How long can I make £187.15 last?

London_1

Indeed its a good job we are different I guess I love goats cheese but not keen on the milk. But then I eat virtually any cheese at all. Roquefort is made with sheeps milk and is delicious.
Where my late brother lived in rural France there was a cheese lady who ran the shop in the village and I would spend a lovely afternoon there chatting in very broken french and her broken english about various cheeses and she would sit you down proffer a glass of wine and some gorgeous home made craskers and grapes from her vine behind her house and I would try all different sorts of local cheeses I always came away with bagfuls of the stuff on the day we came back to England in my cool box. The Saturday morning market was a real local farmers one and you would get veg to take home that had been dug up or pulled that morning.

JackieO xx

sillyvixen

Sorry I have I got this right, your daughter an son in law both work and are living with you with 3 children for £120 per month?

mumtoomany

Hi all, lovely to see so many people reading along, and "talking amongst yourselves" while I'm not here.

@YORKSHIRELASS, it is difficult to satisfy all the people all of the time. Especially when the little ones change what they like almost daily.
@JGB1955, we didn't mind goats milk, I used to make cheese too. It was difficult having to make sure there was always someone to milk her twice a day.

JackieO, sounds like you had great times in France.

@sillyvixen, hello. I'll explain the situation. Ten or eleven years ago, DH and I, being mortgage free, decided we wanted to live in the country, somewhere with some land. DD1 and her husband asked if they could buy somewhere with us. After looking around we found this place. We paid for our half, from the sale of old house, they sold their house and took out a big mortgage for their half here. The house is now owned jointly by the two couples. All bills, council tax, electric, water, etc, are split 50/50. They now have their three children, we provide the childcare, for which we are paid by them. I cook the evening meal every night for us all. I also buy food that is used for other meals/snacks. Cereal, milk, cheese, crisps, fruit, etc. On top of this I buy toilet rolls, dishwasher tablets, soap, etc. I grow a lot of vegetables and some fruit, we keep chickens, sheep and sometimes pigs. And I am frugal! 
The challenge to myself, was to try to keep the total shopping cost to around £2640, for the year. This being the £120 per month room DD, £1440 per
year, and £100 per month from us, this also covered food for DD3, until she moved out a couple of months ago. In previous years this has been doable, even with nappies.
I could increase the amount i spend and ask for a bigger contribution from DD1, but they are, as well as paying their mortgage, building an extension, effectively a second house, and will move in there as soon as it is completed.
We could not have bought anywhere with as much land without their contribution and they would have struggled with childcare, both work for the NHS, so shifts, without us buying with them. We are both in our sixties and fit and healthy, and are hoping to stay that way, but this arrangement also means that we are future proofing our old age to an extent.
Hope this all makes sense. Thank you for asking. I'm sure others are also wondering.

No money spent yet, but S-i-L had taken the children out and is bringing milk in with him. So may spend later is he'll take the money off me. 

Hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx

mumtoomany

Sorry the last post looks very long!

Tea yesterday was spaghetti (sort of) carbonara. Cooking bacon, onions, mushrooms and broccoli. (I found some more bits i hadn't picked the day before) in a sauce made from milk, cheese and a bit of cream, the last of the tub in the fridge, that would not have lasted any longer. Mixed with spaghetti. Six of of seven enjoyed it. DGS didn't want it because the sauce was white! He doesn't like white! Hmm, maybe I've just found a use for some of the red food colouring.

A couple more photos, the spices drawer and the crisps and onions boxes.
Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

YoungBlueEyes

Thanks for clarifying how/why yous all ended up together mumtoomany, I was wondering how it came about (but didn't like to ask).

mumtoomany

No problem @YoungBlueEyes. I think sometimes online, you forget that others don't know you in the real world, and don't know how you life revolves. 
We also, both couples, pay equally for any repairs that need doing. Just had the barn roof fixed. Part of this was covered by insurance, the damage caused by storm Eunice, but about half was new purlins/a-frame and previous damage, caused by neglect before we bought. Part of the reason I'm trying to stick to this is to pay for the repairs without needing to eat into savings too much.

Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi all

Mumtomany thanks for sharing, that sounds like an amazing family set up and it makes a lot of sense, well done for making it all work, especially on a careful budget.

mumtoomany

Thank you @YORKSHIRELASS. DD3 is now a Yorkshire lass too. Having moved to live with one of her brothers, better job opportunities. Mumtoomany.xxx

mumtoomany

So, milk was £3.10, for two bottles. This leaves £184.05, for the rest of the year. I started this thread on 19th, so this is all I've spent in five days.

I've at last taken pictures of the shelves in the pantry, well it's a utility room really. Shelves from the top down. Top shelf marmalade and jam. Second shelf, pickles, vinegar, jam. Third shelf, mostly baked beans, packet of cereal and some tinned tomatoes. Fourth shelf mayonnaise, salad cream, peanut butter, cream crackers, flavoured passata, pearl barley. Next picture. Fifth shelf, tomato puree, passata, other tinned beans. Sixth shelf, oats, noodles, dried fruit, jelly. Seventh shelf, biscuits, tinned tuna, birthday cake candles, brown sauce, pudding rice, Christmas pudding, tinned pilchards and pectin. Bottom shelf, tea bags, coffee, squash and barbeque sauce. Did i mention that we won't starve? Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

thriftwizard

I have pantry envy now! I've never forgiven the "developer" who demolished the perfectly good pantry on the north side of our house, and whilst I do keep a good "store-cupboard", it's actually split around 4 different locations in the house & garage, as the kitchen, which isn't small, is also the dining room...

Not actually in Wales here, @mumtoomany, it's our DS1 & his fiancée; we're down south in Dorset. So a bit too far for me to come for veg regularly, but I may have to venture into Carmarthen & investigate next time we're passing by, which we'll probably do before too long; I gather some help with redecorating would be appreciated! I'd love to do something similar, and I suspect our DDs (plus one boyfriend) would very much be up for it, but OH is a city boy & thinks we're far too rural (in a small town on the edge of the BCP conurbation!) as it is.