HOW TO FEED YOUR FAMILY ON LESS THAN 10 A DAY

And Other Cost-Saving Tips

Elizabeth Bollard

Contents Preface..................................................... 1 How to Feed Your Family on Less than 10 a Day ............................ 2 Useful Low-Cost Recipes ...................... ix 1 17

Bread and Baking ................................. Breakfast .............................................. Soups ................................................... Meat Main Courses ............................... Fish Main Courses ................................ Vegetarian Main Courses....................... Side Dishes ........................................... Sauces .................................................. Desserts and Puddings ..........................

17 33 37 44 58 62 68 77 80

3 Strategies for Surviving in Challenging Circumstances ..................................... 4 The Household Budget and Saving on Bills ................................................ 5 Hiring Contractors for Work around the House ............................................ 6 Buying a Car ....................................... 7 Insurance How to Get the Best Deal .. 8 Twelve Ways to Cut Legal Costs ...........
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85 97 119 125 135 141

Preface
Today, 25 April, I am skulking around the countryside using back roads, because, for the rst time in my adult life, my car tax has expired and I cant afford to renew it. All my accounts personal and business are overdrawn to the limit, and my credit cards are at the maximum, with monthly payments overdue. I am counting down the days to the last working day of the month when my salary appears in my bank account. Thankfully, my children will not starve, due to my account in the local co-op store, which is up to date and allows me fuel and food for up to three months on credit, combined with the modest daily takings from my music shop. I am also in arrears with my mortgage payments. However, there is light at the end of this tunnel because the bank has nally agreed to reduce my mortgage payment for a twelve-month period, following three requests during the past two years to avail of the six-month moratorium clause in the mortgage contract. I wrote to the bank once and my solicitor wrote on two occasions. I outlined my nancial situation with total honesty each and every time. I was told that I needed to be critically

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Preface

or terminally ill, or unemployed, to avail of the moratorium. I am very relieved as I write this book. It seems that I have become a master at juggling bills, dealing with nancial demands and communicating with corporate organisations. I am surviving, I believe, through necessity, determination and quite a degree of stubbornness; and also because of honesty clear and direct communication with everyone from my children, friends, colleagues, suppliers and pupils, to bank managers and large corporate organisations. I am a single mother of three girls. One is at college, one is about to sit the Junior Certicate, and the youngest is age ten. Before the recession, I was sorted. I appeared to have everything: three holidays a year, a nice car, designer labels. It took a lot of effort to build this lifestyle and to remain comfortable. By effort I mean ripping up oor boards in old houses at 10.00 p.m. following a days work I had worked non-stop for years renovating houses during the property boom. Because of all of this work, I never had problems paying the bills. My nancial difculties arose because I purchased a new home in October 2007 on the strength of a rm sale agreed on the house I was living in. I felt the need for a fresh start with the girls in a new environment. It was supposed to be my nal stressful ordeal; afterwards, life should have been perfect. I was already committed to

Preface

purchasing the house and was ready for what should have been a comfortable lifestyle, with less working hours and more quality time with the girls. However, as things turned out, the exact opposite occurred. The couple purchasing my old house decided to go their separate ways on the exchange of contracts. So I found myself with a combined mortgage payment of 2,750 monthly, between the two houses, xed for ve years at a set percentage. The pressure was on. I fell and broke my wrist within two weeks of moving into the new house. Seeing as Im a professional violinist, this was an absolute catastrophe. I couldnt play or teach violin for nine weeks, and my greatly needed tuition income was cut. Because of the recession, I could not sell my house. All our luxury was abruptly curtailed and our lifestyle had to be adjusted. In 2009, following the announcement from my eldest daughter that she wished to do a six-year course in college, I realised that another source of income was necessary. I used borrowed money from the bank for house improvements to open a music shop on a shoestring budget. I knew this was really pushing the boat out, but it was necessary. Since October 2007, I learned and discovered some useful and clever ways to survive, and I know that passing these methods on will help many others. I have written this book as a means

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of support, guidance and reference. Most importantly, I want to give hope to families in these challenging recessionary times. I hope you will nd the content benecial. Elizabeth Bollard Spring 2012

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