you could locally advertise yourself as a dog walker - then you get money and exercise? Double win.
:chores016:
Depends if you like dogs i guess?!?!?!
Some brilliant ideas here especially this one of Mrs. Bears. What a brilliant way to get some really enjoyable exercise and get paid. I know you work so time-wise it could be hard but there are folks like me that work at the weekends who would love someone to *do* my animals at lunchtime for me.
Right on the food front............... our financial situation is precarious to say the very least. We have no regular source of income and never know how much we will have.
To be able to cope with what would otherwise become a depressing way of life I enjoy the challenge of managing on what we have each week. It becomes really enjoyable seeing just what you can buy and what food you can produce on next to nothing.
The only meat we eat is what I buy that is on it's sell buy date and 2 for the price of one. In other words half price. If you freeze it is still as fresh as the day you bought it when you come to use it. I too use normal mince and drain the fat off when it is cooked or if it is in a stew I make it the day before, leave it in the fridge over night and then lift off any fat that has solidified. A bit more work but worth it.
I use lots of chickpeas as a substitute for meat, also haricot beans and lentils. I buy all of them cooked, they come in jars here and are so cheap.
A cottage pie made with baked beans instead of mince meat is delicious if you spice up the beans a little with some cumin or some 5 spice. I chop onion very finely and add it to the mash and put the lot in the oven to brown the top off. If we have cheese, which is most of the time ( Iceland have some great cheese offers and it freezes so well ) I use my hex allowance to top it off.....yummy and so cheap.
I make stews and soups with whatever is cheapest at the time. At the moment I am buying carrots at a ridiculously cheap price, so carrot, onion and potato soup is on the menu.
Green days are more normal here but Turkey is on offer and so cheap so I have 2 turkey fillets for tomorrow and I am doing pizza topped turkey tomorrow. It will not be exactly as the recipe but will still be good and very cheap.
Recently red peppers and tomatoes were a give-away price so I bought loads and put them in the freezer uncooked. I am still taking them out and using them to cook with.
Eggs too are a cheap and nutricious source of protien and free on all plans. I make a huge Spanish omelet, that is with potato and onion as the filling. We have it as a meal hot and the rest is eaten cold in slices for the weekends lunch box or just for lunch with lots of salad in season. Curried eggs is another one, SW, egg chips and beans, SW quiche etc.etc.
I could go on forever with economy meals and ways to safe money so if you want to PM me with anything at all please feel free too.
Just before I go.....I have 2 elderly ladies coming for lunch on Thursday ...... this is what they are having for their lunch.......,
Starter.............. a prawn tower, king prawns bought on offer for the equivalent of £2. They will be layered with finely shredded lettuce 40p, and enough left to last for another 3 or 4 meals, and supermarket brand cream cheese.
Main................ sirloin steak bought on offer for £4.50 for 4 pieces bought on their on the sell by date and been in the freezer for 2 weeks now. They will be braised on a bed of onions and carrots and served with mashed spuds and broccoli, say another £1.50 at the most and pudding will be a large tin of peaches bought cheap, cheap at Aldi,less than £1, cooked in some apple liquior someone brought us at sometime with a sprinkle of cinamon and served with vanilla icecream another £1.50.
They do not drink anything more than a shandy or water so no big expense on booze.
£11 to feed 4 at what will look like a posh lunch party is not bad. To be honest I could have done without it but had promised them so can not let them down. They are both over 80.
Sorry to have gone on and on, but you can do it...........if you smoke it is a good time to give up.