make do and mend for tougher times

Sunshine4

Fuddle, our Asda has not had a stock cubes for about a month there was a notice saying out of stock then last week the lables had been removed.
So I went to tesco and got 10 ptks of veg beef and chicken they were 10p each so that should last us along time.
I only buy baked beans when there are on special at 4 for 1pound.


We have decided to get rid of our car,we have talked long and hard over it but it is costing us money we only use it to go shopping.
As I have lost my job and cant get another until my shoulder is fixed .It could be a year or two before I have my op by then I will be 58 so dont hold out much of getting a job then.
We thought we were going to be better off in a few weeks, but as my old dad used to say dont count your chickens before they hatch.
We have received notice that we have been over paid a few pounds per week over the last few years and they want it back. So the money will be going to pay this off instead.

We have Asda , libary, drs, post office and the dentist all within walking distance in the village.If we want to go out for the day we can get the bus or train and only have to pay for me as my husband gets all his fares free.
I will start and do an online shop once a month for a large and heavy items. Then we will only have to pick up fruit, vegs and milk.


Hope everything is ok WCS

cutestkids

Fuddle

I use the CO-OP quite a bit for those type of offers, like you say this week they have lots of stuff buy 1 get 2 free, toothpaste, shower gel, deodorant, handwash, kitchen roll, I have stocked up as we go through those things like nobodys business.

Also on the sunject of kitchen rolls, if you have a semi chem or wilkos near you they do Regina kitchen rolls in three packs, they are much stronger and larger than normal ones and a pack of three lasts me mucch longer than buying the cheaper ones, they are £2.99 for the three pack but are more like cloths than paper they do not fall apart at the first sign of water.
I used to buy the 4 packs of the supermarket value kitchen rolls at about £1.25 a pack but in all honesty one of the Regina ones lasts longer than a four pack of the others.

westcoastscot

Hi Guys,
yes am ok - well nothing like the troubles of others on here - my hours at work went back to 17.5 a week, which was expected, and i'd expected to pick up bank work as and when as I had before, but my health has deteriorated to the point where that bank work is no longer an option............so the only wiggle room I have in my budget is groceries.

I know what I need to do is accept that I have a lifelong deteriorating illness and just get on with it - and despite that i've lived with the same thing with my son for 20 years with great pragmatism on both our parts I don't seem to be able to allow myself the same courtesy. So, looking to make permanent changes to allow me to potter along and have a little more time to slow the progress of ill-health, whilst doing all the things that I normally do on the home-making front - my favourite job btw!

Particularly interested in the price of semi-skimmed milk (am currently paying £1.05 for two pints - so stunned at the £1/4 pints prices) Also bread flour - am wondering about continuing to use amazon or not -, meat prices generally, fruit and veg generally. It's a little tricky as we have to be dairy and egg free but we're well used to that and make most of our food from scratch. Also grow food, although it's been a particularly dire year even by our usual standards.

WCS

2tonsils

OOOh I have real grocery price envy after reading your posts.... as all food like baked beans etc is imported I have to pay the following prices (and these are the cheapest prices for them here...)

Exchange rate is currently 1.25 euro to the pound.


Milk UHT 75 cents a litre
Baked beans 1.29 a can!
Corned beef 4.50 a can
tinned pink salmon 5.20 a tin (small tin)
stock cubes pack of twelve oxos 2.90euros
Head and shoulders shampoo large 4.90
Dove deo spray 3.90
Cheap British t bags 80 for 2.90 euros

You can see why I buy local produce like fresh meat, fruit and veggies and live off those can't you? We paid the following for local organic stuff this week
Fresh lean veal mince 3.90 a kilo
chicken whole 1.3kg 3.90
Lamb around 13 euros a kilo (local )
Steak about 7 euros a kilo
apples/plums/nectarines/peaches (all local grown) 1 euro a kilo
seedless grapes (from the wine harvest) 99 cents a kilo
potatoes 50cents a kilo!!! getting more expensive all the time...
cabbage 40 cents a kilo
watermelon 65 cents a kilo

fuddle

I manage without a car, every single day. DH has use of the work car on a weekend so we're not totally without wheels but as far as running the household without the use of one... no problem Go for it, mine cost £100 a month to just do the shopping and that didn't take into account repairs or road tax and MOT/service.

I need your ingenious ideas. DD (7) has ripped her nail right down to the nail bed. It's going to take months to grow out so the poor lass is going to have to have it covered so not to catch it. She would like a plaster on it and then some sort of bandage to cover it - funky mam, a funky one!

The only thing I can think of is crochet stripe a colourful one but then she'll have wool on her finger, at least if there's a bandage there's obviously something wrong.

Just stocked up my first aid supplies in the shopping last night too thank goodness - see preparedness mockers

Off to ebay to have a look at catering badages, they are blue aren't they - kids!

jpscloud

Watch the use by on Aldi milk, in our Aldi it tends to be short and the milk does go sour early in my experience, compared with milk bought from the other supermarkets (skimmed).

ginnyknit

I buy the blue kitchen roll off the market that they have in factories etc and its quite strong, dont use it much just for mucky jobs.

2tonsils, its very interesting seeing how much food costs in other countries - of postage wasn't so expensive I would send you food parcels - blooming heck its dear there :eek:

WCS sounds as if you have things sorted to some extent. Its hard when you get a cut in income - or no income like we experienced a while ago. No one knows what is round the corner, thank goodness we all have each other for support. I still think I am the same as I was when I was working and carry far to much shopping. I am seriously considering have more delivered for lots of reasons and just going out for Ys. Basically the cost of delivery is offset against dragging Oh along as he is the driver,petrol, my arthiritis which dislikes the damp and all the !!!!!!ing about. This means I need to settle down to being more housebound because of OH and fighting the 'stir crazy days' . We will be spending most of October in the house after his next op so am list writing 'Christmas things to do' Its difficult to change your ways mentally but it will have to be done.

On a lighter note my jams and jellies are all lined up apart from the jar that Dd snaffled last night her OH loves HM jam and wanted to take a jar of the strawberry too but it was red hot :rotfl:

Sunshine4

Fuddle, Thats what made us decide all the extras that you have to pay to keep it on the road.

Hope your little one is okay.

mardatha

WCS if you could ever manage down to Edinburgh, I could meet you at Costco and take you in with me, and you could fill the car Also re milk - it might be cost effective to buy a second hand freezer and fill it with milk when you get out to a SM.
I sometimes go to Aldi but always seem to end up needing something they haven't got!

westcoastscot

Mar careful what you wish for! I just may take you up on that, its a great idea I do have spare freezer capacity but have never frozen milk - does it defrost to use as normal? two of us use dairy milk, so that could be a saver.

Thanks for your support guys, I really appreciate it.

Fuddle - what about just drawing on the bandages/plasters? we used to do that when youngest was younger - he was head to toe so we "decorated" him!