To start a Prepping for Poor People thread?

[TooBigForMyBoots]

I'm poor (household income well below £20k). With the energy price rises, CoL crisis and possible power cuts ahead I'm wondering what tips other people in my position have to give to prepare us for the winter ahead.

As this is a thread for poor people, recommended purchases should be £7.50 or less. This is not the thread for recommending Agas, sheepskin boots, 70quid blankets or moving house.

Feel free to move this to Prepping or CoL @MNHQ if you think it's better there.

[JennyWren87]

@Ihatemydogbmnamechange

i think if you think outside of the box for presents for people and then assign the money you would have given them towards a bill or a necessity you start to see money differently. So if you’d normally buy a friend a card for £1.50 and a Bottle of wine and Instead agree to make tea for each other or do a favour then you normally would just save the money but if you literally put the money in an envelope and then when you have enough then use it to buy a big bag of rice rather than smaller packets then every time you use the rice it feels free.

charity shops have pound sales sometimes and I’ve got lovely warm jumpers from there,

selling on vinted is great because the money mounts up and then you can use it to buy things you need rather than spending money.

having a night a week where you go to bed early with a hot water bottle saves on heating and if you plan one night a week it would save money over the year.

a takeaway is very expensive but if you’re ordering anyway having a bigger size isn’t much more expansive and then you have leftovers for another meal which feels like a treat.

This! I sell on Vinted a lot. Mainly the babies clothes and then I use that money to either buy for the next size up or I buy presents as there are lots of brand new toys on there. Or even toys that have hardly been played with. My one year old won't care it didn't come in a box.

Sofar I've gotten three birthday presents and some Christmas stuff without it coming out of our budget.

[EadnothTheStaller]

On the subject of quick rice pudding, if you can get hold of flaked rice, you can make rice pudding in a pan on the hob in about ten minutes flat.

Alternatively, the stockwell one from Tesco is 23p and very nice.

[GonnaGetGoingReturns]

@Swg

Rather than just trying not to use the oven try to fill it if you're using it. Even if it's just with a rice pudding; that takes two minutes to throw together, is incredibly cheap and can be reheated in the microwave once made.

Rediscover the desserts of the eighties and nineties. My house is generally full of things like rice puddings, jellies, fruit crumbles, bread and butter pudding, blanc mange, egg custard even semolina. All can be made relatively easily and cheaply, you can lower sugar when making things yourself and they fill tummies and bring joy.

Along the same lines it's apple harvest time of year. If you post in your local Facebook group there are a lot of people happy to offer a bag or you can go roadside picking (make sure you are safe from cars obviously but thry have tested roadside fruit and as long as it's washed it's fine)

Not just apple harvest! My aunt who I visited a week ago has a pear tree which was groaning with fruit and she was going to be away for a while - all of this can be stewed and frozen/in kilner jars, plus any other fruits like plums etc.

[Redsquirrel5]

sago1 yes my best friend and I used to do this so no waste when you get to the bottom few. We alternated paying for the bag. If you live near a farm you can often buy direct. We live in a village with 6 farms. We used to be able to get a jug of milk but sadly no more but one has now gone over to free range eggs so if my 3 girls aren’t laying I can get a tray for £4 of mis size eggs. There are buckets of free apples at one in the next village. We gift here black currants ( us) apples, plums (neighbours) so those living in the country we do get some perks. Petrol, diesel more expensive though. BF and I used to main shop together to save fuel.

Wood burner or open fire. Take the kids for a stick pick. Gives them exercise and free wood from windfall branches. Season.

🤣Loved the quiche comment😂

[GonnaGetGoingReturns]

Batch cooking is really a saviour - I don't do it but my aunt does who I stayed with recently. She batch cooks chicken curry, bombay potatoes, in portions along with shepherds pie, anything which can be frozen basically. Yes, it can take a while, yes you need a chest/other freezer but it saves so much money and time.

[OopsAnotherOne]

A few years ago I had a self-governed winter of austerity whereby I had to spend as little as possible on Christmas presents. My solution (provided you have access to a fridge) was to make chocolate truffles for literally everyone. They're really cheap and easy to make, don't require any cooking, only need a few ingredients and then dust them with some icing sugar to make them look "posh". I found some pieces of card to make a little box without a lid, put 8 truffles in each and then bought some tissue paper to wrap the box in so it looked like a parcel.
The tissue paper was 99p in the local post office, but really anything can be used but the main thing is they went down a treat with everyone I gifted them to! People really appreciated the fact they were handmade, rather than worrying about the fact they weren't an expensive gift. I highly recommend.

[Stravaig]

Start saying Hello to other school mums (not the ones in a quiche).

I spend far too long working this out. Plums in a quiche? Mums in a crèche? Mums in a clique!

I recommend wearing woolly hats indoors. Most effective way to retain heat and far less cumbersome than a blanket. I live somewhere blustery, so outdoor hats need a ribbed brim to keep them on. These give me a headache if I wear them for hours inside, so I also have indoor hats which are oh so soft and slouchy. Look for real wool/merino/cashmere second-hand or knit your own.

Also fingerless gloves, and thick real wool socks. Then add a gilet/pullover to keep your core warm. These all keep you toasty without limiting mobility. The trouble with blankets is they nudge towards inactivity, towards not leaving their cosy bubble.

The key to a happy shower in freezing temps with no heating is keeping your indoor hat on (unless it's hair wash day) and putting your socks/slippers/ houseboots on immediately you get out.

[Stravaig]

ps. Real wool fingerless gloves seem to have become a luxury item, but you can make very effective ones from the wrists/sleeves of an old jumper. Cut the length you need, hem, make a slit for your thumb. Felting it a bit before/after is also a possibility.

[deveronvalley]

You've heard it before - 'warm the person not the room' - this definitely works. I have poor circulation so have to consider warmth year round. I work from home so fashion is not important - fingerless gloves, indoor shoes instead of doubling up on socks, wool-type fabrics for (layered) clothing, tights or overknee socks under trousers, hot water bottle lasts for hours, woolly hat on (I do whip this off to answer the door!) I spent my teens in very rural part of NE Scotland in less-than-ideal housing (an actual barn, off-beat parents, don't ask!!) and I now see I am dressing as my mum used to then - it works. Actually, the tip about wearing shoes instead of slippers or extra socks was something I saw in a 'winter advice for elderly people' article years ago - it made such a difference I do it all the time now.

[OhRiRi]

Use a slow cooker if you have one. They cost pennies to run and are great for batch cooking type dishes. I make a meal (chilli, casserole, curry etc.) for that day, then freeze the rest in portions, either one serving for lunches, or 2 servings for a dinner for the two of us. Great for long days at work, just pull out of the freezer, leave on the draining board nuke in the microwave whilst pasta/rice/whatever cooks.

Loyalty cards - I generally shop/fill the car at Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda, all of which have loyalty cards which accrue points for vouchers. Nectar cards can also be linked to places like ebay and argos. Also bonus points for certain sainsburys branded items based on your usual purchases. Sainsburys bank insurance products then double your nectar points earned on grocery spending if linked. Tesco is similar.

If working from home, ask your employer if there are any working from home allowances. My company pay a set additional amount in the winter months to reflect the fact we're having to heat homes whist we're at work. Alternatively, could you move to office working so that you don't have to heat the house during the day?

[Blocked]

I always recommend this basic Asda duvet. It's 13.5 tog so v v warm. £6 for a single, £8.50 for a double. If you can spare it, and you don't have a high tog duvet already, it's absolutely worth buying.

amp.direct.asda.com/george/home/bedding/duvets/basic-duvet-135-tog/GEM461237,default,pd.html

[Bookaholic73]

Love this thread!
I pick up old blankets from charity shops or Primark, and use them in the winter to wrap up warm.
I’ve lost count of how many I have. They are also great for covering the sofas incase the wet dogs jump on them!

[slowquickstep]

@Momo8

Boil the kettle ten minutes before you fancy a cup of tea or coffee. When you actually come to make the drink, your kettle will take less time to boil, thus saving energy.

😂

[zingally]

I'm having to think like this...

Case in point, yesterday I made up enough mashed potatoes for 3 or 4 dinners all in one go. Rather than do it each day. I put them in a lidded pyrex dish in the fridge, and will just spoon out what we need for a quick blast in the microwave.

[Bookaholic73]

I’m also using my oven a lot less. I have an instant pot, air fryer and slow cooker. Between the 3 of them, I cook all of our meals.

I’d say my instant pot gets the most use, especially in the winter.

[ainsisoisje]

I bought a heavy throw to put on the bed, has already made a big difference. Also brushed cotton sheets (like flannel) get very toasty and are lovely and cosy.

[eggsandbaconeveryday]

You can buy curtain poles from Dunelm that fit the recess and require no drilling at all

[SurpriseWombat]

@Paperthinspiders

Get rid of your TV. Why is it considered an essential item? That is a huge saving on electricity.

We all need something to do by way of entertainment, especially on dark winter evenings - and on a per hour basis I'm struggling to think of many cheaper options.

What will save a useful amount of energy, however, is turning down the brightness on the screen - this applies to TVs, laptops and mobile phones alike (watch how much longer your phone battery lasts when the brightness is turned down!)

[Marikali]

terracotta pot heater? ikeahackers.net/2016/11/terracotta-heater.html
used them when living off grid. can be pretty efficient.

[Hobbitlover]

@TooBigForMyBoots

Start saying Hello to other school mums (not the ones in a quiche). I know that this is a difficult thing for some, but the cold and dark is easier if the DC think it's an adventure and you have another adult to talk to.

You might strike it lucky and score a new friend in a different energy area.😁

Some folk say Jeffery Dahmer was on to something 🤔

[JlL2013]

Sandwich paste .50p a jar. Tuna/salmon/beef. Lunches for the week sorted!

[Bearsporridge]

Check the labels on coats and knitwear - if it doesn’t have a % of wool it’s going to decorative instead of warming. You’re better to look in charity shops for second hand wool than waste money on cheap synthetics.

My granny used to bring a pot to the boil, then turn the heat down low and put a folded towel on top on the principle that heat rises. The wonderbag or straw box cooking is another way to cut fuel costs.

sheepskin boot liners/insoles are a good alternative to expensive sheepskin lined boots. But even lining boots with Lino off cuts adds another layer of insulation.