OS Tuesday 8th January 2008

angchris

well done for starting to make an effort, it really is amazing when you first start to do it properly and you realise what you have been wasting and how much it costs you to waste it and how just a little organisation saves you loads of money.
everything i do now is thought of before i do it...do i really need it..can i get it cheaper..will my world fall apart if i don`t get it :rotfl: today for example oh has been looking at getting one of those expensive brabantia kitchen bins and the reason? just cos he fancies one :rolleyes: yes they look nice, yes they are functional but is it really going to make my kitchen run smoother? no! there is absolutely nothing wrong with the bin i have had for years so i refused to buy it and have instead transferred the money he would of spent into my "new windows" savings account as my bedroom window doesnt even close properly...that to me is far more important than a new bin.
i actually quite enjoy rummaging through the freezer the night before and deciding what will go with what for tea the next day out of my yellow stickered bargains. last night i made mince pies with leftover mincemeat that would previously have gone in the bin, we are sick of mince pies at the moment but i froze them untill we are not sick of them
good luck with your moneysaving quest im sure you can slash loads of your monthly outgoings and use that money on something you really do want/need....angchris xx

kippers

Good luck & keep it going.

It took me months to get used to it being o/s. At the beginning you are all fired up and by the end of the month its not so appealing...but wait until you see what a difference it makes to your bank balance!

You will still succume to the odd takeaway and meals out but now after a year of home cooked food, i can honestly say that on the rare occaision we do eat out or have a takeaway, we are always dissappointed by the meal and we all seem to like home cooked food far more.

sparklewing

mrbadexample wrote: »

I like to make sure Spaghetti gets good grub, so he gets IAMS. Mostly the dried food, which I buy in large quantities when there's an offer on. 60g per day so he doesn't get fat! I'll get him the wet stuff as a treat if Morrisons are good enough to have it on special, too.

He doesn't 'do' IAMS :rolleyes: , he's the weirdest cat ever, he will only eat dried food if there is wet food in thebowl next t it so he can have a mouthful of each in turn, he won't eat fresh meat at all, not even fish but he'll steal plasticky ham from sandwiches and sits on your shoulder eating ice cream out of your bowl(only strawberry flavour though), he also likes raw green peppers. Freak

mary43

Well done sparklewing.............I was much the same before I came on here. We're not what you'd call 'in debt'............mortgage and bank loan both due to end in November............but money just seemed to go without us realising what on. OH is pretty good with food shopping and does wonders with leftovers (better than I could do) -I'm left with the paperwork/phone calls, christmas and birthdays..........thats where I've really started well I think .......made a point of haunting the charity shops for bargains and making up baskets/containers...............keeping spending diaries in the form of individual notebooks, one for gardening one for 'general' one for pressies .....so far it seems to be working ok though I've still got loads to learn.
Good luck to you.............we've got three cats and the youngest will eat anything...........the oldest is 17 and getting bit fussy so we do spoil her a bit I'm afraid.

mrbadexample

sparklewing wrote: »

Freak

Yep...think that sums it up nicely. :rotfl:

Buffy_the_Vampire_Bat

sparklewing wrote: »

He doesn't 'do' IAMS :rolleyes: , he's the weirdest cat ever, he will only eat dried food if there is wet food in thebowl next t it so he can have a mouthful of each in turn, he won't eat fresh meat at all, not even fish but he'll steal plasticky ham from sandwiches and sits on your shoulder eating ice cream out of your bowl(only strawberry flavour though), he also likes raw green peppers. Freak

Is he a Siamese by any chance?

When she was single my mum had two Siamese...who both had somewhat eccentric eating habits...one had a particular fondness for tinned peaches amongst other things...Dad remembers well the first time he stayed over at my mum's when they were first together Mum cooked him a big fried breakfast the next morning, and he had to contend with the cats trying to nick bits off his plate...he swears one would try to distract him while the other one made off with a rasher of bacon, making sure to drag it along the floor before eating it just to make sure Dad didn't want it after that! :rotfl:

And back on topic...good luck on the new way of life, it can be done

Primrose

Good luck to you. Just think how much earlier your mortgage will be paid off if you direct all your savings to that objective! As we get older life can throw some unexpected nasties in all our directions such as illness, redundancies etc and if one has had the forethought to try and reduce the mortgage debt when surplus money has been available, it can make for great peace of mind.

Pooky

Why don't you sign up to one of the free dvd trials through quidco - gives you a bit of cashback and a few weeks free dvds (they do games too)....there's several to try - as long as you remember to cancel them before the paying period you'd save yourself a bit.

purpleivy

Thanks for all the hints and tips you've given me over the last few days. I'm now starting to get back into all the OS things that I used to do, plus some more.

I've been so deprived of cooking facilities May-Dec last year that it's fab to be in my new kitchen. I feel really positive that I'm doing something positive to get together the ££ for the last payments. I'm loving having the space to cook and enjoying the challenge.

Have had some good stuff this week.

On the vegi front (dd has been for a year, but I haven't done much in 'recipes') I have done cashew loaf with cheese and onion in the middle today. DH actively liked it rather than giving it OK. DD loved it. Made pesto pinwheels, which were a hit.... if only pesto wasn't so expensive! Would welcome some suggestions for alternatives.

Leek and chevre (goat cheese) lasagne I thought was goodbut kids were less keen.
First lot of hm yoghurt tonight. dd OK, but not really sweet enough for ds.

Vegi toad in the hole went down well and it meant we could all have the same.

THis evening I have made bread with mix of spelt and white flour in the BM. That's nice too! Also packed some 'left over' pesto pinwheels for ds for lunch tomorrow.

Anyway, thanks for answering all my daft questions! Youwould never believe that I was a cook... trained etc... but a while ago...:rotfl:

angelavdavis

Congratulations! Sounds like you have cracked it!!!

Good luck and long may it continue for you!