My SOA

Shineyhappy

Hiya,

There are quite a few vegans on this site, I am veggie who doesnt eat cheese btw. Post about cheap meal ideas for your family on the Old Style section of this forum they will probably be really good with cheap meal alternatives and are probably the best people to help you cut your food bills. Not sure why its so expensive though as I eat a lot of dried pulses and curries made from stratch including chick peas aqnd fresh veggies.

If you dont know about this website its fab for receipe ideas! www.vegweb.com I really recommend a nosey.

It appears that you dont work so would it be possible to earn some money via the web? Maybe look at doing some online surveys, selling on Ebay or maybe mystery shopping? Have a look at cash back sites like Top Cash back, Quidco and Pigsback. There are threads devoted to these sites (check out the freebies board for Quidco and Pigsback and you can see links to free samples on there- not a huge help but every little helps)and without spending money it is possible to earn some cash by clicking on links and signing up to receive emails (hotmail is a great thing so set up a junk email account first!) You also get money for changing utilites or taking out insurances or for example 1.45 from Quidco for sending off for a Whiskers kitten pack - although you will need to say one of your cats is under 6 months! It comes with 4 pouches of kitten food too.

I hope you are feeling a bit calmer now and feel much better soon!

riddlesticks

Hi hun,

I agree there is no point changing the insurers. If they have existing problems they wont be covered.

I think the little steps you are making re the food thing can only be a good thing. Once you get the hang of things Im sure it will be easier to reduce the shopping. However I would consider shopping at Aldi, Lidl and Netto. We shop at Aldi and our week shop can be between £30-£40. If we shop at Asda or Tesco it can be £60-£70.

chevalier

Just a thought but now that you are on benefits, can you not get your cats seen as the PDSA? I thought that they were free if you were on Income Support? If they are stinky does that mean they are not spayed? If not then perhaps the PDSA can help with that.

I am not a vegan, but I do know the value of shopping around. I get two huge bags of veg and fruit for a family of four from the local market for about £10, and that will last me most of a week. So perhaps checking out your local market would help with the food bills? Also do you have an Asian supermarket by you? They will have large bags of pulses, chickpeas etc for much cheaper than you can get in Tesco or Asda.
hope this helps
chev

catwoman54_2

No I'm not going to have my cats adopted, they are part of my family and that's that. They are all rescue cats, come from bad situations to begin with, so for us as a family it is just not an option.

I'm also not sure why our food bill is so high and I really don't think it is to do with being vegan either. I will post something about vegan meal ideas & perhaps where people would recommend buying things in bulk from.

Yes I'm already doing surveys, don't seem to get many though.

RAS

Re the grocery bills, post up you till receipts on the Money Saving Old Style forum and let them shred them.

If you are lucky you will, be left in one piece:D , but it will give you an idea where the money is going and what you can do to reduce your costs.

Also they will be able to help you meal lan - vegan and intolerance and all.

re the cats, check out the PDSA and please do not acquire any more. It is cats or bankruptcy unless you can sort this out pronto.

Cheery_Daff

Hi catwoman

Well done for posting - that's the hardest bit!

I think you said you're not sure how you're spending all that money on food - I was spending a fortune (and just for me!), then I came on here and the lovely people advised a spending diary. I realised I was going shopping every day! And spending loads...

Why don't you try writing down EVERYTHING that you spend on anything, just popping out for a loaf, or fruit or whatever. It's usually quite a revelation!

Also, I was vegan for 7 years, so I know it can be difficult sometimes to shop in the really cheap shops as they don't have much of a selection. Being vegan can be very expensive if you use meat replacement products, soya milk and everything. It can also be very very cheap if you limit your use of those, and use dried pulses, lentils, etc, make your own sandwich spreads, roasts etc - I know I'm probably preaching to the converted, sorry!

there are a couple of places you can buy bulk from, you can order loads if you've got somewhere to store it (mind you, it sounds like you haven't). What about veg and fruit from your local market if poss, tins of kidney beans from netto or somewhere (15p!), and then speciality stuff from somewhere else as a top up? Let us know how you get on!

Also - the people who talk about CCCS and payplan are right - they'll help you plan repayments you can afford, and will contact people for you I think

Keep coming on here and tell us how you're getting on!

Daffs
x

Toto

You mentioned that 2 of your sons get DLA but I don't see that in your income? My daughter gets DLA too and I certainly see it as money in the pot each month, she does have extra dietry needs so her dla covers that. Are you not using the boys DLA as family income?

catwoman54_2

Yes all my cats are neutered. That does not mean there would not be a horrible stink in our yard though, and I am not well enough to be cleaning and disinfecting a yard every day. It's much easier to do litter trays for me.

The PDSA in our area is crap & I had a very bad experience there, so would not return. My vet is wonderful, and really looks after the cats so well.

catwoman54_2

Hi Daffs
Thanks for your advice. I only shop twice a week, and the other days don't spend anything, so it's obviously the trips to the supermarket which are my downfall. Yes you are right, it is the replacement type products which eat up the money. I have done lots more cooking this week with pulses etc again, always used to before when money was tight. This week's money is going quite well though, so it clearly makes a difference. I'll let you know how it goes !!

catwoman54_2

Hi Toto
No I do not include the boy's DLA as family income because I use that on things which they specifically need because of their difficulties. I try to save any left over each month to pay for treats for the kids so I would not want to rely on that as my income, especially if their DLA rates changed, it would be a big shock ! They need quite alot of it spending on them each month so there is never really much left anyway.