Its fuel costs which are scaring the shit out of me - we have oil heating - it got switched off last week as we have very little in the tank and Im trying to hold off till the prices start to drop
That and the cost of filling the car - being extremely rural - no busses etc - cars are needed
We have lived a frugal life style for a long time now, but now its getting tricky
We have ecco 7 so Im up at 5 am to put on dishwasher ( every 3 days ) washing machine - every 2 days - and tumble drier on as and when - towels and heavy work clothes usually
I put the hot water on for 30 mins - gives enough to have a shower each, and warm enough water to wash any odds and sods during the day ( Last electric bill was £485 for the quarter )
Food bill is where I make the biggest cut backs - yellow sticker queen :) If I see a bargain, the purse gets opened and we stock up. Pork shoulder has been £2.50 a kg the past three weeks in Tesco, so every time Ive been in, one has gone in the basket and is in the freezer. Lamb is half price now for easter, I shall buy that this and next week, might not be eating it right now but when we fancy lamb and its at £40 a leg, I will have the half price ones in the freezer ready . I dont waste money or freezer space on bread/cakes etc, its all meat and fish
Whole chicken thighs are around £2 a kilo - compared to £6/8 breast, and £5 for boneless / skinless thighs. It takes literally seconds to remove the skin and bone yourself - no skill needed
Thinking outside the box when it comes to meals. Tonight we had YS lamb meatballs for dinner - I made them into a kofta curry on rice, £3 ( including spices and rice and tinned tomatoes ) had two extremely healthy portions and a lunch box made . Those big pack of chipolata sausages that are sold off after christmas for pennies? I snap them up - great in toad in the hole, sausage casserole - plus the grandkids will eat tiny sausages quicker then a cut up sausage
Another favourite dish at the moment - hot honey pork stir fry. Pork mince is £2.50 for 500grms and that, with a large pack of stir fry veg will feed four people along with a mug of rice ( dried weight ). Every mouthful has meat, rather then trying to share out the equivalent cost wise of pork strips or chicken strips
I try to add lentils/beans to any wet dish to bulk up the protein without bulking the cost
I also use frozen fruit and veg - frozen berries for breakfast and frozen spinach - dropped into anything and everything, frozen casserole veg - bag of that, a pack of stewing beef - into the PC and dinner ready in 30 mins. I also like to have frozen chopped onions and a bag of chopped celery/carrots and onions - ready to go and no flaff and no waste
Cut the brands. There's very little unbranded stuff that's not as good, sometimes even better than the brands. Most of my shop is done in Lidl and in 20 years there was only one thing I ever went back and complained about - and received a full refund . Here in NI the meat is excellent quality at pretty decent prices Because of allergies I thought I was stuck with Persil, During covid/brexit shortages, I couldn't get it, got a small bottle of Formil ( lidl own brand ) and Ive stuck with it ever since - just as good as Persil and Im not allergic
Also have a good inventory of what you actually have indoors already. So many times we buy on auto pilot, not remembering we didnt use the 4 tins of beans/tomatoes or whatever we bought the previous week. Know what you have, only buy what you need. I always work with one open, one spare , so Im not buying. at high prices, I can wait till it goes back on offer
Shop around, look in at Home Bargains/ savers etc instead of just buying in the one place, toiletries and cleaning materials are often a lot less in those shops then the supermarkets