Fire Fox's Debt-Free in 2009 Diary

Fire_Fox

Having decided in the middle of the night on Sunday that we'd use the heating less now it's February ... it snows. :rolleyes: The heating has been on for two hours this afternoon and will be on again later this evening! And I spent twenty minutes on my mobile phone to A&L trying to get my new card activated, spell check my address and get a new PIN for net and phone banking (locked myself out again ).

Doing well on food tho: Sunday we both had leftover Chinese takeaway, then later I had leftover spaghetti carbonara and Mr. Fire Fox had leftover roast lamb and potatoes. This is :eek: because Mr. Fire Fox will not normally reheat anything ... well he is a chef! Then yesterday not-particularly-nice sausages with baked beans, hash browns and on-the-turn mushrooms.

In the oven now we have a turkey drumstick roasting away with a quartered red onion, carrot batons, celery sticks, some fresh lemon thyme and vegetable stock powder. And have just found in the freezer some Aunt Bessie's stuffing balls that I bought on a special offer - might jazz up and stretch the turkey drumstick still further? :T

Fire_Fox

Just got the letter confirming my flat has been rebanded for council tax from a B to an A!!
:j:j:j

We won't get much of a rebate, as I have been a student for all bar three months of the time I have lived here. Mr. Fire Fox is very behind on the council tax anyway as we have had multiple incorrect bills, but this will reduce the repayments.

Fire_Fox

Yesterday spent £15 in Morrisons on two bottles of wine and a reduced organic chicken. Tomorrow is the big supermarket shop, and considering going to Morrison's for a change from Asda.

Today's post brought a statement from my L&G ISA containing the princely sum of £50 ... plus £2.27 increase in just two weeks!

It also says "The high profile bankruptcies in 1997 triggered high savings levels that remain today. As a result, many Japanese banks are awash with cash rather than highly indebted like their peers in the West." :eek:

Fire_Fox

The Morrison's shop was £120 including a taxi home :eek: ... expensive items were
£10.50 on a rib of beef
£5.20 on half a leg of lamb
£3.20 on two fresh trout
£4.50 on two packs of 'Best' sausages (offer)
£3.50 on two packs of lean pork mince
£3.40 on two packs of cheese
£2.20 on 'Best' pork belly meal (reduced from £6)
£2.50 on large pack of mixed veg
£12 on three bottles of wine (offer)
£4 on eight pints of milk
£3 on two packs of cereal bars (offer)
£6 on six packs of dark chocolate
£2 on a large Toblerone (offer)
£4.50 on healthy savoury snacks/ crisps
£2.60 on massive variety pack of Walkers (offer)
£3.50 on men's toiletries
£3.40 on tweezers (lost mine!)
£2.70 on gym socks.

So an awful lot spent on meat - which looked sooo much better than Asda or Tesco - but we have two weeks of evening meals, plus leftovers for my lunches. And an awful lot on junk food again ... All my fault for taking Mr. Fire Fox and for getting over-exited in a new shop!!

Fire_Fox

Thursday went to Lidl to get an plug-in energy meter (£7) and came back with an electric pepper mill (£5), vacuum wine stopper (£4) and a weighted door stop (£3). Had to buy a new weekly travel pass (£17) in order to get there ... :rolleyes:

Went out again today for a new loaf tin as the non-stick on ours flaked: settled upon TK Maxx as I have a gift card from ages ago. Nipped into Aldi and came out with a ski/ running sweater (£6), then to TK Maxx for the loaf tin (£4) and found one of such sturdy construction that I also bought a baking tray (£6) and lasagne dish (£5) from the same range. And I forgot to use the gift card!

I don't even consider myself much of a shopaholic these days.:rotfl:

Fire_Fox

Just noticed my thread has had over 1000 views! Sorry it's so boring guys. Please, please post a comment - constructive criticism or just plain hello - otherwise it will probably always be this dull!

Sitting here feeling just a little teensy bit pleased with myself cos I have three gorgeous white roses in a white china vase on my white coffee table, a glass of wine by my side, pork meatloaf and jacket potatoes in the oven. Not sure what it will taste like as I usually use turkey mince and I have run out of tomato puree. Smartprice onions, mushrooms, potatoes and bacon. A little over £3 on all the meat so I need to make sure I there are leftovers for my lunch.

:money:

Fire_Fox

Done four extra hours at work on Wednesday and two today, so will eventually mean another £30 in my wage packet. Every little helps! But went on a major bender on Wednesday evening, wasting at least £20 on alcohol. :mad:

Need to go to Asda this weekend, a new travel pass, some cinema tickets for my dad's birthday next week, and possibly some electrical bits'n'bobs as I would like my dad to fit a new double socket in the kitchen when he comes to install my induction hob.

Fire_Fox

Been to Asda, £86 including taxi home. Expensive items were

Two bottles of wine £10 (offer)
Large jar of Hellmans £2.50
Two packs of nuts £3.50
Six packs of dark chocolate £6.60
Frozen southern fried chicken £3.50
Frozen extra special breaded cod £3
Fresh mackerel £2.75
Two packs of meatballs £4 (offer)
Two whole British chickens £4 (offer)
Four individual meat pies £4 (offer)
Two packs of healthy cheese £3.80
Two packs of organic cheese £3 (offer)
Large bag of red grapes £2

The bad news is I didn't get several items on the list - bananas, orange squash, crisps or deodorant for Mr. Fire Fox so another £10 to spend. :mad: Good news is that the chickens will do loads of meals, and we still have a leg of lamb, pork belly, pork mince, sausages and mixed fish left in the freezer. :T

Fire_Fox

Dinner was yummy - meatballs with Smartprice onions/ yellow pepper/ mushrooms (all on the turn) roasted in the oven and served with French bread (reduced to 10p). Loving my new TK Maxx bakeware, it washes up like a dream! For pudding a gorgeous cherry pie (reduced to £1). The chickens have been hacked up and frozen as two lots of two breasts, one pack of four legs for slow cooking, and one pack containing two carcasses and the wings for soup. :T

I really fancy a Cooks Essentials quick cooker to do my stock in as I don't really like the smell and the steam all over my flat for hours on end. Need a new large saucepan anyway, as mine is not suited to the new induction hob (my smaller saucepans are, luckily!). Also need a new wok for the same reason, but contemplating a non-stick frying pan with lid instead for more versatility.

Fire_Fox

Another very drunken night has added £10 to my entertainment budget. Lucky I live in a very cheap city! :rotfl:

The postie brought my Moneywise magazine subscription, and £3 of luncheon vouchers from Pinecone!! :j I'm not generally doing too well at the survey thing, having trouble accessing Valued Opinions, and rarely seem to qualify for Ipsos. YouGov are almost all prize draw entries; at the current rate it will take four years to get my first payout!