OK - I have (approx) £25 to last me until the 29th..........

[TheQueenOfQuotes]

We use

roughly 4 pints milk a day (sometimes less)
1 loaf of bread last 1 1/2 days (we buy Warburtons as it's the only one available in the local shop that the DS's will actually eat )
I'm going to need to buy one tin of baby milk (£6.40)
I can only get away with one vegetarian meal (DH a big meat eater) 2 at a stretch
I'll also need one more box of (48) Wheetabix - DS's go through 5 a day between them!

and I currently have

2 lots of mince, 1 lot of braising steak (2 if you include the lot I'm using today), enough sausages for 2 meals.

All basics (sugar, washing powder, dishwasher tablets, wipes, nappies - although DH buys then anyhow - coffee, sugar, cheese, potatoes already pretty well stocked up.

Can I do it - (well I know I can - I've fed us on £15 in one week - including having to buy nappies - before now) - but how best to do it??

And what else can I do with braising steak other than make a stew type thing with it, and what else with the mince except for bolognaise type meal/meatloaf (there's not enough to make burgers/meatballs).

well he doesn't eat that much chocolate (probably because I often raid his bag that he takes lunch in an nick it ). And he has a HUGE bowl of cereal in the mornings (I on the other hand often skip breakfast - another ), and lunch is usually a sandwich and fruit (for him).

Don't skip breakfast whatever you do!!!

Actually, I find cereal doesn't fill me up much - unless it's oat-based - I'm often nearly fainting with hunger at 10.30/11 tbh and have to eat again.

Maybe a couple of eggs on toast, and/or porridge with chopped banana or honey? Or baked beans and a piece of bacon with toast? Readybrek (or equivalent) keeps my hollow-legged dd going for a while. Must have banana with it though!

Breakfast like a king etc

I've often skipped breakfast for as long as I can remember............although if we're staying away from home and there's a full English on offer then I'll eat it then - but otherwise at home.......cup of coffee......

DS's and DH eat breakfast every morning without fail though......DH his huge bowl of cereal (often oat based) with fruit, and the DS's have Wheetabix (well own brand ones).

My DH isn't big on vegetarian meals either, but macaroni cheese made with wholemeal pasta will fill him up and is fairly cheap to make. He would also eat something like eggs, beans and chips or omelette and chips.

Did someone say £25?
Easy! Monday afternoon is usually when you get all the cheap stuff in the supermarkets because they restock Monday morning and get rid of the stuff that is past it's sell by date.
Lots of root veggies, they last ages and you can do loads of meals with them.
Pork if you need meat.
Braising steak is very good for pies.
Sausage and pasta, sausage and mash.
Porridge rather than weetabix or buy home brand, they won't know the difference.
Freeze milk.

Rhubard - I already buy homebrand wheetabix - no way I'm paying "full" cost when they eat 5 a day between teh 2 of them ......and sadly I've missed the "Monday" restock day LOL.

Sorry! Just seen thread.
Well porridge goes further and is cheaper if they can eat that.
Make yer own bread? Strong white flour and some yeast, get the kids involved, it's not so hard.
Get them foraging for blackberries, roadkill, etc.

DS2 doesn't mind porridge - but DS1 not keen.

I do have a breadmaker - but we tend to go through an entire loaf in 1/2 a day if I make homemade stuff (partly due to my inability to cut bread so that it doesn't look like a door stop )

Blackberries......roadkill........don't seem many of them in walking distance from us (seen the odd dead hedgehog though )

Hedgehog pie! There you go!
See if your dh can't run over a rabbit or two either.

Pork ribs - v cheap - cook slowly in sweet and sour sauce (made from what you have in cupboard - ketchup, vinegar and brown sugar can suffice in an emergency)
Lamb neck (I call it 'scraggy lamb - not sure what the official butcher name is - but you can rarely get it in supermarkets, only butchers)- good for slow stewing with lots of cheap root veg.
And if you must, those massive frozen turkey legs, v cheap, coked and cut up and used in any way you would use diced chicken.
Lamb shanks are pretty cheap.

Are you registered on Quidco. It's brill for making money for very little time and effort?

Dh and I can make about £25 a month for less than 10 mins a day - not a lot I know but when you're down to your last few quid it's a godsend

Dh puts more effort in than me and has made £100 in a month but that does take a bit more organising

If you don't know about it ask, and I'll fill you in

Oooh, tell me!

ok, here

What it is is a co-operative sight. If you do on line shopping and you do it through the links on the site you get cash back.

It costs a fiver which they deduct off your first payemnt.

But as well as shopping there are loads of ways that you can get cash. There are four firms (kelkoo, High st Web, Car Source and shopping.com) which give you money for just checking a price out with them, which is usually about 10p. do this every day adn you can get between £10 - £15 per month.

Other ways to make cash on it are signing up for things, send for a free whiskas kitten pack and you get £1.45, send for a catalogue from catalink and get another 40p. They may be small amounts but they can really add up.

Dh, has joined a few of the online betting sites, where if you join and place a £10 bet you get £35 back, so even if you loose your bet you get £25!!

It's well worth doing for a bit of extra cash

I love you thank you!

dh said that you may find this to be a very good explanation of it.

and there are also other cashback sites there
Love you too!! mwah mwah!