All bills to reduce

calleyw

Do you have an accountant?

Have you checked what is allowed as expenses?

look here that might help you a bit

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim52751.htm

Yours

Calley

emmad5689

Thanks Calley but at the moment I won't be earning enough to hit my tax allowance yet so nothing to claim against.

Well yesterday we managed just boosting the heating for 1 hour last night and no fire and although i'm feeling a little cold right now i'm not putting any heat on as the girls are not complaining it's cold and i'm going out in an hour so it would be a waste.

I have been to the shops this morning because my Grandma needed taking for some things, the girls were bought alsorts of sweets and snacks so I don't need to buy any and the girls don't miss out at all. I was pretty strong today though, Sophie loves Frijj milkshake and asked for a bottle which was on sale at 50p, normally I would have let her have one but this time I said no I would make my own at home for her which I have so we are both happy and that 50p was saved.

I don't feel I have wasted anything over the last couple of days so I am pleased with myself, I just need to be more aware of what I am doing which this is making me xx

bargainbetty

emmad5689 wrote: »

Right here is my inventory, I have more in than what I thought and plenty to make meals with but I would appreciate any ideas please as we get sick of eating the same things.

Frozen Pastry - Planning on using for mince pies and cheese pasties
Gammon Steaks
4 x Chicken Breasts Use some pastry, gammon and a bit of chicken to make a chicken and ham pie. Use mushroom soup as a sauce.
2 x Chicken Kievs - there is only me who will eat these
2 x packs of bacon - frozen
2 x garlic baguettes Put with a spag bol/lasagne to pad out meal
5 x packs of sausages
3 x packs of mince
4 burgers
2 x breaded chicken steaks
Cheese
garlic and herb cream cheese - no idea what to do with this smear it over bacon, roll up and bake until drooling. Add it to cheese on toast, stuff it into a chicken breast, stir it into pasta with chicken and spinach etc.
yoghurts for deserts
salad
wafer thin ham - sandwiches
Plenty of tins of soup Lunches for the kids, soup and a sandwich, plus fruit.
chicken and mushroom pie - only I will eat this
2 pot noodles
Tinned Tuna sandwiches
Tinned Fruit desserts
6 x jars of tomato based sauces
2 x tins condensed mushroom soup - no idea what to do with this
small amount of pasta and rice
Packets of savoury rice
pasta and sauce packets
packet mixes for making chicken in a bag
packets of curry sauce - chicken and veg curry
packets of Bolognese sauce You have mince, add lots of onion, carrots, any veg really to make a huge ragu. You can them portion this up for spag bols, lasagnes etc. Freezes well too.
packets of sausage casserole mix - you have sausages, add some chunky winter veg and pots for a big stew.

Just a couple of ideas - I hope they help

purpleivy

Your expenses should still be recorded in your books, as you will presumably have to complete a tax return, being self employed, whether you reach your tax break or not. It's as well to have this all in place, as at some stage you presumably will reach that threshold and HMRC may be interested in what your financial activities are.

duchy

Cream cheese with herbs and galic makes a lovely pasta sauce . I cook tagliatelle -drain it - return it to pan and add the cheese and give it a good stir and then throw in some cubed ham or cooked leftover frankfurters or cooked bacon give it a shake and serve.....with a bit of garlic bread or french bread with cheese melted on top if needed to bulk it out or stretch the amount.

Toonie

With regards to your expenses you should definitely keep a list of them as costs can be claimed back in the first five years against your earnings as a childminder. You will also need to complete a tax return at the end of every tax year and listing your earnings as well as your expenses every month will get you into good habits. (Recently completed a Level 3 NVQ in childcare).

Presumably the 8 year old will be having some food at school and depending on what time they are picked up you may only need to give them a snacky tea (I don't know any childminders who actually feed a "meal" to after school children-they just provide healthy snacks). As a nanny I tend to alternate between snacky and hot teas as the children I take care of have school dinners and their parents have told me they don't think it's necessary for them to have two hot meals a day. Now that the weather is getting cooler I will make more hot teas or on days when they are having sandwiches they get a hot pudding (e.g. rice pudding, fruit and custard or fruit crumble).

One thing the kids I take care of love to do is have reading time on the sofa and they snuggle into fleece blankets and read their books from school (something I love to do at my home too).

Hope it all works out for you.

malamay

Condensed soups are a great base for casseroles. I make a tuna casserole with a tin of soup, tin of tuna, tin (or equivalent of fresh/frozen) peas, a bit of milk, and crushed ready salted crisps on top. Or you could easily make a chicken and mushroom dish to serve over mash/pasta/rice. I think I've used it in a chicken and mushroom pie before. Have a google around and see what takes your fancy!

Or, you could always add water to it and have it as soup!

emmad5689

Thank you all for your ideas they are really helpful and I didn't know I could offset expenses for 5 years. I have been writing down all my mileage and expenses anyway so already have a record of it.

Tonight we took the girls out to a park nearby which has some illuminations, we let them have 1 ride each which we paid for but told them only 1 where as normally they would ride every one there and they accepted that which I am pleased about as I didn't fancy an argument but there was no way I was backing down!!

Made a Bolognese before I knew we were going out so that will now be tea for me tomorrow night and the other portions will be frozen for using during the week.

JulieGeorgiana

I stay at home all day with my children, and after 2,5 years I can only offer advice for saving money in three areas:

1) Electricity - The TV guzzles electricity... When I had knee surgery I was home all day, with the TV for noise and my bills went really high! I find that children love the radio or a CD (which is much cheaper to run). I find many childminders I used for my eldest always had the TV on, so this could help save a lot. It did for us.

2) Gas - Before giving up work we heated the house in the morning, then again in the evening. Once staying home I found it hard not to have the heating on...

So I researched that a 'comfortable' house is 18 Degrees. If I heat the house in the morning and get the house to apx 19 Degrees, then put the windows on the catch until 10-11am (for fresh air etc) then close them, my house drops to apx 17-17,5 Degrees.

I put the heating on for 1 hour to 'top up' again. This with closed windows this keeps the house at apx 18 Degrees until after about an hour after dinner, then I let the heating go on again.

Therefore only having the heating on 1 extra hour a day.

I used to have it on more because of the baby, but truth be told, it clicked on constantly all day to keep the temperature steady. I found this 1hr boost keeps the house at a good temperature without the constant cost... My Gas usage is 1/3rd of the average UK House and we are in a 3 bedroom house with 4 (soon to be 5 people) so I must be doing something right.

3) Water - Look on the water website for advice, but I do most everything I can to reduce my usage, I put water in the fridge so not to run the taps, I have a 4 minute timer in the shower, we turn the tap off when brushing our teeth, we have a flush saver... etc etc. I think the only thing we don't do is have a water butt!

My usage is really LOW, for a family of 4 we use the amount an average couple use (according to Themes Valley an average 4 people family use 167, while a couple use 108 units, we used 106). Yet, the children bath/shower 3 times a week, adults daily, I wash 2-3 loads of clothes twice a week (and an extra load for bedding etc), and run a dishwasher daily!

So my advice is just be extra vigilant and do everything you can to save water (and make sure you have a water meter installed). Remember bath water is great on flowers in the garden. Especially when it was REALLY hot and I was using 20-30 litres a night on my flowers!!!

I think it helps I have a large capacity washing machine, which was AA rated and wash twice a week and just do larger loads then lots of smaller ones. Silly things count...

Anyway, sorry if I went on. But I hope these few tips can help in some way x

Greenqueen_2

Hang on in there with the baby crying. 9 months is just about the worst age to be away from mummy for the first time. Stranger awareness is just beginning to develop. You are right to have a few short "induction" sessions. Give plenty of hugs and smiles and hopefully baby will soon feel comfortable/safe with you.