A new start

Anastacia

Hi
We had Sky Tv for years but after an argument with Sky ( who are a bunch of lying toerags in my opinion) we dont have it anymore & I didnt miss it at all since about 1 week after we lost it. Freeview boxes are much better now too. Mine came free with a new Tv from ebuyer.com & it is just a little doodah which fits on the aerieal cable and gives excelletn coverage.
I have got to agree with the shopping bill analysis though, its got to go. Check out The Old Style board for food budgetting ideas etc, theya re amazing. £55 sounds just right to me. You could also try vitamin b to aid your absorbtion of iron. Check with the doc obviously.

Good luck

muppetyness

Good Ideas! Yes I am getting into casseroles now, good ways of using cheap cuts of meat i am finding! I have started doing them in my slow cooker, they are delicious but i cant quite get enough in there for two meals for all four of us! Only one main meal, and one portion for another persons main meal or possibly 2 if i cooked more potatoes! I personally would eat pasta or other cheapo stuff every night, its just the kids need a varied diet as i dont want them getting to fussy, and DP, who incidentally is a real meat eater, therefore harder to keep happy. I shall go and try to find this old style board i keep seeing being mentioned.

Mupps.

Lizalu

Hiya,
so I'm not going to say get rid of sky, with 2 kids and only other choice being bbc1 I don't blame you.
But i think Sky do tv/broadband/phone packages, could you look into this as £25 per month on broadband is a lot!

other than that, you seem to be managing well, so well done! and the old style board is a god send!

neverdespairgirl

I've got a huge casserole dish that goes in the oven, and makes 4 meals for the 3 of us (me, OH, and our son). Well worth getting one of these.

Other quick and easy meals include stir-fries, and omelettes, and so forth.

belfastgirl23

Very straightforward tax credits calculator here

http://www.taxcredits.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/Qualify/DIQHousehold.aspx

It's also worth looking at some of the advice on saving petrol by driving more fuel efficiently since petrol is such a big part of your budget. In particular the thing about roughly where (in revs) you change gear was news to me!
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/what_can_i_do_today/efficient_driving

If you struggle with not spending in supermarkets (and believe me I can relate to that) come join us on the grocery challenge on the Old Style board and soon you'll get the same pleasure from refusing to shop as you currently do from shopping Feel free to join in now if you want, doesn't matter that it's the middle of the month http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=652959

Lots of luck...

dubsey

When did you last have a blood test? Make sure they are up to date, I had such a low iron count when I was pregnant with DD that the midwife had to come every day to give me iron jabs-not nice. Plus if you are showing low iron, then your doctor could prescribe something and seeing as your pregnant, the prescription would be free!

I wish it was only that my DH was fussy-he has Fresh Fruit Syndrome (!!!!!!!), he had an allergy test (because he's also diabetic and isn't eating properly) and he's allergic to nearly everything,fruit, veg, salad and to top it all doesn't like spicy food. So-I know where you're coming from!

muppetyness

Ugh, Dubsey that sounds like a nightmare! Yes with him it is only fussiness, mind you we do have to be quite careful as he has cronic reflux and heartburn problems, which he is on medication for but it needs reassessing as its just not working!

Re the Iron, yes I did have a recent test, they keep an eye on me as i had such bad blood loss with both my previous births! Unfortunately I can't take the ferrous sulphate iron supplements that the docs give me, as they make me too ill. Stomach cramps, which bring on contractions, and all sorts of other nasties I wont mention lol! So, I take a natural iron supplement that costs £6 per month and try and eat as much iron rich food and vit C as poss!

I am now having jitters about my shopping budget, especially after watching all the C4 programmes this week. We eat a lot of chicken, thighs, breasts, whole chickens. How the hell am I going to replace all those? Our local supermarkets only stock the occasional organic whole chicken. I am just going to have to start going to the butchers I think, I wonder what they are like in town, have never really been in to them for fear of the prices...
I refuse to be part of that terrible cruelty now I know how disgusting conditions actually are! And the chick production place on Jamie's fowl dinners last night, well a pregnant hormonal woman should NOT watch that sort of thing

Mupps

dancingfairy

You could check in your local area for the cheapest petrol - even if you only save a bit per litre it will all add up- there used to be a website to check petrol prices- not sure if there is one or not now. Hope someonelse will know this.