Why is spending money so easy......

mark55man

wow with that amount of get up and go you will succeed and set yourself up for a better future

Pooky

One way to reduce the takeaways is to always have a loaf in the freezer (give it a shake before you freeze it so you can take out individual slices and make it a "on toast" night instead beans/eggs/cheese etc, cheap and cheerful. If going without a take away is going to cause uproar then maybe plan one a month as a treat rather than a necessity.

We don't do take always as we had food allergies and intolerances that make it far to difficult but we still have the "on toast" night on those days I can't be bothered to do the meal that was planned.

Snwps

mark88man wrote: »

wow with that amount of get up and go you will succeed and set yourself up for a better future

Thanks for the encouragement, it was a long day yesterday but was left go early from job #2 as it was really quiet so managed to get home and sort kids ready for back to school today.

Pooky wrote: »

One way to reduce the takeaways is to always have a loaf in the freezer (give it a shake before you freeze it so you can take out individual slices and make it a "on toast" night instead beans/eggs/cheese etc, cheap and cheerful. If going without a take away is going to cause uproar then maybe plan one a month as a treat rather than a necessity.

We don't do take always as we had food allergies and intolerances that make it far to difficult but we still have the "on toast" night on those days I can't be bothered to do the meal that was planned.

This is a good idea, we always have bread in the house, mainly for packed lunches. This is good to keep in mind, thanks.

I've decided to do some batch cooking this week. I used to do it regular, freeze a left over portion in take away container (cos I have that many :rotfl:). I've been looking at some recipes and now that the weather is changing I can start doing the usual bolognese, curries, stews and pies and freeze to have at least 1 meal from the freezer each week, plus for those nights where we're too shattered to cook.

I've also been reading up on dump bags, where all the ingredients are put in a bag raw then frozen, then when needed, defrosted overnight in the fridge to cook all day in the slow cooker. This seems an amazing idea but not sure about the freezing of the raw meat. Anyone do this?

So a few payments have come out today. Total debt now stands at £36,281.96.

Cant wait to get paid from job #2 later this week to get that figure into the £35k's

So I'm off home soon, will be making a shopping list and meal planning for the week, with a couple of batch cooking sessions inc. Wish me luck!

suki1964

freezing raw meat is fine, Ive lots of small meat parcels in the freezer and lots of bags of stews/casseroles/curries because I always make way too much. Some only have a tiny portion, others have quite a bit in them. On days where I have literally nothing else available out they come and a meal is ready. Make sure you do label them else you might end up with a small curry and a small beef stew being divided up instead of mixed together Ive done so on many occasions but then my family is used to my totally disorganised organisation

monz

Oh yes I do this! I am a single parent. I buy raw meat in bulk, separate it and put in different bags. Defrost when needed. I normally put the date on the outside and ensure I use within 3 months xx

getmore4less

If I get a hold of cheap meat(RFQS) I take surplus(off cuts if a big joint), cut it into stir fry strips, marinade overnight in the fridge then freeze flat.

Flat is the important bit because you can give it a quick zap in the micro to get the defrost started and then chuck in the wok to finish off.

A meal made quicker than ordering a takeaway.

clearmydebts

Just popped in to say hi! That second job of yours seems to be making a huge dent to your debts. My debt figure is high so I will be around for a while too. Did your husband get the second job as well?

Snwps

clearmydebts wrote: »

Just popped in to say hi! That second job of yours seems to be making a huge dent to your debts. My debt figure is high so I will be around for a while too. Did your husband get the second job as well?

Oh I forgot to mention about that, yes he's been contacted my the employer this week to say that he should be able to start sooner than we thought (was originally going to be end of Oct/Nov) but could be within the matter of weeks. We need to iron out some details on how the two jobs will work together but hopefully will be fine. Job #2 seems really flexible so fingers crossed.

Off the back of my previous post regarding the grocery shop. We're trying a new approach this month. Normally as DH gets paid weekly the shop is done on a weekly basis from his pay with top up shops in between. I've drawn up a monthly meal plan and monthly shopping list on a spreadsheet on a 4 week basis and wrote the shopping list for everything needed to make each meal. Then I've printed it off, gone through my stores and crossed off what I already have in leaving what I need to get shopping for the whole of September.

Don't get me wrong I will need to do fresh shop for milk, bread and packed lunch stuff, but I also have a list for those weekly shops to coincide with the monthly meal plan.Also planning on buying more frozen veg to reduce waste (although I will admit I much prefer fresh to frozen veg). Going shopping after work so I'll let you know how I got on.

Snwps

I'm thinking of opening a new savings account. I have multiple with my current bank but having them with online access/mobile banking access is too convenient. It's too easy to think I'll lend £50 from the savings and add back next week. I'm thinking of looking for a savings account elsewhere where I physically need to go into the branch to access the savings. Does anyone have anything like this/have any info where I can get this?

I don't want to lock the money away as it's our emergency fund so may need to withdraw to say emergency repairs etc, so needs to be easy access but not too easy, if you know what I mean :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

I get a lot of frozen veg as well now, which we use when the fresh stuff has run out. There are certain types of veg that are just as nice frozen - spinach, kale, green beans, peas, sweetcorn, peppers, onions... But I can't stand frozen broccoli/cauliflower or sprouts - they just don't work! So that's what I buy fresh along with salady bits.