Debts? Don't Panic

IT’S all very well being prudent and cutting costs but what if things have already gone too far and debts are staring you in the face? If you are struggling, here are some simple tips to help you get on top of things:

1. Don’t bury your head in the sand
Ignoring your debt problems will only make them worse. Don’t ignore calls or letters from the people to whom you owe money. Contact them to explain why you’re having problems. The sooner you do this, the more options you’ll have for solving your financial problems.

2. Get advice

There are many organisations which offer free and independent money advice such as Citizens’ Advice, Shelter, National Debtline, and the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. Their debt advisers can assess your situation and work out the best course of action for you.

3. Pay your priority debts first
There are some debts you need to pay first before others, because the consequences of not paying them can be much more serious. For example, mortgage or rent debts are a priority as if you don’t pay these you could lose your home. Debt advisers can help you plan your budget and pay your priority debts first.

4. Pay what you can each month
Work out how much money you’ve got coming in and going out of your household on essential expenses like food and bills. Then work how much you’ve got left over to pay your creditors. If you can’t afford to pay back all the money you owe, work out how much you can afford and offer to pay this. A debt adviser can help you do this.

5. Maximise your income
Are you getting all the money you’re entitled to? There may be benefits or tax credits you can get such as Pension Credit or Disability Living Allowance which you haven’t claimed. Working Tax Credit is an in-work benefit which is not just available to people with children. You might be able to get it if you work enough hours and are disabled or your income is low enough, even if you don’t have children. You may be able to get Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit to help you pay your council tax and rent. You don’t necessarily have to be out of work to get these benefits. You may be able to get help with your health costs such as prescription charges and dental costs. You may be able to claim help with education costs such as school meals and clothing. You may be able to get a grant to help you pay for things like fitting home insulation and improving energy efficiency. This can help cut down the fuel bills. Your gas and electricity supplier may be able to help you if you have fuel debts. To find out if you can get help, visit the British Gas Energy Trust website at: http://www.britishgasenergytrust.org.uk/ or the EDF Energy Trust website at: http://www.edfenergytrust.org.uk/ There are also some charities which give grants to people to help pay their bills or buy essential items. You can find a list of these charities on the Turn 2 Us website at: http://www.turn2us.org.uk/ An adviser can help you maximise your income. For details of organisations which can help, go to the bottom of this page.

6. Make savings on your household expenses
Look carefully at your spending and see if there is anything you are able to cut down on. For example, you could shop around for a cheaper gas or electricity provider, or look at cheaper mortgage or insurance providers. You can find more information about changing your gas and electricity suppliers from the website of the consumer watchdog, Consumer Focus at: http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/ To find out more about how to save money on financial products such as mortgages and insurance, go to the website of financial watchdog the Financial Services Authority at: http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/.

7. Think twice about taking out a loan to pay off all your debts
You may end up paying back a lot more than you borrowed and at very high interest rates. You may not be able to afford the repayments and the loan may be secured against your home which you could then lose.

8. Facing possession proceedings? Don’t panic
Always attend the court hearings yourself. Court proceedings do not mean that you will automatically lose your home. The court process acts as a final check to make sure repossession is the last resort. Some courts have advice desks which can provide last minute assistance.

9. Take care with “mortgage rescue schemes”
Selling your home and renting it back might seem like a quick fix to your debt problems. But, many of these schemes offer very little security. You could end up paying very high rent or even being evicted. These schemes are also not regulated so you will not have access to the same protections as a mortgage holder.

10. Don’t abandon your property
If you are struggling with mortgage repayments you may be tempted to send the keys to your lender or abandon your property. Don’t do this without advice. You could still be responsible for the debt on the property and may be pursued for it years later.

The Use-It-All Cookbook: review

THE trouble with oranges is that there is no way of knowing how sweet or juicy they are until after you have bought them.

So, there I was last week with two lovely looking oranges which, when I peeled them, were fairly dry inside. Normally I might have eaten them anyway, not liking to waste food, or hidden the segments in a fruit salad, hoping a good soaking in fruit juice would plump them up.

Then I remembered I had a book to review, The Use-It-All Cookbook. It had the tagline, “with an A-Z of leftover ingredients and how to use them”. I turned inside for advice on how to use leftover orange and found a recipe for Caramelised Oranges.

It told me the recipe was an excellent way of using up any slightly dried-out oranges. I’m not the best cook in the world but the recipe worked perfectly.

Author Bish Muir lives near Barnstaple in “an increasingly self-sufficient and eco-friendly farmhouse”. Her cookbook includes more than 100 recipes and ideas for using up leftovers. But it is not just a cookbook. There is a wealth of other information, including facts about how wasteful the western world is. There is also a section on planning your shopping and others on “must have” ingredients and kitchen tools and how to store leftovers.

The A to Z of leftover ingredients, mentioned above, is a clever concept. Each item gives suggestions for recipes; something “quick and easy” you can do with the leftover; and general tips.

I looked up bread, having half a loaf that was no longer beautifully soft and fresh. The suggested recipes included fish pie, rissoles, summer pudding and bread and butter pudding. Something “quick and easy” was bread sauce and the tips included making and freezing breadcrumbs and making croutons.

In these credit crunch times, this is an excellent book, packed full of information, hints and recipes. Now, instead of throwing away those wrinkly apples, I’m going to have a go at making an apple and onion confit to accompany roast pork.

• The Use-It-All Cookbook is published by Green Books and is available at £12.95.

How To Save Petrol

I'M on a completely different tack this week. I have left the soggy tomatoes and wilting lettuce behind and have turned my attention to saving petrol.
There are several things motorists can do to cut fuel consumption, which not only saves money but helps save the environment too.
Here are the top tips. If you have any more, leave a comment and I’ll include them in my next blog.

Slow down: There’s no need to drive about as if you’re Lewis Hamilton on speed. That doesn’t mean you have to drive so slowly that elderly people on bicycles overtake you. If you cut your speed from a modest 70mph to 60 mph you will cut your petrol consumption by about 15 per cent. If you cut it from 70mph to 50mph, you will cut it by 38 per cent.

Drive smoothly: Accelerating and decelerating uses a lot of fuel. The smoother you drive, the less fuel you will use. Gently decelerate when approaching a junction, for example. Don’t pull away from traffic lights as if you’re life depended on you getting from 0 to 60 in five seconds. Don’t sit impatiently in a queue of traffic, revving the engine like some hormone-infused adoloscent who’s just passed his test. As well pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, you are using up fuel. Drive more like your maiden aunt than your boy-racer brother.

Watch your rev counter: Engines run most economically at revs between 1,500 and 2,500 so try to keep between these two figures unless more power is required. To maintain low revs while driving you should change gear as soon as is practical. So no crunching through the gears from fourth to second without passing third, throwing up exhaust fumes like a smoke screen in a magic show. The only thing that will disappear is your petrol – and your money.

Get pumped up: Keeping your tyres inflated at the correct pressure is one way of instantly improving your fuel consumption. Under-inflated tyres increase resistance, causing cars to use more fuel. If your tyres are under inflated by 20% this will result in a 3% fuel consumption increase and reduce the tyre life by 30%. Bald tyres also harm fuel economy – not to mention being illegal and dangerous. Still, if you’re in a hospital bed you won’t be driving about.

Get warmed up: A cold engine uses twice as much fuel as a warm engine. A catalytic converter takes six miles to become effective. To save petrol, you have two choices, either drive ultra carefully for the first few miles or – if it’s just a short journey – walk.

Shut up and turn off: If you are driving fast, keep your windows shut. Windows open when driving over 50mph cause significant drag, which increases fuel consumption. If it’s too hot, turn the heating to its coldest setting and turn the fans on. Bear in mind that air-conditioning increases petrol consumption up to 10%. If you feel you must use it, then turn it on in short bursts.

Unload: Every 50kg extra weight in your car will increase petrol consumption by 2%. You can, if you like, use it as a good excuse not to take the in-laws out for the day. It may be more practical, and cause fewer arguments, to remove the roof rack when you’re not using it and to unload the boot of all those items you think you can’t live without, like golf clubs or every map of Britain you have ever owned.

Check your oil: Clean oil reduces the wear caused by friction of moving engine parts and so helps fuel consumption. On a petrol car you should change the oil once a year or every 7,500 miles. For a diesel engine it is recommended you change the oil every 6 months or 3,000 miles.

Service with a smile: Regular servicing will also help to keep your car running as efficiently as possible and so save fuel.

Check your tyres: Make sure your wheels are correctly aligned. If your tyres are wearing unevenly, the alignment is almost certainly out. Improper alignment affects the handling of your car and increases fuel consumption.

Plan ahead: You can reduce car journeys if you are more organised. For example, do your shopping on the way to visit a friend rather than make two separate journeys. Try to get out of the habit of popping to the shops in the car when you need something. Surely you can do without that packet of chocolate digestives until it’s time for the weekly/monthly shop. Get a wartime mentality – “Is my journey really necessary?”

Do you have to drive there? You can walk short distances, or hop on a bus, or cadge a lift from a neighbour. You don’t have to get the car out for every single journey. You can park further away from work and walk. You can car-share. Here in Devon the county council organises a car share scheme. Click here for more details. I’m sure other counties do something similar.

Compare petrol prices: There is sometimes quite a bit of difference between petrol prices. Take a note as you drive around. It’s obviously madness driving five miles out of your way to get cheaper petrol but if it’s on, or just off, your regular route it can save you money. For example, if you can save say 2.3p a litre by visiting a petrol station two miles away, you can save 92p every time you fill up a 40 litre tank. If you fill up twice a month, this is equal to £1.84, or £22.08 a year. May not seem a lot, but it’s a few bottles of red wine if, like me, you tend to buy them from supermarkets.

Penny-pinching: I’m down to the penny-pinching now with a few tips to save you a groat or two. The best time to buy fuel is early morning or late evening when it is coolest. Petrol becomes denser in colder temperatures and as pumps measure the volume of fuel that you pump and not the actual density, you get more for your money. (Warning: this will work for the majority of garages but some may store petrol in a different way). Always give the nozzle a good shake and elevate the hose to squeeze out every last drop of petrol.

Down-size: Do you really need such a big gas-guzzler? Have you checked out the miles per gallon of similar cars? Do your homework and you can save money.

A final comment from the late, great Tommy Cooper: "You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen, it said 'Parking Fine'."

How To Use Up Leftovers

I AM proud to say that nearly all the veg that was languishing in the salad drawer of the fridge was this week used up. Not only did I buy more sensibly (see previous blog) but I also made a real effort to use up leftovers.

I’m indebted to Sandra, from Ilfracombe, who left a recipe for Bubble and Squeak (pictured) in the comment section. See bottom of the page for the recipe. I tried this on Monday evening using boiled potatoes, broccoli, carrots, peas and chopped fresh herbs. I even included that wilted half an onion she mentioned and I found a square of hard cheddar cheese which I grated into it. It was delicious.

I’ve started to look at food in a different way. I try not to have leftovers – with a little bit of imagination and ingenuity, they are the basis of another dish. No doubt, I will have some culinary disasters along the way (no change there then, my partner might say!) but by trial and error I’m aiming to slash my food bill.

Here are a few more tips:

Don’t throw away that chicken carcase. Break it up into pieces and boil it in water to make a stock. Strain and use as a base for soup using any leftover veg you have. Here’s a very basic recipe: three-quarters fill a medium saucepan with finely chopped veg. Use anything you have in the house, from potatoes and parsnips to cauliflower and carrots. If you haven’t got enough veg, open a tin of something – tomatoes, red kidney beans or peas, for example. Pour on the stock to cover. Stock made from a cube is fine you haven’t any home-made or other type of stock. Simmer for half an hour. Blitz up the veg to make a nice substantial soup. Add more stock if it’s looking too thick.

My sister told me that lettuce makes a great soup. I was dubious but had a go and it was lovely. If you’re a gardener, it’s an ideal way of using up lettuce that has bolted. Add mint or peas (tinned, fresh or frozen) if you want.


Other tips for leftovers:


(Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within two or three days or freeze. Never re-freeze uncooked food, although you can freeze it again once it’s been cooked).

Dice leftover meat like roast beef, pork or turkey and use it in a casserole.


Leftover bread can be used to make bread pudding.

Bread can also be used to make croutons. Cut the bread into cubes. Toss with melted butter, seasoned salt and whatever other seasonings you like. Bake in a hot oven till the cubes are golden brown. Use these croutons to top salads or casseroles.

Cheese looking like it has seen better days? Grate it up and use it as a topping for all kinds of dishes, from tuna casserole to vegetable bake. Use it for a lasagne or any other dish that requires cheese sauce. Grate it, add a splash Worcestershire sauce; pile it onto bread (doesn’t matter if it’s getting a bit stale) and grill it for a delicious Welsh Rarebit.

Buy a very cheap pizza and liven it up with extra tomato, grated cheese, leftover ham, sausage or pepperoni. Even better, make your own base.

Leftover onions or peppers can be chopped, sealed in bags and frozen. It's economical and time-saving. Next time a recipe calls for chopped onions, just get them out of the freezer.

Leftover puff pastry? Roll in cheese and make into cheese straws.

Leftover yogurt? Try adding it to Indian dishes. Apricot yogurt goes well in chicken korma, for example. They can also be added to a marinade. Experiment. Try cherry yogurt in a marinade for duck, for example.

Tomatoes going soft? Use them up in a pasta sauce.

If you have any tips or recipes, leave a comment.
Here, as promised is Sandra's recipe.


Sandra’s Bubble and Squeak
A bubble and squeak type dish is one of my favourite ways of using up quite a few of those left over bits and pieces lying in the fridge and my kids love it. Use left over mash potato or mash up some cold boiled spuds. I have even mixed in some mashed up cold roast potatoes but if you do this, blot them first to get rid of as much oil as you can. Finely chop any leftover cooked veg you have – cabbage is traditional but I use anything I have left from Sunday lunch, like carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, broccoli or peas. I quite often have half a wilting onion lying in the bottom of the salad drawer so I finely chop that and cook it. In fact, you can use any odds of ends of raw veg as long as you finely chop or grate it and cook it first. It doesn’t matter if the veg has seen better days, it will all plump up in the cooking. You can also throw in any finely chopped cooked meat or cooked fish you have or you could fry off some bacon to go with it. If you have any dried cheese, grate it up and mix it in. I never worry about the proportions – sometimes it’s very veggie and sometimes very potatoey; sometimes very cheesy and sometimes with no cheese at all!! Form it into separate patties or one big round “cake” and fry in a little oil. With the addition of a poached egg and a nice salad or more veg, it makes a lovely Monday night meal.

How To Save £1,500 A Year

ONE-THIRD of all food bought in the UK ends up being thrown away. So if you spend £90 a week on food for your family, that’s £30 you are throwing in the bin… or £1,500 a year… or the price of new small car in four years.
When I heard that statistic my first reaction was to start making a list of all the things I could do with an extra £1,500 year, from the sensible, like paying off part of the mortgage, to the frivolous. Think how many pairs of shoes I could buy with £1,500 or, even better, how many bottles of red wine.
My second reaction was horror. Surely, I don’t throw away that much food. But then I took a look in my fridge and saw there were several things in there we were never going to eat – half a limp lettuce, soft and wrinkled carrots and peppers, some prawns in a Tupperware box, a chicken carcase with meat left on it and quarter of a jar of pasta sauce – all destined for the bin. In the fruit bowl were a couple of wrinkled apples and a dried up orange.

Another statistic: If we stopped wasting food it would have the same effect on carbon emissions as taking one in five cars off the road in the UK - because all that food has been treated, packaged and transported.

I have now taken a long, hard look at my shopping habits and I’m ashamed to say that I’m totally disorganised. I rush around the supermarket in my lunch hour, grabbing whatever takes my fancy, snapping up the Buy One Get One Free or Three for the Price of Two bargains and throwing fruit and veg in the trolley as if we were on the verge of a famine.

Another statistic: 40% (by weight) of the food thrown away is fruit and vegetables, which means we are either buying far too much to begin with and/or we are not storing it properly. In the UK we throw away 179,000 tonnes of apples every year.

I don’t know about you but I like to keep several pieces of fruit in a bowl in the kitchen. But I have now discovered that you shouldn’t store apples at room temperature. It’s far better to keep them in the fridge in a loosely tied plastic bag. This will help stop them shriveling up. You can take them out and put them in the fruit bowl to bring them to room temperature prior to eating.
My discovery about apples led me to do some more research and come up with some tips for storing fruit and veg so you don’t have to throw so much away.

Carrots should be kept in the fridge in a closed plastic bag with air perforations or peeled and submerged in water.
Putting tomatoes in the fridge makes the inside watery and shortens their shelf life. Keep them in a cool, dark place.
All leafy greens have high water content so they wilt easily. To ensure they stay fresh as long as possible, wash and dry them thoroughly. Rip the leaves into bite-sized pieces and put them in the fridge in a sealed plastic container with a tea towel or some paper towel to absorb excess moisture.
Broccoli will keep for up to a couple of weeks if you store it like a bouquet of flowers in the fridge. Cut about an inch off the stem right away and plunk it down in container filled with water - only submerging the stem. Change the water every couple of days and if the base of the stem seems a little slimy, just give it a new cut. Broccoli can also be kept in a plastic bag.
Store your potatoes in a cool, dark place. If you leave them exposed to light, they will turn a greenish colour. This greenish colour is called selenium and is toxic. Do not refrigerate, instead store in a cool, dark place with good air circulation. Potatoes can stay for a week or two at room temperature with good results.
Onions should be kept just below room temperature in a very dry place. Yellow and white onions tend to have a longer storage life than red onions. Never put onions in plastic bags. You can cut off a leg of an old pair of tights, put your onions in there and hang them in the garden shed.
Mushrooms should be kept in paper bags in the refrigerator. Plastic bags cause them to go mushy.
When storing celery, wrap it in aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator. It will keep for weeks.
Store cauliflower in a plastic bag in the refrigerator with the stem portion down.
Trim asparagus (I know they’re not the cheapest vegetable, but someone may give you some!) and stand upright in one inch of water.
Bananas should be kept separately from other fruit as they make surrounding fruit ripen faster and possibly spoil. However, if you need to ripen fruit such as hard peaches, store them with bananas. They are best at room temperature and shouldn’t be kept in the fridge.

Warning: Do not put ripe fruits together with vegetables in the salad compartment. Many ripe fruits produce ethylene gas, which causes yellowing of green vegetables, brown patches on lettuce, toughening of asparagus and a bitter taste in carrots.
Here are a few general tips to cut wastage.

• Line the bottom of the salad drawer in the fridge with newspaper or paper towels to help keep vegetables fresh for longer.


• Always look at the “best before” date on produce. A lot of food is wasted because it goes off before we have time to eat it.


• When shopping, take items from the back of the shelf; they often have a longer expiry date. On the other hand some food items may be on special offer because the expiry date is soon. As long as you are eating it soon, it can be another way to save money.
  

I’m sure many of you will have your own tips for storing food and avoiding waste. If you do, I’d love to hear them. Just leave a comment on this blog.
In my next blog I will look at some ideas for using up left-overs. If you have any good recipes or tips, let me know.

Final statistic: 6.7 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK every year.

When so many people in the world are starving, this is obscene.