survive on a very tight budget

[bonniethomas06]

I recon soup is the way to go too - I just made a butternut squash and sage soup - garlic, 1/2 butternut squash, 1/2 onion, a stock cube and a few sage leaves. Was very nice and made enough for work tomorrow too. It must have cost about £1 in total.
I also love potato and leek - again, a huge put for under £1 and it is really filling.

Is there any way you can get a part time job? - even just a few hours a week? I am sure you have thought of that. Sorry again if your budget is after you have counted your job!!

Good luck with it all.

[Thomzo]

Just a warning to be wary of false economies. Doughnuts might seem a lot cheaper than fruit but you'll feel hungry again much more quickly. Same with white and wholemeal bread. 2 for 1s are only a bargain if you are going to use it all up. Chopped tinned tomatoes are more expensive than whole ones but you get loads more tomatoes.

Zoe

[confused]

Yep, I'd agree - I found that when my partner was made redundant, once people knew I was looking for extra income I picked up all sorts of extra little jobs here and there, and a few pounds a week would make a big difference to your food budget. I am also a great believer in soup and bread as a warm, cheap and sustaining meal:
Cook an onion gently in butter/oil until soft, add chopped veg of your choice (whatever is cheap) and a cup full of red lentils (don't need soaking), add 2 pints of stock made with cheapest stock cube, perhaps a bit of tomato paste or a few squashy tomatoes not suitable for salad simmer very gently until cooked. To make it more filling you can chuck in a handful of pasta or rice. As with your stew, you can make a huge pan full and it will last for ages.

I'm 100% with you on the soup, i lived on soup and bread (as my main food )from the reduced rack in the supermarket for nearly 2 years , when the wheels came of my bus a few years back, just hunt the local supermarket for reduced in price veg then make a big pot of soup, another favourite was sausage stovies , 20 sausages for £1 from farmfood , some spuds and an onion , oxo cube , lived like a king

[baldybloke]

A pressure cooker is a wonderful thing. Soup in 10 minutes. Celery soup a favourite here.

One small onion fried in butter/oil. Add a head of celery roughly chopped. Add a bayleaf and a pint and a half of hot white stock. I used Boullion, put the lid on and bring up to pressure. Ten mins later, release pressure, blitz and serve.

Another cheap meal is corned beef hash

[alanw0]

I think you're on to the right lines with the beef skirt.
Make friends with your local butcher, while some things will be more expensive than the supermarket the choice will be wider and the advice better. Look at getting some lesser used cuts (such as the skirt) and making the best of them (a lot of which you just won't get in a supermarket).

Some examples - Ham Hocks will probably only cost £2-3ish, cook them in water for a good few hours with some veg then use the water and the veg for a lovely soup on one or two days. The ham, picked off the bone will probably do you for a good 4-5 meals for one (salad, omelette, sandwiches, pasta, pie, stew etc. etc.). Rabbits are around a lot at the mo and should only be around £3.50 each, again should stretch to a good week's worth of meals.
Don't forget to ask for stock bones as well, some butchers will give them to you free and if not are unlikely to charge a significant amount. Fill your freezer with stock (if no freezer then make a fresh one every week) and it will make your soups and stews much more substantial and stretch further, particularly if bulked up with pulses and beans as has been suggested above.

Good luck!

[earlystart]

Cheers guys

Sorry its been ages since I was on, have been very busy with college work! luckily things have changed a bit now and my budget has gone up to £30 a weeks!

[Chickie2378]

That is wonderful. More is nice!

Save 20 and spend 10. Like you never got that increase. 20 saved for emergency fund is a great idea!

[Thomzo]

That is wonderful. More is nice!

Save 20 and spend 10. Like you never got that increase. 20 saved for emergency fund is a great idea!

You only need to save that amount for around 5 weeks and you could buy yourself a bread making machine (maybe even less for a cheap one). Then you could save yourself a fortune on bread, rolls, pizza etc.

Zoe

[Chickie2378]

Do alot of people use breadmachines?

I never did. I make bread, rolls, etc. and do it freehand.

but I am one of those who hates kitchen gadgets actually. I don't like having to buy gadgets for everything. Just my personality I guess :)

[greenorelse]

Do alot of people use breadmachines?

I never did. I make bread, rolls, etc. and do it freehand.

but I am one of those who hates kitchen gadgets actually. I don't like having to buy gadgets for everything. Just my personality I guess :)

Sounds good!

A breadmaking machine will break down/wear out relatively quickly; your hands should last you your lifetime.

The teflon in the breadmaking pan will end up in your gut or worse. A bit of skin from your hands is just recycling!

Each time you spend money, you're saying what kind of world you want to live in. It's like voting but happens with every purchase. Keep your money for yourself and your local area to the greatest extent you can; buy local flour.

[Chickie2378]

I guess being a non-gadget person makes me more green in a way. Never thought of it that way.

I tell ya the older I get the less I want in the way of gadgets and technology. I want simple.

I de-cluttered the house and it is the best feeling in my life. No clutter gives me just a simplistic feeling that I can't describe. No more stuff is coming into this home HAHA

[Pumpkin&Piglet]

Do alot of people use breadmachines?

I never did. I make bread, rolls, etc. and do it freehand.

but I am one of those who hates kitchen gadgets actually. I don't like having to buy gadgets for everything. Just my personality I guess :)

Sounds good!

A breadmaking machine will break down/wear out relatively quickly; your hands should last you your lifetime.

The teflon in the breadmaking pan will end up in your gut or worse. A bit of skin from your hands is just recycling!

Each time you spend money, you're saying what kind of world you want to live in. It's like voting but happens with every purchase. Keep your money for yourself and your local area to the greatest extent you can; buy local flour.

Why is buying local produce good and important to do? Am genuinely asking, not trying to be antagonistic

[Chickie2378]

a few great reasons:

good chance your local farmer is NOT using unknown chemicals on your produce.
Your produce was handled alot less in travel.
your produce is vine ripened etc. vs. gas induced ripening for travel from long distance.
freshness vs. long travel times to store
keeps local money for local business support. support your own local community with your dollars.

I grow my own. Anything I don't grow I buy local if it is grown. Then if I can't get it local, I buy at the store and check for local grown producers first, then default to others if I can't get that and I am super picky. I eat mostly 'in season' for my area. Only thing I buy is bananas at the store mostly.

but when local strawberries are in season, I buy bulk. I preserve and freeze. It gets me thru winter until the next local harvest. I know my frozen berries are more delish than those giant tasteless (sometimes moldy) strawberries in a carton at the store. And at $3.99 for a small tub, I know I paid ALOT less when in season in my local area.

so that is how I think of handling my produce. hope that helps.

[demi]

ok dont get grossed out but, have you heard of 'skipping' ?

its basically going to the super market at the end of the day and checking the bins for stuff they've thrown out because its past its sell by date ( which does not mean its past its use by date, only means they cant legally sell it anymore but its still completly edible)
youll be shocked at the amout of edible food that gets thrown out!
most things are seald in packaging so thay are not contaminated from the bin.

[Pumpkin&Piglet]

I heard of this ages ago on 'Wife Swap' and then recently it came up again - on this forum I think!

I havent tried it myself and am not totally convinced on it but I totally understand and agree with the thinking of the people doing it