How did you “Eke out” back in the day when hard up?

I still eke out minced beef for any dish with red lentils and plenty of finely chopped veg, but it’s no longer down to skint-ness.

What do you mean” back in the day”? I am still doing it!

I quite enjoy using up whatever I have left in the ‘fridge/freezer before the next shop, to make a tasty meal. It’s really not difficult if you have the basic ingredients with herbs, spices etc. and the cupboard essentials - pasta, rice.

Patsy70

I quite enjoy using up whatever I have left in the ‘fridge/freezer before the next shop, to make a tasty meal. It’s really not difficult if you have the basic ingredients with herbs, spices etc. and the cupboard essentials - pasta, rice.

Me too. I particularly enjoyed it during the beginning of the first lockdown, when supermarket shelves were often bare. I used up quite a few packets of this and that with ‘interesting’ use by dates!

i think you also need the skill or experience or confidence to be able to do that.
not everyone is in that position.

Patsy70

I quite enjoy using up whatever I have left in the ‘fridge/freezer before the next shop, to make a tasty meal. It’s really not difficult if you have the basic ingredients with herbs, spices etc. and the cupboard essentials - pasta, rice.

This ^^

The biggest saving I ever made was to stop smoking. I used to wonder where a lot of my money went, and I realised when I stopped smoking, how much I could save. Also more or less cutting out going to the pub has been a big saver for me. I can buy three bottles of imported lager in Tesco for £6, three pints in a pub would cost £13.

Well done for giving up smoking Cumbrianmale56.
I’ve never smoked, but I’ve watched others struggles and it’s not easy.

Dumpster diving.