overwhelmed new member

Coco114

So good things .....
Have taken lunch to work every day since beg Jan (apart from one subway we won't mention ) Very pleased with that :T

More value own brand Mr T things we like :

Value Pitta Bread
Value flour
Value Cooking Lard
Value peppers
Value carrots
Value pancakes
Value Marj (for cooking & baking)
Value sugar

Gradually replacing things bit by bit

Need to pick up stuff to make chocolate crispies & flapjacks etc

Nothing else exciting to report today. Awful nights sleep last night so really tired today - hopefully I will sleep better tonight.

Coco x

Katzen

Hi coco, sorry you've been feeling rotten. Hope it gets better, maybe you just need some brighter weather. And thanks for the tip on value sugar- I didn't even know there was such a thing but I guess they put it high up so you spot the trigger brand and don't look any further. I realised I'd been a sucker for that with eggs. Always going for the own brand free range in green boxes then this week I looked around the shelves for once and found a grey box of 18 free range eggs for only a few pence more than the green box 12! And with a longer date on them. Can't remember exact price of boxes but the per egg price was 16p vs 24p so quite a lot cheaper. Didn't think I'd struggle to eat them all in 3weeks but then friend gave me another 6from her hens-cue boiled eggs in lunchbox :rotfl:

Coco114

Thanks Katzen - feeling a bit better now

Good job you like eggs then really I am trying value stuff all the time ! Bought large bottle of value baby bath (can't remember exactly but about 40p I think ) and filled the hand soap dispensers up about four times ... Bargain

Whilst I haven't done much this evening - I have spent the evening reading the old style boards & grocery challenges etc ... So kind of productive

vasseur

If it's any consolation I think a lot of people are feeling low at the moment - even more than usual for this time of year. I have perked up a bit but I am amazed it's taken me the whole of january to cheer up

I love the value ranges. Feel so empowered buying them and then looking into other people's trollies and seeing all the branded goods that taste exactly the same. The only thing I don't compromise on is fabric conditioner.

maganan

Hi coco,

glad your feeling on the up again! Know that January feeling its horrible and there was so much month left before payday! the snow was beautiful but just made me want to go skiing! clearly not an option currently

Anyway in a bid to stave off the January blues I've followed your lead and done some de-cluttering (ebay selling :rotfl:) and have currently made around £20!!!! More importantly I've written a wish list of stuff I want to get for the house/the boys/me from any extra cash. Granted it should all go off debt but I've got more than two years til I'm debt free and we NEED to live too! Currently the list comprises:

Carpet for stairs and landing
Getting the stairs hall and landing decorated (professionally!)
New internet router (connection keeps dropping but it is 8yrs old!)
New bathroom (pie in the sky!)
New beds esp for the boys
Laptop (this one is dying!)
Nice skin care (for me but only a bit just this once!)
New kettle (the switch is playing up but still works so tea still available!)

Obviously any big windfall/lottery win (daydream) etc would go off debt! This is more about a little saved here and there, any eb@y sales, surveys and the odd extra shift at work etc.

I know most of these are just pipe dreams but when I'm thinking lets buy X treat when I'm shopping it gives me a bit of a push.................I'd so love to pay to have someone decorate for me (I am so bad at glossing wood )

Good luck in 2013 (sorry I'm a bit late with Happy New Year!)

K x

Coco114

Thanks Poles & Mag
Feeling a bit better today , no point in feeling sorry for myself it gets me nowhere fast !!!

Tried value potatoes earlier (they had huuugggee bags of normal and I only wanted a few) with a drizzle of oil & salt/pepper they were lovely, so another switch :T

Read through grocery budget thread yesterday ... Wow some people manage to eat so well on so little (Poles you spring to mind here ) This is still my downfall - I have been saying this for months!! This is my Feb challenge to sort this out. Even by switching 10 or so items to value last week saved me ££ so I must continue with this

Right , should really go to bed ! Early meeting tomorrow - unfortunately .... My brain has just woken up lol.

Thanks again girls

C x

Mr_Toad

Evening Coco.

Sorry to hear you've been feeling low. Happy to hear you're feeling better.

I've had a hell of day at work, non stop busy but very productive.

I decided to unwind in the kitchen by making a huge pan of curry for the freezer. I got it all on the go then bunged it in the oven on a low light and beetled off to the pub to meet the usual suspects and sample some of Norman's finest. I've just got back

A good evening, the old gits were in fine form, last week it was the cold and snow and what it was doing to the allotments, this week it's the rain, everything is soggy and waterlogged. They're never happier than when they have something to complain about.

I mentioned the curry because you were talking about the food budget. I've got loads of meals for very little, very satisfying.

The curry is chicken, I bought a yellow label large chicken and a load of value tomatoes and onions etc. I also picked up two packs of yellow label chillies, which is why it was curry and not casserole. I've got eight large takeaway containers of chicken curry for under a tenner.

I like the value veg, the only difference as far as I can tell is that it isn't all the same size or shape. I can live with that. :T

I also got a bag full of what was labeled off cuts of fillet steak for £3.45. There was a load in there mostly the thin end of the fillet but I'm going to cut it up anyway and make stroganoff with it for supper tomorrow.

Right, time for bed. Night all.

MoneyMission

Hey Coco. Glad you're on the up. Sainsbo's basics are fab. Esp their cleaning stuff. And the cornflakes in a bag at 39p are bargain-tastic. Saw my first snowflakes in the garden today - that means spring is coming.

Coco114

Thanks guys I hope everyone is well ?

Boys wanted fish & chips tonight and is cheap enough so off I went. Whilst waiting I was reading the paper on the counter and there was a £5 off £40 shop voucher so I "borrowed" it
May wander in on Sunday morning and buy rice , pasta etc.

Friday already tomorrow !!!! And we are into February :T

Priced up my car insurane on a comparison price site today - it came in £100 cheaper than last year That's because I have renewed with the same company for years and never shopped around !! Even if the price jumps as predicted , it will still be cheaper than last year

Right , going to finish watching superscrimpers (:D) and then a 30 min blitz !

Coco x

vasseur

Food shop tip - meal plan, go with a list (write it out in the order you would come to things in the shop) and batch cook.