Back to basics, squeezing the pennies!

wiggywoo9

Hi I need to cut my budget down and I was just wondering where I can make cuts and how to replace them.

It is just me (female adult) and my toddler in a maisonette. I'm always forking out for nappies (he's in size 5 in ASDA's Little Angels range, which is 2 packs of 40 nappies for £10). I use the smartprice wipes as they're not bad on his bottom and 51p each. He eats normal food and drinks a hell of a lot of juice, usually cordial or squash diluted with water from the tap, switched up for milk and orange juice occasionally.

I need to make some good meals for us on a budget of around £30 a week, that's all three meals a day. Though normally, we just have toast/crumpet for breakfast with banana. I get healthy start vouchers to around £3.10 per week for veg/fruit/milk so I use that for those and don't normally add extra to the budget.

HOWEVER- I do only have a halogen cooker and single plug-in hob so I can't really make big dishes.

We don't have a working washing machine at the moment- how can I do it by hand, what do I use?

I commute to Northampton, 38 miles a day for uni, but only for the next two weeks. The train/bus costs are pinching, as is this cost of printing etc.

Any suggestions welcomed

K9sandFelines

I don't know how to link, but if you come over to the Grocery Challenge thread, people have a budget on there and stick to it. My first month and not doing very well so far and that's on alot more than you have to live on. If you find the main thread, a bit lower down than that there is a budgeting thread with lots of links to recipes, and other threads about cooking on next to nothing.

Also lots of people recommend this site http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

Have you tried Approved Foods? They sometimes have good bargains on short-dated food, you might be able to bulk buy the things you use often.

Lots of people on here make their own stuff from shampoo to detergent ( stardrops cleans a multitude of things around the house. This i will acknowledge once my own stock has run down). There's probably a way of doing your washing somehow, though i don't know how.

If you don't have an outdoor dryer, there is a good 30m minky retractable one on Amazon at the mo for £7,99, that you could air off your wet washing on a dry day. I did hear someone mention an eco ball for washing, but no clue what that is.

Good luck

ragz_2

I have used both the tesco and asda value nappies, they are a bit plasticy on the outside but they worked fine (even at night, though I kept some of the good ones for nights). - I moved on to washables which are cheaper in the long run but a lot to shell out for short term so not really applicable here.

Porridge for breakfast may be cheaper than toast and certainly more nutritious, especially if you add extras.

Juice/cordial - all of mine got totally addicted to this as toddlers, really wish I had never started! Gets them hooked on sweet tastes all the time...

Can you go a chicken in your halogen thing? If so cook a chicken, that will do you loads of meals (curry, with pasta, with potatoes and veg) then make soup from the carcass.

Google one pot dishes, they are usually pretty healthy too. You could do a chili con carne and serve with pitta breads, ditto curry etc.

Washing - in the bath, fill with warm water and laundry detergent (not too much, hard to rinse, I have done it with normal washing powder just use less), swish about, get in and stamp about on it (seriously) - use scrubbing brush on real dirt. Drain, rinse well, wring out... (I knew people who did this all the time.) We never had a washing machine when I was a child, Mum washed our clothes in a big bucket but we didn't have a bath...

must recommend agirlcalledjack google her blog it's fab, her and her young boy live on £10 a week for food x

wiggywoo9

Thanks, I've done the stamping thing in the bath before with sleeping bags after camping as a kid, its pretty fun at first but disgusting as the dirt comes off Wasn't sure how it was with clothes that are more delicate than squashy old sleeping bags! I don't have a garden either to air it in, just airing cupboard or over shower rail.

ragz_2

Have you tried your uni's hardship fund? They all have them, if you have trouble with travel cots they should help.

bluebag

When I lived in a student house I had a bucket I would soak everything in warm water with detergent overnight. Then after tea I would tip it all in the sink and wash and rinse well by hand.

We had a manky old spin dryer, but by gosh it left the clothes nearly dry, see if you could get one on freecylcle, or maybe cheapish in the few charity shops that do electricals. If not it's washerwomans muscles to wring it out sadly.

Wilkinsons or home bargains do a clothes horse pretty cheap if you can afford it when you have a spare few quid, otherwise you will have to get inventive and use hangers, over doors, over the shower curtain, chair backs and whatever to get it dry.

babyshoes

I agree with soaking for hand washing, especially delicates that won't stand up to a lot of bashing around. Most clothes will be ok with a bit of stamping though. Machine washing powder won't make a lot of foam, but it should still do the job for getting your clothes clean. Always rinse very well until the water is clear - this could take longer than you expect. You don't want soap residues in your clothing, especially not for a little one. If you use fabric softner, use it in the second-to-last rinse - i.e. it needs rinsing out too!

If you want to get a particular thing dry in a hurry, squeeze it well in a towel - you can exert more pressure on it by standing on it. It will be close to dry when you hang it out, though the towel will be quite damp. Small items like underwear can dry overnight using this method. Of course, you could just hang them on a radiator!

Always get as much water out as possible before hanging washing indoors, as clothes which take too long to dry will end up smelling damp. This smell can be reduced or removed by heat (or re-washing), so ironing or tumbledrying will help. I suggest ironing anything which needs it straight after washing - it will get it mostly dry and help with stubborn creases. We have a clothes airer for indoor drying, and I find spring and autumn awkward when it's too warm for the heating but not warm enough for the fan - that's when I am most likely to end up with damp smells. An open window helps at those times.

My biggest money saving effort is bulk buying. I got a Costco card through a friend's business, and we bulk buy things like toilet paper, cheese (can grate and freeze) etc. It isn't always cheaper, but even just buying those 2 things covers the yearly subs. If I went more often for milk, fruit & veg it would save a lot more! Approved foods is also a good way to save if you don't object to slightly out of date food - past it's best, but still safe to eat.

thriftwizard

Do you have room for a washing machine? And a good local Freegle/Freecycle group? It would be worth asking on there if anyone has an old one to spare; if you're polite and explain your situation in general terms, people are sometimes very generous & might even deliver it to you. I know a number of people down here who watch the "wanted" ads when they have something still decent but surplus to requirements to dispose of; I do it myself rather than let stuff with life still in it go to waste.

[Deleted User]

If you can scrape the cash together get a slow cooker,it costs buttons to run and if you put a chicken in it you will be amazed at how much meat you get from it.You then drain off the stock into a jug, and when cool skim of the fat.The jelly-like stuff underneath is fabulous for stock for home made soups and 'free'
The meat you can turn into stacks of stuff, and a medium sized £3.50 chicken should get you at least 8-10 meals which can vary from cold meat for sarnies to curries ,pasta,with chips,or roast veg and sliced cooked chicken bulk this one out with stuffing balls made easily from a small pack of stuffing.Left over chicken can be frozen when cold for a later date.I ts so versatile ,hence its known on here as 'rubber chicken'T he stock will make gorgeous soup with the addition of a few veg. I too reccomend 'A Girl called Jacks' blog very smart lady who managed on next to nothing. Later in the summer forage for free stuff if you live anywhere near where there are apples or blackberries.There are lots of ways to get by on next to nothing.Get your little one dancing in the bath on the clothes .Unless you go down a mine I doubt if your clothes are that mucky or though perhaps toddlers ones get a bit worse at times. We have all been in your position at some time over our lives I know I was back in the early 1970s when Britain was on a three-day-week and the electric kept being swithched off for three hour periods at a time, and the mortgage rate hit 15%.Times were dire then, and I had two children under 4 and a husband .I learned to streeetch every penny to almost breaking point.Its suprising what you can manage on if you really think about it.If you have a pal who is in similar sorts of straights then see if you can buy stuff between you to make the most of the bogoffs.or split a larger size between you .Cleaning stuff is easy peasy, soda crystals a handful in with your washing in the bath and a handful of soap powder will clean and soften most washing.,vinegar will clean almost anything and a bottle of stardrops will last for ages.Don't spend cash on cleaning materials, cut up old clothes for rags I have an old pillowcase where my 'past their best materials' live and its great to use and then bin when they have done their job. Learn to cut things in half to prolong their life ,e.g. a pot scouring spounge can be cut in half, a J cloth ,if you have any.I used household cotton wool to clean my babies up when little ,but then baby wipes wern't available then. How old is your toddler he/she won't always be in nappies and with the summer coming on its a good time to try to get him/her dry. Bulk out mince with porridge oats ,just a small handful will streeetch half a lb of mince by another quarter at least .dried lentils are very versatile and can be made into lots of meals.Have a altrnate day when you don't have meat. Grow your own herbs on a sunny windowsill cheaper than buying dried.Learn what time the reduced stuff is at your local supermarket,often stuff can be reduced down to coppers just before closing. If you have a freezer fill it with HM stuff if you can. Good luck and if you get stuck come on here and ask us no question is daft or silly and believe me I have asked some daft stuff at times and I'm an old woman :)

Pooky

Have you got a local friend you could "trade" with, maybe in return for using their washing machine once a week (a couple of loads of the stuff youd find to do by hand, I.e. towels/bedding etc) you could babysit/ dog walk/clean windows etc.

Make sure you're getting everything you're entitled to, check with Uni for what funds are available and check on the entitled2 website for benefits etc. Have a look at the bus/train company website for any savings to be made on your journeys, I recently noticed that job seekers get half price travel on our local buses, it was on their website but I haven't seen any sign of it mentioned on the bus adverts in the station or on the buses themselves. They do some great student offers too.

Is your toddler ready for potty training? Even if he'll only use the potty at home it's a few nappies saved each day. Wipes for solids only, otherwise use some old t-shirts etc ripped up and make washable wipes (pop in a lidded box with a bit of water and baby bath to keep them damp and soapy). They won't add a great deal to your washing load.

When my 1st DD was born (18 years ago) I was left with £19 per week for food/nappies/milk for me, OH and DD, it was hard, very hard. It was just before family credit (tax credits) were brought in. I used to iron for a friend of mine who worked full time and in return she brought me a tin of baby milk each week. I went without plenty of meals in order to make ends meet.

FairyPrincessk

This won't help for this time around, but if you'll be commuting next year, look into student bus passes--Stageco@ch often do one in different areas. You may not find anything but if you do it will help.

On washing by hand-- My family spend a year living without washing facilities when I was a teenager. We also had running water only a couple of hours a day, if that. You can use pretty much any soap for washing. Really. Dish soap, hand soap, shower gel, laundry powder--it will all work. The key, as mentioned above, is to rinse REALLY well. For the baby I'd suggest baby shampoo is it is less likely to irritate. It usually helps if you are sparing with the soap as this makes it far easier to rise. If you use dish soap use only the tiniest amount as it takes forever to rinse.

Wash delicates in the sink, larger things in the tub. I don't bother standing on it as most things aren't heavily soiled enough to need that much agitation. I sort of "knead" it up and down.

I usually run a couple of baths of rinse water and do the kneading and then when that is relatively clear you can rinse particularly stubborn bits straight under the tap.

Obviously try to conserve what must be washed. Since it is cold out, you may find it helpful to wear a lightweight "base layer" of leggings/tshirt or vest and then normal clothes on top. Then, you only need to wash the small things regularly, the rest should stay relatively clean--although for playing with baby, cooking and cleaning I'd keep a set of "over" layer clothes that could get dirtier. So--every morning put on base layer then put on clothes for going out--as soon as your home, keep on base layer but change outer layer to indoor clothes. This sounds like it produces more washing, but if you're careful it could mean you only need to wash base layer and then alternate weeks for outer layer wash.

Try searching for one-pot meals which could be cooked without much space. A slow cooker could help, but not if it is going to take food off your table to buy one. See if you can find one for free, or if you can get a hardship fund from your Uni that may be a wise investment of it.