Just joined, where to start??

Butterfly_Brain

Don't let anyone make you think that you are a "fe*kless scrounger" in the words of this vile government, you care for your severely handicapped daughter and instead of having her in one of those disgusting care homes you are looking after her on a pittance so you are saving thousands for the government.
As to what you were told by a so called medical professional is disgraceful and I would have made a complaint about them ( After I had finished ripping them a new butt):mad::mad::mad:
I am disabled as well and so are many others on the board so we know where you are coming from especially waiting for hours to be seen in hospitals.

And breathe.........

You have made a great start and I applaud you :T

I have a jar that I put all of the loose change (including £1 coins ) this goes towards unexpected bills, skint weeks, Christmas or days out.
I managed to save over £300 using this method last year.
I have envelopes in which I put all the bill money in at the start of the month and then I pull all of my cash except for that needed for direct debits out of the bank, this means that I can see exactly how much I have to spend.
I write a meal plan for example
Sunday Roast chicken, r potatoes, y pud, cabbage, carrots and gravy with rice pudding or apple sponge with custard for dessert
Monday L/O chicken curry
Tuesday L/O chicken chow mein with egg noodles
Wednesday Shepherds pie with what is left of of the cabbage
Thursday Egg, chips and peas
Friday Lasagne
Saturday HM pizza with wedges and salad

It is entirely up to you whatever you like to eat.
Then make a list of what you need and only take cash with you to avoid impulse buying, but doHave £20 tucked into the back of your purse in case you spot reduced meat
Any money left at the end of the month put into a separate BS account as savings.

Make use of your freezer and batch cook meals, so all you have to do is to defrost and heat through and you will have a HM ready meal, this saves time and fuel.

I hope this is of some help to you and I wish you well, please keep in touch even if it is a daily hello on the daily board x

emmilou

hi pinky regularly 'lurk' on here picking up tips etc admittedly don't regularly post but felt compelled to say that reading your post really struck a chord so I wanted to say welcome, you are an inspiration and never ever feel guilty for essentially being a good mum and doing the right thing!
Back onto topic I make meal plans weekly do a shopping list and stick to them when shopping (easier said than done sometimes) also check out the meal ideas on here did a fab cheesy lentil loaf last week from here :T

madvixen

Hi Pinky

Welcome to the site. You sound like a fantastic Mum, certainly not a scrounger.

What sort of meals do you like to eat? We can all chip in with some MSE recipes. I'm a huge fan of cheap cuts of meat and using leftovers to really stretch the pennies.

Hugs

meritaten

Welcome to OS pinkX!
as others have said - start with small changes and build on them! you have made a good start identifying where you spend most - now a few little changes and you will be saving loads!
for example takeaways - why not limit them to once a week or fortnight and find some easy peasy recipes to do on the former takeaway nights! or make double if doing casserole or stew and freeze half.......thats a dinner with no effort other than defrosting and warming it up!
stir fries are easy - you dont even need a wok - a frying pan will do! almost any veg tastes great stir fried and a little soy sauce and oyster or hoisin sauce added (small bottles in the supermarket are not very expensive and last ages).even if you are no great shakes as a cook its still much cheaper to provide your own meat and veg and use a jar or packet sauce!
good luck - and many people say that it helps to treat this as a challenge or game!

Pitlanepiglet

Nothing much to say other than I have an enormous amount of admiration for the way you appear to be coping with your situation x

Elliesmum

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Nothing much to say other than I have an enormous amount of admiration for the way you appear to be coping with your situation x

I would like to second this - huge amounts of cyber hugs coming from the North

There have been some brilliant ideas as always from the OStylers the other two threads I would like to recommend is sneaky ways to save the pennies and preparing for winter.

The first one is amazing at being so frugal - cutting dishwasher tablets in half, washing out food bags, stardrops for cleaning only, cutting empty toiletry bottles open to scrape the last bits out etc etc. The ideas are incredible and have certainly helped me stretch the budgets I have. Preparing for winter helps cut down the fuel costs. Now I understand that little Aimee has her needs and I am sure a warm comfortable environment is a essential need for her (and your other little one of course - cannot forget her!) however the thread gives fantastic tips in insulating the house so the warmth stays in for longer and hopefully cheaper.

Good luck and keep posting - this is the best thread on MSE and we will all help you and your family keep going.

Love EM xx

Sequeena

Hello you've had fab advice already but I second meal planning and using what you have even if it means having a random meal once or twice a week. I've recently started doing it and it has changed my life! I am currently only needing to bu veg, milk, bread, fruit and potatoes because I have over 1kg of gammon, a packet of bacon, 500g mince, 8 sausages, about 5 bags of youngs white fish fillets (my OH runs a frozen department and got 10kg of fish for £3!) and more lurking in my freezer along with a stocked cupboard. I am slowly working through it, cooking more (always good) and spending less (even better!).

I make meat go further by adding lots of veg (I buy it frozen aside from cauliflower and leeks as we won't get through it). I can also turn 1 meal into 2. For example I will do spag bol one night then the next I'll mash potatoes, top the leftover meat and turn it into a cottage pie. I even add a tin of beans to pad it out.

Good luck!!

lindseykim13

The easiest and cheapest way to get a cooked meal thats healthy for me is to always have something with frozen veg.
Asda do frozen bags of brocoli, carrots, peas, cauliflour, cabbage ect
If i'm having a bad day i will bung 2 pans on the stove with 3/4 of the above and grab a can of corned beef out the cupboard. And probably frozen chips.
It's 3 or 4 of your 5 a day, give the kids a bit of fruit for dessert and your sorted.
I don't always have the energy to cook a proper meal like lasagne/sheppards pie ect so i stick to my rule of 'something' with veg from the freezer.
Has helped to cut the take aways down.

maman

Sequeena wrote: »

I make meat go further by adding lots of veg (I buy it frozen aside from cauliflower and leeks as we won't get through it). I can also turn 1 meal into 2. For example I will do spag bol one night then the next I'll mash potatoes, top the leftover meat and turn it into a cottage pie. I even add a tin of beans to pad it out.

Good luck!!

lindseykim13 wrote: »

The easiest and cheapest way to get a cooked meal thats healthy for me is to always have something with frozen veg.
Asda do frozen bags of brocoli, carrots, peas, cauliflour, cabbage ect

I buy frozen leeks from Farmfoods and theyr'e brilliant for all casserole-type recipes. Currently they're 3 (1kg bags) for £2 or you can mix and match with other frozen veg. The leeks are specially good value as they come all washed and ready prepped with no waste at all.

Sequeena

That sounds like a good bargain unfortunately I don't have a farmfoods near me