We have this version of a portable barbecue which we got for £5 at a garage sale a few years ago. Homebase have cheap barbecues for under £10 and now is the time of year to pick up a bargain as stockists try to clear stock for the incoming Autumn ranges. Before we got it we managed quite well with a few bricks and the metal shelf from the oven balanced on top, this is still MasterShoestring's favourite method of cooking sausages when friends come over !
It was such a lovely evening on Sunday that Master and MissShoestring decided that they would like to treat us to a barbecue, this is something we don't often have as I find the costs soon mount up so it's something we tend to save for a special occasion. However, on this occasion they managed quite cheaply, so I thought that I would show you how !
First, they used charcoal which we had stockpiled from last year's clearance. So instead of £5.50 a bag it was £2.50 and they used half a bag. They used free newspapers to get it going so no cost there. They used rosemary from the garden as skewers and used vegetables from the garden to make kebabs at zero cost. The salad was from the garden too. Homemade rolls and ketchup and onions we already had so again no cost . They did buy a packet of sausages and a tub of potato salad and one of coleslaw. We could also have made these things but they wanted the convenience as they thought they would be very busy looking after the barbecue.
All told they spent £1.25 on charcoal, £1.50 on sausages, 35p on the potato salad and 25p on the coleslaw making a total, including the charcoal of £3.35. It was a feast for under a fiver ! So I think we might barbecue again and watch out for some more charcoal for next year !
That sounds fun as well as thrifty. Your kids are obviously learning from your examples. I hope it was enjoyable.
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