Just say NOvember!!! ( are you brave enough )...

mmy

Hi, NSK - I get paid on December 20th and then again January 20th, so at least I don't have a short month with lots of money and then a long month with less! I am thinking of the December challenge (with some trepidation), as I also have my daughter's 21st at the end of December....However, if I plan carefully, I could be up for it, and also for January. If not, can I apply for a position as an official cheerleader? But I do realise that I need to hold my nose and jump in, otherwise I'm just being a bit of a wuss....
Off to make soup from yesterday's roast chicken, that's tomorrow's lunch sorted for daugter and I! And homemade poached pears with lemon and vanilla, also cooked yesterday - so delicious!

WantToBeSE

I put a piece of furniture on Ebay at the weekend 9just a 24 hour thing), and it just sold for £10! Didnt think anyone would want it, as its quite old, but i made this perfectly clear in the listing.
The buyer is collecting after work later

Going to put this £10 directly nito my 'Emergency Savings' account, as its almost emoty after the car failed the MOT in September.

Also listed a school jumper on there, from my older sons college, and so far its at £13

rising_from_the_ashes

NinjaSavingKat wrote: »

Rising I do indeed realize you couldn't join this month. Perhaps you could forfeit some other "treats" in order to keep the food budget the height it needs to be at.. although if you are happy to please share what your ailment is / allergies etc are.. its interesting to know how others eat..

Will ponder on that, thanks Kat.

Basically I am lactose intolerant - so my milk costs £1.31/litre (rather than around 44p/litre that you can buy it for) so that's comes out at around £35 - £40 / month:eek: (if you think that over a year, the difference is from around £140 to £420 it sure mounts up!)

I'm also shouldn't eat wheat - so these inflated costs are basically repeated with bread, pasta etc etc (although I do eat the odd crumpet as I just can't resist them )

Just to add to my woes - I'm currently on a "white food only" diet (after recent hospital stay) with the only veg I'm allowed just now, being a small amount of potato (but no skins!) so..... no bulking out meals :eek: and I'm living on chicken, turkey & fish - very expensive when you can't bulk out with veg and are having to have them practically every meal!:eek:

mmy wrote: »

I get paid on December 20th and then again January 20th, so at least I don't have a short month with lots of money and then a long month

I'd forgotten about that - we're paid really early in December (21st & should be the 31st) and then early again in Jan (25th), so that's 5 weeks ..... which then means Jan - Feb is also 5 weeks :eek: - going to be a difficult start to the year:eek:

NinjaSavingKat

Oooooh Rising thats really hard! No vegetables either? YUmmy soya milk eh?..poor you!! I can see how it it clearly very difficult for you.. gonna be super healthy though aren't you.. Well perhaps we can work in some "extra special" rules for you!..

WantToBeSE that eBay is brilliant.. having transferred out my £100 I get an invoice from eBay for £17...!!!!!! Grr!!! Listing some 99p books tonight I think!

MMY you are being a wuss. Its not that hard when you get stuck in! Now gimme a poached pear I love them...

couldsavemore_2

hi every one just wanted to say well done to you all keep up the good work. I have great admiration for you all for what you are achieving. Hope to join in next time. you have given me great incentive to start again

take care and keep up the good work

CSM :j

rising_from_the_ashes

NinjaSavingKat wrote: »

Oooooh Rising thats really hard! No vegetables either? YUmmy soya milk eh?..poor you!! I can see how it it clearly very difficult for you.. gonna be super healthy though aren't you.. Well perhaps we can work in some "extra special" rules for you!..

Struggling with the current diet as I love veg and usually a) eat a fair bit of it and b) bulk out mails a lot with it - not sure how long it's going to last but certainly probably at least another couple of months :eek: (I have Crohn's Disease unfortunately)

I use Lactofree milk which is actually really nice (they also do yoghurt & cheese but again much more expensive than "normal stuff") & could have soya milk but I'm not a fan, as it curdles in coffee!:o but I must actually buy some the next time I'm at the SM and try it in cooking - is the long-life stuff as good for that? (as it's substantially cheaper!;))

Cranny44

Evening All

Just a quick stop by just now... still here and had a couple of spendy days over the weekend but i have at last bought that damn swimming costume from BHS as the only store stocking cossies just now so not a bargain either

Also cracked on a bit more with xmas stuff so just a voucher from Argos to get and some smellies for my son, and mostly wrapped it all too

Will update food spend later

josiebabie

Hi rising,
My daughter is allergic to the A1 proteins in cows milk so slightly different but we have to avoid dairy, we use sweetened soya milk for most things, she loves tea and is only 5! It doesn't work with custard powder or angel delight for some reason, it just doesn't thicken. I use it for pancakes and scrambled eggs and its fine. A little in mashed potatoes is ok as well!

Hope that helps!

Siouxsie32

Evening everyone, ooh you've all been busy chatting again What did I miss.....

WantToBeSE, best of luck with your interview. I'm glad they're giving you back your expenses from last time. Hurrah, hope that means they're a decent company to work for!

Rising, I use Kara dairy free milk...I think it comes from coconuts but doesn't really taste of anything. It says on the carton it tastes great in tea and coffee (I only drink black coffee so can't confirm) but it's around £1.39, although there is often an offer on where it's £1 in either Asda or Tesco. It comes either fresh or long life - may be worth trying?

Kat, I haven't read the article you linked yet, but I can imagine (and shall read later, promise!). I've taken advantage of a few supermarket glitches in the last few years and been stunned at how blatently supermarket change their prices. Also, ever noticed how the special offers are for the most unhealthy things (pizzas, crisps)? When was the last time you saw two apples for the price of one?

My news from today is get your Quidco apps out people, they're offering prizes of between £3 and £10 on mobile check ins. I normally don't pay attention to gimmicks like that cos it's never me but I won £8 TWICE today :j I made a total of £17.65 wandering round the shops an checking in 19 times. So, if you have the app, use it. If you don't have the app, get it. If anyone still doesn't have a Quidco account and wants a referral, just PM me and I'll send you my link (I think I get £5 when you earn £5 or something like that).

Oh yeah, another NSD for me

missyv30

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Basically I am lactose intolerant - so my milk costs £1.31/litre (rather than around 44p/litre that you can buy it for) so that's comes out at around £35 - £40 / month:eek: (if you think that over a year, the difference is from around £140 to £420 it sure mounts up!)

I am the same lactose intolerant plus cant take much wheat and gluten so i find my food shopping hard to cut down as well

NSD 15 for me today :T