Living in the black

enthusiasticsaver

I think using the credit card for expenses is a good idea. That way it does not throw your budget out and you should get reimbursed by the time the payment is due. Just make sure you set the money aside to pay the credit card bill when it comes in.

efes_shareholder

My slow cooker was a godsend when my kids were at home and coming and going , I even used to puree the vegetables in to pasta sauces etc so they were getting the goodness without realising and not the additional sugars , salts and preservatives from jarred sauces

I'm with ES , with three kids - I didn't cater for likes and dislikes , if you don't like the mushrooms move them to the side of your plate !
I've also found maggi bags immensely helpful when I don't want to cook from scratch - The mexican bag is particulary nice and can be packed out with peppers , sweetcorn and kidney beans and goes nice with Salad , rice or potato wedges

Yellow_mango

Thank you! I do have a slow cooker. I should definitely start making more use of it.

Although actually I think what I need to embrace more is NOT cooking on weeknights. Everyone except me has a hot lunch at school. So they don’t really need a cooked dinner. And we don’t get home until around 6.30pm to even start cooking. So actually if we can get used to the idea that a sandwich is perfectly fine, everyone’s life would be a lot easier!

Working_Mum

I am a single parent to two young adults (20 and 18) and they are complete carnivores. I shop weekly and keep a shopping list on my fridge (I make a note as I run out of stuff). Each Wednesday I triage my fridge and freezer (and store cupboard) and think about my week ahead - do I have to make any economies because I need my FFF for more fun than food!!

I do a mental meal plan from what is available without shopping and then ask the kids what they'd like to eat this coming week. I then decide what I need to buy and what I can make from stores - I too have an issue with empty cupboards and fridges because we never had food in when i was a child.

I try and eat vegan/vegetarian a few times a week and will happily use up food into weird meal combinations and don't have an issue eating the same thing for a few meals.

The Old Style Forum on here has been amazing for inspiration and reducing waste. I always have pasta and rice available - I buy chicken breasts and steak in bulk from my butchers and freeze them in individual portions. I cook/pootle in my kitchen most evenings and chivvy the kids along by asking what they want out of the freezer for their meals the next day. I bought one of these and this helps when they forget (I am not comfy defrosting meat in a microwave)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Taylor-Minutes-Electricity-Chemicals-Microwave/dp/B075ZZH39N/ref=asc_df_B075ZZH39N/?!!!!!googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309862967999&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9565320500086805510&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006816&hvtargid=aud-543776533562:pla-696548217542&psc=1

I make soup once a week and eat that for lunch or tea - I do a massive pan of chicken fajita and leave that in the fridge for either the kids or myself to simply heat up when required.

I have found a wonderful 3 bean chilli recipe and the kids haven't noticed there is no meat in it but they prefer the shepherd's pie! Good luck with the slow cooker - you can do all sorts of stuff in it - google is your friend!

My children will make their own meals like stir-fry/quesadilla's/curries etc and overall they eat very healthily BUT they still snack as I like a well filled fruit bowl and snack cupboard. I am working on their tidying up abilities but they're young and I think adulting is a bit boring so will continue to clean up my kitchen for a while I think!!

Well done on switching your school fees over to direct debit - this will ease your mind I am sure.

You really seem to be making progress and having some revelations which is great. Keep it up!

enthusiasticsaver

Yellow_mango wrote: »

Thank you! I do have a slow cooker. I should definitely start making more use of it.

Although actually I think what I need to embrace more is NOT cooking on weeknights. Everyone except me has a hot lunch at school. So they don’t really need a cooked dinner. And we don’t get home until around 6.30pm to even start cooking. So actually if we can get used to the idea that a sandwich is perfectly fine, everyone’s life would be a lot easier!

If they already eat a cooked meal lunchtime I would agree that they don't need another in the evening but presumably you do not eat a cooked meal so something quick for you is a good idea even if jacket potato or salad or something batch cooked like a shepherds pie you can just stick in the oven. It is just a case of getting organised and the OS forum is good for ideas. My go to quick meal if DH is not around is a pasta salad.

Yellow_mango

If they already eat a cooked meal lunchtime I would agree that they don't need another in the evening but presumably you do not eat a cooked meal so something quick for you is a good idea even if jacket potato or salad or something batch cooked like a shepherds pie you can just stick in the oven. It is just a case of getting organised and the OS forum is good for ideas. My go to quick meal if DH is not around is a pasta salad.

I come home for lunch most days, so can cook something quick for lunch if necessary. A lot of the time I eat leftovers, since no-one else will! I love leftovers. If there’s no leftovers left, I’ll happily throw together a quick omelette, or stir fry. Feeding myself is never a problem.

Today we are having sausages. Usually they just get stuck in the oven and served with frozen potatoes of some kind. Today I threw in a can of beans, a can of sweet corn and a can of tomato soup, to make a sausage casserole. And I’m serving with rice. There will be many complaints, it’s not as beige as they would like. But it’s healthier, and will go further so there will be leftovers for me for a couple of days :-)

Yellow_mango

In other news today. I managed to call the Cattery about the vaccinations, and they aren’t willing to take her without both. There’s no way of getting both before we leave now, so that’s that. I have contacted a girl who has done pet sitting for us before to see if she can help. It’s pretty short notice though. Might save a bit of money in the end. Silver lining and all that.

I also got a call from the broker about the life insurance we’re trying to sort out now we have a huge mortgage. It’s taken MONTHS, which I’ve been quite happy about tbh since it meant we weren’t paying the premiums.

Anyway. Income protection policies are now live and the first payments will come out on 1 July. Life insurance is proving trickier.

Apparently the company we were going with have decided they don’t like dh riding a motorbike so put an extra 50% on the premium. The broker has been trying other insurers, and found one that can give us a reasonable price, but it means we need to start the whole application again. My family health history is not at all great, so the application process was pretty gruelling the first time round. Not really keen to go through that again, but hey ho. I do think it’s a good idea to get properly covered.

All the thinking about dying has also reminded me that we really need to get wills done too...

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Life insurance is very time consuming to get, especially as you get older. We recently did ours when we increased our mortgage, the broker found a good policy. But then it was an hour on the phone to go through all the questions; to be fair I was answering for OH and myself, but still! The level of detail they went into was minute..... nice to get it sorted though

Yellow_mango

Time consuming and expensive. But necessary in our circumstances I think.

Cat sitting is sorted, so that’s one thing done.

Now just in that really annoying wait for payday. Nothing to do, nothing to buy, nothing moving at all. It’s so boring! Can’t wait to be able to start filling all my pots up!

Yellow_mango

Small steps. I have called to cancel my supermarket delivery monthly membership thing. It does save money on delivery if I’m getting a weekly delivery, but I save more money by actually going to a shop and sticking to a list.

Plus I clearly sounded suitably grumpy about being unable to cancel online, so they also refunded last months subscription! That’s £6.99 to add to the pot :-)