My Thrifty Ways to Save Money

milasavesmoney · 19 September 2016 at 12:33AM

Last minute shopping seldom results in big savings.

Lynplatinum · 19 September 2016 at 11:58PM

milasavesmoney - I agree with you!! Especially if you are in a rush! You tend to pick up the first grub that comes to mind and is easy to cook!! Luckily for me 'easy grub' is pizza which in L!dils (frozen) is fairly cheap. But also I tend to pick up what I fancy when charging round at 90 miles an hour!!! this is usually disastrous for budget and waistline. Am trying to freeze HM stuff at mo for such stressed moments.
What are anyone else's 'grab food' s when in a rush?? Or any saving suggestions for those moments in life!!
(Unless everyone else on here is saint like and doesn't get in pickles like I do??? *Blushes*
Nite all

lessonlearned · 20 September 2016 at 1:01AM

Unfortunately I cant eat pizza, it makes my IBS flare up. I can't eat grains.

My aunt always used to say that if you had an egg in the house then you could make a meal.

Omelettes are quick, easy, cheap and nutrituous. If you are feeling adventurous then you can add any leftovers and make a frittata.

And if you want good old fashioned comfort food and don't feel like cooking then it's egg and chips (oven chips) and if I have any in, then I add some some baked beans. Easy Peasy.

Another quick easy one is oven fish (battered cod or haddock), oven chips and baked beans. Ok not exactly the most MSE of meals, but a lot cheaper than going to the chip shop.;)

milasavesmoney · 20 September 2016 at 3:45AM

I tend to have things to pull out of the freezer...frozen pizza was last night.

I do have quite a few HM entre!s ready to go in there.
Also grilled cheese sandwiches (not sure what you Brits call these) and tomato soup.
Burritos
Quesadillas
Tuna in something
Canned chicken noodle soup and salad. (I always have things to make salad)
Pasta >>so easy to throw something together.
Chili cheese dogs
Nachos topped with what I have (canned beans, chopped peppers & onions, scrambled mince, black olives etc and topped with cheese. Shred some lettuce for the top with chopped tomatoes and salsa. Avacados are good. Sour cream dolloped around on top....whatever you can grab that you have on hand. Jalepanoes !!!!
Stir fry ( I keep cooked rice frozen and use up the lurking veggies and any leftover meat)

Not many veggies here but when you are trying to feed a hungry mob these help out. :beer:

I_Love_comps · 20 September 2016 at 6:11AM

Morning Everyone. Welcome to any new posters. I had a NSD day yesterday.
lessonlearnedI agree with you that sometimes it is better to pay more for a better quality item. Remember to always look out for offers.
When we needed a new DW earlier this year I would not have one until I saw a better quality one in the sales.
I also had to buy a new handbag and some new clothes and shoes - these were all decent brands - but bought half price in sales.
Well the shed came down very easily on Saturday morning. OH has started clearing ground of weeds brambles - so hopefully next March we can start preparing for a patio area for next Summer.

Have a good Tuesday :j:j:j

savingpennies · 20 September 2016 at 10:39AM

Morning all.
I went foraging at the weekend and came back with blackberries, sloes and elderberries. The blackberries are joining some apples I picked off my very small cordon tree, so cost nothing. I will have to buy some gin to make the sloe gin which becomes a very welcome present at Christmas for some of my relatives and friends. I'm going to try and make cordial for the elderberries.
It was a nice couple of hours out walking in the fields of our friend's farm with the sun on our backs and all for free.

Witless · 20 September 2016 at 1:02PM

Ok, this is the opposite of MSE thrifty I think, but totally beyond my control. (Someone might want to get the cheese ready, there could be a w(h)ine about!)

As I've posted elsewhere previously I freely admit that I'm bear of little brain.

Yesterday at the dentist confirmed that.

I had/have no issues with my dentist's charges realising that the cost reflects (in part) his extended and extensive training and his professional qualifications.

Yesterday was my supposedly last appointment (3 in 4 days) for fitting of a partial denture. (As it worked out I hand to go back today for a final? adjustment making it 4 in 5 days).

Whilst waiting I scanned the price list displayed in the waiting room and noticed a 'simple scale & polish' was £10.40 - very reasonable I thought, given it was a dentist supplying the service.

He recommended I see the hygienist as she was better suited to deal with my particular issues (gum disease), which i did.

Cost?

Dentist - 4 x appointments, 2 teeth added to partial upper and 1 tooth added to lower - £61.14 - more than reasonable IMHO. (The previous extractions which necessitated this series of 'treatment' were done as emergency pain relief treatment - approx £10 per visit)

Hygienist - very simple scale & polish (I'm now, at the unfortunate stage where total dentures + gaps almost exceeds teeth) - £30.00 - i was aware of the cost (from aforementioned price list so it wasn't a surprise - I wasn't really expecting a pro rata reduction)

I suppose the logic is that this counts as cosmetic and isn't underwritten by the NHS presumably the dentist can't perform it if there's a hygienist available.

While waiting for confirmation of today's charges (there weren't any) I noticed that pensioners no longer seem to be exempt from charges - which was a surprise.

On reflection, hold the cheese, I'll not mention the amount I pay in NI for 'free' NHS treatment.

Lynplatinum · 20 September 2016 at 11:10PM

hiya all

yep - eggs - v useful but lessonlearned I had forgotten that I used to keep quality oven chips in for that purpose (too much wheat not good for me)
mila - lots of ideas there I hadnt considered. Very cool

Re dental charges. Dental hygienists train for 2 years at the equivalent of degree level these days. Most professionals charge about £30 per hour.
However, the way that NI has been misappropriated by various governments makes me furious :mad: so does the privatization of our health service by the back door. But then people take it for granted - is it 170,000 missed appointments per year??? I agree with Mathew Wright (the Wright Stuff channel 5) who suggests that a deposit be taken of £20 when you book - refundable instantly when you turn up! Yes, its steep, but it might stop the time wasters. And might save the nhs some money!! And therefore us the tax payer!
Just a thought.
Nite all

moneyistooshorttomention · 21 September 2016 at 7:30AM

culpepper wrote: »

I have found oil pulling to be quite effective for tooth whitening. You can use any edible oil. It is just being dedicated enough to spend 20 mins every morning doing the swishing that lets me down.

It's something I've been wondering about for quite some time.

Fortuitous to see you saying you find it to be a good idea.

Yep...the thought of 20 minutes worth does feel off-putting to me. What do you do whilst you are doing your "20 minutes worth"?

It's not so much tooth whitening I'm thinking of (though that would be a bonus) - as I've reached an age where there are so many bits of my body not looking as attractive as they used to that it's a job to know where to start on dealing with it (ie early 60s). I'm developing a theory about the 60s being THE worst decade for looks. I still counted as attractive (if "for your age" latterly) until into my 50s and, by the time I reach my 80s I'll be thinking "No point in worrying now - as I won't be here much longer". But 60s - agh!! No-one (including myself) thinks so any longer....

Of more concern to me is dental health - at the moment I'm having my teeth scaled every 3 months to keep the plaque under control. There was a period quite some years back where I guess I did neglect my teeth a bit - and, as a result, my gums receded a bit and I'm hoping to find a way to get them to "grow back up again" iyswim. So don't know whether oil pulling would help with that or no.

Caterina · 22 September 2016 at 9:19AM

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

That had me doing quick googling LL to see if I could use Arm and Hammer toothpaste or no - and I can't. Sorry to break the bad news but....

I checked out the ingredients - which I was wondering about a bit (as includes fluoride:() and their phrasing alerted me to what they arent saying it includes.

Cue for it's on the list - ie of products with plastic microbeads (fish for the eating of.....):(:

https://www.beatthemicrobead.org/images/pdf/redUK.pdf

right down the bottom of the list of products to boycott (for having those microbeads in) was precisely one toothpaste. You guessed it. Oh well - back to the drawing board as to what one to use instead then...

I've had to give up eating fish and go back to being vegetarian - after reading about all those microbeads going into the ocean and via the fish into us.

They have this update for the UK (May 2016) that seems to indicate Arm and Hammer to be free of microbeads, maybe they changed the formulation.

http://beatthemicrobead.org/images/pdf/greenUK.pdf

edited to add:

If your teeth need a basic scale and polish, your dentist should be asked to do it, it's in the NICE guidelines somewhere apparently, but they won't do it if it requires an in-depth cleaning, because it is time consuming. But it is worth asking your dentist if you just want a basic one.

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My Thrifty Ways to Save Money

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