A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

icontinuetodream

put my leccy reading in this week and got my first proper bill in 9 months.....OMG:eek::eek::eek:

Think I need to start to see in the dark!!! Can't believe how much we all spend just on keeping a warm roof over our heads and food on the table......:(

Will be having stern words with all of the household.....got up this morning at about 4.30am to find that the lights had been left on :mad:

rosieben

Hester, I've added your Cheesy Cauliflower recipe to the Grocery Challenge recipe list :beer:

prepareathome

I have just had a bath with pine smelling bath foam and I never even knew it was pine smelling - in summer Mr S was selling their basics foam bath for 10p a litre bottle. As hubby loves bubbles in his bath but washes with soap the price was right and I bought a dozen bottles but till today have never used it myself. Decided I was in a mood for bubbles, the inner child yearning to get out and make me forget reality maybe lol. Lying back in it thought I recognise this smell and realised its pine. Does make nice firm foam, but as to getting you clean I wouldn't know I had epsum salts in it as I love how that makes me feels, sooooooooooo clean. Its thick and gloopy, thicker than a lot of the dearer bath foams are so for 10p it was worth it, not sure what the correct price is or if indeed they still sell it. I think we have 5 bottles left so will use it in other baths as I loved the smell. So there you go all this talk of pine smelling bath foam and I had some although not one that is sold in a glass bottle, all the time

decogecko

Hi all

Been reading but not found any bargains, can't join in the FB pie statsh as I'm veggie!

However I'm now thinking I need to start stockpiling certain tinned produce (chopped toms, beans), I have already bulk pasta Mr T value pasta after it went up from 18p to 25p within a week (was in there this morning and there was none left!)

prepareathome - employment law has changed, it can no longer be last in, first out in regards to your DH 's employers redunancy plans. HTH

x

prepareathome

GreyQueen wrote: »

PS deeply envious of this 10p bath product. Most excellent thrifting, that person (bows).

Just checked Mr S online and they only have the usual bath foam I bought not the basics at the moment. I find with their basics range they do a thing for a while then stop and then do something else then stop then bring back the first thing again. If you keep your eyes peeled in there though they sell usually one item for 10p in the food - usually their basics stock cubes, so I stock up when I see it, cheaper than making my own, as for a few weeks it will be chicken, then say beef, then veg, then all at 80+ for a week or so then one will be back to 10p. Also they will have one bathroom product for 10p - I have a stock not only of the bath foam, but shower gel, hand gel, shampoo and conditioner, all basics and all good stuff and all bought at 10p. You will usually find them on bottom shelf and if your store has columns like mine they will be tucked behind the column, you need to be a contortionist sometimes, but its times like that, that a crutch comes in very handy, same for when they put the 10p things on a top shelf - usually the food items like stockcubes, but have got some stuffing in store, curry sauce that was 9p ( sadly only one jar left), sweet and sour sauce, washing up liquid, soap powder ( bought it for emergencies, plain ordinary hand washing soap that is a really good quality and cannot remember what else. Its roulette as to what might be 10p on any given day and they do not always have anything at that price, but more often than not they do, you just have to search. At moment their tins of potatoes and lovely potatoes, basics for big tin are 20p - one tin does hubby and me. So at moment have about 30 tins in but want more. I have done everything with them even made chips, they just cook that much quicker as they are already cooked, but for mash we need two tins. Their instant mash has sadly gone up to 39p a pack but far cheaper and nicer than brand name and cheap enough for mash. We get two portions each out of it.

Jeepers you would think I have shares in the shop, but its just I only like value range ( basics as MR S calls it) in there, cannot stand any other SM value range unless its vegetables, but never see potatoes so cheap anywhere else.

So I am a snob I love Mr S and when I have compared what I buy on mysupermarket I have never found any of the others cheaper and that is a fact. Not saying years ago they were not dearer but not any more. I do not buy all my shopping there, we have a new shop called Cool Trader that is similar to Farm foods but cheaper for veg, meat and fish on the whole but less selection, we have a Farm Foods so can compare, and then B&M is great for end of lines in tins and noticed the other day when we did pop to Mr A for some things ( non food) that Wickes had closed down and B&M has opened there, so itching to go there as hoping they will have even more selection of tins. Couldn't go then as had been to a butchers nearby and had 6Lbs of brisket and some beef sausages in the boot and didn't want it going off, asda was an in and out shop as only wanted one thing. Snag with B&M is as they buy up end of lines what they have out is all they have got so if you do not have the money that day to stock up, chances are you go back the next week and its gone. Might be end of lines but BBD is usually a year or two away.

With petrol being the price it is I don't feel its worth going from one sm to another for just the odd item of food. Mr S is top of the hill ( we live at bottom half a mile from it) and other shops in a very small shopping centre a mile away, with a MR M now built in part of the car park but rarely go in, but Mr A and butchers 3 miles away and in opposite direction so only go that way when we want something from both, also a aquarium shop there where we buy plants for our one ginormousness(spl) gold fish, these he eats in about a month, tried buying more to last longer but poor fishy ( his name) had no room to swim round in his tank and blocked the filter.

I am so jealous of all these stocks of FB pies and me with only 4, can't go shopping till next week so hope to rectify that then. In shopping center there is a 99p, Poundland and HB so plenty of choice for the pies I hope, oh and an Iceland.

Right now I have written a full description of whats available shopping wise in my area ( think I could get a job advertising the area :rotfl:) I better stop boring you all. Want to have a little doze, pulled an all nighter again - in English I couldn't sleep so was up all night and so been up 29hrs so far, hubby out at a bowls comp so won;t be in till about 7 at earliest and think I will just throw a spag bol together for him . So blame my monologue on lack of sleep, but I can chat and chat and chat any time, any place.:A

Sun shining again, but since 6am we have had high winds heavy rain, dry, repeat only add in sun shining once it came up at just after 8am, the repeat again.


Have a good day folks, stay warm and dry..........

westcoastscot

Hi guys,

Ben outside tidying in the garden in a hail storm - have almost chopped up the dismantled compost heap wood for kindling - just need to dry it out. We don't let the stove out but sometimes it needs resurrecting in the mornings, especially in the summer when we keep it low.
Was at the shops and the prices are shocking - wanted a butternut squash for soup - £1.79 for a small one! and wee oranges are 20p each! bought the oranges, but left the squash - shall have to try and grow some but our growing season is so short - maybe I can stock up on them when in the city? they should keep awhile in the shed.
Don't eat tinned pies, as one of us has a dairy/egg allergy, but always have dried/tins in store to keep us going when deliveries don't get through - the rest and be thankful is closed at the moment due to another landslip - it adds about 80 miles onto the journey one way for deliveries coming into the peninsular, and always affects what's available. Some suppliers to the smaller shops just cannot afford the extra mileage and don't deliver - we don't have big supermarkets here except a small co-op and petrol station tesco.
Right, off to make soup and bake, once i've had a cup of tea and dried off. I have winter tea just now from Braithwaites in Dundee - its lovely and christmassy
WCS

lizzyb1812

GreyQueen wrote: »

So I got some in Iceland, too.:o Hey, one pie does me two meals and they're in date til Nov 2013 and are less than half their RRP of £2.19. I shall be stashing them under the bed, in careful stock rotation, naturally. Can't get a return like that on my savings.

That's exactly why I've stocked up on lots of stuff. I used to think that there were always bargains and offers so stocking up was pointless. But with food price inflation so bad I've changed my mind especially re things that have far off expiry dates - you can get an awful lot of tomato puree in a very small space you know

Bigjenny

GreyQueen

How do you re-heat the other half of the FB pie for the second meal please.

Thanks

Jenny

VJsmum

Well my foray into the farm shop was an absolute triumph (darling!). Mahoooosive sprout stalk for 95p, similarly massive cauli for 75p, and fruit and other veg. In total i spent £11 but bought far more than my veg box would have given me for £15! Admittedly it isn't organic and not all comes from that farm, but a fair amount of the veggies do, and the apples and pears were english. Well pleased with that.

Hubby's choir stint tonight requires him to don a penguin suit which he only thought to check this morning - MOULDY! :eek::eek:

It's dry clean only so we shoved it in the machine anyway at 40 degrees and it has all come out - :T. It is hanging by the hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard trying to dry in time - he may be in a rather damp, but clean and mould free suit :rotfl: He then admitted that in tidying up said cupboard last week, he pulled out a couple of shirts that were mouldy, but still didn't think to check :huh::doh::wall:

Off to Mr S in a mo with a £9 off a £60 shop voucher, however DD (15) wants to come so i rather think the £9 will get spent anyway :rotfl:

CRANKY40

Every now and then I wonder if I'm qualified to post on here.....as the proud owner of a brabantia tin opener that must be at least 20 years old, and a stash of FB pies and tinned tomatoes (not as old as the tin opener) I realise that I am.

I was toying with the idea of sending my dad a christmas hamper. He lives in London and is known as "Ebeneezer" to my sister and I around this time of year. I had a look at the M&S site and nearly passed out at the amount of things that you don't get for £75. I have placed an order with Asda that should see him and his long suffering girlfriend stocked up for a fair while with tins. Neither of them drive, they live a few hundred miles away from me and my sister lives in Ireland and "Ebo" has a dodgy knee, so carrying a load of shopping home isn't really their thing. I am also lucky in that I don't have many people to buy for, so I can manage this ok.

I've spent £75 which seems a lot, but it includes a tin of Roses for his poor girlfriend (quite how she puts up with him we're not sure. He wanted her to have the phone taken out and use the phonebox over the road a few years back) and a couple of bottles of wine. It means that regardless of the weather my sister and I can sit back and not worry about them trying to get out for shopping etc.

My sister rang him to tell him to stay in for the delivery.....his response was " what's she done that for". I nearly bought him a hat that said "Bah humbug" to post to him :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: