Breadline Families - Make Stuff Go Further Tips

sooz

Loads of places offer annual prices for the price of single entry, especially if you fill in the gift aid form.

But if you are struggling to feed the family ( on chips shop chips, or a big bag of potatoes) paying for a day out may be somewhat low down on the list of priorities.

Cyril

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

Just went to Marine Aquarium plymouth - got free re-admittance for a year for all the kids listed on our registration form! Hope this helps some poor Mum who is maybe managing to afford to get down to Cornwall/Devon this summer- maybe they could go twice if was raining or something...

Is this for real.

People who can't get a buggy up the road to a supermarket are now going on holiday ?

SuziQ

I am new to this thread, but just wanted to add something to the post by Ada Doom.

I am a Health VIsitor, and have a fair few asylum seekers on my patch. Whilst officially they can't work and 'have no recourse to public funds' they are given money to live on- on top of having their rent paid for them, so that money given is only for food and clothes. The families I can think about straight away are receiving over £200 a fortnight (these families consist of 1 adult and one or two babies ), have their rent paid fully in a very nice hotel with a large room, clean spacious bathroom and choice of two well stocked kitchens. They are often receiving care packages of nappies and clothes from local charities who ignore the plight of struggling non/asylum seeking familiies. They have more money for food than many of the hardworking but poorly paid families I visit who are often crippled by rent charges, often earning a tiny amount more than allows them to claim any sort of help. I live and work in the expensive south east.

Often these asylum seeking families make very odd choices of how to spend their money, and whilst I try to help them with budgeting etc they often ignore me- and after all, it's 'their' money and they can choose how they spend it!

jellyhead

Spendless wrote: »

LOL. One of our friends once made a cod curry. That was bizarre, imagine that you'd taken the batter off your fish from the chippy and had then plonked it into your Indian takeaway.

I love fish in a curry Our nearest Indian restaurant sells it.

Our local chip shop sells fish and chips on a tray with curry sauce on top. It's similar to the really cheap supermarket curry sauce that's been mentioned and is delish :T

BitterAndTwisted

SuziQ wrote: »

I am a Health Visitor, and have a fair few asylum seekers on my patch. Whilst officially they can't work and 'have no recourse to public funds' they are given money to live on- on top of having their rent paid for them, so that money given is only for food and clothes.

I'm intrigued. I realise this isn't the Benefits Forum and it's none of my bsuiness anyway (other than being one of the people who are providing all these "public funds" that seem to be being p!ssed away) BUT if they are having their rent paid for them and are then getting £200 a fortnight where is all this money coming from if not the public purse? Or is it just not from the funds in the very-large-but-emptying-fast biscuit tin labelled "social security" or whatever euphemism they are currently using?

NewCustomerOnly

SuziQ wrote: »

I am new to this thread, but just wanted to add something to the post by Ada Doom.

I am a Health VIsitor, and have a fair few asylum seekers on my patch. Whilst officially they can't work and 'have no recourse to public funds' they are given money to live on- on top of having their rent paid for them, so that money given is only for food and clothes. The families I can think about straight away are receiving over £200 a fortnight (these families consist of 1 adult and one or two babies ), have their rent paid fully in a very nice hotel with a large room, clean spacious bathroom and choice of two well stocked kitchens. They are often receiving care packages of nappies and clothes from local charities who ignore the plight of struggling non/asylum seeking familiies. They have more money for food than many of the hardworking but poorly paid families I visit who are often crippled by rent charges, often earning a tiny amount more than allows them to claim any sort of help. I live and work in the expensive south east.

Often these asylum seeking families make very odd choices of how to spend their money, and whilst I try to help them with budgeting etc they often ignore me- and after all, it's 'their' money and they can choose how they spend it!

Yes I really feel for those poorly paid dads and mums fighting to keep afloat and do the best by their kids - No-one minds economising for the good of the nation but only if everyone's doing it ie not like the millionaire cabinet telling everyone else to work harder and make their kids go without whilst their own families lead glitzy lifestyles and jet off for hols - I wonder where Dave and Nick are taking their kids this year?

Anyway, I thought I would post what we had yesterday (really tasty if a bit of a blast from the past) - useful when the kids are bored of good old nutritious healthy mash :

Leek and bacon potato cakes - use a little smoked bacon if you can stretch to it, fry some leeks ,mash them up a bit, add your mash, make into patties by dusting with flour - and then fry - there were none left!

StudioBeau

*max* wrote: »

Jam sandwich, crisps, raisins...that is all processed sugar/carbs and fat. Zero protein. It isn't very healthy to have everyday, and it wouldn't keep you going all afternoon.

It would be better to have something like couscous or rice salad with pulses and some peas/sweetcorn and lettuce leaves, which wouldn't be much more expensive IMO.

I did say that there was over £1.20 left at the end of the day to bulk out the meals with salad/fruit/meat/healthier snacks. So add in wafer thin chicken instead of jam, swap raisins for apples, etc. I was only doing it as cheaply as possible for what is 1. quick to do and 2. easy to find in supermarkets.

A rice salad is fine for adults, but kids never want to be different, if everyone elses packed lunch is sandwich, fruit, little pack of crisps, etc then you are going to want that too.

megan01

OP, if you are adamant on giving your kids crap food, can you at least make healthy versions? Why not bake your own crisps? Slice them up,and then get the kids to cover them in their favourite flavour.. salt and vinegar, paprika, worcester sauce etc. Healthier and its a bit of fun for them. If you bought a bag of potatoes for a £1 and did that, it would last ages.

ska_lover

megan01 wrote: »

OP, if you are adamant on giving your kids crap food, can you at least make healthy versions? Why not bake your own crisps? Slice them up,and then get the kids to cover them in their favourite flavour.. salt and vinegar, paprika, worcester sauce etc. Healthier and its a bit of fun for them. If you bought a bag of potatoes for a £1 and did that, it would last ages.

How rude.

Not everyone has the time to do this kind of stuff - if they are working full time and running a home. Some parents would actually prefer to spend time with their kids, rather than trying to impress strangers on a forum by being mother of the year and baking their own crisps. Kids hate being different, bake then crisps and they will get the p1ss taken out of them at school.....Fact.......Now, if you want to set your kids up for being bullied, feel free....

Birdy12

Please don't post on this thread anymore. It just bumps it up and, if the OP sees it, it'll remind her to post more of her patronising drivel.

Sometimes I don't know what's worse, the OP or the other people who post on the this thread all aiming to see if they can beat everyone with their parenting skills. Crisps in a bag? How dare you. I spend hours making mine from scratch. Raisins? Dreadful things, all full of fat and sugar, my child has nothing but organic melon, personally picked by the melon grower himself.

Give it a rest.

Edit - rant over.