Fresh as a daisy

Kittikins

£5 monthly reward from my bank account came in this morning and went straight to the challenge pot I don't reckon I'll make £2k at this rate, but every penny helps!

ILoveSaving

Thanks for the recipe idea, will try something with it tonight.

Kittikins

I've spent the grand sum of £11.45 today on food and household essentials, but hopefully we now have enough to see us through a good week of fruit and veggies.

I came home to a cheque for £5.90 from MusicMagpie and realised that my mobile bill is going to be over £6 less than I accounted for (I hold back £25 a month for it in case I go over my minutes etc), so both of those sums have gone into my savings challenge money on my signature. Hoorah! In reality I've not spent a bean, but as I'm keeping a track of 'extra' money wherever I can, I have, if that makes sense.....

As white bread was the cheapest and DD likes it as a treat (strange, I know), we'll have beans on toast for tea tonight, yum, as she'll be very happy to eat that. I need to make DD some biscuits or fairy cakes as her 'treat' in her packed lunch, but might do that with her when she gets home, as she likes pretending to be on "Junior Bakeoff"

I now have £212.64 to last me to the end of the month.

Kittikins

Cakes made
Beans on toast scoffed

Sold a book on ebay - hoorah! another £8.07 (minus postage costs) for the pot soon

Kittikins

£6.84 profit on the book after postage
Paid the MM cheque into the bank

Challenge money now at £27.97.

Forced myself to bring lunch in to the office even though I was feeling lazy, think I need to make it the night before when preparing dinner, so I don't have the sluggishness in the morning and tell myself that I can just buy a sandwich, as they're never as nice as you want them to be!

J4mes

Just like to say keep up the good work, you're doing great!!:)

Especially impressed with the making food into different food skills- I've now had pasta with bolognese 3 out of the last 4 lunch/tea's, and I've still got loads left and no room in the freezer! oh dear!

Kittikins

Hi J4mes, nice to see you How about turning some of the bolognese sauce into a shepherd's pie or whatever its called, with mashed potato? Might make a nice change from pasta....or baked potato with the sauce on top?

I'm hungry now!

Tonight I think I'm going to make a yellow split pea curried soup, as I started soaking loads of peas last night, put the pan on with some onions and cumin and then got distracted by helping DD put her cake mixture into the cases and the onions burned, and I couldn't be bothered to start again. I don't want to waste the beans and if it doesn't turn out particularly nice as a soup, I'll thicken it up and call it dahl with rice and veggies

I'm trying to run down the cupboards before we move and not buy too many things, but DD and I do get through a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, possibly more than the "norm".

I'm pleased that my budget spreadsheet still shows that I have £214.86 to last me til payday, only 25 days to go!! January is such a cruel month.....

Kittikins

The decluttering has gone completely by the wayside in recent days I must get on with some more, but I think waiting for things to happen on the moving house front has demoralised me slightly and I cba to do more whilst the lawyers are asking silly questions here, there and everywhere. Hope the builder who comes over tomorrow doesn't cost too much (coming out of "house moving" budget so will still count as a NSD) to tell me that the guttering is fine.

Received a £5 M&S voucher to use next time I use my M&S credit card - which I would if I could remember the flipping PIN number! I'm not going to count it as savings challenge money until I spend it, and must call them to get a new PIN. Nice to get something for nothing though

Kittikins

Grrr, not a NSD day today, went supermarket shopping with a friend to keep her company and natter away inanely as is my wont, and ended up spending £11.69, some of which was wasteful spends, but on looking at the receipt again, most of it is good stuff, just not 100% essential for today. Oh well, I'll make up DD's sandwiches for next week

But in better news, the builder came and looked at the alleged problem brought up by the surveyor for the people buying my house and said there's absolutely nothing wrong - and he didn't charge me a bean for the privilege. Hoorah! I'd taken out £100 from my savings in case he had to get up to the guttering and clear it etc and didn't need it, so it can go back into the bank

I've finally got the yellow split pea soup/dahl on the go that I've been planning for a couple of days, I had a mild panic when I thought I'd lost the weight for the top of the pressure cooker already, but thankfully it was in the last place I would have thought of putting it, rather than in my usual hidey holes. It smells very yummy.

Kittikins

*Sob* OH just called and it took him 5 minutes to get upstairs to his bedroom and he's feeling pants, so tonight's anniversary celebration at a gig is off I'm going to go with my girly chum instead, not quite the same.....it got me thinking that this time last year he was able to cycle to and from my house (uphill all the way back), yet I can't remember the last time he's cycled at all. Bl**dy MS He sounded so sorry to be letting me down, he's not at all, I know he would be here with me if he could.

I guess today will be a spendy day as I'm off to the gig and will need to get drinks etc, as I can't give up the chance of having a night out, especially as DD is going to her best friends for a sleepover! I was thinking of staying at the friend's and being able to have a drink but at the moment, I'm not really in the mood.