Judicious January - Long may the credit crunching continue

[roguepixie]

So, the credit crunching team are into Year 2013. Happy New Year everyone.

Let's continue our cost-cutting, , money saving,penny and pound pinching, NSD ways.

Delurking to say what a fabulous thread.

Having lost my job last year in dire need of any savings I can find. Reviewing my budget last night I realised that one of the biggest savings I could make would be to turn my Aga off. It uses approx £25 of oil a week and as I live alone there are often weeks when I hardly use it.

Does anyone have any recommendations of alternatives I could use to cover my cooking needs i.e. frying, steaming, roasting, casseroles etc. I am already planning a slow cooker to cover off casseroles etc, but am not sure how to manage stir frys, veg cooking, baked potatoes, roasts etc.

Woukd appreciate any tips

Welcome to Woopsiedaisy For your hob-cooking, could you use something like this? We have an electric one for camping & it works very well. I can't see them being expensive to run.

And for other things, a microwave which is also an oven? I hear (thanks to people on this thread!) you can roast meat in a slowcooker, too

Thank you for the teabread recipie. Sadly I have no earl gray. How do you think it would taste with English Breakfast tea? Not the same I'm sure but may try and report back.

NSD so far here today and just had a shower and put my pyjamas on early so as long as I avoid ebay, amazon etc it should stay that way.

Am aiming for 10 NSDs this month and have done 3 so far - provided I get through today that is.

Woopsiedaisy my mum has an old fashioned rayburn and turns it off all through the summer and then uses a small camping stove with a gas bottle (no good for roasts though but deals with lots of other things)

I've noticed on rightmove that houses with ranges tend to have normal cookers too, I assumed it was for summer months when not much heating was used.

Bought a sunscreen cheaper than city block.

Dh found damage on his car caused by him so that will be ouchy.

Fluffy with contact lenses, you can get them very cheaply online, and solutions too. Just have all the appropriate tests at your opticians so that you have the correct prescription, and you're off!

Yes, I've noticed that monthlies are significantly cheaper than the two week ones I have now. I'll just need to factor in protein remover now and saline.

So easy to get ripped off in this country.

storm I used breakfast tea in mine, I don't see why you can't use whatever tea you fancy. I was thinking that a nice vanilla rooibos I have might be rather nice :)

Another lurker here joining in, please.

I am on my third NSD already this month - we are still using up some of our Christmas food.

I have a slow cooker - one of my favourite things to cook in it is Beef in Beer (I have a slow cooker which you can brown things in first: so brown chopped onions and sliced carrots, remove from pan. Toss beef cubes in seasoned flour and brown in batches in pan. Return vegetables to pan, add a can of beer, a couple of bay leaves, and a spoonful of brown sugar. Put on medium for 6 hours (that's a guess as this is a recipe for "normal" cooking). I always make some herb dumplings and add them an hour from the end. Delicious!

I have cooked a whole chicken in it, too - very easy. In fact I have adapted lots of my normal casserole recipes and they have all been successful.

I have just had a look at the OrganisedHome website - it's great, thank you.

Hi everyone, thanks very much for all the top tips, keep them coming! Have managed to do 2 NSDs over the weekend so chufffed with that. One thng i've saved money on is mobile contracts. I recently changed from a mobile contract to a sim only contract through Giff Gaff. I only pay £10 a month and for that I get 250 mins, unlimited texts, and 1 gb Internet data. Like the way I can cancel or change package without a major hassle.

If anyone fancies giving them a go, you can earn £5 for every person you refer... Wouldn't complain if anyone wanted to go through this link so I could benefit from the referral!

giffgaff.com/affiliate/bearinbath

Can I join too please? Desperately need to cut down our outgoings this year.

Started trying to do NSDs as thought they would be easy but found them much harder than I thought they would be! Will keep at it.

Went food shopping today and took cash which seemed to work as I was more conscious of what everything cost.

One thing that surprised me this weekend was not to have the heating on during the day. I turned it off once we were all up and dressed and nobody said they were cold, normally it is on all day. Very pleased with that!

Oooh folks...back to some form of normality tomorrow-woohoo! DP back to work, Im back on Tuesday, and DS back to nursery! Very spendy w/end but wont bore you with detail...good news however is that Im on budget to date and should remain so through til my payday on 20th starting to plan house move so Ebay/Gumtree'ing unwanted stuff rather than pay to move it with us! Been quiet over holidays but have approx £50 in Paypal ac...ideally Id like removal costs covered by Paypal ac.

I'm liking the sound of Giff Gaff. My contract doesn't expire until April, but will be looking for something cheaper when the time comes.

NSD today but think that'll be the only one of the week.

Also sold our changing table for a few £ more than I bought it for, so that's good. We just don't have room for it in the baby's (box) room, so it was time to.say goodbye!

storm, the recipe I have used Earl Grey but I think it would work really well with other teas - any ones you like really. The Earl Grey is really subtle, which is why I use 2 teabags instead of one - you just can't taste it otherwise.

Hello to NUFC, bear and Kahlua - welcome abroad .

Have a few Ebay items to post out tomorrow and more listings finishing tomorrow. I have hopes for a few more sales.

I know what you mean Mum2, it's back to normal tomorrow...DS back to school, DH back to work and me ... starting my diet. DH informed me that he would like to go to Italy this summer to see rellies ... I am NOT going like this so the diet begins tomorrow. Am going to eat porridge for breakfast and walk for an hour when DH leaves with DS for school/work. If I add in additional walks wherever possible and sensible eating I should have some success ... and it helps with saving money ... no spends on chocolate .

I think Quidco do cashback of a £1 on free giff gaff sim cards, just make sure you clear your cookies history first so they can track it easily. Topcashabck might do it too.

Thanks Rogue! eBay listings ended today and made about 70 on a few things so def step in right direction. Gets quite addictive doesn't it!

Taken on board many of the suggestions so really hoping end of jan bank balance will look healthier than usual. Switched to water meter back in July last year...yet to find out if cheaper than contract. What's been other people's experiences if they've switched?

Rogue I'll be giving your tea cake recipe a try, but I don't like Earl Grey (I'm so uncouth), so I'll try it with Lady Grey because that's my fav.

Hello and welcome to all newbies.

NSD here

Thanks jenduck & stormforce for your suggestions re alternative cooking methods. I definitely need to reasearch this option.

Have worked out it will sav me approx £750pa !!

A few NSDs recently.

I discovered The Range and have bought all the stuff we needed to inject some colour into our palace of beigeness. I got three huge pairs of curtains, three cushions, a lampshade, two lamps and two throws for £155! I'd budgeted about £400 for that lot .

Doing well on grocery. Apart from turkey and ham at Christmas I haven't bought any meat since December 20th (even that was only a modest shop) and I still have 10 days worth in the freezer.

Going to Aldi today to stock up. It's a 16 mile round trip so I have to make it worthwhile. I'll buy this week's fruit and veg while I'm there. Going to explore Lidl next week as it's just down the road.

Also going to give the mortgage broker an ultimatum. He's done nothing for several weeks so if he wants our business he needs to get his arse in gear. I need the remortgage so we can rent this house out and save £750 a month!!

DH did me a favour on Saturday in the end, we decided we weren't really that hungry so I had a slice of toast instead and so didn't end up spending any more!

NSD yesterday, mainly as I didn't even get out of my pyjamas, I did bits and bobs around the house so was quite pleased!

Welcome to the newbies and delurkers (especially NUFC69, it was the Brighton v Newcastle match we were at Saturday, not a great result).

£10 spent today already on school dinners for DS1 for the week, but have a sickly baby so not going out today which will save!

Fluffy thanks for the Ocado tip. I have set up DHs account today.

Got an invoice from our security alarm company for a new battery that I thought was included in the contract. Phoned them up and said I hadn't been informed it was chargeable work before the engineer carried it out, and they have credited my account Query EVERYTHING!!

NSD yesterday and only spend today will be train fare for DH who has an interview

The week has only just begun & already I've been a-spending! 50p for class money for DS1 (due each week, pays for snacks, materials etc). Then £9.77 at Asda for a paper (Sun for £9.50 hols), Fireman Sam pants for DS1 (£4 for 5, others were cheaper but know he'll love these!) & a few grocery bits. But took back a top I haven't worn, which was £6, so only really spent £3.77.

Will try not to spend rest of day, hopefully will see my grandparents this afternoon & give them DS1's Xmas present to return as it doesn't work. Will also try & list few things on Gumtree. Have a whole Thomas bedroom to put on there as we have changed DS1's room to a plain theme, in the hope it will be less off-putting to potential buyers. Have chicken casserole bubbling away in slow-cooker, reckon it cost about £2 total (everything yellow-stickered!) & will do all of us 1 dinner & DSes a second dinner, too!

Is lovely having DS1 back at pre-school, but kind of miss him!

Off to post two Ebay sales - not made massive sums from them but it's all money in. Will have to spend to post them but that is taken into account, iyswim. Will have two oyster bus journeys so £2.60 there but have packed a drink and food for DS when I meet him from school so no popping into the shop.

Am massively missing DS too, jenduck. It's his first day back today and it's sooooooooooooo quiet without him. DH is back to work today as well so it really is lonesome today ... may feel differently when they are all back later, making noise .

1stMrs, it always pays to check and query. Last year I posted when DH checked our situation with our gas and electric provider. We do the usual - pay a sum every month which pays the amount used (hopefully). Well, on checking we found that they held nearly £800 on our electricity account and approx. £190 on our gas account. All our money that they were earning interest on!! So we requested it back (which they have to do) and we got just short of £1000 back. Btw, it's not the first time this has happened to us. The mantra is: check, check and check again ... then query.

Oh, forgot, need to take £15.00 out to put in birthday card for DS's friend. Argh.

Aiming for another NSD today. Last day of dd's school holiday so tidying up house a bit, getting uniform etc. ready letting her relax in front of TV, early supper, hot bath and early bed.

Just had a text from a friend inviting me out to lunch tomorrow. Going t decline but ask her if she'd like to come here instead and I'll cook something from my huge stockpile

Thank you, CecyHall, we watched the match on TV and were not happy bunnies! We're season ticket holders so are usually at every home match.

I have spent money this morning as I knew I would - sent DH to shops, though, as it was raining, and then the Rington's man came and I bought some tea. However, now no more food to buy until Thursday, so if I can just keep down the shopping when we go into town tomorrow with the DGS ....