Stories from the breadline. A more stable job cost us our tax credits.

[Darkesteyes]

I think the whole situation families are finding themselves in is appalling but i did get a bit annoyed with the father in this scenario after reading this.
Maybe im overreacting. Im as lefty as they come btw. Its just that this reads to me like the mother is expected to make the sacrifices but the father being expected to go without his sport would cause problems in the relationship.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/nov/18/family-finance-tax-credits-lost?CMP=twt_fd&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

She not heard of frozen veg? Miles cheaper over fresh and saves waste. Tesco sell frozen peppers and Lidl has excellent mixed veg bags with pulses in them.

Making soups, using cheaper cuts of meat or good veg meals? DH and I would prepare the food for slowcooking in the evening, then plug in in the morning. We only eat meat 2-3x/week and we're still here!

Folding over one piece of bread for the kids lunch?! Get a flask, fill with pasta meals, soups, etc. Get him to bake soda bread with you. Make humous, bean spread, etc and use to make pinwheels out of tortillas. Add in homebaked good and tinned fruit in a resuable container. Job done for pennies.

DH can bake as well as I can, too. We share it out. We can't afford 4 Mars bars for a quid when I can bake enough brownies for days for that.

No Sky. FFS. Or mobiles - PAYG and you get good deals, IME.

Yeah I agree with you. So the father watching his Sky Sports is more important than being able to feed their 4 year old fruit. And it would cause problems in their relationship. I think the husband needs to come back down to earth and realise he's not the most important person in the family. We've just had to get rid of our Sky completely because we can't afford it. The only people who have problems with it are the kids, because they can't watch bloody Phineas and Ferb any more.

Salad is extremely expensive. I haven't had a fresh one in years.

So get creative! Pules are veg.

£24/month on top of your TV license? No way!

travel i also put this on the relationships board because in the last week or so there have been even more money in relationships posts on that board than usual.
And as the woman in the article mentioned it would cause problems in the relationship to get rid of the Sky i thought it was relevant.

A banana costs about 12p. She's post rationalising feeding her family crap by claiming its got anything to do with money. I spend the same as her each week and we eat fresh food for very meal, plus my youngest is an absolute fruit monster.
Ridiculous article.

You dont get sky sports on the £24 package so some creative journalism there and fruit is cheaper than kitkats,try buying the value stuff.

Crisps? Ha! Waste of money.

I agree, bananas and apples are about the only thing fresh we get other than root veg.

I had to live on ready meals and processed crap when DD1 was ill, because there was only a microwave and kettle to use and we were not allowed to keep fresh meat, eggs or free bagged veg. I will never see how junk is cheaper when it comes to feeding a family. It cost a bomb and I lost 2.5st. in weight.

I also got a bit annoyed reading this article. Two of the three case studies prioritise having Sky over a decent diet and two of them also said they eat meat. I wish the Guardian could be a bit more challenging in it's journalism.

I hate to say this, but they sound like total numpties.

We live on an income only very slightly over what we'd get if we were on benefits, but we eat healthy fresh food every day.

Kitkats FFS? They are going to cost way more than bananas would. Wholemeal bread or roll with cream cheese and grated carrot, a banana/apple/orange, some crisps or a flapjack. Cheapo, filling, healthy packed lunch.

sory but she's bulshitting that she can't afford to eat fresh fruit and veg.

she sas she cant afford to put a banana in a lunch box but can afford crisps? er no! drop the crisps!! how can they not see how ridiculous tehy are going to look?

and as for spending £24 a month on sky but struggling to buy fruit? i dont fucking think so. get your priorities straight.

More detailed article here.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/nov/18/families-rising-food-prices-budgets?CMP=twt_fd&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

Agree, they don't seem to know anything about nutrition or cooking.

Am also shocked at him prioritising his sports when they believe (wrongly) they don't have enough money for fresh food, and him letting his wife go hungry (he eats 3 drumsticks, she eats one). I think she needs to rethink this relationship - he sounds like a selfish tosser!

You don't even need to buy a cookbook. TONS of free recipes online. Even tinned pulses are far cheaper than meat and you can also use them to pad out meat. Or red lentils.

Sky. Just no. I get it if you've already signed a contract but ring them up and downgrade to cheapest. Ditto mobiles, although I don't know because I haven't had a contract mobile in 12 years.

Haven't had fresh meat in yonks, either. We're still here.

Jelly. Own brand about £30/pack. Put in tinned fruit (except the pineapples). Pudding!

I have a dead simple recipe for fairy cakes. Double up the oven - make jacket spuds at the same time. Wrap in foil and then clingy. Remove wrapping and microwave for 11 minutes after unwrapping. Add cheese, baked beans, etc. Tart it up - add in Worcestershire sauce, pinch of pepper, paprika, etc.

Cheapo.

Whilst DD1 was ill, I couldn't bake, make egg mayo, jacket spuds, use cheap cuts of meat, make soup or porridge. It was bloody expensive and I'll never see how feeding your family junk is cheaper.

Ive never had a contract mobile. Ive always had pay as you go.

Am also shocked at him prioritising his sports when they believe (wrongly) they don't have enough money for fresh food, and him letting his wife go hungry (he eats 3 drumsticks, she eats one). I think she needs to rethink this relationship - he sounds like a selfish tosser!

hermione thats why i posted it in Relationships as well.

There would be problems in my relationship if DH put Sky before feeding the DC.

They don't sound very bright if they think earning an extra £100 per week makes you worse off because you lose 200 quid per month in tax credits as a result. I mean tax credits are means tested, obviously if your income goes up your tax credits go down (or stop).

agree chub

£30 a pack of jelly expat?!

This must be bullshit, do they not know simple maths 4x100 =400 - 200 = 200 so they still have the same money coming in with the H having a regular wage.

Sky sports is more then £24 pm

bananas cost less then crisps or kitkats

Only thing in the article that made any sense was you eat crap and you want crap, feed the kids crap and they want crap.