Fiscal Fast – 7 days no spending (at all)

[Deleted User]

Day Four

another NSD for July budget :):) with the weather being so gorgeous why would I want to go to hot stuffy shops and spend cash on things I can do without :)
Breakfast was a mixture of bran flakes and rice crispies (tail end of two boxes mixed together ) and a chopped up banana on top.fresh milk all finished but I have several boxes of long life stuff in the fridge which will do for cereals or tea.I won't make a special trip just to buy fresh milk,there's only me here and I'm not fussed.

Lunch was a cobbled-together ham salad(I have stacks of salady stuff in the fridge at the moment)

Dinner tonight is a shep's pie from the freezer with veg and diced fresh pinapple and chopped grapes with plain basic yoghurt dolloped on top:):)

In my fresh fruit box I still have 6 pears ,4 apples three oranges and a half filled box of grapes along with chopped up pineapple which I will use up over the weekend in fruit salad.
Tomorrow night I am at Dds as we are having a bit of a 'do' for my DGD who will be 21 on Sunday.She also passed her degree this week so a double celebration.
I have dug out of my freezer sausage meat and frozen puff pastry left over from Christmas and will be making sausage rolls to take with me tomorrow night.

Sunday afternoon I go to my youngest DD for dinner so no cooking on Sunday for me .

Just remembered I have a quarter of a cabbage in the drawer at the bottom of the fridge to use up, and half a dozen red onions in the veg box I must dice the onions up for the freezer tomorrow

GreyQueen

Hey, I like the idea of tinned peaches in the curry, I have those very ones in stock, wouldn't have thought of that on my own. Was going to add chickpeas, you think peaches and chickpeas will be OK in the same curry?

Have realised that I will need to visit my Magic Greengrocer tomorrow to spend £1 on a bagful of fruit and veg. Bashed bargains, can never predict what'll be available. I hope a lemon is, just tried to buy one (a lime would have done equally well) and they're 40p each.:eek:

I want the lemon to flavour the bulgar wheat, which I have in the cupboard. What I do with this is juice a lemon (or lime) and pour over, then add just enough boiling water to cover and allow to stand. The bulgar wheat is mixed in with whatever little bits of veg or fruit you have and seasoned and then you have a tasty side dish. It's very popular and good for buffet-style meals as you can prep it the day before and keep it in the fridge.

I suppose the reason why some of the things are loitering in the cupboard is that they require ingredients like lemons which aren't normally on the premises.

craigywv

chickpeas deffo go with it, I used to work in an indian restaurant ,they also made (for themselves to eat) when the curry is cooking away pop a couple of eggs complete in their shells DO NOT CRACK THEM OPEN just straight in from the box , into the cooking curry, leave for hours they left theirs overnight in the curry. when your having your curry lift out and peel skin off it will be the colour of your curry bright yellow or orange and eat hot or cold beautiful!

GreyQueen

Oooooooo! That's an idea. I just love the expertise that lovely peeps share on MSE, it's like a borg-brain, greater than the sum of its parts.

I shall now hie me off to the kitchen, which is 4 steps from this pooter, to gather together a meal from randomness. I had dessert first, which was one-third of a tin of basics pineapple pieces with a few frozen blackcurrants thrown in for good measure. Cool and refreshing, esp as I opened the pineapple yesterday and it had been sitting in a Pyrex in the fridge.

I'm loving the adventure of using what I've got. Finished my 4-pinter of milk up just now, one lasts me 6 days, and will be moving on to the UHT, of which I have plenty.

ETA; supper was a tasty ensemble of two sticks of celery, sliced (YS last week), a can of sardines in oil, and a sachet of organic wholegrain (7 different ones) to which you add 2 tbsp of water and heat in a pan. Came from 99p St0re as short-dated. I added a splash of balsamic vinegar and it was reet tasty and possibly healthy, too. Result.

[Deleted User]

I like to pop chunks of apple and a handful of sultanas into my curries.Peaches sound really nice and as they are cheap as chips in the value basic range a great addition.I also seem to have lots of tins of chickpeas in the cupboard ,bought when there was a 'special offer' about 6 months ago and had been reduced to 10p a tin as no one seemed to want them:):):) I will have to get my thinking cap on to use them up.

I also have about a dozen or so tins of marrowfat processed peas from the 'pea war last year when the supermarkets were vieing to see how cheap they could sell them I got them at 3p a tin !!!Any ideas chum what i can conjour up with my 'pea mountain ' :):)

NSD Day 5 today and NS's at all as I am baking this morning and then going to have a bit of a pampering afternoon in readiness for the 'do' tonight. This doesn't involve cash at all its just a long shower and a deep conditioner on my barnet and probably tarting up my nails on hands and hoofs.I am normally a shower and go sort of lass but this afternoon I shall give the old bones the full monty whilst listening to the book of the week recorded on my Tivo box.I just love that gadget as I can never miss even stuff on the wireless that I would normally miss during the week :):)

Have a great weekend everyone what ever you are doing and keep the purses firmly shut :):)
Cheers JackieO xxx

dannie

Hi JackieO - Pea soup?

craigywv

I would just keep them amd eat them as is..............I love peas cold from the tin even the marrowfat ones yummmmmmmmmmmm! today I went carboot bought nothing so a good start ...............THEN ...it was b&m , mum needed stuff, anyway they selling 150g metal foil bags of fresh ground coffee reduced to 60p yep you guessed it I got 8 !no way was I passing that up also full boxes of crisps(I don't ever buy them) but they were doing themfull box 26 packs 3 flavours for 99p went and bought 1 took outside and opened them ab lovely and fresh dated end of july so went in a got another box for sons birthday party end of july, also selling off massive boxes cornflour 10p got 2. spent 7.00 I know I wasn't but didn't mind as sold loads on ebay this week so have a few quid over. then I went £land they selling for little boys a see through zip up bag containing Marvel Heros (HULK,SPIDERMAN) TUBE OF HAIR GEL AND TUBE SHOWER GEL for a quid, I have seen these with 2 extra items selling for 10 quid. so I got son and nephew one each and stashed away for Christmas Jackie you might be interested for grandsons xxx so I spent 10 quid total but got a lot for my money.thats me now I wont be out again for over a week I promise lol. tonight is hm burgers and wedges and my own salad from garden, tomorrow is sliced pork from freezer and loads of veg, took a craving for roast pots. pudding will be peach and raspberry crumble as I got loads of raspberries due to be picked tomorrow as they really dark purple. have a lovely weekend all xxxxxsun is shining the weather is great here tonight xxx

Ninno820

Evening all - not an nsd here I'm afraid but it was a planned supermarket visit. Have altered my signature to show money spent so far but proud of the way that I just stuck to my list. Apart from some fruit n veg this should see me through to this months deadline - July 22nd.

GreyQueen

Evening all. Have been on the allotment this evening. Was waiting for the weather to clear out and it didn't (rained half the day and grey and humid the rest of the time) so I went up anyway.

An hour trimming the grass path with the shears and the best part of an hour picking 2 more tubs of blackcurrants. Hardly seem to have dented the quantity on the bush, no wonder the branches are bowing close to the ground.

Today wasn't a NSD but hardly extortionate. £1 on fruit and veg (whole cucumber, punnet plums, punnet apricots, 5 apples) and 89p on a deodorant, because I'd run out.

If I keep this up the whole of the month, I shall be quids in, but I think I shall still go to the YS feeding frenzy on Sun afternoon, as it's 5 mins walk away and a good 'un can set me up for the week for a lot of stuff.

Wonder if the economy is noticing a wibble due to NSDs? I've news for the chancellor; Xmas 2014 is mostly shopped-for already.

[Deleted User]

No plans for buying anything today, so day 6 of my NSD in a row. Just a quiet day pottering around I have my menus to do shortly for the week so I will be freezer -ummaging to see whats available.I seem to have made few inroads into the food mountain at all You don't think its multipying in there do you !!! :):) Cue spooky music :):)
Family 'do' went well last night and most of the food got scoffed :):) I stupidly sat in the garden too long and the gnats had a few choice nibbles at me (why is it always where I can't reach to put creme on ).
Hope you all have a frugal week and hang on to your cash
Cheers chums JackieO xx