NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

pm2326

JackieO wrote: »

I must make some headway in there as Christmas is on the horizon and I like to have room in there for the days following Christmas when the supermarkets are off loading stuff at silly prices.

I don't mind eating festive food in January ,especially if its been reduced .January seems to be the looongest month of the year, and being usually cold and frosty its nice to have cheerful grub that's not cost a fortune IYSWIM :):)
Right off to have some HM carrot and coriander soup and crackers for a late lunch
Cheers chums
JackieO xxx

Funny, I was thinking exactly same thing last night about my freezer and the Xmas YS treats...I'm on day 7 of not buying any food and I've not even made a dent yet on freezer or cupboards

I'm out of fresh fruit and veg as of today but that's not a problem, I have frozen and tinned of both as well as stews/casseroles portioned up in the freezer. I have no sweet treats left but I have plenty of ingredients in to make some this weekend.

Think I'm just going to keep going for the elusive 23rd Oct when I get paid and see what happens.

firesidemaid

Hi all. I like this thread, I feel very comfortable & it's full of support, hints n tips.


We have recently made some big changes to our lives and I wanted to wait until our house purchase had gone through so as not to jinx things....


so, over the last year we have returned to roots and downsized life, house & job - small mortgage, lower paid job with less stress and about to go part-time as well!!!! The plan with the other half of my week is to volunteer, ebay & enjoy life.


Income has gone down massively, I have a plan/budget & we will cope. The plan is to still enjoy life but in a cheaper, cannier way


p.s. I have a BADGE!!

nursemaggie

No wriggle room in my freezer either and ditto on the Christmas stuff in January. I have run out of chicken except for tomorrow and sausages but no room to add enough to make a trip to the market worth it.

Will DS notice if I give him fish or mince all next week? I think so he does like his chicken and sausages but will eat a fish curry? Yes I have a lot of fish have discovered there is lots of YS fish on a Sunday at MR M. We had two nice place fillets for only 65p on Sunday and muscles on Monday for only 25p.

Anyone got any nice recipes for Mackerel fillets? I have 4 of them less than £2. I don't think people eat fish on Sundays or Mondays.

GrannyKate

I agree Mr M is really good for YS fish - down to pence rather than a measly 10% off. Used some from my stash to make three fish pies for freezer last week. I like the plan to empty freezer ready for post Christmas YS.
Used up lots of our HG rhubarb to make rhubarb jam and DH made some rhubarb ice cream which is delicious. Rooting in freezer I found some sliced apples which I tossed in with plums for jam and some vegetables which I froze quickly before going on holiday in August and which cooked up with YS mince and baked potatoes for an evening meal.

Taking mil for weekly shop today and will try to resist temptation of things I don't need.

grunnie

nursemaggie wrote: »

No wriggle room in my freezer either and ditto on the Christmas stuff in January. I have run out of chicken except for tomorrow and sausages but no room to add enough to make a trip to the market worth it.

Will DS notice if I give him fish or mince all next week? I think so he does like his chicken and sausages but will eat a fish curry? Yes I have a lot of fish have discovered there is lots of YS fish on a Sunday at MR M. We had two nice place fillets for only 65p on Sunday and muscles on Monday for only 25p.

Anyone got any nice recipes for Mackerel fillets? I have 4 of them less than £2. I don't think people eat fish on Sundays or Mondays.

Whizz or mash the mackerel filets and add some philly cheese and a few drops of lemon juice. Mackerel pate to put on toast yummy.

[Deleted User]

Last night I had a cobbled together meal, I dug some fish fingers out of the freezer (god know how long they have been there) did a jacket spud and half a tin of baked beans on top with some grated cheese.

Very filling and used up some odds and ends More cobbled together meals on the way I think.

I have found a box of veggie curry for tonight's dinner, and a couple of sausages for lunch.
I will have the sausages with some left over mushrooms that need to be used up from the fridge, and maybe a little bit of rice if I can figure out how to make a small enough portion just for me:)
I also have some left over red sliced pepper so that may get diced into the rice as well. This food mountain must go to make room and hopefully I'll be able to defrost my freezer before Christmas.
Memo to myself I MUST REMEMBER TO LABEL STUFF I FREEZE
:):) I have quite a lot of unidentified meat in the freezer so its going to be freezer roulette for a few weeks .:):):):)

DuranGirl

Just told this on the GC thread, but it seemed to fit here too today!


Just have to share this - my fella (typical single man) appears to be a bit of a tinned/dried food hoarder. As we want to move in together, I'm trying to get him to whittle down his three cupboards and one worktop full of food, before he moves up. So last night at his, we used a tin of chilli, two packs of microwaveable rice and half a pack of Ryvita thins (and half a bottle of wine lol). The rice pudding from 2007 :eek: was not good at all so consigned to the bin. I've now set a challenge that, when he visits every other weekend, he has to bring up some tins/jars so I can turn them into "proper" meals for him to take back again! I brought some lasagne sauces and tinned toms back for next weekend. Should I set myself a destash target for his tins and stuff instead of my craft gear? I forgot to count them last night... :rotfl:

eandjsmum

Primrose wrote: »

Does anybody else find, like me, they have the same old comfortable favourites which get worn time and time again whilst others lurk relatively unworn in the wardrobe?. I find it all too easy now I'm no longer working, to choose the easy options, usually trousers of some kind, than having a specific wardrobe rotation strategy, especially if I'm having a day when I'm not planning to venture out into the wider world.

And I ask myself if psychologically this is rather a complacent mindset to find oneself creeping into.

Yes -trouble is my old faves are getting very worn out so I am going to wear the be lurkers. In fact I have already worn two pairs of unworn Jeans this week.http://static.moneysavingexpert.com/images/forum_smilies/biggrin.gif

WeeMidgie

Re clothes - Being of A Certain Age, I tend to wear bootcut jeans or trousers to balance out top and bottom - particularly the latter as I am a shortie.... And as I have two very hairy cats, I stick to grey jeans and trews as the cat hairs don't show up so much.

When the jeans get a bit shabby looking, I put them through the washing machine with Dylon Pewter Grey washing machine dye. No sign of any of the jeans wearing out just yet, just a shame that the dye has crept up in price over the years! Still cheaper than replacing the clothes though.

I too am focussing on reducing my stocks in the freezer, just to make space for more YS items on an ongoing basis. I now don't buy any meat unless it is reduced, and some of what's in the freezer will be defrosted, made into casseroles etc and frozen for ready-meals-from-home. I'm too busy this weekend, but next weekend the slow cooker will have oxtail burbling away all day. It is often reduced to 50p in my local M's, I reckon young people don't know what to do with it. All the more for me!

A wee heads up that if you're thinking of buying kitchen equipment ever, Lakeland are not the cheapest but everything without exception has a lifetime guarantee. Some years ago, I bought a pressure cooker from them, which has a blue collar on the lid which gives times for different foodstuffs to be kept at pressure. This had snapped off in use, and today because that small spare part wasn't available, the entire pressure cooker was replaced free of charge. In fact, there has been a re-design and the blue collar now slides off and back on for cleaning, whereas before it had plastic lugs, which had failed, and which also prevented effective cleaning - the blue collar couldn't be removed. So it's good to have the new improved version with the problem designed out.

It's actually money-saving to have the security on more expensive items that they will be replaced outside the normal guarantee period. When items are bought to give long service, it's great to find a company which expects customers to have full value for their investment. Top marks to Lakeland!

pm2326

I have spaces appearing in my freezer :j I can actually see the back of the freezer on the bread shelf and the fruit shelf underneath

Had a bit of a disaster today, decided to make chocolate ginger cake but it hasn't risen much so I have a slab rather than a cake :rotfl: I'm not throwing it out though, it'll help me use up some of the custard in the cupboard!

Have found 2 small pork tenderloin pieces in the freezer so I've defrosted them and they're currently marinating in a mix of balsamic vinegar, Worcester sauce, soy sauce, honey, garlic and red chilli flakes, inside a zip lock bag in the fridge ready to be cooked, I'm hoping I'll have some nice tasty meat for tea tomorrow and the rest will go in sandwiches next week.