Cleggie's frugaltastic journey to financial freedom!!

PennyGrabber

I'm sorry to hear you're feeling rubbish now. That's the thing about being by yourself, you can't rely on another adult to take over. Not that mine ever did, quite frankly it's far easier without him!! If I was near you, I'd help out...

cleggie wrote: »

PG- thanks for your words of encouragement, it really means a lot to know i have people supporting me.x.

No problem at all! I have learned recently that if you know people are with you, it gives you strength to keep going. God knows, I've had enough people behind me, I'd like to feel I can help others too.

cleggie wrote: »

Am really getting into this MSE malarky, and actually starting to enjoy it now.

Yeah, it's addictive!! I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I started out in 2009, but this year has been much better, and I'm enjoying it too! I rarely spend over £20 in a sm now, whereas I could easily spend £40 on a 'topup' in the middle of the week before!! It's great to compare who you were with who you are now, and feel proud!

cleggie wrote: »

Have defrosted some bread rolls to have for lunch with tuna and mayo in

Need to write a list of things i need to stock up on, so that i can do a big shop on 23rd:

meat and fish
tinned tomatoes
Baked beans
Spag hoops
Frozen veg
Garlic bread
Stock cubes
Big pag of pasta
Big bag of rice
Frozen chopped garlic and ginger
Cat food
Squash- orange, apple
Washing up liquid
Fabric conditioner
Toilet rolls

I dont want to spend any more than £100 on this big shop, and will be doing it at @sd@ as they are the only people who deliver here! It wil have to keep us going for at least 3 months. By doing this big shop, i am hoping that i will significantly reduce my weekly shops. We'll see, its just experimenting to find out what works best for me at the moment.

As long as you know what you have in stock, there's no reason why it shouldn't work! A$da has corned beef, tuna, he1nz soups and he1nz spaghetti on offer at the moment, some of which is on your list. Other ideas for staples: bread flour (for pizzas), condiments (eg tom ketchup), cleaning stuff, stamps (as they go up 14p EACH on 30th April), tinned fruit, cereals if on offer, jars/packets of things.

Hope the system works for you; it should certainly take the pressure off the weekly shops. I don't know how you do it, having seen your SOA, so you're doing a really good job.

Take care, and hope you feel better soon,

PG x

rising_from_the_ashes

cleggie wrote: »

Not had any dinner as i am feeling very sick
My older son only wanted soup for dinner as he is feeling sick too.
My younger son seems to be over his sickness and diarrea but still isnt eating much.

Ohhhhh ((((hugs)))) Cleggie hope you and older DS haven't caught what younger DS has had - hope you all feel better soon.

Don't think I'll be long in bed either - drive to Lockerbie on Thursday has caught up with me today and I'm flagging already:o

cleggie wrote: »

Am really getting into this MSE malarky, and actually starting to enjoy it now.

Snap! If someone had said to me that I'd spend the best part of a full working day working out pots / sorting them out online / creating spreadsheets, I'd have laughed in their face and said "never"!

But I have done it and I feel a lot more "organised" and "able to cope" IYKWIM - still have no money :rotfl:but at least it's because I'm actually budgeting properly and not touching money set aside monthly to pay bills and not because I'm out spending it in the pub / on clothes / stuff for the house .... and, yes, even groceries!:D

cleggie

Thanks PG and Rising.
The nausea has subsided and i am feeling a bit better,although my stomach is making very strange noises!!

Got to update my spreadsheet in a bit, as i transfered some money from my ISA to my main account as i fancied a bottle of wine earlier, only spent £10 on the wine and some chocolate, and didnt end up eating or drinking either :rotfl:. So they are both in the fridge for another evening.

Posities for today:
Had a great catch up online with a friend


hmmmm, cant think of anymore at the moment, but one is better than none!
I am going to write a 'to do' list for tomorrow, and then head for bed i think.
Night all!

PennyGrabber

Morning, and Happy Easter!

Hope you're feeling better today; even if you don't manage to eat any chocolate, just think what yummy things you could bake with it!!!

Take care, and have a good day, whatever you do. And yes, one is definitely better than none! Ooh, what about - saved money on dinners as you didn't eat much, and looked after your children well while they were poorly, even though you felt rubbish yourself?

I'd better turn off the computer and head to church now - I'm playing the part of Martha...

PG x

cleggie

Morning PG!
Happy Easter to you too! My 12 year old ask me if Jesus was a zombie because he rose from the dead:rotfl:oh dear!!

Not much to report this morning. Having yet another 'at home' day, but am thinking about taking the kids out to the aquarium or zoo on Tuesday...depends how much it all costs. Will price it up later.

cleggie

Afternoon!
I havent done very much today, just having a lazy one

I am very glad that Mr T isnt open, as i really fancied some chocolate earlier...but its closed so its going to be a forced NSD!

My food shopping week 2 starts today (8th-14th) and i am hoping to spend as little as possible. The more i can put towards clearing debt and savings, the better.
Wont have to put petrol in the car this coming week either, as i put £20 in it last week and i have barely used any

Barbeduk

Hi Cleggie, just catching up with your thread. I really hate the SM too, now I do most of my shopping in !id! or a!di I feel totally ripped off when I go to the normal ones!

Was over in cornwall today, had a lovely picnic at Antony. Think the NT membership will have to be kept on as we use it so much.

Sorry you didn't get your chocolate. Luckily our local coop was open and my sis gave us a tenner for Easter to buy wine, so I bought 1 bottle of their cheapest red and some whoopsied sausages! :rotfl::rotfl: The rest will go on treats for later in the week. It's impossible to stop this frugal lark isn't it!

Here's some virtual chocolate for your evening :EasterBun

cleggie

Hi


Barb- Antony house- is that the one in Torpoint? I believe it was used in the new Alice in Wonderland film? Was it nice?
How much is the NT membership, if you dont mind me asking? I have always wanted to join as there are so many lovely places around here to visit, and i'd especially like to visit Landydrock.

Piq (if you are reading)- a few pages back you mentioned about posting your veggie recipes. Sorry to be a pain, but are they on the GC, as i cant find them?

Need to get bread and milk today, so that'll be my first spend of week 2.
Will be phoning the kids dad today to see if he is still planning on having them wed-fri. If so, i will delay my weekly food shop for as long as possible, as i'll eat pretty much whatever is in the house whilst the kids are away.

I am off to Taunton on Thursday, its an 170mile round trip, so am very glad that i have most of last weeks petrol still in the tank, as i'll definitely be needing it, as well as this weeks £20 petrol!

cleggie

Already struggling to avoid the SM this morning. Really fancy going to get something for lunch from Mr T. I know i need to get bread and milk, but i want to go and buy loads of other bits.
MUST resist!!

Piquant_2

I am always reading Cleggie, with you every step of the way!

How about I tell you what dish and how I am making for dinner each day? Nearly everything is very cheap, I try to keep the food shop to about £15 weekly. I'm only cooking for me, but I like a generous dinner I tend to double the portion size and have the second portion for lunch the next day.

Tonight it's Cheese, Potato and Leek Bake

• 4 small leeks finely sliced
• 2 medium potatoes peeled and sliced
• Small tub of creme fraiche
• Lots of very mature grated cheddar cheese
• Seasoning

Layer the leeks and potatoes in a shallow dish. Beat the creme fraiche with a fork until it's a little less solid, stir in nearly all the cheese and add seasoning. Then spread the mixture over the vegetables. Top with the remainder of the grated cheese and bake for about 40 minutes at 190/mark 5. It is cooked when the potatoes are soft and it is a rich golden colour.

I normally serve with a small salad and crusty bread [I have a breadmaker so nearly always have bread with my meal]

Piq