Seriously struggling - any advice would be appreciated!

bouncydog1 wrote: »

A lot of students buy bags of quorn mince and chicken pieces. A bag of mince goes miles. You just keep it in the freezer and use as you need it.

Use it to make anything you would use animal mince for. I don't eat meat so keep the mince and quorn chicken pieces. I use the chicken to make all sorts of stuff including fajitas, pies, stews, etc.

Thanks for the advice - is quorn good value usually? I'm not sure which brands are gluten free but I will have a look online and see!

purpleybat wrote: »

just a quickie
rather limp lettuce can be diced or shredded and put in pasta sauces, stews, omelettes etc. you wont get the fresh lettuce flavour (will be like a very mild cabbage) but it makes use of it.

Thank you for this, I never thought of using lettuce this way.

Quick update - about to head out shopping. Only have £9 left so I think the CC will need to be used but I am going to both Tesco and Aldi to try and keep the cost as low as possible.

purpleybat wrote: »

I would go to aldi first and then tesclo for bits you cant get. if you go to tesclo first you'll end up buying it all from there and then spending more.
try not to beat yourself up too much at having to use your credit card, just try to keep cost down and budget in increased payments to pay it off.

Thanks purpleybat - I did exactly as you suggested. Ended up spending £10.12 in Aldi and £5.13 in Tesco for the bits I couldn't get in Aldi. Have ended up with:

Grated mozzarella
Eggs x6
Yogurt - dairy and non-dairy
Mangetout
Mushrooms
Babycorn
Courgette
Frozen Fruit
Jelly
Quorn Mince
Dishwasher Tabs
Binliners

Now to try and make enough dinners and main meals to last me for the week.

I have planned to make oats for breakfasts and have baked chocolate muffins and flapjacks for snacks out of what I had in the store cupboard.

phizzimum wrote: »

Limp looking lettuce can be made into soup too (I'd use the chicken stock and the cauliflower too)

You may already be doing it, but you can break dishwasher tabs in half - they do the job just as well

I prefer porridge made with water rather than oats. For years I thought it sounded horrible, but when I actually tried it I thought it was was nicer! Oats and water creates its own "milk" - although maybe GF oats don't?

I reckon you're going to pick up so many pound stretching habits this month, your credit card balance will be gone in no time and you can start building up a little emergency fund

I have never even thought of splitting the dishwasher tablets in two.. how could I have not realised that?! Thank you very much, I shall be starting to use this tip today.

I usually use a small bit of almond milk and majority of water, just to up the creaminess while making sure I can make the almond milk last as long as possible as I don't really use it for anything else.

I do hope so. I am very frustrated with myself as I am young, earn a good salary, don't have to provide for anyone else, yet every month I am left struggling only two weeks after payday and survive on overdrafts and CCs. It is shameful and I am determined to sort it out. I am hoping YNAB helps me out with this once I fully understand it.

So far have made breakfast and snacks so just trying to think of what to make for lunch and dinners. I am thinking maybe curried red lentils with brown rice for dinner... then just need one more meal to take to work for lunch! Feeling more positive already!

suki1964 wrote: »

Always buy the cheapo tablets, those without a ball and snap in half


I personally find a whole tablet makes everything feel soapy


You also, no matter what the tablet companies tell you, need to salt and add rinse aid


I buy rinse aid and a bag of salt around once a year. Tablets are the cheapest I can find and I use just half.

Dishes are sparking, streak free and good to go

Aw thank you so much for this advice - I am so excited to see how long I can go without buying dishwasher tabs now! I usually go for the premium Aldi tabs but I bought the cheapest ones yesterday and do always add rinse aid and salt as standard. Will half it tonight and see what it's like in the morning. I only have a mini machine so it should be perfect.

Quick update on meals: made chilli with the quorn and black eyed beans for lunches this week which I will have with brown rice/'jackets and a big pot of dahl for dinners. Last night's dinner was chicken stuffed with cheese and spinach, with a side of veg.

My petrol light went off this morning so I am going to have to fill up on the CC and remember to pay it off come payday.

Do any experienced YNAB-ers know how I deal with overspending? Obviously I haven't been able to budget for petrol as I don't have any money available to budget... do I just record my actual spending and leave it in the red for this month?

Thank you