PENNIES
2
POUNDS Top tips to help you save money
Daniel Patterson, Ryan Burns Cunningham, Rachel Patterson and Barry Cummins
Research and content development by Rachel Patterson, Ryan Burns Cunningham, Barry Cummins and Daniel Patterson Design by Sophie Mullen
In association with:
Are you feeling more
zero than hero with your money? Well, let us help you be more of a hero! Our names are Rachel Patterson, Ryan Burns Cunningham, Barry Cummins and Daniel Patterson and we are on the Prince’s Trust Fairbridge programme. As part of our Money for Life Challenge we have produced this booklet with a variety of money management hints and tips to help you save some pennies and make them into pounds.
Prince’s Trust Fairbridge programme: The Fairbridge programme is an individually tailored personal development programme for disengaged and marginalised young people aged between 13 and 25. The Fairbridge programme combines group activities, opportunities, experiences, and one-to-one support to help young people gain the personal, social and life skills needed to stabilise their life circumstances and eventually move into education, employment, training or volunteering.
Money for Life challenge: The Money for Life Challenge is a UK wide competition, enabling young people to help their communities make the most of their money. It’s not just the communities who benefit from the Money for Life Challenge; the teams involved learn to budget, develop their confidence, and manage a project from creation to completion.
Section one: Lifestyle Section two: Household Section three: Money Management Section four: Food and cooking Section five: Recipes
ifestyle LLifestyle
When finished with books and games swap with friends
If you smoke, use tobacco.
LIFESTYLE
It’s cheaper than cigarettes.
Spending a fortune on books and DVD’s? Did you know you can borrow books/ DVD’s etc from the library for free?
For example saving 20p per day in a working week you could save up to ÂŁ50 per year.
LIFESTYLE
Buy a day ticket or return ticket on public transport.
Pay a fortune for a gym membership?
Use your free local outdoor gym instead!
LIFESTYLE
n r u t t u o b a d n a t When ou e l i b o m r u o y n o i F i on the W . a t a d r u o y e v a s o t
when out shopping look out for shops that offer discounts such as student discount.
LIFESTYLE
Travel by yourself each day and sick of sitting in traffic? Use Park and Rides or car share when possible.
Use stamp saving schemes to help you save for special occasions and loyalty schemes in shops to benefit from their rewards.
HOUSEHOLD HOUSEHOLD
Turn off electrical products not in use. If the red light is still on the TV it is still costing you money.
HOUSEHOLD
Use energy saving light bulbs.
Make your own cleaning products.
For example, Vinegar actually cleans much like an all-purpose cleaner. All you need is to mix a solution of equal parts of water and vinegar in a spray bottle and you have a solution that will clean most areas of your home.
(And make sure you are doing a full wash each time)
HOUSEHOLD
Do your washing after 7pm - the electricity is cheaper.
Turn your heating down and turn off radiators in rooms not used.
Look into reducing your TV package!!
HOUSEHOLD
Do you watch every channel you pay for?
Have a use up week: Use up all the half bottles of toiletries and bits and pieces of food you have about the house
HOUSEHOLD
Fill the kettle only with the amount of water you need before boiling.
Use rechargeable batteries instead of buying new batteries each time.
NEY MO MONEY
NAGEMENT MA MANAGEMENT
Get yourself a money jar.
Putting £1 away each day = £365 per year
as you can lose track of your spending.
MONEY MANAGEMENT
Don’t use debit cards continuously
Mobile phone contracts work out more expensive. Break down the costs and see how much you are actually paying for the handset.
Be aware of hidden charges/ interest on credit cards and pay day loans.
MONEY MANAGEMENT
Avoid nasty surprises:
Keep track of expenses:
Keep all receipts and review at the end of each week/month.
AND STICK TO IT!!!
MONEY MANAGEMENT
Set yourself a weekly/monthly budget...
WEEKLY Available at week start
INCOMING Wages / Benefits Grants Loans TOTAL AVAILABLE
OUTGOING Mortgage/Rent Household Maintenance Rates House Insurance Electricity Gas Phone Internet TV Groceries Charity/Donations Fuel Car Insurance Car Payment Child Care Credit Cards/Debt Loans Life Insurance Clothing/ Entertainment Child Support/Alimony Other TOTAL OUTGOING ACTUAL AVAILABLE Available to Save REMAINDER
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
WEEK 3
WEEK 4
FOOD & COOKING
Rather than throwing out food, freeze food that is left over.
cook on a budget.
FOOD & COOKING
(Check out our recipe section next for ideas)
Forward plan lunches and snacks when out and about so you’re not buying food on the go.
Curry and rice from the Chinese take-away costs approx. £ £6 per portion. Homemade curry and rice costs£ £6 for 4 portions
FOOD & COOKING
Make your own meals instead of take-aways.
Grow your own vegetables. cut down your own shopping costs and if you grow enough you could sell some to friends and family.
FOOD & COOKING
check for clearance foods before you start your shopping.
Don’t buy bottled water - use a refillable bottle.
Look at all the shelves and different brands.
FOOD & COOKING
Don’t just buy products at eye level.
Plan your meals in advance to help create a shopping list.
Recipes Recipes
Quick salmon pasta Ingredients 400g salmon fillets 568ml milk tsp mixed herbs tsp nutmeg 250g fusilli pasta
40g butter 3 tbsp plain flour 200g frozen peas 1 tsp black pepper
Method Here is how to make the white sauce: 1. Poach the salmon fillets in milk, herbs, nutmeg and black pepper for about 3-4 minutes or until cooked 2. Remove salmon and break into chunks - set aside 3. Cook pasta as per instructions on the packet and drain 4. Use butter, milk and flour to make a white sauce and when cooked, add frozen peas and salmon chunks - then add the cooked pasta 5. Serve hot!
Quick Tomato and Basil Spaghetti Ingredients 400g Spaghetti Or Dried Pasta 1 Carrot Finely Chopped 1 Onion Finely Sliced 1 Garlic Clove Finely Chopped 400g Tinned Chopped Tomatoes
1 Bunch of Basil Finely Chopped 1 tbsp Dried Oregano Optional 1 tsp Sugar Olive Oil
1. First of all get a large pan over a medium heat and add a few tbsp of oil. 2. Once hot, add your onion and turn the heat down and cook for 5 minutes or so until it has softened then add in your carrot and garlic and continue to stir and cook for another 3 minutes. 3. Tip in your tinned tomatoes with the sugar and give it all a good mix up then sprinkle in the oregano. Give it a final stir, cover and turn the heat right down and allow to simmer. 4. Meanwhile put a large pan of salted water over a high heat and bring it to the boil. Once boiling cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. 5. While the spaghetti is cooking, keep an eye on the sauce, if it’s looking a little dry just add a splash of water to loosen it all up again. Give it a taste, add salt and pepper accordingly. 6. Once cooked, drain the pasta and then tip the pasta on to the sauce and keep it over the heat for a minute while you toss it all together to coat the spaghetti in your sauce. 7. Serve immediately with a good grating of parmesan.
REcipes
Method
Chicken and mushroom fried rice Ingredients 375g (13 oz) uncooked white rice 1 knob butter 2 skinless chicken breast fillets (diced) salt to taste
2 eggs (beaten) 75g (2 oz) mushrooms (sliced) 2 spring onions (chopped) 1 tablespoon soy sauce, or to taste
Method 1. Cook rice according to packet instructions. Allow to cool (or use leftover rice straight from the fridge). 2. Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in butter and season with salt to taste. Once cooked through and no longer pink in the centre, remove chicken from pan and set aside. 3. Transfer cooked rice to the pan in which the chicken was cooked, stirring to brown. 4. In a separate pan, lightly scramble the eggs - then add this to the rice. 5. Stir in chicken, mushrooms, spring onions and soy sauce. Serve immediately.
Traditional cottage pie Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 medium carrots, chopped 500g mince 1 (400g) tin chopped tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato puree 300ml beef stock 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs dash Worcestershire sauce salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the topping: 1kg potatoes, peeled and diced 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 75g butter 4 tablespoons milk
1. Preheat the oven to 190 C / Gas mark 5. 2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the onion, garlic and carrot and cook over a medium heat until soft. Add the mince and cook to brown. 3. Add the tinned tomatoes, puree, beef stock, mixed herbs and Worcestershire sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in water until soft. Drain and mash with the mustard, butter and milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 5. Spoon the mince mixture into a casserole dish. Top with the mash and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Tip: The potato topping can be replaced by a mix of potato and sweet potato or parsnip for a delicious twist (and a lower GI score!)
REcipes
Method
Baked Ham and Cheese Rollups Ingredients 1 ball pizza dough 8 oz. thinly sliced deli ham 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese Optional: Fresh parsley, for sprinkling Mustard/ horseradish sauce, for serving salt and black pepper
Method 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface. Press to form a 12 x 8-inch rectangle. 2. Arrange ham slices evenly over dough to within 1/2 inch of edges. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Starting at one of the short ends, roll up dough to form log. Pinch seam together to seal. Place, seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. 3. Bake for 50 minutes, or until deep golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into 8 slices with a serrated knife. 4. Serve with mustard or horseradish sauce, if desired. Enjoy! Tip: Feel free to assemble the loaf and refrigerate up to 1 day before baking Cooking times may vary based on the thickness of the pizza dough you’re using. For instance, refrigerated canned pizza dough may only require a baking time of 20 minutes or so.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs Ingredients 16 oz frozen meatballs 1 1/2 cups jam 1 1/2 cups ketchup
Method If you like spicier foods you can add a little bit of chili sauce as well. Since I wanted this to be simple I used frozen meatballs, but you can use homemade meatballs too.
REcipes
1. Combine the jelly and ketchup into a mixing bowl and stir. 2. Next, put the meatballs into the crockpot and add the sauce over top. I like to mix it up so that the meatballs are evenly coated 3. You can either cook it for 3-4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. My crockpot is extremely hot so mine were done in about 3 hours. 4. You can serve these with rice, mashed potatoes or noodles.
Potato Gnocchi Pasta Ingredients 2 pounds baking potatoes (900g) 1 egg yolk 1 cup all-purpose flour (125g) More flour for dusting
Method 1. First, bake the potatoes at 400 degres F (200C) for about 1 hour, or until fork-tender. 2. Out of oven, immediately spilt them open. Then peel off the flesh and add in a bowl. Mash with a potato masher or a fork. Season with salt. Continue mashing until smooth. Then add to a fine sieve and push the potato with a spoon. This will remove any lumps. You can use a food mill or a ricer. 3. Now sprinkle half of the flour on the clean working surface. And transfer the potato over the flour and spread evenly. Then sprinkle remaining flour over the potato. And make a well in the center and add in an egg yolk. Then break it with an index finger and make circles. And start kneading. It should form a slightly sticky dough. If it’s too sticky add flour a little more. 4. And roll out in half-inch thick with a rolling pin. And cut in ribbons with a pizza cutter or a knife. Roll a ribbon into a rope. Then cut the rope into 1-inch lengths. 5. Dust with flour on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll each piece into a ball. And arrange the dumplings on the sheet. Then lightly push a dumpling on the back of a fork to make a ridge pattern. Repeat with remaining dumplings. 6. In a large pan of generously salted boiling water, add gnocchi. Cook in batches, not all at once. I am cooking 10 dumplings at a time. Then cook until they rise to the surface. Cook them on the surface for additional 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a dish. The dumplings will get harder as they cool. 7. Serve with pomodoro sauce, pepper and cheese.
References Money for Life: https://www.moneyforlifeprogramme.org.uk/press-release/ money-for-life-challenge-launches-for-201415/ Martin Lewis - Money saving expert http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ Eugunie kitchen www.eugeniekitchen.com Frugal Fanatic www.FrugalFanatic.com Brit+co www.brit.com/three-ingredient-recipes All Recipes http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-2098/cheap-recipes-for-under-a-fiver. aspx Tesco recipes: http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/simple-spaghetti-bolognese.html
THANK YOU We would like to thank Money for Life and Lloyds Banking group for the opportunity to be part of the project. We have really enjoyed the project and have learnt a lot through our experience which we are now hoping to share with many more people. We would like to thank anyone who has supported us through the project including everyone who helped with our research by completing a questionnaire, the Prince’s Trust staff and everyone who shared ideas with us.
Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.