let there be cake

TiredIAm

My first DFW diary, but by no means my first post. I am a long term OS poster, and part of MGs matrix, but can't use my main log on as I don't want my parents to know just how bad things are .

I work part time, we get child benefit, step son contributes £20 a week towards his keep and that is it for income. DH left a job he hated last year to focus on getting our wreck of a house refurbished, and we funded this through savings but these have now run out and he has been looking for a job. Our outgoings are a minimum of £465 a month more than our income - this is before fuel and food. This is mostly because of the monster mortgage - which was absolutely fine when DH was working.

I did all I could last year to reduce our fixed outgoings. This included changing to interest only for 12 months on the mortgage and minimising everything else. None of my few remaining DDs are 'optional' or nice to have so I have to stick with them.

We could get tax credits but we would just have to pay them back when he finds a job so no point. I don't get paid for any overtime so my income is fixed. I work school hours only which is great when DH is working.

Basically we will be fine once DH finds a job but till then I have to manage with what we have, and minimise the debts we generate. Yesterday I used the last of the savings to pay the mortgage so going forward every month we will be more in debt.

Paying the mortgage is critical. We have a clean credit record and I want to keep that if I can. If I really had to then I could borrow from the bank of mum and dad, but at my age this would just be wrong, diddley wrong wrong.

Anyway the point of the diary is to keep track of our discretionary spending. If I have to confess/write it down then it will help to control it

I have lurked (and posted) on the likes of Weezl, D&D, and Memory Girl for long enough. Surely I too can feed us on nothing? 'As long as there is cake' say my boys!

I am feeding three adults and two medium (meat hating) boys. We also have dogs, cats and hens. I have a reasonable store cupboard (born hoarder) and a half full freezer. My aim is to try and cope on the £20 per week contributed by SS. Anything over and above this simply contributes to the debt we will be in from 1st July.

TiredIAm

I am starting with the sensible OS idea of a stock audit.

1. Pet food. Cats/dogs/hens have maybe 6 weeks food in stock. Our butchers do 10lb of minced offal for £3 for pets. Not sure if this is worth trying as a cheap supplement to the dry food? The 4 hens contribute an average of 2 eggs a day. They mostly have layers pellets. Probably should research feeding them chicken mash to eke out the pellets. We have vast quantities of comfrey growing which I think they can have once wilted.

2. Household. Maybe two months worth of most things. Everything is now value/basic. Do any of the big supermarkets still do value/basic baby bath? DS1 is allergic to normal stuff and so am I.

3. Personal spending. This has all but stopped for DH and I. He has stopped smoking, and we are down to the last few bottles of beer for emergencies. Boys are a constant drip for school, I need to find £19 for a trip - this is after a new record of £78 last week to school! I find it very hard to make the boys suffer for our decision.

4. Drinks. We have a fair stock of cordial (basics) which the boys drink. Both have milk at least once a day which needs to continue. I have to educate the adults NOT to drink milk by the pint. I have a tea bag mountain, and maybe a months worth of coffee. Coffee will be the last thing I compromise on. Diet coke addiction is long gone which is good.

TiredIAm

My biggest worry is the boys and making sure they get a balanced diet. They have childrens multi vitamins (and we have two months stock) and milk daily. They have SP orange juice, rasins and carrot sticks as part of their lunch most days, veg with dinner, some fruit as part of breakfast and they snack on bread regularly. Neither likes meat very much - bacon is ok at a push. They like fishfingers and bizarrely chicken nuggets but obviously cannot have those every day, or can they? Protein worries me. DS1 will eat lentils and pulses, DS2 simply will not. We have some chia seed which DS2 is happy to eat, and I have also borrowed the peanuts idea from Weezl and both are happy to eat those. Any suggestions for cheap protein that we can try would be helpful.

helen_jelly

Just wanted to say good luck with - can't help out as I'm only just managing to stay on top of our finances but I'm following you to see what other people say

Good Luck

Helen x

TiredIAm

Thanks HJ, hope you and your lovely husband are ok? We do miss you on Flylady.

Lunch is an experiment, sweet potato and tomato soup for us, with HM bread. The boys won't eat it :roll eyes: They will be having bread, veg sticks and cheese.

I want to make the esential for peace chocolate chip cake but the hens have not obliged yet. A watched hen never lays.

On the subject of hens research says no I can't legally feed them
veg peelings!

helen_jelly

Hi

Dh is doing fine, he's had his hours cut at work and is about to have a 2nd interview for another job so its fingers crossed big time!! The hours cut has hit us to the tune of about £1000 eeeek!!! So alot of belt tightening has been done here but nowhere near as much as you've had to, well done on getting this far with it all.

Helen x

poohbear59

Good luck with your new journey in living frugally. Lots of us have been there and know how hard it is and are behind you all the way.:)

Don't forget the website which was started by weezl.
http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

We lived on it for about four months. Some things my sons loved and some they wouldn't try. They don't eat cakes so we had to come up with other things for them. I used it for me and DH, 3 adult sons and my brother. I was a tester for a lot of the recipes to start off with so ask if you need to.
Favourites were the peanut butter, the liver pate, the rissotto and the bean chilli. Lots of the recipes I was already using before the website was set up.
The Christmas week recipes are fab and still within budget.
We are back on the plan as DH has no work as of today.

You can live on £100 and have a healthy diet. It is designed and has been checked in minute detail to ensure that children and adults get all the nutrients they need. The big test is if your boys and you and DH too like the food.

greenbee

Starting with the basics, can you list what is in your cupboards and freezers, and start putting together a meal plan so you know what you need to buy each week?

As you can't cut cost more, is there anything your OH can do to increase your income in between looking for jobs (given his skills, can he pick up some odd jobs locally or swap labour for food?)

Don't forget to look at some of the budgeting stuff on FW and MGs blogs... MG also has some useful recipes that frequently don't involve meat, so look out for those.

Try to use your break now to set yourself up for the next few months, and good luck with it

Oh... And we used to feed our chickens on scraps and caterpillars from the veg patch. Remember, hens are omnivores...As we weren't selling the eggs it didn't matter. Of course, if they start laying prolifically you may have a problem, but given your current situation the hens will have to make do, and eggs may well be a major source of protein for you (omelettes, tortilla, hard boiled eggs in salad, scrambled/boiled/poached for breakfast or a light meal). If the hens don't oblige you can always use them for protein .

Dogs can also eat scraps but it makes them smelly have a look on the pet boards for ideas on how to cut the cost of feeding them and the cats without them resorting to feeding themselves.

greenbee

Just a thought... Do you have a room you could let? Lots of people round me let Mon-Fri to people working but not living in the area...

Otherwise is there anything left you could eBay?

TiredIAm

helen_jelly wrote: »

Hi

Dh is doing fine, he's had his hours cut at work

Horrid for you both, everything crossed for his interview

Pooh, you know how fussy I am DS2 gets it from me. I used CFR as a template and adapted it to what I would eat which really helps. I assume you do the same to cut out the majority of the bread?

greenbee wrote: »

Starting with the basics, can you list what is in your cupboards and freezers, and start putting together a meal plan so you know what you need to buy each week?

I made vague plans last week, but the list is at work . I did a MrS shop based around tins, household and the stuff I needed for the animals which came in at £73.

DH is going to put a card up in the village, and he would happily do whatever there is but his back sadly remains an issue whether he admits it or not.

The soup was lovely, even DS1 liked it. One spare portion for the freezer for a lunch.

Peelings are on for the hens :cool:

TiredIAm

greenbee wrote: »

Just a thought... Do you have a room you could let? Lots of people round me let Mon-Fri to people working but not living in the area...

Otherwise is there anything left you could eBay?

Good thinking but no to the letting. No room, and I would hate it. If he doesn't find a job soon we will be selling up anyway. The day I borrow from my parents it goes on the market.

eBay, havent really tried yet. Will look this weekend. I sell the odd book on amazon but that is it. The TUPE ebook remains an option if I get organised.

Consultancy or interim is the most likely short term high reward solution for DH but no one can commit at the moment.