boxes??? They are yummy!

Is that a night where you just have soup and pudding? It can be difficult keeping food cheap, exciting and balanced but i will be using my slow cooker more this year and any leftovers are usually kept for school/work lunches, frozen or kept for leftover night. I think i need to try and work on portion sizes, which will help with my wieght loss:) I watched the christmas superscrmpers programme(with my household planner book and a pen:D) and they suggested that you should keep a record of what groceries you buy regulary and and that way you can keep an eye on rising prices so i am going to try that this year.

We do have a weekly market and now i have more time i will have to check it out for bargains.

rising_from_the_ashes

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

I did this, and in a year saved £100 and spent it on a Bread Machine It's very time consuming so I've had to stop what with the baby coming. You see if I bought 10 weeks of loo roll, then I would take the cost I used to pay for loo roll out of my budget every week for 10 weeks. therefore spending £15 and then putting £25 back into the pot!

Hoping it'll help - I switched the pets to an annual budget midway through last yet and put a set amount away into a pot each month. 'Cos I've had the money there when the offers have been on, I've been able to bulk buy to take advantage of them and it's hugely lowered their costs:D

It is time consuming tho' - I pay everything on the cc and it does take a while to add up all the amounts that I need to transfer back from the various pots ... but if it works - it's worth it!:)

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Could you do this again just to build up savings for a small time?? That way you might feel better x

mmmmm thinking about it - if I could get a few hours / week at the sm that would be great (and staff discount;)).

I'm reluctant tho' as I'm enjoying a much better work/life balance now! (was doing 37 hours f/t, 15-20 p/t & going to college 2 nights a week & coursework - I'm knackered;))

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

That's what i've been doing today!!! Are you nesting too???

Only for a dog ......

Any twinges yet?:)

JulieGeorgiana

QueenB. wrote: »

Is that a night where you just have soup and pudding? It can be difficult keeping food cheap, exciting and balanced but i will be using my slow cooker more this year and any leftovers are usually kept for school/work lunches, frozen or kept for leftover night. I think i need to try and work on portion sizes, which will help with my wieght loss:) I watched the christmas superscrmpers programme(with my household planner book and a pen:D) and they suggested that you should keep a record of what groceries you buy regulary and and that way you can keep an eye on rising prices so i am going to try that this year.

We don't have a soup and pudding night... but I read on the boards it's a good way of keeping costs down. You know a cheap night once a week uses leftover veg too!

SC and PC are the most valuable things I own

Portion sizes worked wonders for me (I've lost over 8 stone) and just getting your rice/pasta/potatoes etc etc in the right portion sizes works wonders on waist and budget! If a recipe says 6 people... I will serve it for 6 people... pot the leftovers and freeze as quick as possible!

Then once every few weeks we have a freezer pot luck dinner! Spag bol turned out to be a curry last week

I do that... if something I use a lot is on offer... I bulk buy (up to 8 weeks now to keep it simple)!

JulieGeorgiana

Rising from the ashes i started buying Rabbit Pellets and worming paste (cat deflea and worming) online... and it's saving me 40-50%... and the one I use get's free postage...! Will look it up and add a link in a bit.

I completly understand a work/life balance! It's so important... hence why I am considering working on my bumpy road instead of working p/t

Nope! Roo has been fully engaged 2 weeks now... and nothing! DS was born by now... I feel like i've been pregnant forever!!!!!

EDIT: http://www.vetuk.co.uk/ Free delivery on orders over £19! But then that's easy if you can afford to buy in bulk a little!

rising_from_the_ashes

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Portion sizes worked wonders for me (I've lost over 8 stone) and just getting your rice/pasta/potatoes etc etc in the right portion sizes works wonders on waist and budget! If a recipe says 6 people... I will serve it for 6 people... pot the leftovers and freeze as quick as possible!

I always over estimate portions ..... always do way too much pasta / potatoes / veg - really need to work harder on this!

I've "sorted" the rice as I've found a scoop that just does the right amount but need to find something for the pasta too!

I think my problem with the veg is that a portion for one just looks so pathetic in the pan I add more :rotfl::rotfl:- also the dog always used to get what was left to bulk his dinners out so haven't quite adjusted to that as yet:( - hopefully another will be gracing my home soon:)

Congrats on the weight loss .... that's amazing!:T

QueenB.

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I'm reluctant tho' as I'm enjoying a much better work/life balance now! (was doing 37 hours f/t, 15-20 p/t & going to college 2 nights a week & coursework - I'm knackered;))

Work/life balance is so important. I have not been working for a couple of months now and i can't believe how much happier i feel, i was much more stressed than i realised and my health is slowly improving. I have time for myself, my family and my home which was just not the case before. I am going to use this precious time wisely though so that when i do have to go back to work i can do so from a healthier position.

rising_from_the_ashes

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

EDIT: http://www.vetuk.co.uk/ Free delivery on orders over £19! But then that's easy if you can afford to buy in bulk a little!

Thanks! Will add that to my list to check when I'm looking.

Others I've used & have found good on price & delivery are:

Medicanimal http://www.medicanimal.com/
Viovet http://www.viovet.co.uk/

(There are more - will add them in as I think of them!)

JulieGeorgiana

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I always over estimate portions ..... always do way too much pasta / potatoes / veg - really need to work harder on this!

I've "sorted" the rice as I've found a scoop that just does the right amount but need to find something for the pasta too!

I think my problem with the veg is that a portion for one just looks so pathetic in the pan I add more :rotfl::rotfl:- also the dog always used to get what was left to bulk his dinners out so haven't quite adjusted to that as yet:( - hopefully another will be gracing my home soon:)

Congrats on the weight loss .... that's amazing!:T

I have the knack for portions now:

Rice 75g an Adult (Half for a child)
Pasta 75g an Adult (half for a child)
Potato 1 per person

Now, I eat 50g, DS too... DH 100g! But Leftover Pasta is lovely egg fried for lunch too

I always eat VVCP (Veg, Veg, Carb, Protein) and always cook too much veg... but eat it all anyway

I hope you get a new dog soon, it's so hard to loose a pet.

Thank you, it was over 3 years mind you... and I plan more this year (I had a BMI of 46, it was 31 at my lightest so still some way to go!)

JulieGeorgiana

QueenB. wrote: »

Work/life balance is so important. I have not been working for a couple of months now and i can't believe how much happier i feel, i was much more stressed than i realised and my health is slowly improving. I have time for myself, my family and my home which was just not the case before. I am going to use this precious time wisely though so that when i do have to go back to work i can do so from a healthier position.

When I was made redundant I had 6 weeks off work... and you realise just how much the grind get's you down. Having a work/life balance is what life is all about.

I hope you feel better soon x