Village living on a budget what NO ALDI!

jackyann

Toddler does not necessarily need to go to "all classes" - walking out in the countryside, watching things, wandering about the village, talking to people of all ages - all good stuff. Things you think really important (for me, it was swimming) team up with another mum and share cars if poss. I carried all my children in a back pack so we could walk over the fields.
This was how I did things: monthly run to Kwik Save (this was 20-30 years ago!) buy meat from a local butcher for the freezer - share with someone else if possible - market trip (same day as swimming) for fruit & veg, swops with neighbours for some stuff, bought eggs at the farm. A group of us also got together for a 3 monthly run to a wholefood co-operative.
As someone who has lived in villages all her life (except 5 years) I would say, don't just drive out of the village - look at what is there, join in; you will meet lost of people and make a network that will sustain you in many ways.
Good luck!

suki1964

I live miles away in the country and after living in the big smoke all my life - big shock

I dont do the packed freezer bit after losing the power for over a week and throwing the whole lot out. However I do have a good supply cupboard with tins and dried food

Also a good supply of battery and windup lighting - torches, lanterns and sensor lights for the hallways and stairs. Wind up radio and plug in phone a must. Alternative cooking and heating methods also needed - we have multifuel stoves for heat and water, a camping stove for cooking as well as a gas BBQ with rings

Shopping is done locally. Its no dearer then the supermarkets and you save on petrol. Eggs and veg bought from the side of the road - for pennies compared to Mr T. The butchers is always cheaper - he rounds down his prices Even the petrol station sells bread ( named ) cheaper the the supermarkets. Going into town is planned. If I want the big supermarket or Marks then its an hour round trip so the doctors, dentist, bank etc is also done the same time

Actually I think I spend a lot less money on food now because there is no impulse buying nor is there any home delivery on take out - and a 30 min dive with a curry in the car happens once before you realise its just not worth the hassle

property.advert

Just bought around 100 Plenty big rolls and 200 Velvet triple toilet rolls from Costco. Circa £3 Sanex shower gel bought from Superdrug online with about a 60% saving and then 10% back from Topcashback.co.uk - got 96 of those. Johnson & Johnson baby stuff usually around the £3 mark all bought in half price or better in volumes into the hundreds. Toothpaste and mouthwash also reduced by more than 50% - easy to pick up 30 or 40. Facewash usually around £5 but down to £3 in Asda so bought 50 of those.

I guess that saves about £5 to £10 a week and means no dragging the stuff back from the shops in dribs and drabs.

Do the same with food and freeze it. Yesterday picked up chicken breasts at just over £5 a kilo in Sainsburys. Bacon came from Costo and is a third of the supermarket price when bought in catering volumes (actually not that big). Had 2 pizzas and 2 salads from Sainsburys for £5 last night. Buy rice in 30kg sacks (we use it every day).

I once worked it out that it cost about half on average of what it would have otherwise cost, just buying it as you go along.

If funds are short, it is difficult I know but you have to put back into the kitty the savings and not spend them or you defeat the purpose and there is nothing left to replace your stock.

mardatha

Find out if there's powercuts before you fill the freezer - some places will be fine but some have frequent cuts in bad weather. Our longest was 4 days I think.

Gloomendoom

A back-up generator is a good idea if you have frequent power cuts. It doesn't need to be big, just enough to run the freezers. Until recently, the village we live in used to get frequent power cuts and many people, including us, have generators. I also have a rather impressive collection of oil lamps.

I use 12v batteries with an inverter to run the broadband router and computers. I don't trust the generator supply to be stable enough for sensitive electronics.

brunettegirl

how do I find out if they suffer powercuts?

Emmzi

brunettegirl wrote: »

how do I find out if they suffer powercuts?

by asking the neighbours?

grey_lady

Ask your neighbour if the power goes off in winter, also ask if the pipes freeze, if they do (and your not on a meter) then its worth leaving a tap running if it snows.

Are you getting gas or heating oil or all eletric?

brunettegirl

its oil central heating -
not sure where my nearest neighbours are yet but Im sure we will find them when we go exploring once we move in

grey_lady

Oil is very pricey in winter, the colder it gets the more the prices go up have you had it before?