Keeping up appearances.......

Newbeginnings

Hi Happynow

I've been reading your diary for the past half hour, giggling away at some of your money saving antics, thinking how alike both our circumstances are. I've just started my own journey and have found reading others diaries really useful. Like you, I'm thinking of little else at the moment and need to be careful I dont wish my life away to the debt free date some 5 years from now. Its amazing how much I have frittered away over the years without even realising it. I now have a monthly budget to work with giving a little headroom for treats and a plan to be debt free all thanks to this site and the snowball calculator. Have you plugged your debts into that to find out your debt free date yet?

Oh...one other thing...see that people "subscribe". I'm new to posting, so could someone explain how I do this please? Cheers

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Hi NB

Find the second green bar at the top of the page just below the blue post reply button. Click thread tools and then subscribe.

Hope that helps.

HHx

HappyNow

Hopeful1 wrote: »

Definitely look into the slow cooker. I'd be lost without mine. Do you use meat sunstitutes like Quorn etc? I'm guessing you'd follow the same recipes if you do? I do stews, chilli, bolognaise etc. I purely cooked veg in it yesterday with some stock. I'll seperate it out into meals now. Tomorrow i'll add a little spice for the eldest and prob a bit of sausage. Other portions I'll blend to use as sauces or mash a little for the youngest. Once they create a slow cooker that peels and chops i'll be well away

Thanks Hopeful1 We do use Quorn etc although they only tend to need 15 or so minutes cooking, not like meat. I suppose I could just add them to the slowcooker closer to the end of the cooking time. I make loads of lentil chilli etc which take ages to cook, so I'm sure it would be good for that sort of thing.

poohbear59 wrote: »

Well done on reducing your shopping budget so much.:j:j:j:j It is a big change. It is probably impossible to buy dog and cat food and all toiletries in your budget so £150 is much more realistic.

Happy, I was having a look at your shopping and have some ideas.
1. You have to meal plan and stick to it. Are you planning lunches too.
2. If you have something in fridge or cupboard earmarked for a meal you might need to either label it (a bit student like) or hide it. I have to hide cheese behind things in the fridge.
3. Think about buying a piece or uncooked ham or gammon to use sliced for meals and for packed lunches (I have bought myself an electric slicer now and it makes all meat go further)
4. Never go with DH!!! Although I like mine to come with me to do lifting carrying etc. it guarantees we will spend more.
5. Take a list but you can pick up proper bargains eg knock down prices but only if you will definitely use it and not to sit in the freezer because it was a bargain I had lots of those when I started off.
6. Ask for a slow cooker on Freecycle or Freegle whichever you have in your area. It means tasty but cheap food. Cook a chicken in it and you can use every tiny piece of meat then make a soup or broth in the stock.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/343009



Sorry I don't know how to do fancy links, thi one is Ham economics.

Thanks for that Poohbear . I'm a vegetarian - Mr Happy (and Master Happy when he's home from uni) eats meat so I buy pre-packed meat for his lunches etc but I don't cook it. He mostly eats vegetarian food, as that's all that's on offer!! That's why I'm not 100% sure if I'd get the use out of a slow cooker. And yes, I am even planning the lunches nowadays - that's a very new thing though since I bust the budget! Mr Happy has set off to work with a gorgeous lunch of leftover roast vegetables and couscous, and I will be having the same.

I already hide things! Cheese is a favourite for disappearing so I tuck that behind 'boring' things like vegetables, but it's mainly chocolate, sweets, biscuits, puddings etc that I hide in all sorts of unlikely places where no-one else ever goes (sock drawer, top of wardrobes etc!!). I DO NOT SHARE CHOCOLATE!! I'm definitely going to increase my grocery budget for February as otherwise I'm setting myself up to fail again, butthe £100 experiment has really helped me guage just what things cost and realistically what we can get away with.

HappyNow

Newbeginnings wrote: »

Hi Happynow

I've been reading your diary for the past half hour, giggling away at some of your money saving antics, thinking how alike both our circumstances are. I've just started my own journey and have found reading others diaries really useful. Like you, I'm thinking of little else at the moment and need to be careful I dont wish my life away to the debt free date some 5 years from now. Its amazing how much I have frittered away over the years without even realising it. I now have a monthly budget to work with giving a little headroom for treats and a plan to be debt free all thanks to this site and the snowball calculator. Have you plugged your debts into that to find out your debt free date yet?

Oh...one other thing...see that people "subscribe". I'm new to posting, so could someone explain how I do this please? Cheers

Hello Newbeginnings, thanks for reading, and welcome to MSE. I'm quite new myself and I cannot tell you how much this site has helped me.

I recognise what you say about not wishing your life away until you're debt free. Have you read Ploddingon's post a few entries up? If your debt-free date is five years away then you are in it for the long-haul like me, and we do need to get the balance right.

Yes I did use the snowball calculator but it went a bit wrong! I spent ages putting in all my debts, but when I tried to Save it, it told me I wasn't logged in. So I logged in, but then all my calculations disappeared! Before it disappeared I saw that my debt-free date is April 2019 so I have plenty of time to re-enter it!!

You sound to have made some good changes already . I would definitely recommend starting your own diary. It really helps to know there are people taking an interest, offering support and advice - it kind of makes the whole journey more fun and less solitary.

I see HH has explained how to subscribe to a thread - I really struggled with that at first so if you have any problems give us a shout! x

PinotGrigio41

So good to see somebody else had problems with the blasted snowball calculator ! i think it went into panic mode and blew up when I attempted to enter our debts. I havent dared venture back since !

Good to see you are still doing so well. Hopefully I will see you over on the Grocery Challenge this month !

Pinot x

brizzledfw

Hi all and especially Happy:D

Re the meal planning and slow cookers.. We are finding it really useful especially as food and grocery shopping is my downfall.. And I would really advise you do the same. Planning helps you to take advantage of cheaper seasonal food and I am, for example, now planning 4 meat free dinners a week as I realise over the years we have been eating more and more which is no good for our health, environment or wallets :rotfl:

I have a kidney bean and veggie stew in the SC at the moment. Enough for 2-3 meals over the week. Sometimes can be bland so go heavy with the seasoning and be prepared to thicken liquid up afterwards with flour or else just pour some away. True it is probably better for meat but it's fine for veggies too!! Some ideas for recipes on the Old Style thread here as well as on the tinternet generally.


Cheers

Brizzle

poohbear59

Happy, sorry I didn't think about you being vegetarian because you mentioned ham for DH. I just made a presumption.

I was veggie but now am quite lazy and frugal about it. For example I sometimes make meat stews and just eat the vegetables and potatoes. It is hardly veggie as the vegetables are cooked in the slow cooker with the meat. We have non meat meals for the whole family at least 3 times a week.

Like brizzled I do vegetables and bean stews in the slow cooker. I also buy my beans dried and have a day every couple of months cooking them. The house stinks!! You need plenty of large bowls to let all the beans soak overnight. I then pressure cook all the beans before allowing to cool then bagging up and freezing. It may be a long process but saves a massive amount of money in the long run.

HappyNow

PinotGrigio41 wrote: »

So good to see somebody else had problems with the blasted snowball calculator ! i think it went into panic mode and blew up when I attempted to enter our debts. I havent dared venture back since !

Good to see you are still doing so well. Hopefully I will see you over on the Grocery Challenge this month !

Pinot x

I've just gone all 'stalky' and checked the grocery figure on your soa! I hope you're aiming for less than that next month ! Seriously, I know that was your DMP figure rather than real life (or at least your current real life ). I'm loving the Grocery Challenge despite my spectacular fail this month - it really focuses the mind! I'll probably still do it now even if/when I win the lottery! And yes, the snowball blew a fuse at my debts too - it probably thought I was joking!

HappyNow

brizzledfw wrote: »

Hi all and especially Happy:D

Re the meal planning and slow cookers.. We are finding it really useful especially as food and grocery shopping is my downfall.. And I would really advise you do the same. Planning helps you to take advantage of cheaper seasonal food and I am, for example, now planning 4 meat free dinners a week as I realise over the years we have been eating more and more which is no good for our health, environment or wallets :rotfl:

I have a kidney bean and veggie stew in the SC at the moment. Enough for 2-3 meals over the week. Sometimes can be bland so go heavy with the seasoning and be prepared to thicken liquid up afterwards with flour or else just pour some away. True it is probably better for meat but it's fine for veggies too!! Some ideas for recipes on the Old Style thread here as well as on the tinternet generally.

Cheers

Brizzle

Hi Brizzle . I think a slow cooker is definitely the way to go. I've been researching them online and lots of veggie people swear by them. HH says they've got them for £12.50 in Tesco at the moment, which is cheaper than any in Argos and Currys etc. Just hope the offer is still on when payday comes round (15th). Or better still, if Tessies do one of their double-up voucher promotions, which usually include small electricals. Wow, listen at me - MSE or wot!

HappyNow

poohbear59 wrote: »

Happy, sorry I didn't think about you being vegetarian because you mentioned ham for DH. I just made a presumption.

I was veggie but now am quite lazy and frugal about it. For example I sometimes make meat stews and just eat the vegetables and potatoes. It is hardly veggie as the vegetables are cooked in the slow cooker with the meat. We have non meat meals for the whole family at least 3 times a week.

Like brizzled I do vegetables and bean stews in the slow cooker. I also buy my beans dried and have a day every couple of months cooking them. The house stinks!! You need plenty of large bowls to let all the beans soak overnight. I then pressure cook all the beans before allowing to cool then bagging up and freezing. It may be a long process but saves a massive amount of money in the long run.

I've been veggie for about thirty years now but I'm not 100% strict. For instance I eat chips from the chippie without asking what they've been fried in (or at least 'Old Me' used to - they're really dear!) and I eat vegeburgers from a barbecue where meat was cooked. Ooh, and jelly babies. LOTS and LOTS of jelly babies!

Hmm, never thought of buying dried beans. I will look into that.....