Life gets in the way of Budget!

Sometimes life gets in the way of staying on budget. Such as a poorly tot and needing to pick up meds and some food he can/will eat. Gabe is teething, back molars are cutting through, and with it he has a cold – so is generally tired, grumpy, and just not himself. A quick trip for more calpol, vicks, and some lemsip (well the fake ones!) for me and Gary who are also starting to feel bunged up, set us back the best part of £10.

Minor Ailment Scheme

There is a scheme for those who genuinely cannot afford to buy calpol or similar for their little one, ran through many chemists (including Boots), for Minor Ailments. You see the Pharmacist and they can prescribe the required basic meds free of charge. The idea is it keeps patients out of the GP for simple things – such as a tiddler full of cold. It can be accessed by anyone, but I really feel only those with genuine financial need should do so. We all like to save a penny, but not by adding an extra financial burden to the overstretched NHS. I’d hate for such a scheme to be abused, and then removed, so those in genuine need of the free bottle of calpol can’t get it.

Budget Friendly Veg Risotto

Frugal Vegan Risotto

Frugal Vegan Risotto

With a sore mouth Gabe has been off his food the past few days. Tonight I made up a large pot of veggie risotto. It used up the last sad and lonely leek, some peppers, mushrooms, and asparagus, and was nice and soft for him to eat.

I like to use Arborio rice for risottos, although you can get away with using a long grain, which is the cheapest in the shops.

The short grains of the Arborio give such a lovely squidgy, creamy, and sticky risotto it is worth it for us to pay that little bit extra. Lidl have it the cheapest, with their 1kg box costing the same as Tesco’s 500g bag!

Risotto is also a great way of using up almost anything from the fridge. Chopped meats and veggies all work well, all you need is some stock to make it up with – whether home made of a cube and water. A little garlic and a sprinkling of cheese make it really delicious, and always wins over both Gary and Gabe!

Site Revamp

The Low Cost Living site is going to be having a little revamp over the next few weeks. The idea, following feedback from readers of both blog and main site, is to make it more mobile compatible. It shouldn’t mean any disruption for readers – hopefully the change over will be swift and without problems – but it means all hands on deck and busy busy busy in the Harrison and Martin households.

Posted in Children, Financial Fast, Food, Home, Lifestyle

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