Being Mrs C

Thrifty Friday Five - In the Kitchen

I'm kicking off this first week of Thrifty Friday Five with five top tips for saving money in the kitchen.

1. Meal planning

One of the most effective ways to save money in the kitchen is to plan what you're going to eat in advance. 

It may sound obvious, but many don't do this, and even those who do don't always stick to their plan. If you ensure that you plan sensibly and only buy the food that you need, then it should help you to ensure that you don't waste money or food.

I've written a separate guide to meal planning which sets out how to plan efficiently and effectively.

2. Buy in bulk

We all have store cupboard food items and non-food things that we use and buy regularly. For things like this that have either a long or no shelf-life it's often beneficial to buy them in bulk. It's common knowledge that if you buy a multi-pack of something it's normally cheaper than purchasing them in individual units (but do double-check as surprisingly it's not always the case!) 

Another option is to buy in bulk when individual items are on special offer - either as a buy one get one free or on a three for two offer. Again, do check that this offer is better than their normal multipack prices.

Special offers on fresh food items are also worthwhile if you can ensure that you will really use all that you buy. Some products bought fresh can be frozen on the day of purchase and used at a later date. This particularly works well for meat and some ready meals.

If you can't make use of the special offer yourself then it could be worth sharing the offer with a friend, neighbour or family member instead. 

3. Energy efficient cooking

Have you ever counted how manu times you boil the kettle in a day? Or how many times the oven, hob or microwave go on? Cooking food and making hot drinks require energy, but many of us are actually quite wasteful when it comes to this. 

If you're making a cup of tea or coffee then you really should only boil the amount of water you need - no more. For two cups of coffee, just put two cups of water in the kettle. Also, try not to step away from the kettle when making a hot drink. Otherwise you end up coming back ten minutes later and just boiling it again - very wasteful.

When switching on the oven try to think about whether you could use it more effectively whilst it is on. Could you cook all the components of your meal in there at the same time. Or maybe you could make a cake whist it is on, rather than doing so later and having to switch it on again.

Saucepan lids are very effective at helping water come to the boil so much sooner on the hob and if you're cooking rice, pasta or vegetables using a lid will reduce the cooking time and therefore reduce the energy used.

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to win an energy monitor and I have found that using it has really helped me to visualise just how much energy is used when the oven or kettle is on.

4. Ditch the cookbooks

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person with a shelf full of cookbooks which I don't make full use of. In some books there might only be one recipe that I regularly used.

Rather than keep all these books sitting on the shelf you could instead sell them. Any favourite recipes could be copied out, or even photographed, so that you don't lose them totally. 

Books can be sold online via either eBay or Amazon, but if you want to avoid postage costs for heavy books then selling via a local Facebook items for sale group might be a better option. If you have a lot of books then a car boot sale could work well, especially if you have other things that you could sell at the same time.

5. Try out some new recipes

Whilst this may seem completely at odds with tip number 4, please bear with me on this.

Most people know roughly how much they spend on a week's food shopping, but not many of us know how much each meal costs to make. If you were to work it out I think you may be surprised at the variation in costs. Once you've done this you could try to save money by replacing some of the more expensive meals in your cooking repetoire with cheaper ones.

There are millions of recipes available on the internet and some sites have even worked out for you the per portion cost of their meals. One such site is A Girl Called Jack, who has a whole section of 'Below The Line' Budget Recipes. We've tried out several of these over the last month and they have been delicious as well as cheap. Adding just a couple of these recipes into my weekly meal plan actually brought the shopping bill down considerably.

Thrifty Mrs C - Meal Planning

There's no doubt that one of the biggest regular expenses in the kitchen is food. It's also the case that we throw away a criminal amount of food between us. In the UK it is estimated that 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink is thrown away every year and the majority of this could have been eaten. Often people either don't use everything that they've bought, or they cook more than they need and the leftovers end up in the bin.

The best way to minimise food waste is to reduce the amount you buy in the first place and planning what you are going to eat can help with this hugely. It may be that in your household you can plan a whole week in advance, but if plans change frequently it may be better just to plan three or four days in advance.

When you start a meal plan it should be based around what fresh food you already have in the kitchen that needs to be used up within a certain time frame. When new ingredients are needed think about what quantity you need and how much you have to buy. So for instance, if a meal on Monday requires half a bag of potatoes, make sure that there is a meal elsewhere in the plan that makes use of the other half the bag.

For each meal in the plan take into account how many people you are catering for and also whether or not there would be a benefit in cooking a larger quantity so that spare portions could either be eaten later in the week, or frozen for a later date. If the whole family is having dinner one evening, but the next day there is only you for lunch there could be benefit in just making an extra portion and having that the next day. Likewise, make sure you consider if you already have anything in the freezer that should be used up. 

If planning for a whole week try to have at least one meal in there that if necessary can be delayed if plans change. One dish that is based on either long life fresh ingredients, or ones from the store-cupboard can easily be slipped back into the following week's menu if required without anything going to waste.

Once you've planned your menu, write your shopping list from it. This allows you time to check whether or not any of your staples need topping up, so you only buy what you really need.

I have a simple meal planning system that I use - a table that I fill in for each week. The rows are the days of the week and against each I have four columns; breakfast, lunch, dinner and shopping list. The first three coloums are self-explanatory, but in the final one I just jot down what things need adding to my shopping list for that day's meals. It's a good way to make sure I don't forget anything.

If you liked this post then you might also be interested in reading my Thrifty Friday Five In the kitchen.

Magpie Monday - Lego Airport

I've been meaning to join in with Magpie Monday for ages and just never got round to it, or just though that my finds would not be of interest to others. Last week's charity shop booty was a bit special though.

Lego. We all love it. Or if you don't then you much be a bit mad in my opinion. The only thing is that charity shops generally know that we all love it and hence the prices are often quite astronomical, especially if you find a boxed set that can be considered vintage or a complete set. 

In out local hospice shop last week I spotted a typical pile of plastic bags full of small bits of toys. I always look through them as you never know what you're going to find. This week there was a bag of Lego bits buried beneath some plastic cars and I instantly knew it was worth having. It was all in small pieces, but through the plastic I spotted some doors and also a brick with a sticker on it suggesting it might be part of an airport. Quickly out came my iphone and a moment on google suggested that it was part of the airport building that went in this set. 

Now I knew it was just the building I was looking at, but from what I could see most of the pieces were there. A few might be missing, but for £5 I was prepared to take a punt on it and I'm so glad I did. 

You see my secret in all this is an ipad app that I discovered a few weeks ago called AWOB - a World of Bricks. This links to a online database of Lego sets and scans of all their instructions. A quick look on there once we'd returned home and I was able to build the set and discover that I was actually only missing about three building blocks and a few accessory pieces like the parking sign, lamppost and dustbin that go outside the airport.

Lego treasure in my opinion!

Featured Post: Reviewing the household finances

There's not a day goes by at the moment without a story somewhere in the media about the current economic situation and its impact on families across the country. The recent benefits changes have highlighted this once again.

All of us are feeling the pinch right now and one of the first tips when you're looking to save money is to check all your monthly expenditure to see where you can save money. It's common practice to consider changing your utility suppliers to save money but I'm not sure quite as many consider whether or not to switch bank accounts to a better provider. 

Recently I went to a local bank to set up savings accounts for my children. Whilst there they also offered to review my finances for me and as it was something that I hadn't had done for a while I agreed. I thought that I was generally on top of my day to day finances and I run a monthly spreadsheet of all my income and expenditure so I keep track of every single penny that we spend. What I hadn't take into account though were the new bank account options that some banks now offer. 

The financial advisor I saw looked at all my direct debits over the last year and pointed out the large amount I pay anually for breakdown cover. Now I consider this to be a necessity. I drive quite a bit with the kids and if I were to break down at the side of the motorway I want to be able to guarantee that I will have a way of getting somewhere safe quickly. What he pointed out to me was that if I upgraded our bank account to one where you pay a monthly fee I would get equivalent breakdown cover (with the same provider) for free. The monthly fee for the bank account would be less than I was currently paying for breakdown cover alone - it was a bit of a no brainer to swap. I also now get things like travel insurance, mobile phone cover and card protection as well, so I'm actually getting more than I did before, but for less money every month. 

I simply hadn't realised just how much some banks were offering and as a result I was so grateful for this financial advisor pointing all this out. I'm now saving money every month and getting more benefits. To me that's a winning situation.

Disclaimer: This featured post was brought to you in association with Halifax. All experiences described above are 100% genuine.

Visiting the animals

I'm always on the look out for new places to take Little Miss C - especially ones that don't cost much. I worry that there's a lot of pressure on parents to pay to take their children to loads of expensive attractions but that need not be the case.

On Friday morning we went along to one of our favourite free attractions - the local garden centre's pet department! We're lucky enough to have a short drive away a garden centre that sells chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, budgies and reptiles, as well as a selection of fish. It obviously costs nothing to visit the garden centre and as soon as we get to the car park LMC knows exactly where to go and we have an order in which we always visit things.

Firstly we walk through all the outdoor plants (a great opportunity to reinforce the learning of different colours) to see the chickens. Via a trip to see what vegetables that have growing we then venture inside to see the rabbits and guinea pigs - time to practice counting as we see how many they have that week - and then LMC always excitedly remembers the fish section. We play more games here where I ask her to find fish of certain colours, or the tank with the smallest or largest fish in. 

We then usually go backwards and forwards between all the small mammals, the birds, the reptiles and the fish and it's rare that we visit each less than three times! One thing that strangely seems to excite her more than anything else is saying hello to the large robin RSPB collecting box that they have there. Every time we visit the robin is greeted with a big hug as if he were a long lost friend. When we come to leave we always have to make sure we go and say goodbye to him too.

Who says children have to be taken to expensive attractions to have a good time, or that you need to pay for classes to teach pre-schoolers things? Have a look around at what you can do for free and make the most of that!

 

Leftovers Lunch

In my eyes a good experimental recipe is one that gets eaten so quickly that you don't have chance to photograph it for a blog post first. That's exactly what happened to the lovely lunch that Mr C made us all earlier today.

One thing that I am awful at is keeping food leftovers and then doing nothing at all with them. There is far too much food waste in this house and if I'm honest I'm to blame for most of it. There are some dinners (mainly pasta dishes) where I plan carefully and ensure that we have enough left over for LMC and I to have it for lunch the next day too. Where I come unstuck though is where there are smaller quantities of things, or where I've had to buy a larger quantity than I really needed. Then bits of food can end up sitting in the fridge for a week or so until they get thrown out due to developing some strange growth. With Mr C having been off work this last week I've tried to only plan our evening meals and to allow our lunches to be a bit more free-form, based around whatever else we can find in the fridge or cupboards. This has meant that sometimes we've all eaten different things, but I don't see that as a problem. I've not had to throw away any containers of dinner leftovers and that is a big improvement over some weeks.

Now that we're at the end of the week the left-over supplies were running low and the previous night's dinner only resulted in some cooked broccoli and new potatoes left in the fridge. Mr C managed to work his magic on these though and made up a fantastic lunch for all three of us based around them.

First he made a quick cheese sauce on the hob using some milk, soft cheese, grated cheese, plain flour and a touch of seasoning. Into this he mixed the chopped up potatoes and broccoli, along with a handful of cooked ham (the sort you put in sandwiches). This was then all put in an oven-proof dish, grated cheese and breadcrumbs sprinkled on top and then it went under the grill until it was all bubbling and crispy on top. Served up with some bread it was delicious, filling and came with a feeling of satisfaction at not having wasted yet more food. It also ticked the box of being a family meal that really didn't cost very much to make at all - bonus.

My next challenge is to try to use my child-free time tomorrow to come up with similarly easy meals using what is now lurking in the fridge. I really want to try to nip this food waste problem I have in the bud now once and for all, so I'm on the look-out for recipes to use things up. Any tips you might have are gratefully received! If I can do so and also cut our food shopping bill at the same time then it'll be a thrifty bonus.

A toilet roll tube and a bit of imagination

That's all you need to have a bit of fun.

First thing this morning this was Little Miss C's trumpet. Yesterday two of them sellotaped together became a pair of binoculars. I'm fascinated to see what a toilet roll tube will become tomorrow!

How to have a baby without it costing the earth

It seems I'm now the mum of a toddler. How did that happen? Fourteen months have passed by in a flash and I'm suddenly realising that there's a whole batch of new mums coming along behind me that I can share some of my experiences with, so that's exactly what I want to use this blog post to do.

The press is full of articles about just how much it costs to raise a child here in the UK and it is true that compared to life before children our house now contains much more than it used to, but it is not necessary to buy everything on the lists that baby shops produce and there are loads of savings to be had if you know where to look for them.

Buy secondhand

To start off, it's key to remember that you don't have to buy everything new. Talk to friends and relatives that already have children. Are there things you can borrow? Or even things that they've finished with that you could buy from them.

Check out your local charity shops. It's worth spending a while looking to find out which ones are particularly good for kids stuff. Talk to staff about what comes in and if you're after something in particular ask to be tipped off for when they get big items like cots in.

Many local NCT groups run nearly new sales and they can be a great source of things for babies and young children. Do go prepared though as they can be a bit manic. It's worth going with a list of things that you're after and also jotting down just how much you're prepared to pay.

If there isn't much near you by way of charity shops or NCT sales then eBay is your friend. There are loads of things on there and for bigger items its is also possible to order your search results by distance from you so that you can go and collect things.

Cheap alternatives

One key thing to remember is that many things are not required for very long at all. Little Miss C slept in her moses basket for just 10 weeks before moving into a cot. I'd guessed that she wouldn't be in there for long so I was hesitant to buy a new one with all the bedding. Instead I managed to find a couple of baskets for free on the local Freecycle list, bought new mattresses (about £10 each) and made covers for them with some fabric that I bought from Ikea of all places (who have a fantastic children's department). Total cost for the covers was about £15 - including fabric, elastic and thread. (My theory for having two was so that we could have on upstairs and a second downstairs which I found really useful.)

I did cave in and buy a couple of fitted sheets (from the same place as the mattresses) only to find that they didn't actually fit at all and in the end I just bought some very cheap pillowcases from Sainsbury's and used them instead - £1 for a pack of two IIRC. When I collected one of the baskets from someone of Freecycle they also threw in an old slightly broken stand that my dad managed to repair for me in just 5 minutes. So, the total cost for the two was £37. Quite a saving over what some stores are charging.

Loyalty Schemes

Before your baby comes along it is worth signing up for various loyalty schemes and mailing lists as companies are often very keen to attract new parents (or parents to be) as customers. The big supermarkets, Boots and Pampers all have loyalty schemes that include great discounts and in come cases freebies. The first time you see your midwife you are also likely to be introduced to the Bounty scheme - another one that is worth joining for freebies. If you look online some baby companies offer free samples to new customers - especially for nappies.

When it comes to consumables like nappies, wipes etc supermarkets often have promotions on baby goods and when these are on it is worth buying things in bulk as long as you are confident that you will use them before they grow out of them!

Food

I'm not going to use this blog post to preach about whether breast is best or not, but there is no doubt that breastfeeding is significantly cheaper than buying formula, bottles and a steriliser.

Cash-back

For anything that you do decide to buy new make sure that you check out prices online first. Schemes like Kidstart can also be useful to help get cash-back on your purchases which makes the overall financial situation a little easier.

Gifts

When there's a new baby friends and family are often keen to buy gifts and if there are specific things that you would like for your little one  you can always ask. Family members could maybe club together to buy something big like a buggy, but remember that gifts don't have to be big. One of the most useful things that I received before Little Miss C was born was a basket full of toiletries from my mum. Practical and really touching that she's made the effort to put all this together for me.

Out and about

Slings or baby carriers are often listed as must-have things by many mums, but there are so many options out there that it can be difficult to work out which one to choose. Sling libraries (link to my local one in Harpenden) are popping up all over the country and they are a great way to borrow a range of slings (either for free or a small fee) so that you can find one that is right for you and your little one. It really is the case that they are all different and it is important to find one that works and is comfortable for both your body shapes.

Baby activities and classes

Once your baby is here the spending doesn't stop. There will always be things that they need and other things they you just think that they need. Once you have a baby you'll also suddenly find that there's a whole host of activities to take your little one along to too. 

Please don't feel you have to sign up for all the classes that you hear about or that your friends attend. Many drop-in sessions are free or just ask for a donation for refreshments. Local SureStart centres or libraries often hold lists of baby and toddler groups as well as other activities. Also look out for posters at church halls, village halls or places like the Salvation Army. Libraries are a great source of entertainment for babies and children. Not only do they have loads of free books that you can borrow, but they often run rhyme time sessions for babies and story time for toddlers.

And finally...

Remember that at the end of the day as long as they are clean, fed and warm enough then the only other thing they need is someone to love them and that doesn't cost anything.

The chair that so nearly wasn't

The first rule of shopping in second hand shops is that if you see something you like then buy it straight away as it probably won't be there when you return. I broke that rule yesterday and I so nearly paid for it today.

As I left a charity shop with a friend yesterday I spotted a lovely looking chair in the window. Comments were made about how nice it looked and what a fair price it was being sold for. Ideas were exchanged about how you could put new fabric on the seat and back and then with a pushchair already covered in bags and containing a tired Little Miss C we went our separate ways off home.

Only I found myself thinking about that chair last night whilst watching TV. And again as I lay in bed later on. By this morning I'd convinced myself that the chair should be mine. 

Off I headed back to the charity shop only to find (as I dreaded) that it was no longer there in the window. Oh well, I thought, obviously it wasn't meant to be so instead I amused myself with a book I must have overlooked yesterday about Patch Pictures. As I paid for the book I casually asked the old woman serving me if someone had bought the chair. "Oh no" she replied "it's still in the window isn't it". My heart leapt a little and off she went to look. She returned with a puzzled look on her face and another old woman and both of them said how it had still be there when they went home last night.

Two more old women joined the search party at this point (do they breed them in charity shops?) and all four of them searched the shop before deciding to ask the manager (who was out back with another gaggle of old women). At this point I was beginning to wonder if it was really worth all this people searching and then the manager had a brainwave. 

The charity are opening up a second shop in a couple of weeks, next door but one to where they are now. This second shop is going to sell furniture and home-wears. The date of it's opening is already in my diary so I can be there as soon as they open the doors. The chair had been moved into the new shop as they thought it might sell once they opened. 

Luckily keys were found and the chair brought and and united with it's new owner to be. Now, at this stage I still hadn't actually sat in the chair. I wondered if I dare. What if it was horribly uncomfortable? Could I say that I didn't actually want it after such a mammoth search effort? If I did would all these old women take me hostage for wasting their time.

I sat down carefully. There was a slight creak and a tiny wobble. The cushions curved around my back and bottom. It was, without exception, the most comfortable thing I'd ever sat in. It was even in better condition than I'd remembered. I told them I'd take it. One of the old women even cheered at this point

 

At this point the manager told me the price. £5 less than the price sticker had said yesterday. So shocked was I that I even pointed this out to her. Apparently they re-priced everything last night as they'd thought some things a bit too expensive. At this point I was quite tempted to go and spend the difference on cream cakes for the army of old women that this shop had - with hindsight I wish I had!

It's not often I manage to get such a bargain, but it looks like my luck was in this morning.

It costs how much?

Sorry - I don't usually have a rant on here, but I'm afraid today I'm so stunned by something that I'm going to do just that.

I'm quite a recent convert to Ecover products, but so far I have been pretty impressed with them all. The laundry detergent gets things clean and leaves a lovely fresh smell on our clothes, the delicates washing liquid isn't harsh on the hands when hand-washing wool, the washing up liquid is equally hand-friendly and the stain remover has been brilliant at removing even some of Little Miss C's worst stains.

It therefore seemed obvious to me that I should get the bottles refilled when they were empty. After all, part of the reason for using Ecover products in the first place was to be more kind to the environment. Finding somewhere to get them refilled was a tad difficult as that page on the Ecover website seems to have been broken for a while (despite me e-mailing them to tell them). I did happen to see a sticker in a health food shop window though so today LMC and I set off with the buggy to get our laundry detergent filled up.

It all started so well. We went to the shop, waited patiently whilst the helpful man behind the counter helped two other customers and then handed over our empty bottle and the man took it into the back and filled it up. He brought it back, handed it over, I put it into my bag and got my purse out. Then it all went a bit wrong. £5.95! To fill a 1.5l bottle of laundry detergent. It only cost be £4.57 originally, and then I got the plastic bottle thrown in for free! I know that "saving the planet" and not using excess plastic is what matters here, but in these cash-strapped times I'm completely agog. I can't afford to pay an extra £1.38 every time I finish a bottle of washing liquid.

I have no idea if Ecover set a price for refills and I'd love to hear from others around the UK to hear your experiences. It may just be that this one particular shop is a bit pricey, but for the time being I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Obviously large supermarkets can afford to discount things and undercut small independent shops, but I'm still amazed that this would mean a 30% increase in price. And if anyone in St Albans or nearby knows somewhere cheaper then I'd love to hear about it!