Basics....

My new work colleague was looking for a soup recipe and I happened to have that one handy. It was a simple cut and paste job, A bit off topic I know but worth a go!

C

When cooking on the hob always put a lid on the pan, this can make a hige difference in the amount of energy required to cook (saves money and the planet....win-win)

Bread...if you find that you are ending up dumping the last few slices becase they go blue, freeze them before they get to that point and use it straight from the freezer into the toaster.

If your town still has butchers check them out late at the weekend, quite often they sell off bags of assorted meat for a tenner.

Quite often I make a beef stew this can be done with cuts like shin which is a cheap cut, but I also bulk it out with what ever veg is marked down at the supermarket, its all good and it all goes in, cooked for a few hours tastes great and it gets some veg into the kids too

Don't by pre-packed foods, not just the ready meals, but things like potato salad, and coleslaw can be made reasonably easily at a fraction of the cost.

Pasta and Pesto is a really cheap meal 100g of pasta and a teaspoon of pesto can keep you going quite well, although if you have a bit of cheese to grate over the top its much better

LB

Get a second hand push bike and a largeish rucksack. Do as much of your shopping as possible using these instead of your car. Gets you fit, saves you money on fuel and upkeep on your car and saves the planet into the bargain! You could also think about cycling as many other places as possible, turn it into a challenge!

If the rucksack doesn't hold enough stuff for you, or you find cycling hard with it on your back, you could get a pannier rack and panniers. I've saved so much money on fuel costs (and gym costs!) by cycling everywhere.

WCX

Charles_prev.fleagal I've made myself a list and I`ll let you know what I think

Ive been racking my small brain trying to think of some useful tips, i suppose my own personnel experience is the best place to start.

When cooking boil in the bag frozen fish fill the pan half full with water pop the fish in a leave for 20 minutes, or go read wiki for 40 minutes like i did then you'll need a new pan and to redecorate the kitchen oh and the smell will last forever.

If after cooking beef you spend 10 minutes chewing the first piece its probably a bit tough, bin the rest get a pot noodle out and garnish with larger (not in the same pot though i do have some standards).

Thats me done im afraid domestic god hmmm more of a domestic peasant

Try cooking your chicken in the slow cooker or poaching in a large saucepan, you will be able to shred more meat off the carcas to use for stews, soups, sandwiches etc.

You can do the same with a gammon and it will go alot further than sliced ham.

Bulk out any mince/stew dish with veg like carrots. If the kids don't like veg too much then grate them in and they won't notice them. This works well with carrots or kidney beans if you are doing a chilli con carne.

If you live near allotments then take a wander round, lots of people sell excess goods really cheaply.

Keep a couple of pots of tinned fruit in the cupboard for when you don't have any fresh.

When cooking pasta or rice, boil the water, add the product and a lid and turn the hob off, the product will cook in the already hot water.

Cut dishwasher tablets in half or use half the recommended amount of powder/liquid.

There is a fab cleaning product called 'stardrops'. Asda sells it. It can be used as a general household cleaner, stain remover, carpet stain remover and all sorts of other things. There is even a website dedicated to how wonderful it is. £1 for 1 litre and you need to dilute it loads so it lasts for ages. Use that along with soda crystals (about 60p for a bag) and white vinegar and you should be able to replace most of your cleaning products.

Use the library.

Sign up to the moneysavingexpert.com website, there is a forum about how to spend less money which is where I learnt about stardrops. This is where the real pro's post their advice!

If anyone has advice about kids toys and where to get these cheaply I have a birthday and christmas looming so would welcome ideas x

bugsy7 wrote:

If anyone has advice about kids toys and where to get these cheaply I have a birthday and christmas looming so would welcome ideas x

3 places that I know of. Ebay, carboot sales and the local free ads.

Many kids stuff goes for 99p on ebay. There is always tons of kids toys at car boots. A mate of mine bought a kiddies pram that was virtualy new for his grandaughter for 99P recently. Look in the local free ads paper for other kids stuff.

I know this is a bit cheeky but it can work. Pop into early learing centre and have a look at the display toys and make them an offer.

They can only say no. But if they say yes, you can get an expensive toy for virtualy nothing. C.