The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

Greying_Pilgrim

redofromstart wrote: »

Hi GP, I find those ' I feed my gazillion children on tuppence hap-penny a week' articles infuriating. If you read the small print it usually only covers dinners, or its heavily reliant on YS items which I just don't shop at the right times for.

Yes, this is what I'm struggling with. Whilst I applaud people being proactive and being budget concious, i think something usually gets lost in the detail - now it could be down to the person themselves or the 'Journo' that is selling their story........ All I want to know is what it is covering - eg if it's £20 a week for main meals for 2 adults, or £40 a week - for everything - for a family of 3 adults, 2 children and a baby..... so that I can check whether our shopping/consumption levels or budget is inline or way out of whack. I realise that not everyone is the same, but say a family of 3,who eat meat, pay £50 a week for all meals consumed in the home/at work/on picnics, then I'd be able to say, mmmmm 'I compare quite favourably with that household' Whereas if they were doing it for a tenner, I'd have some questions to ask.........starting with myself........

redofromstart wrote: »

I have to confess to being disproportionately excited to find a kilo of bananas for 20p the other day, but mostly its 10 or 20% off something that was overpriced in the first place so my money stays firmly in my purse. I also get cross about them referencing approved foods as a source of savings - hasn't been a bargain on there for years for me.

I could have written this verbatim! Down to being dizzily excited over cheap nar-nars :j:rotfl:Totally agree about AF - haven't even bothered looking at the website for yonks.

redofromstart wrote: »

Dues your H&B have 1kg of light brown sugar for 79p? I thought that was an excellent price. I'll still be cutting it 50/50 with cheap white in recipes but a little extra flavour is often useful.

Oooh, I don't know the answer to that one, as I haven't been looking in that section lately - and the granulated sugar was just at the end of an aisle in a big stack the other day, an assistant directed me straight to it. But that is a great idea of 'cutting' it in to add flavour - and a slight bit of colour too, cakes and puddings look nicer. I often add in a splodge of molasses, just to get a darker coloured fruit cake


Greying X

mcculloch29

I think you do amazingly well, Greying, and this is coming from an omnivore with over forty years experience of budget cookery. To live at the far end of frugality requires managing on a very restricted diet.

My DD decided to become vegetarian 25 years ago (she recanted long ago), Meat was a lot cheaper for many meals, a lot of it came from Heron, or their predecessor. Cheap sausages, chicken joints, lambs' hearts from Somerfield, along with huge turkey legs and packs of chicken wings to roast for 99p.

I can recall weeks when the evening meal was veggie stew for three days running, and veggie curry out of the leftovers on day four. None of your meals resort to that uber-frugality. They are often so imaginative, and variety doesn't come cheap.

I wasn't that impressed with Approved Foods either, I still have stuff I thought I would use, but didn't, from my sole order.

A few years ago I was able to shop at a discount greengrocers in the town where I worked, and there was another in the nearest large town to me that I accessed before arthritis made shopping trips there too much of an ordeal.
Now I'm restricted to what Mr Al has. Sometimes in the discount places you could get huge bags of onions for 50p, but they required a bit of picking over. Ditto the apples, plums etc, when in season. I'm lucky, I have lots of freezer space, which you don't have. I can finely chop all the onions, and freeze them in recipe quantity sized bags, for example.

From what you say, you couldn't make many savings anywhere, realistically. Eating the same thing for three days on end, with no variation, isn't living, it's existing. You do it when you really do have no other choice. At least we could afford a meal, looking at all the stories of people going hungry through not having a quid for a bag of veg, we were luckier than we realised.

Greying_Pilgrim

mcculloch29 wrote: »

From what you say, you couldn't make many savings anywhere, realistically. Eating the same thing for three days on end, with no variation, isn't living, it's existing. You do it when you really do have no other choice. At least we could afford a meal, looking at all the stories of people going hungry through not having a quid for a bag of veg, we were luckier than we realised.

I agree with this, entirely, mcculloch. Which is partly why I think that £150 is alot of money to just evaporate on food. But yes, there is variety in what I buy, and eg we'll have apples and bananas in the house at one time - they all get eaten, but I'm not thinking, 'I'll buy apples or bananas. Or even, 'I can't afford fruit this week'. For that we are blessed as a household and I am grateful.

I do think it'd be slightly easier if I had access to say a reasonably priced street market with plenty of veg stalls. When we can get bagged dirty tatties, say 25kg, the unit cost is reasonable - whereas in a supermarket, you perhaps can only get 'washed' tatties, and a kg is waaayyy more, not just a bit more because they are washed and in a smaller (convenient) package IYSWIM.

I suppose too, that I'm werritting about it because there is no other budget that can be squeezed to free up a bit of cash when we need it. Food is just about the only 'flexible' that i can think we 'could' (in theory) make some savings each month. It just never seems to happen. And then you read about someone feeding 15 more people that you do on threepence a quarter...........

Greying X

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi Greying, hope you get over the snuffles quickly. This blinking flu bug is a shocker so hope that doesn’t hit your household.

Re the food budgeting - I think you do brilliantly with your budget and frugality has many aspects. Being able to create interesting dinners on a shoestring is a gift you have and £150 per month for 2.5 of you seems rreasonable considering the food inflation over the last 18 months. Inflation in price and deflation in size is a double whammy which will reflect in your £ sadly.

I walk down the road here and buy 6 free range chicken eggs for £1 - what a joy and I get to see them scurrying around their field in the daytime. However, meat is more expensive and we only go to local butchers now. I’m buying better quality but far less and a palm size portion each is our lot. That was a hard one for Mr T and DS but needs must.

In terms of cost reduction do you need to do a full food inventory -I’m guessing yours is always up to date but I know ours isn’t. I used to be religious about doing it monthly but it is now every two months. At least that does reduce our spending

Sending tons of joy and good health your way. Tilly xxxx

System

Seconding you on wishing that there was a street market where I could buy my fruit and veg. For reference I'm in my 20's and I don't mind scrubbing my potatoes/buying only seasonal foods. I know there were nights my parents went without dinner to feed my siblings and I and all our food was batch cooked for economy like stew, shepherds pie etc. all padded out with cheaper items like pearl barley and suet dumplings. In our house ugly cauliflowers, bent carrots etc. were just the norm and I remember often there would be piles of veg soaking in water in the sink from the market. Now I've noticed those cheaper vegetables are in 'wonky veg' boxes in supermarkets which are still not cheap. This has me questioning why people are so fussy on their courgette being 'pretty' - it's all getting chopped up and going down the hatch! I suppose I'm also a little bias as I always tell my boyfriend I miss hearing 'five for a pound!!' in a thick accent in the town centre.

You do wonderfully on your budget and I'm going to take Tilly's advice and do a food inventory this week as we're overflowing with some items and keep running out of others!

in_need_of_direction

another here who thinks you do brilliantly. plus you also lead the engagement evidenced above that inspires others to contemplate how they shop. that can only be a good thing

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

Hi Greying, hope you get over the snuffles quickly. This blinking flu bug is a shocker so hope that doesn’t hit your household.

Ay up Tills - how lovely to *see* you. Yes, I'm hopeful of a quick recovery too - as it is really only 'snuffles' - I really dread catching any of these flu viruses - awful, just awful.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

In terms of cost reduction do you need to do a full food inventory -I’m guessing yours is always up to date but I know ours isn’t. I used to be religious about doing it monthly but it is now every two months. At least that does reduce our spending

No, I don't inventory There, admitted it. In my defence, I've a reasonable idea of what I've got - but that doesn't excuse me, as I have indadvertently let things go out of date, which doesn't mean they get chucked, it just means that they could have perhaps been better if used sooner...... BUT, funnily enough, this weekend, I was re-considering my food purchasing methods and one thing that I'm planning to do is to eat down stores, and not have to have food stored all over the place. I'm going to run tighter and leaner. I realise if armageddon hits, we'll be the first to run out of bread and milk, but possibly, there will be greater issues to preoccupy us................. So, if i'm running tighter and leaner, then i will be able to keep on top of inventory, and therefore, target my spending better.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

Sending tons of joy and good health your way. Tilly xxxx

Thank you, and returned in spades to you and clan Tilly

sauceoclock wrote: »

Now I've noticed those cheaper vegetables are in 'wonky veg' boxes in supermarkets which are still not cheap. This has me questioning why people are so fussy on their courgette being 'pretty' - it's all getting chopped up and going down the hatch! I suppose I'm also a little bias as I always tell my boyfriend I miss hearing 'five for a pound!!' in a thick accent in the town centre.

I saw some of those for the first time (boxes) in the c00p on saturday. So expensive! My goodness, when the marketing department gets involved, prices soar, don't they? The whole point of 'wonky' is that it is supposed to be cheaper, don't put it in a box (which gets thrown away - more rubbish!) and write it's name in glitter!

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

another here who thinks you do brilliantly. plus you also lead the engagement evidenced above that inspires others to contemplate how they shop. that can only be a good thing

Aw, bless you, thank you

Tea has been munched. I opted for Mung Bean Casserole in the end, which used up some of the mung beans I'd PC'd the other day, a portion of onion/garlic/ginger that I'd whizzed up and frozen and a tin of 25p chopped tommies. There was sufficient for appropriate portions for tea and enough for another day :j I served it with brown basmati rice (which I only cooked 100g of, because I always forget it expands more than white basmati and is more filling) and a portion each of frozen broccoli and green beans - both of which hailed from mrAl, and both of which i would absolutely buy again; good value for 85p a kilo. I also didn't have limes, but used 1/2 a remaining lemon that I had in the fridge instead.

See, I'm learning

Despite snuffles, we wrapped up well and went out today. Actually, I think we both benefitted from being in the fresh air. I have some 'valerie' tea and the bathroom is bedecked with loo roll I opted for W1lks 32 for £5 as it was available/within walking distance. They are the rolls we normally use, so within budget.

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

advice and guidance from MSE'rs - sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees and need outside perspective.

BG falling asleep on my lap - took me right back to the early days, particularly trying to move.without.waking.them.up.......... :rotfl:

constant prompts and reminders of how great this life is - I'm blessed, truly blessed.

Ta for popping in and joining in the conversation. And for making me think. Appreciated.

Greying X

Moneywhizz

Just popping in again to say I can’t imagine how you could feed 2.5 people the variety and quality of meals that you produce for less than £150 per month. There are only two of us here and we spend at least £200 on food, although we do eat fish and chicken regularly. I was asking my daughter whose family is identical to yours. She spends £80 a week on food and household items. She is a fairly frugal shopper and says that barely covers everything including nappies. I don’t think you can realistically expect to squeeze any extra out of your food budget. Is there any other way you can increase your income? I know lots of people on here do surveys etc, is that something you would consider? Maybe someone else will have other ideas for making extra pennies. But don’t think for a minute that you aren’t doing a good job.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Moneywhizz - thank you for your post. I think it's useful to hear that 'similar' families spend 'similar' amounts of money. I separate out (to a separate budget) things like cleaning materials, loo roll and toothpaste. And BG's nappies come from their CHB money. We claim the benefits that we are entitled to, because of having darling BG. I have thought about surveys before, but have to admit, they are not for me. I'm too private to give our details out, and I would get frustrated at getting 'screened out' at the last minute. Sorry to sound negative, in the face of a perfectly good suggestion - but it justn't isn't for me.

So, Tuesday. Here we go.

I need bananas and the TV mag today. We need to get out, as both BG and I have cultivated our snuffles a bit more But we have only got snuffles, nothing more serious. And for that I remain grateful.

Tea tonight is soup - I am planning Butterbean and Thyme, which is a Lyndsey Bareham recipe.

Can't think of anything else :money:. Today will be more tidying and sorting, in between looking after darling BG and trying to get us both better. Properly.

Ta for popping in and offering suggestions - I can only apologise for saying it's not for me, but know that I have given surveys much thought over the time that I have been posting on MSE.

Greying X

System

GP I am stuck at home with a dose of something ! Fresh air is my blessing at the moment.

As for the surveys , I only do them out of necessity to make a few extra £s , when I am debt free they won’t see me for dust.

As for the street markets , we have 2 really good markets in my part of the world but they are not convenient for me to get to.
I have noticed though in the local press some shops offering fruit and veg unpackaged again, just like when I was a child in the 60/70s . This is to cut down on the amount of plastic being used.

We also used to have a fruit and veg van that came round locally but even that has disappeared.

Have a good day GP and baby Greying .