I need a very cheap April! What can I do?

[Badvoc]

Hello.
So, 2013 has been a it of a disaster so far wrt clearing debts!
£250 for a school trip for ds.
We have had to have a new conservatory roof and new back windows for the house due to leaking (£5k in total)
Both dc have needed new clothes and although I got them from e bay it's still a money I have had to find.
I had managed to get my agreed overdraft down to £250 (from £800!) but then a horrid dose of flu, having to buy meds and not keeping an eye on things has meant going overdrawn and bank charges :(
So.
Next month, I should have £300 for food/petrol/misc etc.
I also have 2 family birthdays, although I think my nephew wants money so £20 in a card should do.
I don't think I can do this :(
We eat a lots of fruit and veg and its so expensive!
I buy own brand products mostly.
So taking off petrol and birthdays I reckon I will have £250 for 4 weeks.
I am not the sort of person that can meals from dust and hairspray so please dont suggest making my own lentils :)
Dh and dc take packed lunches to work/school.
Is it better to shop each day for what you really need rather than a large supermarket shop?
I live in a village so tend to do an online shop once a week.
There is a local co op where I could shop each day as necessary...
Any tips?
I really want to get this sorted out this month as we have summer hols, birthdays and a family wedding coming up!...
Thanks x

I try to cook so there aren't any leftovers tbh, as dc and dh won't eat them.
I would though! :)
Am looking into getting a bread maker. We use a lot of bread/rolls etc.

You might try a polite request on Freecycle for a breadmaker. It's one of those gadgets that people buy in a flush of giddy enthusiasm then never get around to using. I gave my yoghurt maker away on Freecycle and I should think breadmakers are exactly the same...

Bread makers - when I am flush I will get a Panasonic based on my research but not, as yet, experience. Bring Flush won't happen for a few weeks yet.

Try the moneysavingexpert.com website - sorry can't do links on my phone. Lots of ideas there. With the clothes, have you thought of swishing? It's like organised swapping. If you google it you ahould turn up some links. There's also a book swapping website but I can't remember the name of it, I'll have a think. Plus my local library have started lending electronic books, for you to borrow on your e reader, you could enquire at your library.

Sounds a bit weird but a poster on here recommended frozen cauliflower cheese - tried it this week (Aldi's one) and it is indeed very nice! It's filling too so can recommend that.

Also making your own biscuits is very cheap and gives you and DC's something to have as a treat if still peckish. Flour, butter, sugar and mixed spice work well for us :) Can also be an entertainment jobby for a weekend day with DC rather than going out.

Can DC get paper rounds?

I have a panasonic bread maker, it is wonderful. A loaf works out about 35p I think with Lidl flour. But you do eat more as it is not sliced, and it is easy to eat half a loaf when it's all warm...

Well...apparently we have a bread maker in the loft!
Dh says we had it before dc so it's years old, but hey, it might work?
I am going to make homemade cakes and flapjacks...it's too expensive to buy them anymore.

Ooh thanks for the veggie patty recipe McGilly - they sound yummy & am def going to try them out

OK, so I think we have covered food. How about these presents you have for the birthdays?
Anything knocking about you can 'recycle' and re-wrap? I know I saw a thread the other day flaming people for this, but really (as long as you aren't returning it to whoever bought it for you!) then it is better being used than sitting in a drawer. If not, you could make brownies/flapjacks and tie ribbon around them? Or perhaps put a few bulbs from the garden into a flower pot and tie a ribbon around them? Home made card by DC :)

Just skimmed through this thread, but do you have a nearby market? Fruit and veg will be loads cheaper there than supermarket. Eg, 3 peppers £1.60 in tesco, £1 for punnet with 5 or 6 from market.

Have you tried quorn instead of mince? It is cheaper...

My bread maker is a Panasonic, about seven years old and has been used hundreds if not thousands of times, still works as well as did new

Found the bread maker!
Will try it out this week.
I am not a fan if quorn, or mince tbh.
Prefer meatballs/roasts if I have meat.

Honestly i cannot speak highly enough of aldi. It's not crap like netto was. There nappies are brilliant and if you love continental meats etc. Superb. Their cheapest ham is prper meat not that mush stuff and is 99p for 6 slices! You'd pay triple that in asda nearly. And they have at least 4 fruit/veg every week that are specials and only 30-60p. If i won the lottery i would still shop there. (As well as m&s :D

Hi Badvoc,

You will save a fortune if you meal plan. We don't have an Aldi near us and I never have much luck at our small Lidls, but I do a weekly online Sainsbury shop and it comes in at £80 a week without much effort, including toiletries, pet food etc. Could be cheaper if I really tried.

I went through a phase of trying out the Basics range and switching to it for things that were OK. Basics sliced wholemeal bread is fine - only 50p a loaf; their half-bake baguettes are 2 for 45p. They make good packed lunches or garlic bread to go with chunky home made soup. I also buy their 30p bars of chocolate and melt them down with crushed biscuits and raisins to make Tiffin or use up the tail ends of cereal packets to make krispy cakes.

Never buy pizza. It's dirt cheap to make and feeds DC and all their friends who are always super impressed it's home made. 60p for bread mix which makes about 6 large pizzas, plus tomato puree, Basics mozzarella and then top with olives, salami etc - anything you fancy. The large marguerita pizzas only cost about 20-25p each to make, and the others a little more. If the DC have friends round I make popcorn too, and add carrot sticks, sweetcorn and lettuce for their 5 a day.

Badvoc - when you start using a bread maker use bread mixes. they are very cheap, they always come out well and only take two hours instead of the usual four/overnight, so it's cheaper to run the machine as well. We make one large loaf every other day, for about 60p a packet - seedy loaves, white, granary, wholemeal. Saves a fortune if your family love bread.

I buy value/basics/bog standard bacon or gammon joints, around £2 , boil them (or do the in slow cooker) with carrot, onion, celery, bay leaves and allspice/peppercorns. Use stock for soup with lentils or split peas, slice some meat for ham egg and chips and then use rest in sandwiches and salads. We've had 4 portions of soup, 2 meals for 3 adults and a couple of sandwiches from a £2 piece of bacon often

Thank you.
Sadly the breadmaker doesn't work...am not surprised, it's very old and has been in shortage for over 2 years....
Might buy a cheap one, any recommendations?
Going to aldi tomorrow and then planning to top up at the co op.
Do aldi do bread mixes?

I would avoid topping up at the Co-op, if I were you. I have one right next to me, but it is so, so expensive! I honestly believe you might as well shop at M&S as the Co-op!

Badvoc aldi bread mixes are ace! We get the foccacia one. Very nice

It needs to be austere! :(
Thanks x