Got to get a grip of this...

E2006

Gosh I hate June - its my most expensive month aside from December! We have x3 birthdays (one of them being DH), fathers day x3 and car tax due. We've also had a family wedding so needed a gift and spending money for that! Phew...pleased its over!

I haven't done a grocery shop this week. I've bought wraps, ham, milk and some bananas and apples and that's it! I'm going to decide each morning what's for dinner from what we have in, and then if needs be I will walk to the shops if we need any thing to go with it, but hopefully I will just be able to manage on what we already have. Tonight its Mr A fresh pizzas (from the freezer). Packed lunches are already made up ready for tomorrow from the ham and wraps and some left over bits of salad stuff from the freezer.

E2006

I've had a rummage in the fridge/freezer and for dinner tonight its chicken drumsticks, salad and buttery potatoes for the boys with crusty bread rolls. For me its mackerel marinated in chilli and garlic, with salad and potatoes. I don't have any tomatoes, but if I do without on the salad it will be a NSD today Going to see how long I can go without doing a big shop!

E2006

Another NSD yesterday and a LSD today. I'm off to aqua fit with LO which is only £1 whilst LO is under 12 months old. Exercise for me and entertainment for LO

Freezer rummaging for dinners is still going very well. I've had a look this morning and I easily have another 6 days worth of meals in there. Cant believe how well we're doing considering I haven't done a food shop this week!

E2006

I've had to relent and have done some grocery shopping over the weekend. I was down to only a pork joint and some Indian snacks left in the freezer. Some of DS's yogurts, milk and marg in the fridge, a few potatoes and some tinned toms in the cupboard! I'd used up all of the beans, pasta, cereal and bread and other staples such as those! I spent £28 but have enough for main meals to probably last until next payday (if I really s-t-r-e-t-c-h it!). I will need bread, milk, fruit and cold meat for pack ups next week but shouldn't need anything else (other than milk and nappies for LO) until payday - well that's the aim anyway! I spent some time yesterday making a full weeks worth of sandwiches for DS and DH which are now wrapped and in the freezer ready to be lifted out each morning. It worked out so much cheaper as I only used one pack of ham for each of them whereas usually a new one would be opened every other day for freshness! Providing I don't get any complaints I will keep doing this as it was so much easier this morning putting the packed lunches together.

On another note, DH and I have opened our first ever joint account (in 12 years together :eek:). There was no particular reason why we hadn't before now other than laziness really - what we did worked for us, and still does tbh. The new account is for a cheque we have that is in joint names, but we have also agreed to set up a standing order for £50 each to go in every month to build up some further savings. The good thing is, the account is totally separate to each of our current accounts being with another bank entirely, and we are therefore less likely to just dip in and out of it as we find we do with our linked online savings accounts. I cant wait to start filling the account up!

Im so amazed at how little Ive managed to spend over the last 2 weeks, and will definitely continue this and hopefully will manage to save even more than planned. To me, I'd rather have just enough food to eat but money in the bank, than cupboards and freezers bursting with food and an empty account, and I love to see an empty fridge at the end of the week as its means there's been no waste :money:

E2006

For the last few days I've been sweeping the odd pence from my two bank accounts (i.e. the 74p from £5.74 for example) into a savings account. I have £3.94 within a matter of days! Of just odd change! I'm going to do it daily and then every Friday make it up to the nearest £5 if its under that. Over the course of a full year that's £260! I'm also going to get a sealed jar and put £5 out of the weekly housekeeping money in every Friday, and that's another £260 over the course of the year. I imagine DH will match that from his account, so that's £780 saved very painlessly which can be used for Christmas. I might even get £2 of saving stamps every week for Mr A too and that will be £104 saved to do a massive Christmas shop (for us anyway!). I'll start now, but obviously we're half way through the year so it will only amount to half of that - but will set the scene for how we will continue.

I need some baby milk today, and I cant believe this has never occurred to me before now, but I get extra points from boots as a result of being in their baby club. I have been buying the milk in Mr A when all along I should have been going there. Never mind, what's done is done and I will start this morning. The points on my card can be used for some Christmas pressies. I also need nappies but find that Al** ones are the best and the cheapest around . Its a lovely morning so Im going to walk into town to get the things I need after I've walked DS to school.

ETA: I managed to get a sealed savings tin for 39p in H.Bargains, and apparently you don't get advantage card points for baby milk! Grrrr

E2006

£10 to last us 11 days

Well I withdrew the last of our money until payday yesterday. After petrol money for next week, this is what we have left. I bought baby milk and nappies yesterday, but can see us getting low on milk towards the end of next week as our little guzzler gets through over a tub per week!
I *should* be able to stretch the main meal food we have in to the end of next week, but will need bread, meat and fruit for the pack ups as well as milk for cereal and cuppas. I think I will buy some crumpets from aldi as I have chocolate spread in the cupboard and that will make some breakfasts for DS and should help to eek out the cereal. I'm going to split and cook a pack of mince today and by adding veggies and red lentils, Im hoping to get a shepherds pie, lasagne and possibly 2 chilli's all from the one pack.

Yesterday was a NSD. Today will be a LSD as I will be going to my mummy's aquafit class which costs £1. Its the only thing I do for me at the minute so I'm going to go along (if I can muster the energy after the nightmare lack of sleep last night with little one, zzzzzz).

E2006

Payday on Friday, :jon one hand, :think: on the other......
We have a lot to pay for this month as we go on holiday on 20th August for 2 weeks. I want to buy the majority of what we need (inc insurance - now £100 with my new health condition, overnight hotel and parking £100, toiletries inc baby milk nappies and wipes and spending money (although wont need much as we are booked all inclusive)) out of my wages rather than the savings. I also have a birthday this month, a couple of nights away in mum and dads caravan and trying to occupy DS who breaks up from school on Friday.

The last couple of weeks we've managed really well without spending much or doing a big grocery shop. Surprisingly enough I've found we still have enough for evening meals the rest of this week and most of next week too with only needing to buy some potatoes and a small pack of beef mince to make what we have in last. The pre-made and frozen sandwiches have gone down well the last couple of weeks so I will definitely continue to do that as its not only easier, but also saves quite a bit of money. When I'm out and about with DS I will lift some out for lunch along with some other bits and bobs to make a bit of a picnic.

If I can manage to do everything we need to out of this months salary, because I get paid the day after we go away I will have saved 2 weeks of next weeks grocery and petrol budget by the time we come back which can go straight into the savings account!

E2006

I listed loads of things on ebay yesterday. I haven't sold stuff for ages because I need to sort out my pay pal account as its still in my maiden name, but decided to bite the bullet and get it listed up. I need to scan and email my marriage certificate etc to paypal today and hopefully my account will be sorted by the time the money is paid in. I have loads more stuff that I need to sell so need to get organised and prepared for the next time there's a free listing weekend.

I need to pop to the shops today for some bits for packed lunches tomorrow as the last bits were scrabbled together today. I have literally nothing left, no bread, and nothing to go in between it, no fruit whatsoever, in fact, my cupboards are bare :rotfl: Im just going to buy bread and meat and make a batch of sandwiches for the freezer, and some fruit and cheap yogurts. That will do the boys tomorrow and over the weekend and DH the beginning of next week.

I made a huge lasagne last night by bulking it out with red lentils etc. It was yummy and I had enough to make one for the freezer too :T Its cheap chicken curry tonight (one thigh roasted and stripped in Tesco value 26p curry sauce). If its nice then I will definitely buy some more for cheap dinners - the theme of the month!!

E2006

Pleased to report that most of my ebay listings sold. Some of them for a decent price, others for not so much, but I guess that's the name of the game. I made the mistake of listing about 15 things all at once though so it was a bit of a pain getting everything parcelled up and posted off (not to mention the cost of postage as all of the funds are sitting in my paypal account whilst the names being changed over) all at once so next time I will stagger the finishing dates.

I've had some very low spend days so far since DS finished school. We've spent 2 days at the beach with a picnic during the lovely weather, one day at the park again with a picnic and a couple of days with friends. We're off to mums caravan at the weekend for 5 days but that will be low spends as we will be taking sandwiches out for lunch and eating in for every other meal, the rest of this week will just be walks and visiting the park etc. I cant honestly believe how quickly the time is flying by!!