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Original poster

Austerity in October - *blows the budgeteering bugle*

480 replies

claretandamberforever · 01/10/2013 08:19

In here please.....

Pinch punch, first of the month.

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 06/10/2013 16:29

I've dug my bread maker out, got a loaf cooking now & I'm doing vegan naans tomorrow with cumin seeds.

£6 on 1.5kg on hot chocolate.

I need to start my herbs off, I just need to get some soil from the garden & crack on with it.

I'm watching an item on eBay, really hope I get it but other people keep bidding on it Angry. I never bid till the last 20 seconds.

NK5BM3 · 06/10/2013 16:56

Spendy day.

Spent £10 on a lunch out which was part paid for by a friend's birthday voucher (she got me a meal for two and we brought out kids so ended up paying £10 for the rest of the meal which is great!). Bought a couple of cards, tops (for my nieces and daughter) and some books for kids £29 at m&s. went to h&m and found some things for £31. Oh and did my eyebrows for £9.

Took the bus home as dh went off with DS to chess club so that cost £2.80. But DD really enjoyed herself on the bus!! Oh and chess club was £2.

Having lunch out tomorrow with a friend from work. First time in 3 months or so? So that's ok.

Have a good rest of Sunday and a good week ahead!

NK5BM3 · 06/10/2013 17:00

Fluffy - thanks too for that recommendation of wine! Went down well! I tried a little (I was driving) and it was yums!

Fluffycloudland77 · 06/10/2013 17:31

Oh good, I always worry Ill advise something and it will turn out to be horrible.

Ifcatshadthumbs · 06/10/2013 18:06

Bit of a spendy day too BUT I got ds's main Christmas present off a facebook selling site for £20 brand new in box, normally £80 in shops so feeling rather proud of myself! Plus £2 on a second hand Wii game.

We also had lunch out but used tesco vouchers so only cost us £5 for the drinks.

Does a bread maker really save money? Am wondering as ds's gf bread costs us so much. Combined with the 2/3 normal loafs of bread we get through a week we spend about £7 a week on bread alone!

MinimalistMommi · 06/10/2013 18:12

Ifcats it certainly does for me! I tend to buy a 1.5 kg bag of organic flour and that will make almost four loaves of bread. Each loaf will have a tsp each of salt and sugar and 15 g of butter and 270 ml water. So non organic flour must be super cheap! I was reading a blog the other day where the author reckoned she could make a loaf for 25p approx if I re her correctly. The actual cost of running breadmaker for a cycle is pennies.

MinimalistMommi · 06/10/2013 18:12

I forgot to say 3/4 tsp Yeast per loaf too...
Great for homemade pizza too!

MinimalistMommi · 06/10/2013 18:14

Found the 25 p bread blog post here...frugaldom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-cost-of-homemade-loaf-25p.html

I bake the bread in the evening and let it sit out over night so it's not too fresh to cut. I use an electric knife to cut the loaf as we make a lot of sandwiches and I find this method easier.

MinimalistMommi · 06/10/2013 18:16

fluffy your nann bread sounds beautiful.

Fluffycloudland77 · 06/10/2013 18:22

I put the electric monitor on the bread maker once and it was only 3 or 4p.

I've got an argos electric knife, it's brilliant and I've had loads of use out of it. It was £10, the blades go through the dishwasher well.

Thank you for that blog, I've saved it to my home screen. A brief read of it says David Cameron buys flour at £4 for 1.5kg? How the other half live. And here's me tutting at the cost of alinson in aldi.

I've heard the panasonics are really good for gluten free bread.

Original poster
claretandamberforever · 06/10/2013 18:34

I love freshly made bread, but when we had a BM yonks ago when they started being all the rage, it always seemed to go Pete Tong even when it was just a case of chucking the ingredients in.

OP posts:
MinimalistMommi · 06/10/2013 18:40

clare I have a Panasonic, that's a great machine for chucking stuff in! I've had it for about three years now and love it.

MinimalistMommi · 06/10/2013 18:41

fluffy enjoy the blog! I love frugal blogs! My fave is Frugal Queen.

MrTumblesBavarianFanbase · 06/10/2013 19:43

Minamalist I have just worked out that I spent €13.93 just on bananas last week (I am keeping receipts - I bought them 3 separate times) I am doing something wrong - do you ration bananas? I say no more than 2 each a day, but for constipation avoidance Blush not € atm!

I made soup on Friday and we also had it on Saturday, but my husband didn't mind (well he didn't say anything except to assume I'd made it because DD had a bad tummy) first time but was hugely unimpressed the second day running, even though we also had a "proper" cooked meal both days (he was home on Friday as we had a bank holiday on Thursday and his company awards them "bridge" days between Tue or Thur bank hols and weekends for "free" ).

We never eat lentils, I don't even know what to do with them, though I liked dahl when I spent 6 months in India 20 years ago... Confused

Original poster
claretandamberforever · 06/10/2013 19:56

Yeah Tumbles, if I dished up soup as a main meal, my lot would sit there waiting for the main course. I've never been brave enough to subject them to lentils, chickpeas to bulk up a chicken curry was a brave but unappreciated move for me.

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 06/10/2013 19:59

Soups nice with French bread cheese on toast.

When I was little my mum gave me carrots as snacks. Not carrot sticks but whole washed carrots. Way cheaper than bananas but I can imagine dc nowadays thinking wtaf? If you presented them with a carrot.

Some lentils like red lentils dissolve into stews or curries and others stay firm. They don't usually need pre soaking. Popadoms are made from lentil flour

AdoraBell · 06/10/2013 20:09

Claret I've done the same with DD's clothes at the supermarket, OH said they should pay but as it wasn't a frivilous spend I haven't taken it off their pocket money.

NSD today, about £30 yesterday, OH gave DDs £10 each and we spent another ten on our food and drinks.

OH is struggling to get used to this gluten problem, he was still hungry after salad and pork kebab and decided to get a slice of pizza Shock I said 'all that bread' and he realised. It will take him a while to break very well established habits. We just can't afford the GF alternatives here, what little there is. He's getting accustomed to eating 'forrin muck' like guacamole with nachos, made from cornGrin. We haven't had the money to Frontline the dogs so one of them had a tickSad

Need to get veg, fruit, salad tomorrow.

northender · 06/10/2013 20:17

Struggling to keep up this month, the thread is so fast moving. Just back from weekend away with did and my mum. Was good but hotel food awful so ended up spending money on other food yesterday. No spare money left for this week and I've a couple of things going on which will cost. So into next weeks money I goSad . Am going to see if I can meal plan for this week and next with what we already have (except fruit and veg) to balance the books.

Fluffycloudland77 · 06/10/2013 20:18

Did you manage to get the tick out? I dread the cat getting a tick. I wouldn't know what to do.

northender · 06/10/2013 20:18

dd not did. auto correct on my phoneBlush

Ifcatshadthumbs · 06/10/2013 20:33

Thanks for the link minimalist. I will have a look at Panasonic bread makers too.

MinimalistMommi · 06/10/2013 20:56

fluffy I LOL about the carrots! My DC regularly munch on whole carrot for snack Grin

About bananas, they tend to have one a day, my youngest has been constipated in past....I tend to encourage them to have an apple, pear, carrot rather than choosing same things if that makes sense.

confusedofengland · 06/10/2013 20:56

DH & I should be made to steer clear of DIY stores, they are not good for our bank balance! Homebase this time, and annoyingly I forgot the Nectar card, it was double points Sad. We spent just short of £65 & got lots of light switches & wire, which was what we went in for. Then I spotted the reduced to clear racks & we got a shiny cupboard for £2 from £100 (Hmm seems a lot for a door?), a set of spotlights for the lounge for £20 from £51 because 1 bulb was missing, 4 rolls of wallpaper for the bedroom £1 each down from £20 each, a pack of handles for £2 from £5 and a concertina paper stand-up lamp for £2 from £8 - and maybe more stuff Shock Good bargains, definitely & will be well used, but we didn't go in for all that Blush

I also got a Groupon deal for our local big farm park, £9 for 2 adults & 2 DC instead of around £40, valid until end November.

We also seem to have acquired a nail in one of our car tyres, so I will have to go to Kwik Fix to get that sorted tomorrow Sad

I did find a 12l Dulux tub, a 10l tub & half a 10l tub of magnolia silk paint in the loft of our new house. We won't use it as we prefer matt, so I will give the non-branded ones to my parents & see if I can get £5 or so for the Dulux paint.

MinimalistMommi · 06/10/2013 21:00

About the soup discussion, lentil and tomato soup with fresh homemade bread rolls and cheese will be a main meal here.

Mr the £50 budget is only for food, not for toilet roll, toothpaste etc I meant to mention. X

if Panasonic is worth the extra spend out if you're thinking about a BM.

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