Living on the breadline for the next month or so...

copacetic

pinkheels88 wrote: »

I CAN cook! But I try eat healthy and it's not really that cheap. An organic steak in Tesco costs like 8euro, salmon is like 7 euro, they all add up!

salmon fillets are currently 3 packs of 2 fillets for €12.50 in M&S, similar costs for frozen fillets in tesco or dunnes.

alwaysadub

Terry wrote: »

I'm not moving on this.
€4 for the gourd.

4 for the gourd? 4??? :eek:
It's worth 10 if it's worth a shekel!!

Millicent

pinkheels88 wrote: »

I CAN cook! But I try eat healthy and it's not really that cheap. An organic steak in Tesco costs like 8euro, salmon is like 7 euro, they all add up!

Firstly, organic is a swizz. There is no health benefit to it at all and it doesn't mean the animal was better treated in any way (and this comes from someone who doesn't buy chicken if she can't afford free-range).

Have you joined pigsback.com? Could get a couple of helpful vouchers there. Also, a Tesco Value pepper is the same as a non-Value one, except maybe slightly misshapen. Same goes for carrots, mushrooms, etc.

Have you considered tinned fish? Also, visiting your local butcher/fishmonger can save you a lot of money as they are fond of chucking stuff in for free. Many also do family deals of meat for about 20 quid which, if you have a freezer, should last for quite some time.

CodeMonkey

pinkheels88 wrote: »

I CAN cook! But I try eat healthy and it's not really that cheap. An organic steak in Tesco costs like 8euro, salmon is like 7 euro, they all add up!

Eating healthy does't mean buying into all the organic bs and paying for overpriced meat.

Terry

pinkheels88 wrote: »

WTF is a gourd???? Can't get my head around it!

Ok. You don't have a gourd.
I'll give you €4 for one of your plant pots. I'm trying to grow some Juniper bushes.

Einhard

€50 a week is breadline now on food and bills is breadline now?! :eek:

Excluding going out, I spend about that much every week and live quite comfortably.

Buy one packet of pasta and some sauce. And some tinned tuna. And maybe some mince. That's ye set for five dinners.

Buy a bulk pack of koka noodles. That'll do ye for a few lunches.

A big box of cornflakes should easily do for a week's worh of breakfasts.

All the above comes to about €15. Which means ye have about €35 to play around with. Might want to invest in soime vitamin tablets though! :pac:

Oh, and leave any bills until next month.

pinkheels88

And the creepy private messages begin.... :rolleyes:
Regret posting pics of myself in other threads now!

Millicent

Millicent wrote: »

Firstly, organic is a swizz. There is no health benefit to it at all and it doesn't mean the animal was better treated in any way (and this comes from someone who doesn't buy chicken if she can't afford free-range).

Have you joined pigsback.com? Could get a couple of helpful vouchers there. Also, a Tesco Value pepper is the same as a non-Value one, except maybe slightly misshapen. Same goes for carrots, mushrooms, etc.

Have you considered tinned fish? Also, visiting your local butcher/fishmonger can save you a lot of money as they are fond of chucking stuff in for free. Many also do family deals of meat for about 20 quid which, if you have a freezer, should last for quite some time.

Also, ALSO! (I've been skint for a long time- got a lot of wisdom on this!), don't go to your local Spar or whatever to get what you run out of. You may pay up to double on it.

Buy bulk of everything expensive (shampoo, loo rolls, etc.) as this is way more economical than buying weekly/fortnightly.

Buy Tesco milk- IIRC, it's just Premier Dairies milk packaged for Tesco. Same goes for a lot of other products. If you get newspapers, or if you're shopping on a Sunday, have a flick through for ads-- supermarkets all announce their weekly offers in the Sunday papers.

Don't buy something just because it's on offer- you'll spend more than you want to on sh1te you don't need. Write a list and stick to it. It might be worth signing up to Tesco's home shopping so you can calculate the prices before you shop (although don't finish the transaction- the delivery cost is often more than what you'd spend on the bus/walking and they tend to eff up the orders anyway.)

Millicent

pinkheels88 wrote: »

And the creepy private messages begin.... :rolleyes:
Regret posting pics of myself in other threads now!

Did you take a picture of yourself with a gourd? That was just inviting trouble.

zuroph

please note everyone, I am not a sender of any of these creepy PMs. I keep my creeping nice and public.

LavaLamp

Millicent wrote: »

Have you considered tinned fish? Also, visiting your local butcher/fishmonger can save you a lot of money as they are fond of chucking stuff in for free. Many also do family deals of meat for about 20 quid which, if you have a freezer, should last for quite some time.

I second this - our local fish guy does two salmon darnes (sp?) for about €5, can't beat that, and they are fresh!

Terry

pinkheels88 wrote: »

And the creepy private messages begin.... :rolleyes:
Regret posting pics of myself in other threads now!

You can report the private messages.
Click on the little triangle thingy in the message.
Looks like this: http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/buttons/report.gif

Also, what's the deal with the plant pot?

Millicent

Further (gah, I really have been skint too long! ) don't buy fruit and veg in bulk, even though it seems cheaper. It'll often go off before you get to use it up so will end up costing you more in the long run.

Einhard

pinkheels88 wrote: »

And the creepy private messages begin.... :rolleyes:
Regret posting pics of myself in other threads now!

You know you're gonna have every red blooded male in AH rummaging through your previous posts now!

Not me though, I'm a man of honour. :cool:






/ logs out for a few minutes so his name won't show up on pinkheels88's recently visited list...

pinkheels88

Millicent wrote: »

Further (gah, I really have been skint too long! ) don't buy fruit and veg in bulk, even though it seems cheaper. It'll often go off before you get to use it up so will end up costing you more in the long run.

Millicent you could write a book on this! Great advice! Thanks!

Millicent

pinkheels88 wrote: »

Millicent you could write a book on this! Great advice! Thanks!

Think I might. I mightn't be skint then! ...

Overheal

Terry wrote: »

Ok. You don't have a gourd.
I'll give you €4 for one of your plant pots. I'm trying to grow some Juniper bushes.

KEEP AWAY FROM MY JUNIPER BUSHES!

gogo

Does the thesis have to be hard bound? Could you not get it soft bound, cost you feck all, 2.50 or there abouts.

alwaysadub

Overheal wrote: »

KEEP AWAY FROM MY JUNIPER BUSHES!

A miracle!!

pinkheels88

gogo wrote: »

Does the thesis have to be hard bound? Could you not get it soft bound, cost you feck all, 2.50 or there abouts.

Has to be hard bound, UCC are a bitch like that. Don't really want to skimp on something as important as that!

Millicent

If this is for electricity and other bills as well--

Text from the internet where possible.

Install Skype if you have a microphone on your laptop and get friends to do the same or use MSN.

Boil the kettle for one cup at at a time and avoid cooking anything that takes a long time to cook (casseroles, stew etc.)- electric ovens eat electricity.

If you are using a non-electrical shower, set the timer to come on for an hour at 5 in the morning. You should get enough for a shower, dishes etc. if on your own and you're paying an off-peak rate. Flick the switch off if you know you won't be there. Don't leave anything on stand-by and when your laptop/phone is charged, plug it out immediately. Do not live things plugged in overnight.

Cook in bulk if you have a big freezer and cut portions up and freeze them. You save by buying in bulk and using the microwave for 5 minutes a day is cheaper than using an oven or hob for a half-hour a day.

I will be back I'm sure as something else hits me! :pac:

Terry

€4 for the plant pot.
It'll get you 36 packets of cheap noodles.

Herb Powell

LavaLamp wrote: »

OMG I find that SO exciting! I have always used approved foods and ordered by out of date stuff online lol!! Next time I am in Cork I am going to have to swing buy and stock up on stuff. :D:D:D

It's daycent. And the old fellas often reduce the price further than what's marked. I got something that's normally €2 for 50c. Seriously I'm going to plug the **** out of this place

Nanaki

€50 a week is not difficult. Stop drinking, getting takeaways, eating ready made foods.
Once you're careful it's rather straightforward

Jesus Wept

zuroph wrote: »

50 a week is loads. however, if you're stuck, I'll buy ya lunch, I'm on cork a few days every week with work, and stick it on my company credit card.

I'm in Sligo on Tuesday, any use?

Celly Smunt

or Dublin on monday?

--LOS--

€50 a week is loads tbh, I've lived on that for a lot of college and a lot less at time and that has included paying for transport.

Your food shopping can be really cheap if it has to be, just don't buy any food/coffees outside the house.

Forget meat, that will eat your budget, why not source your protein from canned beans/pulses for now. It is only a month after all.

gogo

Feck me pulses,I'd rather starve.

zuroph

The-Rigger wrote: »

I'm in Sligo on Tuesday, any use?

lol, no joy. midlands tuesday i think. xx

Saibh

zuroph wrote: »

lol, no joy. midlands tuesday i think. xx

I might be there that day, what time are you going for lunch?

zuroph

Saibh wrote: »

I might be there that day, what time are you going for lunch?

lunch time.

Saibh

zuroph wrote: »

lunch time.

Sorry can't make it now, maybe someone else would like to go.

gogo

zuroph wrote: »

lol, no joy. midlands tuesday i think. xx

/looks at location and thinks of nice eateries...

andrew163

Lidl/Aldi are great for this. Myself and the girlfriend bought about 2 weeks worth of food for 60 euro at Aldi recently. Some good stuff too, bacon, chicken, sauces, etc - it certainly doesn't feel like living on a budget. Got a load of 'pricey' things too (shampoo, cleaning products, etc) that last for months in that too.

I'd be a bit wary of Tesco if you're strapped for cash. It's definitely cheap compared to places like M&S/Superquinn/Spar, but I went through the receipt from Aldi on Tesco's website to find the cheapest equivalents, and the cheapest it came to was just short of 100 euro. Nearly twice as expensive :eek:

Avoid smaller places like Eurospar/Centra/Mace/Supervalu/etc like the plague. Extremely pricey to live off (although Supervalu can have some deals sometimes, which can bring it down to Tesco-level).

Good luck, it sucks having very little money. We were in a similar situation when we first moved in here a few months ago, deposit+first 2 weeks rent+second months rent+gas deposit all in a 3 week period. The pain

Tonyandthewhale

MagicMarker wrote: »

€50 a week!!?

Am I the only one who thinks this is plenty?

Yeah, I was living on 35 euro a week (five euro a day) most of last year (after rent but still food, transport, electricity, entertainment). Was no bother, wouldn't want to be raising kids on it but it's plenty for a student.

Jesus Juice

Make a MASSIVE pot of stew, seriously stew lasts days!

maglite

Seriously 50 is a good week, you can eat take out and buy a lot of drink for that.

Your going to have no bills for the first month.

Breadline me ar$e

ascanbe

Bread-line, me hole.
Jesus, people in this country are about to have a rude awakening...

Usertaken

A job helps !

up for anything

pinkheels88 wrote: »

Apparently she doesn't have any money at the moment and can't borrow it off her parent's either (which I kind of find hard to believe) so unless I wanted to be homeless tommorow, I had no choice but to overdraft the hell out of my account and live like a pauper for the next month. Sucks!

Why so hard to believe? If she was my child I would be looking to borrow €20 from her. There is a recession on and it affects parents too.

aligator_am

alwaysadub wrote: »

A miracle!!

Does posting on Boards constitute breaking a vow of silence?

aligator_am

As others have pointed out, €50 a week can be plenty to survive on, once you're not buying take aways every night, but again as some have said, it's important to treat yourself a little too.

Lidl / Aldi are very good for getting cheap grub in that is nice enough, I know they do very tasty noodles in Lidl for 25c per pack, the spicey prawn flavour is lovely

Most places sell a 2litre of milk for about €1.49 although SuperValu sell them for 99c I think.

Lidl and Superquinn sell a white loaf for 55c, but the ones in Lidl are nicer IMO, you can pickup a box of 80 teabags in Superquinn for 99c too (have a look for their essentials range). Same goes with butter / margarine, you can usually pickup a tub of it for about €1, and it's not like the KVI / Yellow Pack muck I remember from my youth

I usually get the makings of lunch for the week in Lidl for under a tenner, you'll also find that lots of supermarkets are selling packs of 4 tins of Heinz beans or spaghetti for €2 so pickup a couple of those and you're covered on the basics I reckon.

I've found the fruit and veg to be very good in Lidl too, but the only downside is that it will go off within a couple of days (well the fruit does anyway) so you'd need to use it fairly sharpish. Another good way to save a few bob is to make a grand big pot of stew and freeze portions in tupperware containers if you have them, you can get the makings of stew cheap but don't buy the meat in a supermarket or you'll be robbed, speak to a butcher and just get some round / frying steak from them, it's cheap and does what it's meant to.

Anyways, good luck with the adventure, let us know how you get on.

P.S. you may be able to barter with the butcher if you have a gourd, although you may need to purchase a fake beard first

drdeadlift

my dad reckons he could feed two people on 50 quid a week,its dooable and theres plenty of good advice here!

aligator_am

I forgot to mention, in regards to shampoo and all that stuff, you can pick well known brands in the €2 shops, not sure if they are perfect but I assume they are, probably sold to them due to damaged packaging or something?

Anyone know more about this?

120_Minutes

drdeadlift wrote: »

my dad reckons he could feed two people on 50 quid a week,its dooable and theres plenty of good advice here!

Myself and my wife live on 300 a month groceries. I'd love to have 50 a week for myself to live on...

Berty

Ha.

My OH is having major surgery the next week and needs to take around 3.5 months off work. Her employer does not offer sick pay. Im just back working after months of unemployment so have many many debts from that unemployment and arrears of the mortgage. Now we are back to where we started because illness benefit from welfare is the same as unemployment.

She will be in hospital which is going to cost €75 per day so we will owe around €1500 for the hospital stay and then considering our outgoings will have around MINUS €200 per month for ourselves.

I forsee bad things in our future. :mad:

Jumpy

I remember a story an ex told me about an old flatmate that used to buy loads of mince, roll it up into a ball and freeze it.

He would then take it out of the freezer each night and drop the big ball into a frying pan, cook it for a few mins then scrape off the cooked mince and then put the rest of the frozen ball back in the freezer to do the same the next night until the ball was gone.

I am amazed he lived.

Rabble Rabble

MagicMarker wrote: »

€50 a week!!?

Am I the only one who thinks this is plenty?

I think it is low.

SerialComplaint

Berty wrote: »

She will be in hospital which is going to cost €75 per day so we will owe around €1500 for the hospital stay and then considering our outgoings will have around MINUS €200 per month for ourselves.

The hospital day charges are capped at €750 in any 12 month period - see http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/health/hospital-services/hospital_charges. It might well be worth her while applying for the GP only medical card before her operation.

Berty

SerialComplaint wrote: »

The hospital day charges are capped at €750 in any 12 month period - see http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/health/hospital-services/hospital_charges. It might well be worth her while applying for the GP only medical card before her operation.

Already been means tested and it was removed from her. Spoke to the HSE Medical Card Section in Nenagh whom said that a Temporary illness is not enough to overule the income the household has which in their opinion is over the tresholds. They refused to accept that the fact that the employer does not offer sick pay is not enough because she would have to lose her job before they would re-assess us because our circumstances APPARENTLY have NOT changed.

I didn't know about the cap because it says in the ward(next to her bed) that it costs €913(or so) a night for a private room and €710(or so) for a semi private room and €75 for the room she is in(14 beds). It also states that non EU people are charged €1100+(cant remember exact figure) for an overnight stay or for an RTA.