** Debtbusting, Decluttering and Married life by Mrs Orange Fairy :-) **

OrangeFairy

Just looked back at my last post!! What a mammoth post!!

Today i have played my normal thursday badminton with my bestfriend. Two games all!! We went out for lunch after so i spent £7. Though this is the last thursday we can do it until September with me working fulltime for 3 weeks and then the school hols! Hoping to meet up an evening a week to play if we can arrange it.

Took the girls to swimming club tonight with my Mum. Showered them and washed their hair in the showers there to save my water!

Spent some time printing photos to fill frames we have about the house! I'm sick of staring at the random people the frame makers put in them!! Nice to see some wedding photos around. Getting through my to do list of paperwork on the computer desk. All the frames were piled up on there so thats one job done.

We got an experience day from a set of friends for our wedding. Need to sit down with OH and choose one of the couples activities to do :-) They had a helicoptor ride which would have been awesome but it was only a 5 minute ride - no joke! Hardly worth it!!

Cooked a biggish lamb casserole in the slow cooker today. Not a cheap meat but i had a lamb casserole sachet to use. Meal probably cost about £8 to make. Hoping to stretch it out to serve us both and then have another single meal to freeze! About £2.66 a portion this way. Also saved money on it being cooked in a slow cooker

Though the expensive meals get evened out i suppose. Quorn chicken burgers are 2 packs for £2 at the mo making them 25p a burger! I love them. With a roll and a third of a can of beans makes it about a 70p meal per person!

Off to clear up and get the kids homework done.

xxx

OrangeFairy

Evening all

Good news is that the Lamb casserole easily stretched to 4 portions so 2 portions freezed for another meal for us both. Takes it down to costing £2 per portion which is better!

Had a lovely day. Only worked 4 hours!! :jDD1's school assembly this morning from 10 till 11 and so i work about 11.15 till 3 when i left work to go to the School Summer Fayre! Summer Fayre is a bit of a crappy name as it rained but it was still good. I made cakes last night for the cake sale. Kept 5 cakes at home. Reminded me i want to look into cheap snacks such as biscuits and cakes etc i can make at home.

Found a little gift at the fayre to put in my work collegues wedding card. We agreed no gifts as our weddings were 8 weeks apart and we were both asking for money so it seemed pointless. At the summer fayre there was the fused glass lady i know (OH and i want to do a workshop with her) and we bought a little clear glass rectangle about 5cm by 3cm with a red fused heart in the middle. Just a little thing to put in their card - £3 so a nice price. - very tempted to keep it myself though and buy another one for the wedding!

Spent about £15 at the fayre which wasnt great but all money towards the school. The kids played some things and had an ice cream and a hotdog. So dinner included really in that as they didnt want anything when they got home

Looking after my niece tonight. She is 6 months and is good as good - my bro and sis in law do not know how lucky they are. Though i some how seem to have had her for one weekend night for 3 weeks in a row. I like helping out but they kinda know i never say no!! She is extremely easy but still a baby so it is time consuming. I enjoy it but will have to say no for one evening soon just so they dont take it for granted that i always say yes. When they started doing up their house i had her a lot of weekends from about 9/10am and they wouldnt collect her until 7pm or later!! They were long days - started to annoy me though when i found out that sometimes they never even started work on the house until about 1 in the afternoon!!! So what they were doing all morning i dont know - slightly taking the mick. I absolutely adore my niece and enjoy looking after her but i dont want to be taken advantage of!

Mini rant over. My niece has been gorgeous this evening. Laughing and giggling - bottle fed and straight into her travel cot fast asleep at 8.30pm. She is a star!

Not much in the way of plans for tomorrow. Perhaps have a look at budgets meals, and my 101 list. Ballet for the girls so up and down to the village all day!

Diet hasnt gone so well today. I have been good all week but have pizza tonight :eek:

Right off to look at the shorters club webiste - some one pointed me to it and i am off to look at wholesale grocery bulk buys to save money!!

xx

OrangeFairy

Its the weekend!!!

Not a very MSE morning.

Spent £1.50 on cupcakes at a stall by the ballet class for DD2 this morning. Though the money goes towards the cost of the outfit for the show they are putting on in October - so for a good cause.

Then we went food shopping. Got Mr T's 4 for £12 on meat which is a good deal.
Beef steak - 5 pieces - will do fajitas for tonight
Pork Loin steaks - 5 pieces - one meal for me and 2 meals for OH (he eats on his own on a monday)
Turkey steaks - same as above
Mincemeat- 800g - this does 6 meals for the kids for spag bog which is 50p a meal between 2 of them! Not bad. Need to divide it up and freeze it in portions

Spent £36 at Mr T's - need to divide it up as some of it is for July's grocery spend.

Paid £25 to ballet for DD1's outfit for their show Another 2 classes they will be asking for now

Money situation is not great.

Due to paying for about £100 in shopping over the last couple of weeks i only have £80 left in my account and a ballet cheque ready to come out for £235.00. Hopefully child benefit will go in on monday and i can move £20 from the clubs account into there to cover it. If not the cheque will bounce

Went to the farmers market today. Spent a naughty £3 on 6 chorizo sausages!! They are gorgeous (this was before i checked my account) and so at £1 a portion of 2 sausages each they will make a slightly more expensive meal but worth it. Ill have baked beans on toast the night after!! Talking of which i managed to get branston beans finally on the BOGOF offer for £1.57 Makes them 19p a tin!!

Ham, egg and beans for dinner one night is 58p meal and one of my faves! May go and get some more on payday - infact i think OH is paid today so he can get some!

DD2 wants the computer and i need a cup of tea!

OrangeFairy

Just cleaned out and tidied up two of our main food cupboards .

Will definitely build up a meal plan around our cupboards. Not so much to save money as we havent got tonnes of food but to declutter a bit! I have sachets of hot and spicy marinade, cajun chicken, lasagne sheets etc that have been there ages.

I wonder if there is a meal that is 80% parsley!! :rotfl::rotfl: I have two nearly full spice jars of parsley for some reason!!

Need to sort out the fridge and make a detailed inventory of everything we have in pencil so i can update it!! Going to be strict with groceries this month!

Off to have fajitas followed by a cupcake and smirnoff ice while watching the grand prix qualifying in PJ's and a duvet with OH My perfect evening which is very MSE!

OrangeFairy

GGGGGRRRRR to sorting gas and electric prices!

Not sure whether to fix with EON or not. We will be about 8% worse off a year i reckon. But dont like the lingering doubt they will be screwing us over as their fixed prices are really not very good.

Perhaps i should just think about it as I am happy with the amount i pay now and an extra £6 a month may seem annoying but gives piece of mind!!

wendz86

Hi,

Sorry i haven't popped on in a while!

Your niece sounds like an angel! Could she give some tips to my LO!? Does sound like they are taking the mick with you looking after her though.

Sounds like you have had quite a lot of pay out for, hope it calms down.

Hope all is good with you.

OrangeFairy

Hello Wendz **waves**

I hope everything is good with you and your little lady

Hopefully the spending will calm down now.

Had a VERY MSE day yesterday. We went to Arlington Court which is an old Stately house with gardens and a carriage museum. We are members so it didnt cost us anything. We took a picnic and avoided the Cream Teas which is a huge achievement for me!!! We went with SIL and BIL and our baby Nephew. On the way out BIL bought some devon apple juice that i was going to get the kids so we didnt even pay out for the kids. Then back to MIL's for a BBQ and the kids went in the hot tub. Even showered the girls there so saved our water!! A VERY MSE day!

Today has been my only work day this week. I have exams on friday 9am and 2pm. So need this week to revise. Though want to take the kids out on thursday as they are off school with the strike

Bought some reduced meals in Mr C and noticed the healthy living curry sauce we like is on offer so will have to go back and get that!

Put money in my account to cover the cheque coming out! Pay day on Thursday!! Woohoo - good thing as i have about £3 to my name. OH has been paid though.

Ordered free tickets to the Renault World series today at Silverstone in August. Was thinking a nice weekend away to have with OH and perhaps also add in our experience day at the same time - just need to decide what to do first.

Right off to get ready for tomorrow. Need to go to Halifax to confirm our identities so we can complete our savings account registration to bank our wedding cheques!

OH got a £3 voucher from pinecone today - will help towards shopping!

Will be on tomorrow x

OrangeFairy

A fantastic morning here! The sun is shining.

After this post my plan for the day in pretty much this order is....

wash up and clean kitchen
put a wash on
Walk down to the village and post some returns back
Get a bus to town - cheaper than from my house
Meet OH and take proof of indetities in for our savings account
Pay in Wedding cheques to new account
Go for lunch with OH - he's buying
Off to college - would have driven in with my bro so wont need to contribute to parking
Dont buy a tea at college
Back for dinner from stores
kids homework, shower and bed
Put a loaf of bread on
Dinner from stores - some fish fillets in a tomato sauce - OH cooking
Sort paperwork
Inventory of food
Mealplan for friday onwards

Thats me for today!

My last proper lesson at college!!!! 3 years finished! WOuld look forward to tuesday to myself again but i have to work fulltime for 3 weeks so will need to wait for that!!

Fancy perhaps popping into Lidls as everyone keeps telling me about good bargains in there. It is always somewhere i have avoided!

3 days of revision and exams ahead Will look forward to friday evening - i think ill have a drink to unwind!!
Sandcastle competition this weekend - if it is nice i will take the kids along to that

Right better get on with my list!

Choc-addict

Hey you!

Just popping in to subscrible/catch up on reading your diary! You are so organised with your lists! I'm rubbish and so disorganised at times, OH says that sometimes it's like living in a whirlwind i.e. there is a trace of me wherever I have been in the house....oops

Have subscribed now so can catch up more often! xx

OrangeFairy

Helloooooooooo Choc!

I am not always great at finishing my lists but i try my hardest!!

I havent been on for a few day as i have been revising for todays exams. I had one at 9am and one at 2pm. So i stayed at colege inbetween to revise. I think they went okay. A lot of unclear true/false questions though which was annoying

Not much has happened over the last few days

OH found a glitch at sainsburys and got 2 gorgeous pieces of gammon, chicken en croute, 2 packs of goose fat roast potatoes, one pack of cheesy pots, a tower of profiteroles, two big sticky toffee puddings and 3 bottles of wine for £11!!!!! The meat is meant to be £4 a pack. He reciept said - £55 total reductions £44!!! Awesome

Had to use up some beef yesterday so made a huge beef casserole/stew in the slow cooker over night! Will give us two meals for both of us. Our freezer is actaully full to the brim at the moment as is the fridge!

Did my meal plan for the WHOLE of July. We have enought to cover every dinner for the month. With exception of dairy bits and veg. But the actual main meat part of the meals. We have only spent about £50 i think. A frugal July i hope.

Had an MSE day yesterday. I was revising but Mum said about going to the beach and revising there. The kids were off school with this strike. So mum picked us up and took us to the beach. She has a parking pass. Took some lunch so we didnt spend a penny and i felt like the kids had a great day.

Going to sit down with the Tennis now and have a cup of tea. Need to get on with some housework as it has been neglected for a few days but i just fancying sitting down for 5 mins!

Will catch up later x