£142,000 over 23 years....OR NOT!!

fruitloop04

I have just made a big batch of granola bars for lunches when I go away with work :money: the recipe says they freeze well so they should last a while. Luckily I had a lot of the ingredients (seeds and nuts) already in the house otherwise it would have been very pricey!! The only thing is, I put the top of the food processor on the side and it rolled off and broke so just had to re-order one off e**y for £7.99.

I have also batched cooked some meals for lunches so that should keep us going for the week, I need to make dinners that we can double up and take to work really.

I am going to do some tidying of accounts and then pay the difference off the mortgage. It all helps after all!

twinklie

fruitloop04 wrote: »

I have also batched cooked some meals for lunches so that should keep us going for the week, I need to make dinners that we can double up and take to work really.

We do this as often as we can - it saves a fortune.

fruitloop04

twinklie wrote: »

We do this as often as we can - it saves a fortune.

What kind of things do you batch cook? I find it hard sometimes to think of things that we can double up - we often just have meat and veg or fish and veg for dinner which don't heat up very well!

fruitloop04

So my zero based budget hasn't really worked...there have been too many unexpected (or I forgot to add them like my hair cut!) spends. I don't necessarily plan my time off until a couple of days before so I don't know what to put aside for entertainment/socialising etc. How do other people manage with this?

I have no money now until I get paid on the 31st

twinklie

fruitloop04 wrote: »

What kind of things do you batch cook? I find it hard sometimes to think of things that we can double up - we often just have meat and veg or fish and veg for dinner which don't heat up very well!

I do soups, curry and pasta sauces (so just need to cook pasta or rice to accompany, lasagne, cottage pie etc. I don’t do as much as I used too mind because I don’t have much of a freezer at the minute.

I also try and cook an extra portion of food whenever I can do that I can take it for lunch the next day.

yogavibes

I really struggle with batch cooking. If I make a load of soup OH just keeps on going back for more throughout the evening or it all gets taken the next day for lunch. If I make a sauce that we all eat, again between the 5 of us it doesn't spread to much more than lunch for the next day. Most cheap teas for us are things on toast :money:
I tend to plan for time off work in advance as it is almost always with the kids - I do a fair amount of expectation management as to what we are going to be able to afford to do. For half term we have agreed one cinema trip, a day out somewhere, and plenty of time cleaning their bedrooms :rotfl:

fruitloop04

twinklie wrote: »

I do soups, curry and pasta sauces (so just need to cook pasta or rice to accompany, lasagne, cottage pie etc. I don’t do as much as I used too mind because I don’t have much of a freezer at the minute.

I also try and cook an extra portion of food whenever I can do that I can take it for lunch the next day.

Thank you twinklie Soups are definitely a good one to have lurking around! I have soup on the menu for dinner this week and should have enough for lunch the following day! I don't eat carbs as they upset my stomach which unfortunately makes it a bit more difficult as carbs are quick cheap! However, we had a roast chicken yesterday with veggies and I picked the leftover meat off the bone for today's chicken and veg curry...and there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow! I need to do more of that!

fruitloop04

yogavibes wrote: »

I really struggle with batch cooking. If I make a load of soup OH just keeps on going back for more throughout the evening or it all gets taken the next day for lunch. If I make a sauce that we all eat, again between the 5 of us it doesn't spread to much more than lunch for the next day. Most cheap teas for us are things on toast :money:
I tend to plan for time off work in advance as it is almost always with the kids - I do a fair amount of expectation management as to what we are going to be able to afford to do. For half term we have agreed one cinema trip, a day out somewhere, and plenty of time cleaning their bedrooms :rotfl:

We are terrible too with portions - I'll make a soup for 4 people and we are lucky to get 3 portions out of it! Haha I like the sound of your expectation management - I need to do that with my partner!! As soon we have some time off together (both work different shifts) we just spend so much money!

fruitloop04

So having a bit of a low day today Things were really bad at work and it has just made me completely question my ability. Ho hum.

I am hoping my rewards credit card will get over the £5 balance soon so I can OP it on the mortgage. Also planning to raid the small amount in the penny jar and take it to the bank on Sat to OP that too. I have left myself so short this month but I only need to wait until next week and then I will get paid. I can make an overpayment then too which will make me feel better.

fruitloop04

Work's still not much better...wondering what to do - shall I start looking for a new job? I don't see things changing here.

Tidied up all my piggy banking accounts so made another OP of £31.62. I am hoping all of these little payments make a difference