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Housekeeping

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I have no money, how am I going to feed the kids next week?

107 replies

coventgarden · 24/07/2010 18:30

The kids are getting very fussy and are constantly eating. much more than normal. I ran out of money last week and have no idea what we will eat next week. The kids are driving me mad with the waste and now dc1 has just come in with ketchup on his face saying My face is bleeding, my face is bleeding. dc3 has just fallen and bust his lip so blood everywhere so I am sure he thinks he is funny, but with dc3 hurt, the food wastage and no money, I am not finding it funny.

OP posts:
wastingaway · 24/07/2010 20:25

Sometimes Value stuff has less additives.

wastingaway · 24/07/2010 20:27

Also, people suggesting car boot sales - not everyone has a car!

TheBestAManCanGet · 24/07/2010 20:29

I know they don't but many people do or know someone who does.

If I had a friend who was skint I would gladly lend her my car or drive so she/he could do a car boot.

wastingaway · 24/07/2010 20:31

That's really nice.

Fibilou · 24/07/2010 20:49

I always pull out a hot pudding if the main course is a bit wanting - rice pudding, apple crumble, bread pudding, suet puddings are all cheap and cheerful which will fill your kids up if you give them something like soup

Risotto - if necessary you can literally just have rice and stock with a bit of grated cheese and it's still delicious. You could bung in some of your frozen veg.

Fishcakes are always quite cheap and filling - get a tin of tuna/salmon and a couple of potatoes

You could do special fried rice with your rice, veg and an egg

scottishmummy · 24/07/2010 23:10

cant get past I always pull out a hot pudding. classic double entendre

StealthPolarBear · 24/07/2010 23:19

ebay is free listings until tomorrow night

DreamTeamGirl · 24/07/2010 23:25

DS and I eat rice with peas and sweetcorn quite often. I just chuck a stockcube in whilst its cooking, and if we have it he has a third of a tin of tuna in with his- the rest goes on sandwiches and in a jacket potato
Sounds liek you have all the ingredients for that

Did you say you had eggs? Or you could buy some with your shoe money and make some quiches- you can make them with cooked pasta in to bulk them out- and then they can snack on that during day.
It must be very hard too feel like you cant feed them as well as you want to. Luckily I grew up poor so I adapt back to living on pennies very quickly

womblingfree · 24/07/2010 23:40

Few suggestions - not all will help with just what you've got in your cupboard at the mo but might be useful for future menu planning. I was made redundant 2 yrs ago and took 18 months out to be with DD until she started school, but it was a real exercise in belt-tightening for us - it's not much fun, but it improves your imagination!

Omlettes
Filled jacket potatoes
Pasta with virtually anything (although have to admit my DD is probably the only child on the planet that won't touch the stuff)

Buy whole chickens and joint them - use the breast for stir frys which you can bulk out with veg, roast the legs, then boil the carcass to make stock. Strip off any meat left and chuck it back in the stock with sliced spring onion, frozen or tinned sweetcorn, dried noodles and a spoonful or two of sweet chilli sauce. A big bowl of this is a meal in itself.

When making mince dishes - ie shepherds pie, chilli, bolognese - use half mince and half red lentils. I also started throwing a handful of lentils or chickpeas into curries to make the meat go further.

Frozen white fish fillets are usually inexpensive. Make a sauce with tinned toms, onion, garlic and dried herbs - pour over fish in an oven proof dish, top with grated cheese (buy a strong one and you can use less of it) and breadcrumbs (whizz odd bits of bread in food processor or chop into small chunks and freeze them as you go along so you've always got some handy) - bake for 25 minutes.

I now buy most of my veg frozen to avoid waste (although not carrots as tried them and thought they were a bit soggy!).

Lastly, I know people can be really sniffy about tinned meat, and for the most part I'd agree with them - but my DD loves steak pie made with Princes Stewed Steak in Gravy. It's actually quite nice and also makes a great emergency chilli if you throw in kidney beans, tinned toms, onion and a bit of chilli powder and crush the meat up a bit with a wooden spoon.

scottishmummy · 25/07/2010 00:09

i do big pot dinner and freeze it

geraldinetheluckygoat · 25/07/2010 00:11

Try shopping in Lidl, you'll find nicer brands than value stuff (though a lot of value stuff is fine). Also if you have a market near you, go right at the end of the day, before it closes, you will be able to get a box of veg and fruit for much reduced prices. Ive been there too, its stressful but it is surprising how much you can get if you shop around.

scottishmummy · 25/07/2010 00:13

last hour of supermarket.bargaintastic.10p bread

solo · 25/07/2010 01:37

I'm sure I sound like a loon here, but I think 'something' will happen sometime in the future whereby we will be rationed and/or unable to buy/replenish our food stocks, so....I've been buying a couple of bits extra each week for a while in order to put it away for the big emergency. I've borrowed from it several times now so it might help to have a box of emergency rations put away for when you run out of money to buy food in the future. It's mostly tinned stuff, but it's all edible and can make many meals. Worth a thought.

Tinned tuna, pasta, tinned tomatoes, a pot of sugar, tea bags/coffee, powdered milk, evaporated milk, cheap rice pudding, soups...loads more besides. Very handy.

SolidGoldBrass · 25/07/2010 01:49

Solo: No, not a loon at all. I have always had a few bits and pieces in the freezer and in the cupboards and my mum (OK she grew up in WWII) has always got enough tinned and frozen food in to survive for about a month.
OP I know the feeling: another cheap foodstuff if you have a Lidl or ALdi is the filled pasta (tortellini/ravioli), you can serve that with a tin of economy tomatoes. And sainsburys basics noodles are ok, as is the basics vegetable rice, nice and bulky.

solo · 25/07/2010 02:22

That's good to know SGB

onadietcokebreak · 25/07/2010 03:57

We are a bit skint at the moment so have spent the month running down our cupboards adn freezer.

Some fantastic ideas on here.

OP Get yourself to the local supermarket tomorrow for last minute reductions but only go by yourself! Around 3pm is a good time. Final mark downs at 3.30pm

mamatomany · 25/07/2010 08:25

Oh solo it's such a British thing isn't it, a nuclear bomb goes off and we'd all crawl to Tesco's and que for tins of beans and collect our clubcard points too, where as the Americans would arrive with a large trolley and a shotgun

coventgarden · 25/07/2010 09:50

All these ideas are great, thank you.

I am going to list everything I have in and then go through my recipe books and plan what I can make from it.

Not very happy that dh said no when I asked him if he thought we ate well. I know this past week has been pretty crap but usually...

He said we can't afford to cook from scratch so I went shopping without a plan and now we have no money left and not much food in .

DD won't eat tomatoes, I can't see dh eating lentils, etc but it is just tough.

He earns a reasonable wage and I just don't know why we have no money.

OP posts:
wastingaway · 25/07/2010 09:59

Can't afford to eat from scratch?

trefusis · 25/07/2010 10:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

RobynLou · 25/07/2010 10:17

cooking from scratch is cheaper.

MrsSnaplegs · 25/07/2010 10:17

Covent Garden We have been through phases where we have been very skint - walking round tesco with a calculator to make the £20 stretch as far as we can. I went on Moneysaving expert. com (yes I know some people here hate it but it helped focus my head at the time) On their webforums there is a forum called debtfreewanabee - the people on there are really good at helping to do spending plans - what is going out, what is coming in and reviewing where your money is going. although this won't help this week it is a good start for next month.

Definately drop a level on some products you use own brand even value brand at most supermarkets is actually no different - sometimes you just need to jazz up the taste with some extra herbs or cheese. Cooking from scratch is cheaper once you are in the habit, meal plan and only shop for those items. If you make your own bread you can also make your own pizza, tortilla wraps, naan breads etc - free recipes on line.

Good luck!

Alicetheinvisible · 25/07/2010 10:24

I think you need to cook from scratch and meal plan tbh.

There are some fab threads on here for budget meals and meal plans. Go through them and see what may suit you.

I once had my card stolen and it was a saturday lunchtime so couldn't go to the bank til monday and i literally had no food at all. Luckily it was just me, no children, but i found £2 after rummaging around in my car and managed to get a cheap loaf of bread, a bag of pasta, some tins of tomato soup and beans and still have change, from the Tesco Value range.

It is not ideal, but you won't starve.

You say you bake a lot. Fairy cakes cost pennies to make and can help fill up small children as well as giving them something to do.

mousymouse · 25/07/2010 10:42

how old are your children?
I think you really should calmly explain to them that now is not a time to be fussy.
lots of great ideas here.
what I do to empty the cupboards is all sorts of bakes just cut veg in slices or bitesize chunks and layer in an oven proof dish with potatoes/left over rice/ tinned meat/tuna at a few beaten eggs, cover with cheese and bake (175°c 45min).
what you also could do is hang aroud the local allotments and ask if you could have some leftover veg. courgettes for example are growing like crazy right now so you might be able to get some.

Tortington · 25/07/2010 10:49

supermarket do own brand noodles in a packet for like 15p or cheaper.

they come with a sachet thats full of addatives - just take the sachet out.

when i was skint - noodles was a lifesaver.

and rice.

i always got loads of noodles and a huge bag of rice

i always had pasta in the cupboard. - sure pasta wasn't everyones favourite meal, but y'know when it comes to a choice of pasta or fuckall - funny that everyone likes pasta!