Cut backs and food scrimping.

Dear reader,

Feel trapped indoors due to the heavy snow here. Decided to get out in it and take elderly neighbours dog for a walk. He is a real little fatty and I am trying to get him to lose a bit of weight. Might work for me too!
We went up to the common and watched the kids sledging down the hills, it all looked beautiful with the snow on the bracken and tree branches. Big man found it hilarious to shake branches just as I walked through!

My food supplies are going ok. We had cheese on toast with poached eggs on top for breakfast and I have a gammon in the slow cooker that we will have tonight with potatoes and veg. I always like a bit of a sauce with gammon so will do a quick parsley sauce as I have some on the window sill and have butter, flour and milk. No measuring, I just chuck it in, it's always fine.

I am pleased with the food budget so far this year and have refused to throw anything away.
I had some left over mash the other night and a few cooked cold sausages in the fridge. I decided to make some potato cakes/sausage bubble for breakfast and chopped the sausages with half a diced onion and mixed it into the mash with 2 eggs to bind. I then fried them in little dollops in a small amount of oil. They were lovely and I was pleased they were used.

The other things I have cut drastically down on are washing machine liquid and softener.
I use a very small amount, about the size of a 50 pence piece and a dash of softener, just for the smell.
We dry all our clothes in front of the log burner and sometimes they can take a while but I can turn the washing around within 24 hours no problem. I will be making some homemade washing liquid when I run out of this bottle and see how it is. Our clothes are never dirty as in mud and stuff, just need a freshen up. I hardly ever use the full cycle either just a quick wash. It's fine.

I also now only drive at a max speed of 60mph, even on the motorway. I put the miles per gallon on and I can see how much I am getting. It's a big difference when you go slowly and don't accelerate hard. It also cuts down on the braking. Thus saving me money on brake pads too.

My meal plan for the next few days is as follows. I am really scrimping and trying to stretch the food as much as possible. A pound less in the supermarket is a pound off our debts.

Sausage casserole (slow cooker) mash and veg
Chicken curry, rice and naans (in freezer)
Shepherds pie and veg
Veggie sausage, chips and beans

I think I will have to do a shop by then.

What do you cut down on to save money? Any tips gratefully received.

Sarah x.