No idea how to get through the next month

crispycreme_2

Hello,
I have just faced up to our debts (few months ago)
Things have been pretty tight since, but now we are paying debts off etc. However, the next month or so is going to be desperate.
Have to buy a new car as ours was written off a few months ago. We have made do without 1, just cant anymore as we need it for dps business and cant do without one any longer, have lost hundreds not having it. So once we get that (just a cheap runaround) and paid insurance etc, then all bills and debt payments, I have no idea how we are going to eat in March.
I seemed to have lost my wbility to cook over the last few years:o so that doesnt help. I think we will probably have about £90 for the whole month.
I really need help and am panicking about this alot. Any advice would be a help please.

EstherH

Hi, sorry to hear about your circumstances. Do you have any food in at the moment? Can you list it and then someone will be able to help by suggesting meals etc. they are all very good on here.

How many are you feeding? Do you need lunches? Where do you usually shop? Do you currently buy well known brands or own brands?

If you can buy a chicken, you can get a few meals out of the one item. Try taking all the meat off and having a roast one day, then add a little to stir fry veg and rice another day, maybe curry or pasta bake a third day. Then with the carcus, boil up with some onion, carrot and maybe celery and a some mixed herbs to make stock. A packet of dried soup mix and some diced veg added to the stock makes a good hearty soup. Some people have a 'soup and pudding' night each week which is cheaper than a main meal, but filling.


Also, you can bulk out a pack of mince with some grated carrot, some porridge oats, other veg or maybe add a small amount of soya mince to it. You can really stretch the number of portions it will make.

Esther x

EstherH

Do you have a slow cooker? They are great for cooking cheap meals but obviously not an option for you to buy one at the moment if you don't already have one.

You say that you will have £90 for March. Do you expect to have more available in April or is this an ongoing situation of only £90 a month to spend on food.

Porridge is cheap for breakfast. Is that an option for you? Basic/value oats are about 75p for a big bag. Add dried fruit maybe.

Is your husband on board and willing to cut back? I'll try and think of some more things for tomorrow. Don't despair. You will get through.

Esther x

paulineb_2

Pasta, soup, baked potatoes, you can make a curry quite cheaply, aldi have super 6 fruit and veg cheap, they do bags of sweet potatoes also very reasonable. Risotto is also cheap to make. If you have a home bargains near you they do branded food cheaply. Buy some tortilla wraps and stuff them with veg and refried beans.

Potato wedges, I make them with sweet and ordinary potatoes, add a bit of chopped chilli and onion/spring onion.

Aldi also do packets of filled pasta like spinach and ricotta for about 70p per packet.

If I buy a bag of frozen veg I use it in soups, curries, farmfoods do very cheap frozen veg such as spinach and leek and other veg.

Approved foods is also worth a look, you can get a lot for your money.

crispycreme_2

Thank you for the quick replys. To answer some questions;
We are a family of 5, me, dp ,2 boys ( 11yr and 5yr) and girl ( 11months)

We have food in, just not the makings of a meal really. Will make a list and put it up onhere later if thats still ok. Usually buy own brand. I buy my meat from the butchers.
Mostly shop in Asda or farmfoods. We also have a lidl, Saijsburys, Tesco and Iceland. Plys a big veg market.

We pack lunch for the boys, and dp needs something if hes out working at lunchtime.

I stay at home so eat Lunch from there and dp is usually at home for his lunch. Once he grts the car will be out longer, so probably out more for lunch towards the end of March.

We do need to cut back on a more regular basis for the long term. This month will be the worst though. Once this has beem and gone it wont be as extreme. . So this is a tempory situation ( the £90)

We do own a slow cooker. Ii won it in a raffle a few months ago.

Meant to say, our Budget starts from now until the end of March. It has to include toiletries, nappies and milk.

Ladyluck1

Lost of pasta and rice, filling dishes.
Try and find the cheapest veg (usually aldi/lidl)
Look out for reduced bits at the end of the day like meat that you can freeze or very cheap ready meals if your not a great cook. I often find family size pies for £1 of which I couldn't make myself for that price!
I had £80 in October to fee us all including a 3 year old so needed to eat fairly healthy.
We managed and that included ALL shopping so pull ups etc too.
What have you got in the cupboard? Fridge and freezer?
X

~Chameleon~

Ladyluck1 wrote: »

Lost of pasta and rice, filling dishes.

X

I'd actually disagree with the above. Carbs such as pasta and rice only fill you up temporarily leaving you feeling hungry much sooner. You need to be looking for cheap sources of protein and fat to keep you feeling fuller for longer, thus reducing the amount you need to eat.

Use full fat dairy products (milk, cream, cheese, butter) rather than skimmed/low-fat products, have eggs for breakfast rather than cereal to avoid mid-morning snacking. Grains such as couscous and bulgar wheat or lentils would be a better alternative to pasta and rice. Cheap to buy in the wholefoods section of supermarkets or the market. Add a stock cube, spices and chopped veg etc to bulk and add flavour.

Soup is extremely cheap to make at home. Go to the veg market at the end of the day to pick up cheap veggies. Add pearl barley or split peas to soup to make it more fulfilling. Or the value packs of noodles (20p) are great when added to soups and stir frys. You can make soup out of just about anything. There's an extensive soup recipe thread on here, or just google the ingredients you have for ideas.

Minced beef/pork/turkey can all be padded out with cheaper ingredients such as vegetables, lentils, beans etc to make a wholesome filling meal for pennies. One of my favourites is a minced pork, pearl barley and spinach orzotto. I can stretch 250g of minced pork to feed six people in this meal.

Do the kids like peanut butter? Again, very filling and add jam, apple, banana etc to peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. Tinned tuna is a cheaper alternative to cooked, sliced meats and can be mixed with mayo & sweetcorn to make it go further. Offer nuts and dried fruit for snacks rather than biscuits and crisps.

Look at buying a joint of meat or whole chicken rather than individual cuts which can spread over 2-3 meals. If making a beef casserole (which can be padded out with lots of veg to make go further) consider buying a whole joint of beef rather than ready diced stewing beef and cut it up yourself. I think last I looked the value beef joint in Tesco was half the price per kg of a pack of diced beef.

If I can think of anything else I'll add it later.

crispycreme_2

Ok, my list of food we have in

Fresh
2 huge sweet potatoes
Bag of onions
Garlic
Large bag of potatoes
Salad bits; spring onion, tomatoes, lettuce cucumber

CUPBOARD
SR flor
Plain flour
Strong bread flour
Dried yeast
Light brown & dark brownsugar
Cocoa
Gelatine sheets
Dried yeast extract
Bicarbonate of soda
Almond & vanilla extract
Molasses sugar
Castor sugar
Icing sugar

Ready to roll icing
Basics sponge mix
Porridge Oats
Fruit/seed flapjack kit
Basics mix fruit bag ( currents etc)
Trifle kit
Hundreds thousands etc

3 tins tuna
3 tins chopped tomatoes
Baked beans
2 tins kidney beans
2 tins mushy peas
Large tin pineapple slices

Jar mince meat from Xmas
Usual condiments ( ketchups, range of mustards, horseradish, cranberry etc)
Honey
Lemon juice
Couple of stock pots ( beef, veg and fish)
Rendang paste
Hoi sin pouch
Lots of sage stuffing mix
Oyster sauce
Chicken bisto
Fish sauce
Packet white sauce mix
Bag n Season biryani mix
Steakhouse seasoning
Beef granules
Red wine
Mix of herbs,spices and leaves etc

Pearl barley
Red & green lentils
Egg noodles
Tonnes of lasagne sheets
Arborio rice
Litle amount of long grain
Couscous

FRIDGE
Pickles ( beetroot, onion, gherkin, olives)
White wine
Fresh parmesan
Apricot jam

FREEZER
Frozen veg ( broccoli, cabbage, spinach, corn on cob)
Mixed berries
Apple slices
Yorkshire puddings
Puff pasrty
Large rump steak
Leftover grill pack ;
( 2small loin lamb chops, tiny bit of lamb kidney and pig liver,2 gammon steaks)
2 sirloin steaks
Tuna steaks


It seems a lot actually, writing it all down. Just dont seem to have any idea what to do with it all or how to add to it sensibly etc.

Ladyluck1

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I'd actually disagree with the above. Carbs such as pasta and rice only fill you up temporarily leaving you feeling hungry much sooner. You need to be looking for cheap sources of protein and fat to keep you feeling fuller for longer, thus reducing the amount you need to eat.

Use full fat dairy products (milk, cream, cheese, butter) rather than skimmed/low-fat products, have eggs for breakfast rather than cereal to avoid mid-morning snacking. Grains such as couscous and bulgar wheat or lentils would be a better alternative to pasta and rice. Cheap to buy in the wholefoods section of supermarkets or the market. Add a stock cube, spices and chopped veg etc to bulk and add flavour.

Soup is extremely cheap to make at home. Go to the veg market at the end of the day to pick up cheap veggies. Add pearl barley or split peas to soup to make it more fulfilling. Or the value packs of noodles (20p) are great when added to soups and stir frys. You can make soup out of just about anything. There's an extensive soup recipe thread on here, or just google the ingredients you have for ideas.

Minced beef/pork/turkey can all be padded out with cheaper ingredients such as vegetables, lentils, beans etc to make a wholesome filling meal for pennies. One of my favourites is a minced pork, pearl barley and spinach orzotto. I can stretch 250g of minced pork to feed six people in this meal.

Do the kids like peanut butter? Again, very filling and add jam, apple, banana etc to peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. Tinned tuna is a cheaper alternative to cooked, sliced meats and can be mixed with mayo & sweetcorn to make it go further. Offer nuts and dried fruit for snacks rather than biscuits and crisps.

Look at buying a joint of meat or whole chicken rather than individual cuts which can spread over 2-3 meals. If making a beef casserole (which can be padded out with lots of veg to make go further) consider buying a whole joint of beef rather than ready diced stewing beef and cut it up yourself. I think last I looked the value beef joint in Tesco was half the price per kg of a pack of diced beef.

If I can think of anything else I'll add it later.

It's much more likely that people in this situation have rice and pasta in the store cupboard to use up. Hence the lower cost for the month.
I agree with eggs. They are very filling and cheap source of protein.
Rather than going out to buy big chunks of meat which yes, would be better in the long run. Won't help in this first month.

~Chameleon~

crispycreme wrote: »

It seems a lot actually, writing it all down. Just dont seem to have any idea what to do with it all or how to add to it sensibly etc.

The rump steak can be diced up and added to other veggies and puff pastry to make a pie to feed the entire family. Likewise with the sirloin steaks, cut them into strips and stir fry with the veggies and noodles to feed the entire family.

The gammon steaks can be diced and added to tinned tomatoes and beans to make a spicy ham & bean hotpot.

You have a decently stocked store cupboard so could easily make some of the meals I suggested in my post above. It's going to be tight but I reckon you can do it, especially as it's only for this month and then you can utilise some of the tips here to continue in reducing your grocery bill ongoing.

lessonlearned

Hi crispy - first of all don't panic.

This happened to me once, more month than money but we survived.

You've been given some excellent meal suggestions and I can't really add to them.

My comment is - can you raise some cash. Have you got anything to sell.

Just as soon as you get that car I would suggest you do a couple of car boot sales. Ransack the house, do a thorough declutter and flog the lot. You'd be surprised at what you can sell and how all those dribs and drabs can add up.

This is what we did the time we hit rock bottom, the money we raised saw us through to the next pay day.