credit crunching

[ramtops]

perlmonger and I have decided that we're going to try to live frugally for a while. We don't spend much on going out but we do seem to get through a lot of cash, and I'm not entirely sure where it goes. So I have started recording what we spend on food, cutting out eating out, books, dvds, clothes, and so forth. I also have two demijohns of home made wine glooping away in he kitchen, but I hadn't realised that fruit wines take about *six months* before you can drink the wretched things, so that's not going to be an instant saving.

We started this on Tuesday, and already it's a huge success. Not. We blew 40 quid on a pair of tickets to see the incomparable Richard Thompson in January (well, we had to, didn't we?) and yesterday, despite our very best attempts, we spent 3.70 on two lamb burgers innabun from the very good butchers on Gloucester Road.

And i really want to go and get some plants for the hanging baskets. I don't think I'm going to be very good at this ...

Still, I'm going to sort out stuff to be eBayed and Freecycled, so we might be clutter-free, at least.

Comments

[blackberry44.livejournal.com]

I try to keep out of the farm shop now. I still go there for chicken, although it's getting easier to find organic chicken in supermarkets nowadays, but on the whole I probably only go there once every couple of months now.

We try to economise by buying good beef from Costco, where we also buy our coffee, but we have to be very careful not to be seduced by croissants and Danish pastries and other lovely things.

Lidl have quite a lot of reasonably nice stuff for very cheap prices, and things like their chocolate and biscuits must be the cheapest on the planet.

[cookwitch.livejournal.com]

I don't have a Costco near me, and I know that I would spend way too much in there if I did go. I love Lidl! There frozen beefburgers are the nicest i have ever come across.

[blackberry44.livejournal.com]

I've never tried Lidl's burgers as I usually make my own, but I shall get some to keep for emergencies in the freezer and see what the burger-eaters amongst us think.

[cookwitch.livejournal.com]

I have two very fussy people in this house, and even they like them! If it's good enough for them, as they say.

[ramtops.livejournal.com]

I don't think Costco's beef is all that good, but then I'm spoilt with beef,as I have been buying it direct from a farmer friend for years, 1/4 cow at a time.

Lidl is marvellous - I love it, but other than that I rarely set foot in supermarkets. I hate them. We buy from local shops where possible.

[blackberry44.livejournal.com]

We usually buy Costco's Aberdeen Angus if we can get it, otherwise their Scottish beef. The thing I like about it is that it's a decent dark red which means it's been properly hung and it's always tender, which is more than I could say from the farmhouse beef I used to buy before it became too expensive, although I have to admit that the farmhouse beef has a marginally better taste.

I hate supermarkets too, but I find there's a lot of stuff I can't get from local shops. I suppose it depends where you live, but I live in the West End of Newcastle, where the local shops are great for pulses, spices and Asian vegetables, but where I have to go to a supermarket to find pasta, decent bacon, cleaning materials and quite a few other things. I also don't like the idea of hala meat. That's why I like Lidl; having that fairly near means I can put off my supermarket visits to once every three weeks or so.