Another New Day: Thrifty Ways

Frugal Friday
Store Cupboard Essentials

I tried to move these pictures to the bottom of my post, but blogger is not playing today so you get this first! These are the meals I have frozen and the way I organise my freezer. It is a fairly good size 3 drawer freezer with a smaller tray drawer at the top.

Naan breads and Breadcrumbs

3 steak pies, 1 lasagne

One spag bol, one mince base ( can be converted into anything!), one veg pack

one meal of faggots, one tub of steak gravy and some mince ( triple wrapped)

I have 3 steak pies and a lasagne, a spaghetti bolognaise and a mince dish that I can convert into whatever I choose, a portion of meatballs ( faggots), some steak gravy, a veg pack from my veg box, some frozen mince, some breadcrumbs made out of old bread and some naan bread I picked up on offer.

Cooking in this way means I get a few easier nights a week and also means I don't get those days any more when I panic buy expensive food because I don't know what to feed my family. It is cheaper and easier. The only thing I have to be is organised to start it off. Once I am up and running with some food in the freezer it is great. So much simpler. I just cook an extra meal each time I am cooking or every now and then give an afternoon, evening or couple of hours at a weekend to stock up on a few meals. For example, if I am making a spaghetti bolognaise it is no extra effort to make an extra one and a chilli to put in the freezer. Three evenings covered! Give it a go if you haven't yet. Clear one shelf out in your freezer. I can get four meals on a shelf/drawer. Also if anyone has some good recipes that freeze well for chicken , let me know. I would really like a huge freezer so I could freeze more. I often see great bargains in the supermarket that if I had more room could pop in the freezer for a later date. It is on my wishlist for our new kitchen next year. Lets hope the budget stretches that far!! Actually I have rather a lot on my wish list. Have a look at my pinterest page on kitchens . I have been posting ideas and colours I like here!

You can make most meals from these ingredients.

This weeks Frugal Friday post is a look at my stock cupboard and the ingredients I use. Often the first thing to suffer when you are cutting costs is the quality and that is something I am very careful about.

At the moment although I have a tiny kitchen without any surface space I do have a small walk in larder. It is great to have shelves where you can see your ingredients and can grab what you need easily and quickly. The downside is the kids also like to go in there and grab food quickly too! Those of you with hungry kids - how do you stop them clearing out the larder within minutes? I am tough and controlling about it otherwise it would all be gone within a few days. Am I being too mean? They do have plenty to eat. There is always a fresh supply of fruit and yoghurts on offer. I generally have a homemade cake and homemade bread for sandwiches and toast available and plenty of cereal. However, biscuits and other quickly consumed items are restricted and there are times when I don't allow them to eat ( pre meals and once the kitchen is cleared up at bedtime - I say the cafe is closed!) I have a large basket that I keep high up out of reach for food they will snaffle without thought. They know to touch this will encur great consequences!

I have said before , I don't take the totally frugal route with my cooking. I tend to take the middle ground and go for a reasonably priced product that is good quality. If a supermarkets basic range has in it what I want and has proven it is a good enough quality, then thats good enough for me. I shop at Lidl in the main as I find they have higher branded goods at lower prices. They also have a range of products that are incredibly cheap (we are talking pence here ladies), but really good quality too. All their meat is also British. I have tried and had success with their pork, mince and chicken. I had one bad result with their beef steak, although I would try again as I think it would cook well in the slow cooker. If you haven't yet got into using a slow cooker I really do recommend it, especially if you have a family to feed. Check out the selection on Pricerunner here. The only other supermarket we have within a few miles is Tescos and I will shop here about once a month to top up on items I can't get at Lidls. My beef and steak usually comes from a local farm shop as I get a good deal if I buy larger quantities. It is not completely lean, but the flavour is ten times better. I always drain any fat off after browning mince anyway. Definitely don't assume that the supermarkets will be the cheapest or best quality!

10lbs of mince for £16. Makes 5 to 6 meals.I buy 4 or 6 of these at a time.

I know if I were to be totally frugal with my shopping there are more savings to be made, but the content of the food is important to me and my growing children. My two boys I have to budget as adults - they eat more than me so really I am feeding 4 adults and one child.

One of the reasons I can shop less often is that I keep my larder stocked up with some basics that I can make many meals from. Often these can be snapped up when they are on offer, so cutting the budget even further. I got Seriously Strong Cheddar this time on a buy one get 2 free offer for £4.99. These offers are not always good deals to rely on, so I always make sure I check the aisle for better prices first. The supermarkets will put what they want you to buy on view at eye level, not nescessarily what is the best deal for you.

We buy pasta and rice in 3 and 4kg bags as they work out cheaper than buying them in smaller quantities. My husband is convinced they have priced the rice wrongly as it works out so much cheaper, so much so he got 3, 4 kg packs the last time he went. I am,needless to say, still working my way through this rice.

Family meals such as Chilli, Lasgane, Spag Bol and pasta sauces often start with the same base so it is easy to batch cook these as well as having the ingredients in . I find, as long as I have a stock of the following ingredients plus some meat and rice/spaghetti or potatoes, I can rustle up a meal. We usually have one or two mince based meals a week for their convenience and the fact that everybody wolfs them down.

These are the items I can make so many meals from and make sure I always have:

Plain Flour - for thickening sauces
Olive Oil
Pepper
Sea Salt
Mixed Herbs
Mustard Powder - for adding flavour to stews and soups
Liquid Condensed Beef Stock
Worcestershire Sauce
Tomato Passata
Basil
Beef/Vegetable Stock Cubes
Tomato Puree
Chorizo Sausage - to slice into stews,soups and pasta dishs ( £1.99 at Lidls)
Chilli Flakes ( below)

Chilli flakes add flavour to anything

Of course I have many other things in my larder, but these I would struggle without. I tend to switch around with the stock cubes depending on what I can get at Lidls ( it changes ) and the only expensive item, but does make a difference in flavour is the Beef liquid stock, Touch and Taste. A splash of this in stews and spag bol makes a for a rich sauce - yum yum.

Planning your larder and making sure you keep it stocked with good basic ingredients to make the meals from your menu plan will help you keep your grocery budget down. I am strict with myself and do not fill my larder with items I know I will hardly ever use. They will just be a waste of our hard earned money. Supermarkets will constantly try and tempt you with offers and buy one get one free deals, but always ask before you buy....will I use this and is this really a good deal?!

What is your most vital ingredient in your larder?

.....................................................
Frugal Friday
Saving Money Around The House.

Without Much Effort.

Here is my menu plan for this week and next week. My husband has been away this week so not only did I get some time off working, I got away with easier meals too! Monday on week 2 I am planning to top up my freezer meals. I have to do this about every 3 weeks, but so appreciate it in the time in between as it makes the evenings so much easier, especially on the days I am not in.

F = freezer meals I have previously made

SC = Slow Cooker meals

* = indicates I am cooking extra for the freezer

Day	Week One	Week Two
Sunday	Lunch: Pumpkin Soup Dinner :Roast Chicken	Lunch: Sandwiches Dinner:Pot Roast - Brisket
Monday	Faggots and Mash/peas F	Chilli *and rice
Tuesday	Risotto SC	Loaded Baked Potatoes
Wednesday	Pasta and bacon/cheese	Beef Stew * SC ( will make a pie too )
Thursday	Lasagne F	Cheesy Macaroni
Friday	Egg and Homemade oven chips	Lasagne and garlic rolls F
Saturday	Lunch: Sausages in homemade rolls Dinner:Steak Pie mash and veg F	Lunch: Soup and rolls Dinner:Italian tuna balls and spaghetti

My motivation for writing these posts is two fold. One is because we are trying to save a little more in preparation for an extension project we are starting on our house next year. We have been saving for about five years , but it's never quite enough is it?! The second is that I really resent spending our hard earned money on products I know I can get cheaper elsewhere. The retailers have us right where they want us and I feel like fighting back. I want to choose where and what I spend my money on!

Ok rant over!

This weeks Frugal Friday is focusing on simple changes you can make around the house that can end up saving you hundreds of pounds a year. With the pace of life today , it is so easy to overlook some of the simpler things that we can do to cut back on our everyday outgoings. Each one of these tips may not seem much on their own , but tot them up over a month, a year, five years and they soon add up!

There are so many I could choose, but here are my top 20.

Switch your light bulbs, as they run out, to energy efficient bulbs. They cost more up front, but can save you £7 a year, per bulb in running costs. That's £60 per bulb before it needs replacing.
Turning your thermostat down by 1 degree could save you up to £100 a year.
Turn your radiators down or off in rooms that are not used.
Install thermostatic radiator valves so you can control each radiator individually. Money up front that will save you money in the long run.
Bleed your radiators regularly so they run efficiently.
Switch appliances off standby. This can save up to £50 on your bills a year.
Turning your washing machine to a 30 degree wash instead of a 40 or 60 degree wash and save 40 degrees of energy thus saving money.
Get a good clothes airer and hang your clothes to dry whenever possible. Driers cost between 14p and 50p a 7kg load ( depending on size and energy rating) to use. This soon mounts up.
Drop a brand at the supermarket and see your grocery bill go down.
Start collecting coupons - you can cut your grocery bills by between 15 and 50%. Check out online sites - print off coupons.
Be vigilant about how much water you use if you are on a meter- don't leave the tap running whilst brushing teeth, take shorter showers, flush only when necessary etc.
Pay off your credit card every month to avoid interest charges.
Make a packed lunch for work, take flasks of coffee.
Turn off lights when you aren't in the room.
Use a slow cooker instead of your oven.
Learn to say no.
Always write a shopping list and plan your menus.
Go through your bank balance and cancel direct debit for things you don't make the most of - gym membership?!!
Use your library.
Stop trying to keep up with the Jones's.

.....................................................
Christmas Cracker Series -
Part 1 -Decorating the House

Christmas Crackers

Decorating

I will admit up front with no messing that I am controlling when it comes to decorating the house. I am that parent who will let the kids decorate the tree, smile sweetly, then redo it after they have gone to bed, or at the very least rearrange the branches that have 15 ornaments hung on them.

Just call me Monica.

I always think that decorating the house for this festive season divides people into two categories. It's either Santas grotto in your house or subtly reigns supreme. We have both types amongst the members of our family so I will be careful how I proceed.

If you wish to decorate every nook and cranny with all the bits of tinsel and baubles and flashing snowmen that you can find then you go ahead, but I'm probably not the one to give you advice on that! I'm sure my kids would love me forever if I did, but I'm not, so there you have it.

I'm a tree,candles and lights gal.

So can you decorate and make your house festive on a budget at Christmas?

The first question is, "real or fake tree?" Hmmm. I love the smell of a real tree and thought I would never go down the route of an artificial tree , but when we had our second baby 9 years ago I could no longer stand the hourly destruction of the lower branches of the tree. Needles galore! So we purchased what we thought was a pretty good artificial tree at a cost of £49.99. Over the past 10 years (it will be it's tenth outing this year!)it has more than paid for all the 'real' trees we would have purchased of course, although that was not my motivation at the time.

If cost is your primary concern then I would suggest looking at an artificial tree or a potted real tree that you can re use each year. However, you can also pick up bargains last minute if you are happy to wait. One year, before we had gone down the route of an artificial tree ,when we only had one small baby at home and we were both in full time work we waited until Christmas eve to purchase our tree. It cost us 99p from B and Q for a 6 foot beauty!

If you are starting from scratch obviously it is going to cost you more so pick and choose from these 10 ten tips for what is relevant to you. We do opt to have a tree, but of course you don't need to if you want to cut costs further:

Keep things simple - you don't need to decorate everywhere.
Fairy lights can change the feel of a whole room and can be picked up as cheap as chips.

Some candles on the mantle piece with a few sprigs of ivy is a lovely simple way to change up a Christmas decoration.
Use greenery and berries from the garden or a friends - it is free and smells divine. I decorated our banister last year with ivy, a few sprigs of holy, some red baubles and some fairy lights - beautiful.

Make a decoration for your door. It doesn't need to be an expensive wreath. A few bits of greenery mixed in with a few silver decorations, tied with a silver ribbon looks very classic.
When you buy decorations, invest in ones that will last and store them carefully. Pick up new decorations in the sales after Christmas - never pay the silly prices they charge prior to then. Wrap them in tissue and pack in boxes. We also get the children to write a letter about what they hope for over the year to come and put it in with the decorations. They love opening them when we decorate the tree!

I do splash out on a bunch of lilies and/ or red roses . I try and get these before the prices go up for Christmas! If you get them tightly budded they will last right through.
A simple nativity scene, particularly if you have young children, adds Christmas spirit to the season. I purchased this papier mache one for £20 about 5 years ago. The children rearrange it regularly. I seem to have missed out a shepherd - got them down from the loft to photograph during my sort out. I expect he is lurking in another box of decorations. We have had many funny combinations set up!

Buy a wooden advent calender for the kids. This will pay for itself as you won't have to buy disposable ones every year. I can fill it with chocolate for £1.00 . They take it in turns to open a drawer. It cost me £10.99.

For my last tip here are a selection of simple and inexpensive decorations to make and use, either as table pieces or around your home:

Pine cones sprayed in gold and silver
A glass bowl filled with silver or glass baubles
Candy canes grouped in a small vase tied with a red ribbon
A glass bowl with a bundle of battery operated fairy lights
Use empty wine bottles and spray silver,white or gold and put tall white candles in. Cluster them together in the centre of the table.
A simple Christmas banner - Use some garden twine and hang an selection of items along it. You could go really homemade and get the children to decorate brown tags and tie these on, or hang a selection of small wooden Christmas decorations or alternate two colours or 100s of small baubles ( these are so cheap to buy!)
If you are a bunting maker - make some simple Christmas bunting in red, white and green to string around your room.
Use the kids stockings ( or any stockings) and fill them with wrapped empty boxes for that ultimate Christmas feel. Hang along the banister or above the fireplace.
Wrap a few small boxes neatly in brown paper and decorate with ribbon in one colour. Arrange on a surface.
To display cards. Get hold of a child's hoola hoop. Cover it in Christmas wrapping and tie a ribbon at the top. Peg cards all the way around to make a card wreath.

All of these decorations are pretty basic and don't cost the earth. Of course if you have a bit more cash to splash you could make things a little more complicated and elegant, but I'm saving what I can for my new kitchen so I shall be keeping it simple this year!

What are your decorating tips?

............................................................................................

Christmas Cracker Series -

Part 2 - Christmas Gifts

Christmas Crackers...

Cutting the budget on gifts.

Gifts must be the biggest outlay at this time of year, especially if you have children. It is a tradition that has has become big business and can mean the difference between a good and bad year for some retailers. Giving a gift as an expression of thanks and kindness is all well and good, but when it becomes an extravagance we can ill afford, I do question the sanity behind it all. In my post about giving teacher gifts at the end of the year I mention that as a teacher it is often more rewarding to receive a hand written thank you note or home made card than an expensive gift. The same applies to Christmas. In my quest to cut our Christmas budget I do a number of things:

Ask the question:

Who do you buy gifts for?

Divide them into 3 piles:

Give a gift

Make a gift

No gift

Be ruthless with your decisions if you are serious about cutting back on the amount you spend. If necessary talk with the people you think it is not necessary to swap presents at this time of year with. I tend to focus on presents at birthdays for close friends , but Christmas gets complicated with such a large family so keep it to the very closest or find an alternative way of celebrating with those you love , but can't buy gifts for. A girls night together when everybody brings a item to provide a manicure and some nibbles is one suggestion. Time spent together is priceless as they say. I am also contemplating trying again to suggest to both families that we focus on presents for the children not the grown ups! We have a lot of cousins and children to buy for - add in the adults and it starts getting really expensive!

Making gifts is fun and personal . It is an inexpensive way to provide gifts. Making a couple of batches of homemade cookies and wrapping them in pretty tissue paper is a thoughtful gift. Buying a small canvas and getting the children to do handprints or a simple painting on them is a lovely gift for grandparents. Framing your own photos in individual frames you have picked up from charity shops and painted is another inexpensive idea. I also pick up pretty cut glass containers for a snip from Charity shops and fill them with pretty traditional sweets or bath salts . It is amazing what you can pick up from Charity Shops for a fraction of the price of the High Street. Making a playlist of songs you think each person would like and putting them on a CD is an individual and thoughtful present.

However, I know that homemade gifts are time consuming and time is something a lot of us don't have an awful lot of! Donating to a charity is a popular alternative - examples such as buying a goat for a village have become increasingly popular. Not a cheap alternative, but a possibility to do as a family together instead of swapping gifts this year?

We also only give Christmas cards to people and family who we don't see at Christmas. It got to a point where I was sending over 200 cards - extremely expensive and really not a good use of my time writing them all. I now only send about 40 cards to people who live away or we don't see much of.

For those you are buying gifts for, whether it be children or a spouse or a parent, set a budget. Don't go overboard. Shop around for the best deals and look ( and ask) for money off vouchers and codes. I got both boys main presents over half price last year by using my vouchers at Tesco in their double up offer. I am setting myself a strict limit per child. I hate to see gifts ripped into and discarded because there are just too many. A few valued presents are worth far more.

Our Christmas day now consists of the children opening a stocking each on our bed. These are the usual chocolate coins, pencils and pens, a new wallet, sweets, a book, etc and one bigger present such as a DVD or DS game. We then have a croissant and coffee breakfast and open a few presents after breakfast. The dinner goes in the oven and then we head out to the Christmas Swim. This happens every year - mad people dress up and dive into the sea at 11am for a swim. Crazy. I watch. Don't intend joining in any time soon!

After the swim we congregate at a friends house for mulled wine and a few nibbles. We stay for about an hour and then return home for a late lunch . We eat about 2.30pm, then open the main presents and then collapse for the rest of the evening. Last year our elderly neighbour joined us as she was on her own. She ate more than any of us and took the left overs home with her!! Brilliant!

Whatever you decide to do this Christmas - make it your decision and enjoy!

...........................................................................................

Frugal Friday

Feeding a family - without it taking over your life and your bank balance.

In this weeks Frugal Friday post I am looking at how I keep the food budget from running away with me when cooking main meals for my family of 5. Our groceries were costing us more than anything else each month and so a while ago I decided to rein this in and try and cut what we were spending. I have big eaters in my family. There is no way around that. They eat just about anything. I do get a little annoyed when people say to me that I am lucky that they do. I'm not lucky, I persevered when they were fussy and battled on. I am pretty strict when it comes to meal times and I wont treat the kitchen like a cafe where they can pick and choose what they want. I worked hard to get them not to be fussy. All us parents know what it is like when a child won't eat. It can be soul destroying when you have spent ages cooking something you think they will like only to have them turn their noses up. You just want to feed them and for them to thrive, but I persevered and they came through it. They do know that if they don't want to eat what is on the menu they can go without. They never do! I don't intend cooking 2 or 3 different meals every night for fussy children. I may sometimes do pasta as well as rice or offer custard as well as ice cream if we have a pudding, but that's as far as I go. Am I mean? I don't know, but it's what I can manage! I spend too long in the kitchen anyway! Now they tend to inhale their food they are so hungry, especially the boys.

I also resent spending hundreds of pounds at the supermarket every month on easy food when I know I can make a better version for less. I'd actually rather spend it on something else if truth be told. Food is not my passion! So, although it is more time consuming initially to cook everything from scratch, that's what I do. I feel happier that I know what is in everything and I can control what I am spending. I would say though, once you have a few meals in the freezer you can easily have one or two nights 'cooking free' a week so in the long run it actually releases time.

Although getting things at a good price is a big consideration for me, it is not the only consideration, I do also look at what is in my ingredients and try and keep an eye on those too. I won't buy something just because it is the cheapest if it is full of rubbish. However, sometimes it seems the difference between many products is just the packaging . The contents are usually pretty much the same . They charge more for a pretty box!

I do my main shop at Lidls now as I can keep it at around £50 to £60 per week. The quality is really good and their meat is all British. I tend not to buy my mince or stewing steak here as I can get it cheaper elsewhere, but for chicken and Pork it is ideal. Of course they don't always have what you want or need at Lidls so a degree of flexibility is needed here. Fresh fruit is always of a high standard and priced so you can compare between products easily. I always follow these rules:

Have a menu plan for two weeks
Write a list
Don't deviate from the list unless something you would normally buy is on offer and you can stock up
Buy enough for two weeks ( apart from fruit)I try and go as long as I can between shops.
Don't shop when tired or hungry
Check for codes,coupons and vouchers before you shop

There are always some items I need that I can't get from Lidls and I will , about once a month pop to Tescos to bulk buy these items.I try not to let myself run out of everything at the same time, but keep items topped up to prevent having to do huge panic shops. I again spend about £50 here. We also have our milk delivered to support our local service more than anything. This cost is additional to my Lidls and Tescos costs. I have a veg box delivered every other week now from our local farm shop. This costs £18 and I make it last two weeks, just topping up the potatoes. So, In total my monthly spend for a family of five for groceries ( including all cleaning products, soap and loo roll) is around £350 - £400. I could cut this a lot more if I went totally down the frugal route by dropping to basic brands on absolutely everything, but there is a quality controller in my house who calls himself The Husband. He isn't so keen on the value brands. Food is his thing ! So I take the middle ground. Can't have an unhappy and hungry man around the house now can I ?

Here is my last two week menu plan. Meals marked with an * mean I batch bake and freeze one or two extra meals. Sometimes I allocate a whole day to cook various meals to freeze. I change this each two week block as I get bored easily as do the children so although some meals feature often e.g spag bol, stew, faggots , I add different meals in to keep things interesting.

Day	Week 1	Week 2
Sunday	Lunch - soup Dinner - Roast Chicken	Lunch - Soup Dinner - Roast Beef
Monday	Chicken Casoulet and Peas	Coq au Vin and mash
Tuesday	Dinner - Faggots* and Rice	Spaghetti Bolognaise *
Wednesday	Sausage Casserole and mash	Stew and mash
Thursday	Lasagne * and salad/ homemade rolls *	Lasagne and salad and homemade rolls
Friday	Pasta and bacon bits with cheese.	Steak and Kidney pie *
Saturday	Lunch - soup * and rolls Dinner - Chilli *	Lunch - Soup * and rolls Dinner - Chilli

There are three things I could not do without in my weekly drive to provide good quality meals for less:

1. Freezer Meals/Batch baking.

2. Slow Cooker.

3. Breadmaker

1.By freezer meals I mean meals I have cooked myself and frozen. I do this by batch baking on certain days and freezing a few meals for the weeks ahead. This means I always have a selection of meals in the freezer ready to use. It means when I cook a meal I will either freeze any leftovers or I spend a day batch baking meals. My best freezer meals are Lasagne, Chilli, Steak pie, Faggots, Spag Bol, Veg burgers - I could go on. Recipes to follow in future posts. This is invaluable on busy days with the kids and also if I need a night off cooking. This minimises waste in that you have planned your meals, purchased exactly what you need and used it.

I buy my meat in larger quantities from a farm shop - the quality is better and it works out cheaper. I buy 10llb of mince as I get that for £16 . For mince it is £1.60 a Lb. Tescos is £2.84 for 500g at the moment ( just over 1lb) . I can make 5 family meals out of this and sometimes squeeze an extra individual meal to freeze out of it! That works out at £3.20 a family meal of 5 or 64p per person, for the mince per meal!! The faggots are made with pork mince and lambs liver and work out even cheaper. I spend about £35 in total. The veg burgers cheaper again. Why would I buy processed ready meals, full of sugar and preservatives that cost far more? My other ingredients are not expensive. For example my tomato passata is 29p a box, my puree 30p a tube etc.

2.The slow cooker is a must for anyone with children and a busy life. You can cook just about anything in one of these. They are not expensive to buy. Check them out here on Price Runner from £15. I got mine at half price for £30 in Tesco's double up deals. I can pop a stew or a risotto in the slow cooker in the morning or at lunchtime and it is ready when we get home. Make sure your slow cooker has a stay warm function on it. I will be posting some of my favourite recipes in the weeks to come.

3.My breadmaker is a Panasonic and it has more than earned it's keep! We have used it for white bread, wholemeal bread, spelt bread, bread rolls, speciality breads, pizza dough. I know it is not the same as a homemade loaf, kneaded and proved and loved, but I don't have the time for this everyday! You can make a loaf of bread very cheaply indeed if you are happy to go down the value route ( as little as 27 - 30p a loaf) , but I tend to get better quality flour as it improves the taste. Our bread averages out at about 60p a loaf, more if we are using organic spelt flour as a treat! ( This is really lovely bread, but it doesn't last long in our house) .We make a large loaf each time. A large fresh loaf at Tescos would be £1.20 so it is about half I am saving. However if I were to be picky we don't get as many slices as we cut it thicker! So I think I probably save around 40p a loaf. It still adds up over the year with the amount of bread that gets consumed in our house! I also like that I know what I am choosing to put in the bread my children eat. We go through a loaf or two a day . The bread maker goes on at night and then again in the morning. Nothing beats that smell waking up in the morning. Ok maybe fresh coffee does.

1. Freezer Meals I have done this week. ( Didn't catch them all on camera before they got snaffled up!)

One hot meal, one freezer meal.

One hot meal, one freezer meal, one individual freezer meal

One hot meal , 2 meals for the freezer ( not shown)

One freezer meal, cooked at the same time as the chilli

One hot meal, one freezer meal. Rough and ready looking, but taste great!

2. Slow Cooker Meals This Week

24 sausages in this baby pre cooking!

Picture before going in the slow Cooker

3. Breadmaker Examples

Random tips:

1. Be on the constant look out for vouchers and coupons you could use. Online, newspapers and magazines.

2. Beware of offers or coupons that give you extra points to purchase something you wouldn't usually buy. This is generally not a good use of money.

3. Check "Buy one get one free" and "3 for the price of 2" offers thoroughly. Often they are not quite as good as they seem. Check the aisles for other prices and deals.

4.If you have vouchers to spend stock up on items you would usually buy in bulk.

5. Don't feel you have to buy the knives or luggage your supermarket has given you vouchers for and told you that you can have for half the price....unless you really need them and you have researched the price!

If this is all too much in one go, try one thing. Drop a brand at your supermarket next time you shop. If you don't notice the difference in the product, then keep buying it, if you do, return to your usual brand! It's a start!

What tips do you have for keeping your grocery budget down?

Where do you shop?

...................................................................................................................................................................

Charity Shopping - Hints and Tips

Back in the day we wouldn't have been seen dead in an item that had been brought from a charity shop, however 'vintage' or 'retro' it may have been. It just wasn't the done thing then! I think the ground would have swallowed me up if my mum would have wandered in through the front door with a " You'll never guess what I found you at the Hospicare Shop" shriek !

Today it is a whole different story. It has been made more acceptable to be seen rummaging amongst the purple rinses looking for gems and bargains. Recycling vintage items of unique clothing or bringing old pieces of furniture back to life with a lick of paint. Being thrifty has become a necessity for many of us in the current climate and I know for me I hate to part with money unnecessarily that has been earned through hours of hard graft. I do think there is a bit of a knack to charity shopping and you do have to persevere to get a bargain or two. We don't have any charity shops in the village where I live so I travel to the nearest town or city and make an outing of it. I take a bag of clothes and items to donate too. One mans junk is another mans treasure you know!

These are my tips and hints for a trip out Charity Shopping:

Have a rough plan. Know where the shops are and which ones you are going to visit.
Have an idea in your mind of the sort of things you are after, although be prepared to look for other things if you've time.
Shop early in the week. People usually clear out at the weekend and drop off their goods then. They will be on the shop floor by Monday or Tuesday.
Take cash and set a budget. You can overspend in a charity shop! I have known some shops not accept cards under £10 on the rare occasion.
Check labels for brand names and fabrics. Check for genuine designer items. Take your phone so you can check and validate things online.
Check for rips, tears, stains, missing buttons etc.
Check the size, not just the size label. Be open to altering something or dyeing a white item another colour if it is a good buy. I am a size uk 8 - 10 , but I look for items up to a size 14 sometimes.
Think outfits when you buy, the same as you do when you buy from new. Don't buy random items you will never wear.
Look for items you may sell on E.Bay. Designer names.
Good finds are usually - leather belts, scarves, unique jewellery, jackets .
Take a bag of your own unwanted items to donate. Recycing clothes in this way helps reduce textile landfill.
Take some antibacterial handgel , just in case you feel a bit grubby after rummaging!

It really is worth it and to encourage you further just look at these bargains I have picked up this week!

H and M lined skirt. This looked new to me. £4.00

Michael Morpurgo Kensuke's Kingdom 70p ( usually £5 new)

Toast fine cord lined skirt. Perfect condition. Beautiful detail. £4.00

Fat face girl's age 5 skirt £.2.50

Topshop wool blend sleeveless wrap around top. £3.00

Kookai blouse size 40 , but they come up small so I risked this and it fits ! Looks new. £2.25

Topshop fine pinstripe blouse - lovely pink buttons. £3.50

Faith leather boots with buckle detail £4.50

River Island leather belt with statement buckle £1.50

Necklace with the word love. £1.00

Coral necklace - this was brought by a friend from a charity shop for me because she knows I love coral from reading my blog! Thank you Hayley! X

Human Nature wool mix cropped cardigan £4.00

I don't usually buy all this in one go, but needed some props for a competition entry that I had to submit a you tube video for. I decided to talk about how you can save money by shopping at charity shops for your clothes, but you don't have to forgo style. The benefit is I get to keep and wear all these lovely items! I will post some outfit photos as I wear and style them.

I saw these definitions online and found them helpful so thought I would share with you. People do bandy the word Vintage around fairly freely nowadays to describe anything from a second hand modern cardigan to a genuine 1950s tea dress. So, as I understand it these are the loose definitions and boundaries:

Vintage - this is roughly the period from 1920's to about the 1970's. Look for labels, zippers, tell tale signs that your item comes from this period. Here is a good link to explain how to date vintage clothing.

Retro - This is the 1960 - 1970's period.

Antique - This is really the period pre 1920's

Charity or Thrifted - Pre used clothes that may include any of the above!

Are you a Charity Shopper or do you avoid them at all costs?

........................................................................

Charity Shop Finds

More treasures!

I seem to be having a run of good fortune with the charity shops around here at the moment. I shall share my collection of treasures over the next few days with you, starting today with a fabulous pair of Faith Ankle Boots and a Studded Leather Belt! Check out my previous finds here.

Bargain or what?!

1. Faith Black Leather Ankle Boots - almost new condition. £4.50

2. River Island Black Studded Belt with Statement Buckle. £1.50.

If you haven't yet tried shopping at a charity shop then do give it a go! I have a post coming out later in the week called " Getting the best out of your Charity Shop." Do pop back to read it if you're interested.

........................................................................................................

The time to be Thrifty - What Does it Really Mean?

"There are people who have money and people who are rich "

Coco Chanel

I went to an event with some other bloggers recently and we had a discussion about what the word Thrifty really meant. If you read my blog regularly, you may have picked up that one of the things I try and do is look for the best use of my money when I purchase things - although this doesn't always mean the cheapest.

Thrifty = careful and diligent in the use of resources

With the current climate and being careful with our finances becoming a necessity for a lot of us, it is a great concept to explore and discuss. Expenditure quickly mounts up and before you know it, debt can be staring even the financially well off in the face.

We all find ourselves in different situations and stages of our lives that can govern our spending. For me, I would say we are in a stage of our lives now where money is not as tight as it was in the past. We can afford to send our children to music or sports lessons. We live in a large house in a lovely village, we go on 'nice' holidays, I drive a new car, but all this comes at a cost.

So,I am careful that I get the best deal when I do spend. I don't waste money on things I know I can get for a much better deal somewhere else. I say no to my children and make them wait for the things they ask for. I don't want them to have a consumer mentality that just throws away stuff when they tire of it and replace it with the next trend.

Being Thrifty for me does not necessarily mean living cheaply . It means living well, but within our budget, getting the best out of our money at the same time as considering environmental factors such as waste. I do shop at charity shops - who doesn't love a bargain and to recycle clothes, but I will also treat us to a pair of designer jeans when we can afford it. I would rather spend money on clothes that stand the test of time than ones that have to be replaced after a few outings because the zip has broken or the knees have worn through too quickly.

I must admit that my conscience does get bothered when I buy a cheap top I may well love, knowing it will only last me a few months. At this point I will discard it and buy another. Is this really the best for my purse and for the environment? However , there have been occasions when I have spent more on items I have thought would last , only to find them falling apart long before their time! It's quality, not price that counts! There is a great debate hidden in there somewhere.....

Here is my latest find at a local charity shop - a pretty, lined, rough edged and fitted jacket in autumnal colours for £5. The pockets were still sewn up so it was obviously fairly new.

Here are some interesting quotes I found:

There are plenty of ways to get ahead. The first is so basic I'm almost embarrassed to say it: spend less than you earn.Paul Clitheroe

The amount of money you have has got nothing to do with what you earn.. people earning a million dollars a year can have no money and.. People earning $35,000 a year can be quite well off. It's not what you earn, it's what you spend.Paul Clitheroe

The Best way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket

Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.

Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without

“To earn what you can; spend what you must; give what you should, and save the rest—this is thrift.” ~ J.O. Engleman, 1918

"Being frugal does not mean being cheap! It means being economical and avoiding waste." --Catherine Pulsifer

What does being Thrifty mean to you at this stage in your life?

Do you have any interesting quotes?

..........................................................................................................

Look After the Pennies

I am always reminded of my Grandmother at this time of year as it was her birthday. I was very close to her and loved her dearly. My Grandmother , Grandy as she was known, used a well known saying that has stuck with me a long time " Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves." She lived a long and happy life, passing away at 102 a few years ago in her sleep. We had a plaque made in her memory and put on a bench at the local Botanical Gardens where she liked to sit and think.

She lived life very frugally, but was always very impeccably turned out . Always a smart twin suit with a matching hat and Mappin and Webb snap handbag. Her clothes were good quality and she made them last years and looked after them well. I love that until the last week of her life, when we read a entry in her diary that said " not right, don't feel well, not sure why" she dressed carefully and put her make up on everyday. A bit of blush on her cheeks and a pink lipstick on her lips, and she always smelt of talcum powder......

Happy Birthday Grandy, and if I have inherited just a tiny amount of your style and grace then I will be content ! X

............................................................................................................

Teacher's Gifts

End of term is fast approaching and being an ex teacher myself, I do like to put a bit of effort into the presents I give to the teachers and teaching assistants ( please don't forgot the TAs , they work sooooo hard!). This term my eldest son is leaving primary school to go to secondary and he has been with a fantastic teacher for the past few years so I want to make a special effort with her. I do enjoy shopping around for interesting and unusual gifts that don't cost over £5 - otherwise with 3 children it costs an awful lot each term! I try not to go down the quick box of Roses chocolates route. I think my record one year as a teacher was 16 boxes of chocolates! I didn't eat them all I hasten to add - I shared ~~some of~~ them.

Gifts I have given so far have included seasonal chutney in a kilner jar at Christmas ( this was a bargain at £3.50), luminous metal book markers, Cath kidston mugs , recyclable shopping bags in the shape of a strawberry, pretty bath salts in a toilet bag ( £2.00 from Boots), pencil cases with named pencils in - the list goes on.

I found this mug this year that my son loves and I am going to fill it with a box of Miles ( made in the Westcountry) tea for one of the male teachers.

A Cath Kidston Mug is always a good one as well - a lovely mug for a fiver - filled with bath salts, a selection of tea or traditional sweets and pretty tissue paper. I have also put a collection of some of the unwanted samples from my beauty box in one - makes a lovely gift and a good use of those products too. I have often got a multi pack of more expensive Cath Kidston soaps and creams and split, mixed and re wrapped them in pretty tissue paper to make them go that bit further.....

I managed to get a 4 pack of owl themed mugs from Tesco today as well for around £5. I spilt these and then added a small present to each one . Not expensive at all, although mugs can also be a overused present given to teachers so make it a pretty one that could be used in the staff room ! It worked out at £1.25 for each mug and then £2.00 for each additional present, so £3.25 per present.

A pretty notepad and some pens or pencils are a nice little gift too - this one was from Wilkinsons - the pencils were 75p and the notepad I think less than £2.00. It really doesn't need to be expensive.

Home made pencil pots by the younger kids , shows they have made some effort and contributed. Or a picture drawn or painted by your child and framed in a simple Ikea frame doesn't cost a lot at all.

I have been inspired this year to have a hunt around the charity shops and see what bargains I can come up with there as well. I am always on the look out for vintage glass jars for my kitchen and thought I could buy some bubble bath, relabel and decant it into some pretty bottles. Or filling some glass jars with pretty bath salts or old fashioned sweets or marshmallows looks lovely too. These ones ( see below) are from Next - the larger is £12 the smaller £6. They are actually sweet containers from my kitchen that I have had for about a year, but an example of the sort of idea I am talking about!

I picked this glass jar up for £2.50 today - just need to fill it ...I'm thinking pretty bath salts for this one?

I found a lovely necklace on line with the word "inspire" that I would love to get for my son's teacher, but I'm too late now and it wouldn't come in time. Lisa Leonards Designs USA

There is so much out there and it only takes a bit of thought and effort and really not much money - even buying a bunch of roses and giving one to each teacher with a ribbon on it shows your appreciation for the effort they put in with your children. I often pick things up when I see them on offer during the year - these packs of shower gels/creams cost me less than £2.00 each, but are ideal little thank you presents.

To wrap the presents I will often get a 5 sheet pack of pretty tissue paper and some raffia ribbon as it works out cheaper, but the cheapest of all is to buy some traditional brown paper on a roll and then get the children to decorate it with drawings or stickers. If you want to be really clever you could pre cut the paper and do some paint designs on beforehand or some splash art and leave to dry before wrapping. Labelling the gifts with luggage labels to match is also a nice touch.

If you really don't want to, or can't spend anything at the moment how about getting the children to write a few lines in a thank you card or letter - as a teacher myself I know you build such close relationships with the children you teach it often brings tears to your eyes when they say a few words of thanks back!

One of the biggest reasons I do this if I am honest is not only to say thank you to all of the staff at the school , but to also reinforce to my children the importance of saying Thank You.

Do you give thank you gifts - what ideas have you had - always looking for fresh inspiration!!?