How do you keep motivated?

Joek_2

I find it fairly easy to keep on being motivated at the moment. It's very early days for me and my DMP, but I have no credit cards now, I have a bank account which will not let me get overdrawn, and I have a very limited budget with which to do things with!

The restrictions I've got now are simply NOT restrictions for me. They've pretty much liberated me. I know what I've got each month, and where it's going.

It's fantastic.

Yup, I don't doubt that I'm going to get nasty letters, folk on the phone harassing me, but I can cope with that quite nicely - I can give as good as I get when I need to

That, and I've been blessed with a lovely lot of folk on here (especially on the DMP mutual support thread!) who're there to help as much as they can!

Never any down days - just days which require a bit more effort!

msmicawber

Stardrops is an excellent all-purpose cleaning fluid, very cheap, that you can get from Wilkinson's, Sainsbury's and some other places. Highly recommended on the Old Style board, I tried it and am a complete convert.

ZTD

JillD wrote: »

The final thing was today we went for a picnic with some friends and they had all fancy cheeses and meats, and breads and bags of fancy nuts, while we had our smart price crisps and smart price cheese baps. Which I am more than happy with but I think we was suffering wild picnic envy!

Don't just shop at Tesco's. The whole idea behind the smartprice packaging is to make absolutely sure you are a price concious consumer - by basically trying to go down the public humiliation route. If you want sliced meat for sandwiches for example - try lidl's. High quality german sliced sausages - try some, they're lovely. Also see this thread for more inspiration for inexpensive but nice food.

JillD_2

ZTD, thanks for the tips. I use Asda, we tried Tesco and Morrisons lately and just don't find them as cheap. I do keep meaning to try Lidl though so I must get my self in gear and do it, thanks for reminding me.

Shopping around is so hard with a job and 2 pre school children I just don't have the time. Getting around a supermarket is basically an hour of me wittering randonly at the kids in an effort to stop them attacking each other or the food displays so its really hard to think about what to buy. And each trip to a differnet shop involves getting 2 of them in and out of the car/car setas/buggy - too much faff so its easy to just do the supermarket. Sorry I know it sounds like a load of lame excuses.

I will definitely try and rememebr to give Lidl a try though so cheers for the reminder. Could do with getting out of a rut foodwise and trying a few new things :beer:

ZTD

JillD wrote: »

Shopping around is so hard with a job and 2 pre school children I just don't have the time. Getting around a supermarket is basically an hour of me wittering randonly at the kids in an effort to stop them attacking each other or the food displays so its really hard to think about what to buy.

Well that's where the local shops come into their own, because the shopkeeper interacts with you and your little ones, so holding their attention. I'm not talking about the corner shops which are just mini-supermarkets, but places like bakers, butchers etc where the guy serving actually serves you.

If you spend an hour shopping in a high street, then you will have went into, and bought from, about 20 shops. :eek: You hardened shopper you...

JillD wrote: »

And each trip to a differnet shop involves getting 2 of them in and out of the car/car setas/buggy - too much faff so its easy to just do the supermarket. Sorry I know it sounds like a load of lame excuses.

The shops are all next to each other, you don't drive from one to the other surely?

Softstuff

Picnic envy is pretty easy to deal with, head over to the OS board. This easter we went to the in laws for lunch, it was a "take a plate" thing. We rolled up with a large bowl of creamy coleslaw (home made, better than any "finest"), a huge tub of vanilla peanut fudge (again, home made) and a batch of banana oat friands (once more, can you guess? )

I've made smoked salmon mini quiches (pretty cheap if you use value offcuts), blinis (all the rage a bit back, but very easy to make), mini hash browns... basically whatever I'd seen as being pretty expensive pre made, but cheap to make yourself.

You're bound to be strapped for time having the kids, but there are loads of recipes on the OS board that take account of this.

JillD_2

I know, I know, I told you they sound like lame excuses!!!

I completely take your pont, if I could stroll along a nice row of shops and engage with the shopkeeprs in the all and have it as one nice outing it wounds perfect. There would of course be a nice tea room at the end with a play area for my kids

We are veggie so that rules out the need for a butcher.It does however mean we need somewhere that sells veggie stuff like veggie sausages and tofu and soya and quorn products. I suppose health food shops would- but wouldn't they be dear ? Can't make my own burgers and saasges, well I can, but hubby won't eat them.

I can think of one mini precinct that has a bakers and a greengrocers. Would the veg be cheaper in the greengrocers ? The bread would be dearer in the bakers though surely ? This precinct has no deli type place and only an extortionate rip off corner shop for milk, cheese etc. And they do rip you off. They ring up random numbers and basically make up the total. No word of a lie. Its student ville round there and they just prey on poor stupid foreign students. Seriously.

The other precinct that used to be good has had the greengrocers and butchers closed down. There is a baker but no deli. The supermarket is Waitrose.

The next town has a healthfood shop and a bakers but no greengrocers, deli,
again only supermarket is Waitrose.

Its the one thig I always said I hated about living here (East Reading). No nice parades of shops like we had at home (East Belfast). If I live in the street where I grew up I would know exactly where to shop for this kind of stuff.

Do you know, I can't even think of a nice deli type shop anywhere, dear or otherwise.

Nightmare, isn't it. I sound like Mrs Negative, sorry.

JillD_2

and after that big moan (sorry again, I feel raly harrassed about everything tonight, can you tell), I will read that not using the supermarket challenge and really think about it
Jill

ZTD

JillD wrote: »

I know, I know, I told you they sound like lame excuses!!!

I completely take your pont, if I could stroll along a nice row of shops and engage with the shopkeeprs in the all and have it as one nice outing it wounds perfect. There would of course be a nice tea room at the end with a play area for my kids

I wouldn't expect you to change habits overnight - I'm just pointing out there are alternatives. I go to a farm shop for some things and it might be more hassle than it was worth for you. You'd have to stop your kids rushing over to stroke the pigs, and stop them stroking the duck that wanders through...

JillD wrote: »

We are veggie so that rules out the need for a butcher.It does however mean we need somewhere that sells veggie stuff like veggie sausages and tofu and soya and quorn products. I suppose health food shops would- but wouldn't they be dear ?

It depends on what's in your local area. It is often difficult to find out what is in your local area - I know, I've tried. Look here, stick in your location and see what it comes up with. Also try their product search. I'm not veggie so have no idea of what sorts of stuff you eat.

JillD wrote: »

Can't make my own burgers and saasges, well I can, but hubby won't eat them.

Why not!? Home-produced stuff is better than bought stuff - you know what's in it. For example Bought Yogurt: Contains mild yogurt, glucose-fructose syrup, modified starch, flavoring.

The stuff I make contains yogurt made from 100% milk.

JillD wrote: »

I can think of one mini precinct that has a bakers and a greengrocers. Would the veg be cheaper in the greengrocers ?

Depends on the veg - but usually is.

JillD wrote: »

The bread would be dearer in the bakers though surely ?

It depends on whether you consider a Smart Price loaf to actually be made of bread. The cheapest "real" bread comes from here. But again, it depends on what you prefer, and I'm only here to make you think, rather than tell you what to do.

JillD wrote: »

This precinct has no deli type place and only an extortionate rip off corner shop for milk, cheese etc. And they do rip you off. They ring up random numbers and basically make up the total. No word of a lie. Its student ville round there and they just prey on poor stupid foreign students. Seriously.

Yes, I know places like that. Often you have to go slightly off the beaten track. The advantage with that is often the parking is free...

JillD wrote: »

Do you know, I can't even think of a nice deli type shop anywhere, dear or otherwise.

What you can do is go to the yellow pages and type in the shop you want and the area you live and see what it comes up with. Yes, I've had to do that before...

JillD wrote: »

Nightmare, isn't it. I sound like Mrs Negative, sorry.

I won't claim it will be possible to do that for everything, but so long as you are starting to think about it.

The threads of familiarity are too light to feel until they become chains of habit too heavy to break.

JillD_2

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, especially since my last post was so negative. I totally see what you mean now, yes I would have to think about it a bit and experiment and really hunt around. I do know of a couple of farm shops but I always assumed they'd be dearer. I shall give them a try now though. In fact I will make a trip this weekend :j

I am interested to know if you have small children (or ones that used to be small) and how many hours work a week you have to do, to compare how you find the time. I just don't seem to have a spare minute in the week, I'd love to know how others find time. Maybe I just need to make the time at the weekend.

There is a farmer's market in a local place twice a month but unforunatley its on an afternoon when I am at work. I wonder if there are any at the weekends.

Can't make my own burgers and sausages, well I can, but hubby won't eat them.

Why not!? Home-produced stuff is better than bought stuff - you know what's in it. For example Bought Yogurt: Contains mild yogurt, glucose-fructose syrup, modified starch, flavoring.

Don't know you'd have to ask him! Just doesnt have that MSG flavour I guess..... no point in turning it into an argument that I won't win. If I serve them with say peas and potatoes he will eat the peas and spuds and leave the burgers (after pushing them around the plate for a while). Very annoying but there you go.

It depends on whether you consider a Smart Price loaf to actually be made of bread

LOL I know what you mean, we don't buy smart price bread, we buy hovis best of both - kids won't eat brown so this way they think they are geting white but there's some fibre in there. Before this pregnancy that has completely wiped me out I made my own bread - which again I could put half white half brown flour in - so am planning to get back to that at some point. Its not as nice as scrummy fresh bakers bread though