We aint no April Frugalling Fools.. There may be Showers ahead, but we'll sail through together ...

[Laska42]

Heres a new thread for the April Frugaleers!

Spring has arrived and summer is a-coming..

Good luck everyone trying to save money, There's lots of good support here..

lila can you affordthe €16? Are you good at sticking to a diet? Is it do able? and Will they be a good motivation?

If yes to all four (or three assuming you can afford them) then I'd say go for them..

Having said that I once bought a pair of sz 12 trousers when I was size 16..(had the 16s also , and loved them so much, I wanted to still have them when i finally got to target) However, had them for about 5 years before i finally accepted theyd never fit and ebayed then as unworn..

The ironic thing was after they went , I discovered 5:2 and finally lost all the weight!!

I have a clothes ranging from 10s (I wish) to 14s.... just incase any of them fit. Charity shopping eh?

My family appear to have a chlorophyll allergy unless it is peas and come in a packet - frozen. They love fruit (I am not a fan) and I love vege. I have fruit trees / bushes... my raised beds from a few years ago have been put over to strawberries and raspberries. I want salad, chard, parsnips, radishes, celeriac, artichokes, beans (all of them), cabbages, beetroots, sprouts, tomatoes, peas (not frozen!!!!!) sweetcorn, carrots (purple and white ones), onions, garlic, ....the list is endless! I would even grow kale. No fucker except me would eat them They would eat the 236 varieties of potatoes so long as they were chipped or roasted - a waste in my view (unless with muscles or roast beef)

Right.. while ive been noodling onthe net ive also been cooking and having just scoffed some sharing my latest 'Fakeaway' with you.

Hopefully useful for those of you at home with a houseful of ravenous kids these Easter hols (but maybe too good for them!!) Great for grown-ups also.

I give you ....

Laska's Almost-could-be-at-Nando's ' Barbecue Chicken Wings! (MUCH cheaper and loads more for your money)

Packet of preferably reduced-for-quick-sale chicken wings ( I had two! some are to be eaten cold and shared with DS)

Marinade (enough for 2 large pcks of wings)

1 tbsp Marmite
1 tbsp English mustard (out of a jar)
1½ tsp smoked paprika (or ordinary paprika is fine)
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
good grind of black pepper

Optional extras:
Splash of chilli if you like hot
(if you have any smoke flavour, a splash of that is also good)

Mix all marinade in large bowl , dump in wings and stir to coat..using hands is easier but messy .. leave for 4 hours or overnight in fridge .(longer the better)

Line a baking tray with foil (v. important so you dont have to chisel them off ) and oil it , (or if you have a cake rack or something like, you can put on the tray and dont need to oil the foil)

Put on your chicken wings, (save the rest of the marinade)
Cover wings loosley in more foil and bake covered for 30 mins at 200deg,

Put the rest of the marinade into bowl with a little water in microwave or saucepan and bring to boil (because this has raw chicken juices in and you are going to use it as a baste)

Aftre 30mins take off foil on wings , baste with more cooked marinade and return to oven for 10 mins , They will start to look a bit black on edges..
Turn over wings, baste again and back into oven for another 10 mins..

Scoff. with lots of kitchen roll..

Also great on ribs (in which case you cook then in oven for 150C. Cover the dish tightly with foil and cook for about 2½ hours until tender, basting once or twice during this time, and removing the foil for the last 15 minutes)

Great on a BBQ also ., but put wings (or ribs on after first cooking) bast and given them th efinal cook until caramelised..

(This recipe nicked from here and changed to chicken... I made her pork ribs also last summer .. They are fabby..

I am stealing that recipe.

Go for it unescorted hope you like it ..

BTW its so much easier to use a rack on the lined tray rather than put them directly onto the foil ..thats what I did (ive done something like this before and they do tend to stick.. ).metal cooling racks for cakes etc are fine in an oven.. But Do use the foil ..its easier for washing up!!

Oh yes any sugar is fine, brown is maybe better than white.. maybe.. Perhaps it doesnt actually make much difference in the end..I probably use a little less sugar than the recipe as I dont like sweet .. that much..

Dont worry about the amount of mustard.. it seems to amalgamate with the meat juices and doesnt end up that hot at all,

I dropped my phone in the loo. It appears to still be working...

That is a downside to multitasking Spotty

Laska I lurrrrve mustard. I was clearing out the cupboards and fridges the other day. I thankfully have enough for the zombie apocoplypse.

I have a housekeeping quandry like the odd sock one. Why is it that the dishwasher takes on a cloak of invisability except when I am putting things in it? How much more difficult is it to open the wretched thing and put the cups and plates in it rather than balance them on top?

I am retiring in 34 years and 3 months Laska when I'm almost 70 , unless they change the rules again, which they probably will. I can't imagine myself animating lessons at 60, let alone 70, although by then I'll probably be able to do all my teaching from my bed via Internet.

lachatte I'm in the same situation, also a teacher due to retire in my 70s, they will probably carry me out in a box! I have a theory though: The birth rate is going up so in 20 years or so there will be a lot of graduates looking for jobs. The government of the day won't want high youth unemployment so I'm hoping they'll pay us off to go earlier!! In the meantime I'm hoping that frugal living might help us to pay off the mortgage a bit quicker!
Should be NSD today. We're going to put our tent up later to check for wear and tear with the intention of booking our first camping trip with DD. Since we bought our tent we have managed 2-3 trips a year very cheaply. It cost around £400 4 years ago so has very much paid for itself in what we have saved on hotels/b&bs etc.
Looks like another sunny day everyone

Right, I've pulled myself together since my last post. I'm going to make one last effort to shift some weight. If come July it's coming off then I'll continue, if not I'm going to just accept it and buy some nice clothes that suit my shape round. Thank you for the voucher pass I've ordered 4 dresses as I have a thing to go to. I will send 3 back. I'm hoping that the £13.50 one suits me best! Thank you to everyone who suggested the s&b board or just sympathised, it was appreciated.

pointless we're camping this year but I've taken control. Dh always wants to camp in a field in the middle of nowhere but it's miserable with dc so this year I've booked a pitch. It's a tiny bit more expensive but has everything we need including chickens. The chickens will entertain dc. I think you're allowed to collect the eggs yourself and then pay for them. They'll enjoy that. We're near a beach and there's even a laundry service. We're not going until August so plenty of time for the sun to get here.

Limping through the last couple of days before payday on Friday. We have all we need so I'm going to avoid the shops and aim for 2 nsd.

£10 on a present for a party dd is going to. Ffs.

Pointless

We have 2 tents. One is too small for us now and the other one is huge. Used only one night about six years ago.... We spent about €500 in total. Tbh dh says its a bus mans holiday for him and would rather not go camping in Ireland says its too much hassle and too cold. I really need to test them out and maybe sell the smaller one while I am at it!
Going to try to get him to bring us away in July for couple of nights even just 2 would do me. I find sleeping on air beds hard on the body! But I loved camping in my child hood.

Spotty

I find now that my two are older its money for sleepovers! I swear I spend more on their social life than my own.

Just finish hanging my washing out and some fucking twat lights a bonfire. I'm so fucking pissed off it happens all bloody summer. Tumble drier it is.

Cajun chicken quinoa for dinner. The dc didn't like it surprise surprise. I shall continue to give it to them though...

Spotty I'm sensing some tension?

I put a £5 limit on all bday presents for dds mates, although saying that recently she hasn't really been invited to many parties. I wonder if around age 8-9 yo they don't have parties quite so much?

Very low spending day £1.10 on parking for work which will be claimed back.

Had nice tea of rice, veg and chicken.

Dd been at holiday club today and had lovely time so thats good, its an outdoorsy climbing trees and collecting eggs type one and she loves it it is expensive though but worth it.

We are now pigging out on Easter chocolate

Maybe girlie.... I try so hard and half the time they don't eat it! Plus it was really nice. I feel like I'm the only one whose dc don't get 15 of their five a day they often only get three

My dd is very hit and miss with her food as well, I don't think either of us always get our 5 a day she does at least like fruit which is something I suppose.

Today fruit and veg wise I have managed a glass of orange juice and a portion of carrots and broccoli, dd has had a glass of orange juice, a satsuma and a small amount of cucumber and beetroot. Hey ho some days are better than others.

£10 cleanser
£15 petrol.

The dc had fruit pot in ready brek, a fruit pouch, raisins, raspberries and grapes SUGAR!

I've done worse with rocket (that counts right?) and the veg in my dinner which was onion, spring onion and celery which probably don't count either!

Oh GAWD is it still not pay day yet???? ARRGGHHHH the worst thing about the Easter holidays is all the money you have forgotten about spending over the four day weekend comes back to haunt you on the Tuesday!!!

Bank: £125.44 (was £209.56)
Purse: £9.06 (was £24.07)
Jar: £13.40 (was £56.35)

Grand Total: £147.90
Reduced by: £142.08
Days to payday: 8
Proper Savings: £574.29

Spends:
£12.70 – credit card
£5.00 – cheque (presume for athletics)
£12.55 – Morrisons cafe (DH and I went for breakfast on Good Friday)
£53.08 – this was my online shop.

£17.01 – Morrisons
£23.78 – Morrisons (this was stamps and £20 cash back)
£14.50 – My weekly bus pass.

£2.00 – athletics
£1.46 - unaccounted for.

Budget looks like this: £147.90
Petrol: £156.50 // £112.50 spent // £41 remaining
Groceries: £300 //£263.21 spent // £36.79 remaining
Interest: £8.80
Bus fares & Kids activities: £10.80
Leaves for everything else....£50.51

Wahey! Finally got phonecall I was waiting for so can leave the house tomorrow.

My kids are fussy. I think they just about made their 5 a day today. Possibly. Also ate a chocolate egg each!

NSD. Woop!

Laska - I use that recipe for ribs, we had them last night. I substitute Marmite for brown sauce and marinate for a few hours, yummy

DD came home, stayed 5 minutes, then buggered off to ride her own pony. They are focused on training all the time at the minute, keeps her busy though.

Spends. £1 on chocolate (needed a fix), but did take home made celery and garlic soup into work for lunch virtuous. Then £6 at the garden centre on some seeds (asparagus and strawberry) and a lovely card for my friend, who has had DD for the last 2 nights.

Oh, and £10 on lots of drinks and snacks for the competition this weekend. None of which are healthy, but will give DD some energy to compete the whole weekend, with a bundle of fruit and a decent meal on the Saturday.

bantam Would there be anything that you can cut down on in your spends do you think?

ps - honestly, kids do get less fussy as they get older. Mine will eat most stuff now, I never would have thought that and spent many hours worrying about it. Oh, the benefit of hindsight eh?