Cost of living crisis

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

For the last two days I've had the exact same dinner: two beef hotdogs, sliced and fried in butter...then I toast the hot dog buns in the same pan. Add a little honey mustard and pepperjack cheese...I can't even express how AMAZING that tastes! The one good thing about rising prices is it forces me to shop wisely.

But I'm out of hot dogs now. Nooooo!

 

[nightshade]

I got a cheap end of day whole duck for about the same as a chicken so that's this week's food. It's in the oven now, and I've used up an egg to do some simple sponges, so sweet treats for the week also sorted.

I had a bit of a clothes sort out earlier and I'm mostly set for winter, but I'll look around the charity shops for a gilet that I can wear while at work as it's quite cold there. A fleece one rather than an outdoors one.

 

[Hunga Munga]

I had my second slug burger platter today , yeah a success .

The whole point of slugburgers is to stretch the meat out with cheap filler ingredients . I used breadcrumb and potato flakes , pretty much the oldest recipe I could find . These days they say to use cornmeal or soy flour but they aren't affordable in the UK . Next time I'm gonna try mashed chickpea, eggs and flour/crumb in the mix . Chickpeas fry lovely and they're cheeeeeap ! 😛 .

 

[Taake]

The blackberries are ripening here. Free fruit fresh off the vine, if you don't mind a few scratches!

Was just gonna say, forage if you are near woods!

I picked a couple of liters of blueberries this weekend (will make oatmeal more festive) and also picked up some edible flowers and pine needles for tea. Also there is lots of mushrooms to pick here, but that does take some research unless you are very familiar with the ”do not pick these shrooms” ones.

 

[nightshade]

Was just gonna say, forage if you are near woods!

Im waiting for the nut trees to be ready, lots of chestnuts around here

 

[nightshade]

I've rubber chickened my duck, went for two roast dinners, curry (yet to portion, but expecting 3 meals) and now it's in the slow cooker for stock.

However I must get my food spending under control, went down for bread and carrots, forgot the bread and still spent nearly £15!

 

[Plasma]

I've rubber chickened my duck, went for two roast dinners, curry (yet to portion, but expecting 3 meals) and now it's in the slow cooker for stock.

Okay, you’re gonna need to elaborate on this because that sounds…naughty 😏

Stateside apparently something is going to happen with student loans if you’re below a certain income level? To our members who have outstanding loans below $10k, it’s worth googling.

 

[nightshade]

Okay, you’re gonna need to elaborate on this because that sounds…naughty 😏

Rubber chickens are stretchy toys/dog toys. So to rubber chicken a meal is to make the chicken or duck in this case stretch to as many meals as you can.

The cat also had some!

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

God, I haven't had roast duck in AGES. Last time was in San Francisco/Chinatown; it was such a fantastic meal! Pot stickers, roast duck, chow mein, sticky rice. 🥰

 

[nightshade]

Right I've come up with a plan, do a once a month online shop, and meal plan before it so I'm not as tempted to just pop into the shop, but I know I'll have to get bread and milk, so keep £20 for the month for top ups. I need to find out what the supermarket minimum delivery costs are, but I'm thinking tesco, as I will then get clubcard points as well, with Aldi for the top ups.

 

[Hunga Munga]

Asda has a clear edge at the moment so far as economy lines . Same same for veggie /vegan options . Both have a min order of 40 quid , think Tesco has cheaper slots but Asda do a better monthly pass . While that's accurate today , it may not be by Christmas 🙂 .

Personally I think once a month is fine for bread if you've got freezer space . I use mostly skimmed UHT and some powdered so I'm not chained to a local store (also a bit cheaper) for milk , but many can't make the transition .

Veg is the sticking point for me with monthly budgeting. I like an Iceberg in the fridge , a fresh sweetheart cabbage , a 5lb bag of potatoes and a couple of courgettes on hand . Can't easily replace those out of cans or the freezer , not at any price I can afford 😀

 

[nightshade]

Personally I think once a month is fine for bread if you've got freezer space

Sadly my freezer is way too small, and full up with leftovers so no room for bread, salad isn't really something I eat in winter, and I can plan any fresh I need during my top up aldi shop.

I got a notebook out earlier and started the planning, a page for meal planning, a page for my shopping list, and a page for my spending

 

[Hunga Munga]

Just to reassure the UK folks a little . I've been paying the 52 pence/kilowatt hour since late spring . It's tough but still doable .

If my unit price raises much more I'm finished as a viable entity , as is nearly every other small business in the country . Significant help must be coming or we'll be bankrupt as a nation before Spring .

I'm due a £325 energy payment next month . I'm spending £133 notes of it on a 12" cordless chainsaw , which I'm picking up Wednesday from Argos 😉 . Waited all year for the right prices on the right models . The super cheapie I bought last month is already giving me issues . It won't last but it'll pay for itself . Need reliable equipment going into winter . In theory I'll barely touch a chainsaw from october through til April . But theories aren't much use in the depths of January .

I've got about £4-500 of other capital spends to do to keep working , but I'm waiting to see how high they set my electric cost . I may mothball the whole shebang from november til april/may . I don't owe a penny , mortgage and rent free . Theoretically I could just cruise through the tough part of winter , feeding the fire and watching Netflix . So goddamned boring though ! Like to feel a little bit useful .

I've been getting my Swedish snus (mouth tobacco) from Israel through a customs loophole for over a decade . Now the firm has started charging for delivery and getting charged at Customs . So I'll be making my own from now on in a crockpot . Such a pain in the arse . It takes weeks to cure in the fridge , then needs freezing .That's valuable food storage wasted . Not even much of a saving . I only use a couple of hundred quids worth per year .

Foodwize I've been a bit of a bore , veggie noodle soups . eggs , cheese and bread related dinners . Still on budget like but lacking a bit of pizzazz .

 

[Dogs of Winter]

Veg is the sticking point for me with monthly budgeting. I like an Iceberg in the fridge , a fresh sweetheart cabbage , a 5lb bag of potatoes and a couple of courgettes on hand . Can't easily replace those out of cans or the freezer , not at any price I can afford

Yep, I have started eating a lot more fresh fruit and veg and like it too much to do a monthly shop.

And if I do a weekly shop and run out of something I can manage to make do for the rest of the week. Whereas if I did a monthly shop shop I would be constantly popping round to the shop in for odd items and end up buying extra stuff I dont really need !

 

[Bop]

They've started selling mini microwave meals 👀

 

[nightshade]

Yep, I have started eating a lot more fresh fruit and veg and like it too much to do a monthly shop.

And if I do a weekly shop and run out of something I can manage to make do for the rest of the week. Whereas if I did a monthly shop shop I would be constantly popping round to the shop in for odd items and end up buying extra stuff I dont really need !

This is exactly what I do now, went back down for the bread and bin bags that I for got before, another £15 spent!

However an online monthly one will be delivered which will help too, as I can't park outside my place so I do loads of little shops walking to the shop instead, a delivery means I can get the heavy stuff, get the freezer properly filled with things that will last, and just do one or two small top ups throughout the month.

 

[Dogs of Winter]

They've started selling mini microwave meals 👀

What ! The existing microwave meals are way too small already, and need to be filled out with side dishes. Who would want an even smaller one? I bet the price isn't much cheaper either !

 

[nightshade]

They've started selling mini microwave meals 👀

Probably to tempt parents into thinking it's a quick and cheap meal for kids but really buying one of those each day for each child and then a separate one for adults doesn't make it cheap!

 

[Hunga Munga]

Bah , made another veg and onion noodle soup ! Apparently I've really missed having noodle in the cupboard coz I can't stop eating them 😀 . Two portions for about 70p (with bread and butter on the side ) . That'll do for lunch and dinner .

I'm heading to the big town on Wednesday . I'll be looking for bargains in Lidl and Morrisons to supplement the food stash . Got a few old notes I need to put in the bank , a load to run through the launderette , collect the new chainsaw, pay bills etc . It's mostly boring frugal business but I am gonna treat myself a little bit . Go for lunch with friends , maybe a lil drinky-poo , a scratchcard and a newspaper , maybe a secondhand game or a blu ray if I see something 😉 . I'll only likely see modern civilization once more this year ...to pay a bill and get Christmas tat from Lidl 😀 .

The internet does me better for tat than any town I can reach in a day .It's only really bizarre things like compost where there isn't firms lining up to deliver to the gate .

 

[nightshade]

@Hunga Munga Morrisons here already has the Christmas puddings and mince pies in! They also have pringles at a lower price so I may have got some ready for Christmas and put them out of sight!