50p a day til christmas, healthily?!-Weezl's next challenge (part 2)

BASHFUL_2

big hug to you munchki x

weezl74

Dear all,

Happy new year!

With big apologies and hanging my head in shame, I realised thanks to a prompt from the lovely ISOM, that it's gotten way past the end of my challenge and I haven't let you all know how it's gone! :eek:A bit like following a very long blockbuster film and then realising your VCR has chopped off the last 5 mins! Grrrr. Sorry about that, let me now try to remedy that!;)

We did manage to not overspend up til Christmas eve, and then had to get a lot of stuff in due to having at least 3 visitors for 14 out of the next 17 days. (not really lentil lovers any of them!) We also used my asda card to stockpile at least a half year's supply of porridge, rice, pasta tins etc.... but haven't touched it yet.:D

I feel I've managed to keep us both healthyish within the bounds of this challenge, even thought Mr Weezl has occasionally been a bit skinnier than he ought! He has also missed out on a few more treats than he'd like, poor love!:o

My weight is a poor judge of how healthy I've been, as it's pretty massive at the moment, having gained about 2 stone (think this is pretty ok for 7.5 months pregnant tho!) but other signs show that the diet we've been on has been ok, my blood pressure is a reassuringly healthy 110/70, and I've been spared a lot of pregnancy and diet related problems so I think it bodes well!

Also on the plus side, we've reassured ourselves that even if it is hard for me to return to my previous work for whatever reason post-Fergus, we know we can survive on one income. Indeed, that was the purpose of this challenge...


Things I think will stay with us:

• Home-made bread, shop-bought is now very odd-tasing to us both, and twice the price, even for the value squidgy kind.
• Batch cooking: takes the same amount of time, but does us for 11 nights rather than one! Good ole slo-cooker.
  
• Home-made treats like ice cream, gone are the days when Ben and Jerry extorted us out of £3.50 for an evening's pud.
  
• Shopping in line with what's cheap, rather than what we fancy.
• Being mostly vegetarian, with hints of meat, rather than basing a meal around a huge hunk of meat...

Things I don't think we'll ever persue again:

• Powdered milk (not now we get it to be 19p a pint for the let down kind!).
  
• Pig's brains (in any form) but I might roast a head again one day when not pregnant...
  
• Certain types of veg growing once I'd factored in all my spends (very pricy beetroot this year!).
• I just asked Mr Weezl this question, thinking he'd add more to the list, but bless him, he thinks it's all been great!!!

Things I wish I'd known when I started:

• How tiring pregnancy plus work, plus being frugal, plus writing about it would be, and that something would have to give (sadly often this thread, and it's fab sense of community).
  
• How a climate of rising food inflation would make such a tough budget almost tear-jerkingly hard!:rolleyes: I think I was the only person in the uk to have such an extreme reaction to rice doubling in price!:o
  
• How deciding to learn amateur pig head butchering at 6 weeks pregnant is a recipe for a life long-phobia of pork pies!
  
• How unexpectedly friendly and supportive and loving a bunch of virtual strangers can be.;):D

I think it feels unrealistic for me to commit to posting as frequently as I used to, and so, although I do miss this thread and it's companionship, I really don't mind if we continue our chats in other spaces until my geeky brain can recover and come up with a new mad challenge!

I'd like to end by saying how grateful I am for every lurker, ex-lurker and frequent poster of you. For all the friendship, tips and support. You're all amazing :A, and I really hope our paths cross frequently on other parts of MSE. We've spent the same amount this last year on groceries than we sometimes used to spend in a month, :eek:and it's very liberating to know that this is possible...

With very much love to all of you, and hoping we stay in touch in some form,

And for all your frugal challenges for 2009, may I wish you as much motivational support as I've been priviledged to have here. :T:T:T:T:T:T

Weezl xxxx

clutterydrawer

Thanks for that, it's nice to see how it worked out. I have been reading this thread on and off and it's great to see jsut how cheaply it can be done, and has helped me cut my own food bill.

I'm afraid I haven't read it all as it's grown rather long - have you posted a sample week's menu anywhere? Would love to see it if you have

jtb2412

Weezl, am lost for words here ....... can only think of two at the moment ..... THANK YOU ! xx

No doubt our paths will cross again but for now I'll wish you all the very best for 2009 and i'll be excitedly waiting for news of little fergus in the not too distant future ! :j

Thank you again, you've been a real inspiration and it's been a real pleasure being part of this thread (even if it was for only a few weeks !)

xxxxxxxx

savingmore

ooh thanks for the update weazel....what does this mean for this thread, it would be a shame to end it, will you come on now and again to update and to find out how you are doing and how much you are spending, i would certainly appreciate that...have really enjoyed lurking on your thread and being inspired by how you have managed to eat for so little, it does indeed show what can be done with inspiration and hard work and resourcefulness....good luck with the rest of the pregnancy and the birth and tht wonderful moment of holding your baby for the first time...priceless....

BASHFUL_2

Weezl...great speech.

I would also like to say a big thank you. Not only have you changed my spending habits but you have also made me think about food a lot differently. However I am finding it hard at 21 weeks pregnant to be good. My hat is well and truly taken off to you!!! I wish you all the best for the future, and wish you all the best with Fergus.

Thankyou to everyone for all the great recipes and for being so great.

All the very best to all of you for the future and I hope to get chatting to you all again x x x

Plum_Pie

*sob*

*hugs*


As I've said, I think, if the mod permit, that we should start a new thread, a new challenge for the new year, in the spirit of Weezl, for people aiming to seriously cut their food bill to a minimum.

BASHFUL_2

Weezl...great speech.

I would also like to say a big thank you. Not only have you changed my spending habits but you have also made me think about food a lot differently. However I am finding it hard at 21 weeks pregnant to be good. My hat is well and truly taken off to you!!! I wish you all the best for the future, and wish you all the best with Fergus.

Thankyou to everyone for all the great recipes and for being so great.

All the very best to all of you for the future and I hope to get chatting to you all again x x x

In_Search_Of_Me

aww me lovely weezl....I have possibly been the worst weezilites being unable to step into any supermarket without spending at least 50 quid but feel I've been the luckiest cos I get t be friends with a weezl and acetate monkey - priveledgaous indeed! And dont forget dear readers that there be a Fergus on the way! He's definately in there (either that or weezl ate all the pork pies!!) and his surrogate auntie will be around with lots of hugs etc when he arrives and a baby shower at some stage between now and labor day!! Those still wanting to contribute please pm me and we'll sort the baby shower!
I for one hope people will continue to contribute frugal recipes, chat and say hello etc here and hope the mods will allow us to continue posting. While the formal challenge is over I hope that the friendships that have been forged will be allowed to continue here ...feels right to have weezlesque discussions at "home"...and still pop in for a friendly chat and a cuppa as you would at a friends house...
I also intend that there will be some further adventures (not of the pig head variety lol!!) in the future and theres pleanty of space for forraging, wine making, baby things etc in the months to come but first out weezl will need to get to grips with being a mummy weezl me thinks!! hugs to all - its been a blast!!

boredofbeingathome

Well in that spirit ISOM, you should start up a Weezl and ISOM adventure thread..a la hairy biker style.

Good luck with the rest of your frugal pregnancy Weezl. We do want piccies of baby Fergus, hope you don't forget. xx