HELP! Grocery Budget Shock!

Lillibet_2

lynzpower wrote:

where abouts in Surrey are you lillibet? evening work in call centres are not bad for the money and not as late as say bar work or resturaunts?

Ooh, that's a good idea! I'm near Walton on Thames, wil lahve a look into this? Dose anyone know if call centres usually recruit through recruitment agencies?

catkins

How big is your dog? I have a large dog and I feel him Dr Johns. It is about £10 for a large sack which lasts my dog 6 or 7 weeks. It is not always easy to get but you could try searching on google. My dog also has a sensitive stomach and he is fine with this.

The other thing I would suggest is do you like things like chickpeas, lentils, beans etc? If you buy them dried and not in tins they are pretty cheap. You can make all sorts of meals with them such as lentil bolognaise, chickpea curry, chickpea potato and onion pasties, falafel, veggie shepherds pie etc etc. I can give you more ideas if you are interested or there are plenty of websites to search.

Myself and OH are vegetarian and we live pretty cheaply (probably about £25 to £35 a week but that includes things like wine).

lil_me

Working dog food is vat free, Bakers is full of colourings etc and makes dogs hyper, it's like giving kids skittles. I pay £7 for 15kg of the working dog food. Before using this my dogs stomach was so sensitive he was on regular meds, now he's fine

Bulking out I use the flavoured soya from holland and barrett, was recommended by someone on here can't recommend enough, great for making more out of meals like bolognese, chilli etc.

Lillibet_2

Thanks Catkins, thats another alternative dog food for me to look out for:D.

Unfortualtey hubby has a stomach condition a bit like IBS (but not:rolleyes:), if I were to feed him things like that on a frequent basis then he would be on permanant sick leave!:eek::rolleyes::p But I do bulk out mince with lentils, add kidney beans to stews & casserols etc but I can't go too over the top with anything too fibre-heavy (chick peas are a total no-go....we only have one bathroom & I do need to get in it occasionally!). I also bulk his meals out with potatos, bread etc which are kinder to his stomach;)

MrsTinks

Yes they usually do Some will hire direct (saves the 15% agency fee :eek:) so try to approach them directly too If they don't hire direct they might tell you what agencies they prefer working with

MrsTinks

oh yeah and dog food... do yo uknow anyone with access to Costco? They do a working dog food there that is VAT free... They also do theri own Kirkland brand which when I read the ingredients list is actually better for your dog than most... it has less addatives and "I'm pretending to be meat" products and more pure ingredients. And it's cheap! Looks awfully dull but my dog loves it Also try and avoid treats unless they are natural, like dried liver or tripe or even pigs ear etc...

change the dog over gradually so 1/4 new food on day 1, day 2 do 1/2 new 1/2 old and if at any point he is getting an upset tummy then leave it at that ratio for another day or two till he stabilises

lil_me

If you know anyone with grey hounds etc they will know where to get working dog food. I am lucky as I found the lady who supplies our local pet stores with it so I buy from her (local garage sells it for double what I pay!)

Good luck with the job hunting, have you tried https://www.fish4jobs.co.uk ?

mikeD

Dog with dicky tum eh! Are you sure it is his/her tum and not some other reason such as liver or kidneys. If you haven't checked with your vet then please do, that way you will get professional advice for any special diet.

Bargain_Rzl

Just one more thing - what brand of disposable nappies are you using, and where are you buying them? Obviously I have no experience of this myself, but perhaps if you mention the brand, somebody will come on and suggest an alternative brand/source with a similar fit/quality for cheaper.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

is your dog a working breed of dog... or does he work...?

as working dog food has a higher protein level for active dogs.....

so if he's not actually 'working' there is no need to have the higher protein food......or if you do want to stick to a higher protein food.... why dont you try a sack of supa greyhound dry food.....it was quite cheap......and a good food as well

supa do a range of dry dog food...... i think they do chicken and rice...... lamb and rice..... a working dog food..... and a greyhound food...... we used to sell a fair bit of it when we had the shop........15kg bags.....might be worth you having a look in the yell pages.. under pet shops.... and agricutural merchants..... as the later.... normally stocks the working dog food.....

good luck with the budgeting.... until last week we had £35. per week to pay for electric.. food....petrol etc.... so if i did have a good week on ebay.... the credit card was used......

but now we have remortgaed.... we have £120... plus what ever i get off ebay.... still trying to find a job...as well....