Just say NOvember!!! ( are you brave enough )...

WantToBeSE

Siouxsie- i only have 2NSDs left now too..eeeek! Starting to feel a bit daunting, but i have decided that i will go for my 7NSDs-in-a-row for the next week.

missladyannie

Hi everyone, i'm back at work this evening, yawn, I was so tired today, i've overdone the second job this week, i'm back in again tomorrow morning as well. I'm glad I have Mondays off from my main job otherwise i'd be dribbling! Its so hot here as well, my feet have swelled up like balloons!!! lol!

Today wasnt a NSD, however I did get 10 cans of Baked Beans for free using the Heinz vouchers which was good, and even better as they are on offer at 5 for £3 so you are in credit on the shopping bill! I also took back DS's socks to Tescos as they had a hole in and got them replaced, and also had to brave customer services to get my 85p back as the checkout guy didnt scan one of my Beans vouchers!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone, keep sharing the good news x

gelmc

Did try to post earlier but Dk what happened to it - probably lost in cyberspace!

Have had what I consider to be a NSD today, but did spend some of the money my mum owed me. Had £20 of it left. Enjoyed the talk at Sheffield Uni re the course I want to do, then had lunch at a Tuekish restaurant. Got a lamb mince kebab meal with a drink for a fiver. Then bought my friend a bunch if flowers, thankyou card and bottle of wine for £9 in total. Finally best bargain was a pack of 5 multiseed bagels for a pound, when usually they only have 4 in a pack. Thanks Mr A of Rorherham.

At friends now about to turn in for the night. She cooked me a lovely meal. Will be putting stuff on eBay tomorrow. Sleep well everyone ... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Learning2Budget

day 11. things have been a little crazy here so not done as well as id hoped :-( L2B.x

NinjaSavingKat

Right... Firstly Good Evening to you all...

Secondly and most importantly who on EARTH suggested that a Graze Box was a good idea?? This lovely, delightfully fancy treat box is now etched in my mind as I can never have it again... but I WANT IT!!! What a yummy delight! I had tiny little crackers with salsa, pistachios ( although I feel cheated as there is one I can't get open - complaints for free box? ), a nut/raisins/honeycomb chocolate mixture and my fourth box was some very soft onion herby bread! Nom nom nom... that's what I say!

Abundant I am blaming YOU and your easy to read / follow instructions and pictures...

AND they offered me the next two boxes at £2.99 each instead of £3.95 or something ridiculous like that. Once a week can't hurt can it..?? YES I know it can.. its wasted money when I can get an entire bag of Tesco Everyday Value tortilla crisps for 48p ( I have them with me) and a tub of salsa for about the same ( got that with me too)..

Seriously I have filled ramekin dishes with salsa and olives, cling filmed them and shoved 'em in a tupperware tub. Clearly not as posh but you get the general idea...

So anyway... hitting nearly 0130 and I realize now, that when I couldn't sleep earlier I should have just stayed in bed anyway as I am a little tired already. I have December challenge plans to work on so I can keep myself busy,,,

On to you lot though.. seems like we are all challenging ourselves appropriately although there seems to be a lot of NSD's being clocked up! WHOOP WHOOP!!!

Siouxsie I wish I was in my pj's right now but I did spend all day in them! :rotfl:..so can't complain too much! I know I planned a walk outside.. but that didn't happen!..

I baked instead and ..ahem... my carrot/apricot cake came out a little wonky in that it stuck to the bottom and split lenghways.. I let it cool though, wrapped slices individually in greasproof paper ( which I should have used to line the tin instead of butter ) and whacked it in the fridge. it is still super yummy and should last a few days. Very moist as well..

11 banana and walnut/pecan muffins in the freezer. Will be interesting to see what they end up like once defrosted.. ahem.... the 12th one simply disappeared. How odd....:D

So how is everyone feeling about their freezers and cupboards? I like seeing the bareness of my freezer and coming up with some weird and slightly wonderful ideas for random food...i.e. broad bean humus..( yes I will keep going on about it until one of you says you have tried it )..I have half a frozen bag of baby broad beans left, with a half bag of sweetcorn, a pack of AP weight-watchers tortilla wraps, a small tub of last weeks slllooop, home made tomato sauce, 1.5 bags of Quorn fillets and now 11 muffins...oh and lots of ice cause I left the door slightly ajar a while back.. oh and a 20p loaf of Kingsmill that's almost done..

So.. the Quorn fillets are going to be defrosted, wrapped in chilli flakes, S&P, a little lemon juice cause I don't have a lime, egg, flour and panko ( Japanese bread crumbs ) then grilled.. to be eaten with Udon noodles I think and maybe some curry sauce like Wagamamas serves with their Yasui Katso Curry..(from my wee trip to the Japanese store down the road).. that's at least 5 meals right there...

That's my one invented meal of the week. I plan one every week i think. time to get adventurous..

I have a LOT of red onions in the house with 3 bottles of balsamic vinegar. I intend to find a recipe tonight which will let me make a massive batch of red onion chutney to store in the jars I have been accumulating like a magpie. I intend to store it very well (Kilner jars I'll have you know) as it can be dolloped out onto home-made pastry cases with some goats cheese on top and grilled for a very easy snack. Just need to learn how to made pastry... oh or on crackers with some weird cheeses which I treat myself to now and then.. I'll be doing this tomorrow as all the baking is complete... oh and more soup!

Anyone else only thinking about food during this challenge.. I LOVE food, I also walk everywhere in order to combat the incessant intake of calories...:p:p:p:p

The fridge is slowly emptying too albeit there is mainly just onions in there..:rotfl:

I honestly cannot wait to get to bed. Just thought I would tell you. However I do realize that I am earning more here than through anything else I would get my dirrty mitts on so I need to wind my neck in and tell myself that its only for another 13 months....#groan...:):):)

I am though completely utterly entirely determined to NOT start 2014 with ANY debt. I will not get into debt again and once I had secured my bike loan last year completely regretted it. Its not my style and I let myself slip... the land we had to buy straight away or miss out...

But the little things are going and I am proud of myself for pushing this as hard as I can. I call Mumsy nowadays just to tell her how I have saved money... she is very proud of her penny-pinching daughter as her years of drilling into me to "save" money went unheeded. SO you parents listen up - you are doing your child the world of good in learning about money, saving etc. Because your DD's will not have a man paying for her nor should she want this, and you DS's will not be in the next boy bans and nor should they want to.... don't feel guilty saying NO! My Mum did many times and it has saved my bacon a few times as I have stopped to ask myself "can I make do and mend" then walked away,...

Right I am ending this here before I write a book...

Onwards and Upwards folks... keep pushing until you are debt free!!!

WantToBeSE

Some red onion chutney recipes for you Kat, the 2nd one looks particaularly yummy!

http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/red-onion-chutney-recipe/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/03/caramelised-red-onion-chutney-recipe

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/cheeky-chilli-pepper-chutney

Kat, i love food too, and thats been my biggest focus this month, as i love cooking and baking, so have used that to my advantage. Growing up (partly) in a very poor house as a child, has definitely made me more aware of what can be home made, instead of bought. Unfortunately i ignored that knowledge throughout my 20's, and it was only when i hit 30 that i decided to become debt free.
I used the majority of my student loans when at uni to pay off my debt, just in case i couldnt get a job...and thank God i did.

Anyway, my main aim with my own children is to teach them how to cook. My mother never taught us anything like that, and i left the family home at 13 anyway, so i taught myself (with a little help from the ex!). I think its one of the vital things to teach children.

This is becomming an essay now, sorry.
So, today will be another NSD

Kiwisaver_2

I'm hardly ever tempted to spend money at the weekends, so quite an easy NSD for me - I spent most of the afternoon in the garden and found two decent sized radishes to add to our dinner.

Two weeks on this shopping diet has barely made a dent in my freezer contents, there are some gaps but it's like a tardis and everytime I take something out and cook it I end up putting something of the cooked dish back. I made a dozen little blueberry muffins yesterday, oddly none of them made it to the freezer.

WantToBeSE

My meal plan for the next 7 days:

Mon-Veg Curry, rice and crusty bread (i need to use up leftover veg, and i have loads of frozen bread rolls from Lidl)

Tue-Toad-in-the-hole, plus left over veg curry
Wed- Pesto/cheesy pasta
Thur-HMSweet & sour chicken, noodles and prawn crackers

Fri-HM pizza and salad (will need to either buy in some pizza bases, or learn how to make a decent pizza base)

Sat-ravioli (trying to use up tins from my cupboard, so not the healthiest of dinners!), salad, crusty bread

Sun-Italian traybake, with salad (to make a difference from the usual roast).

p0lly

NSD 14 :j Hope everyone is having a great Sunday. I have just got home from a very cold, sunny and brisk walk it was lovely. Now its hot chocolate time its my reward and gets me moving. It always tastes much nicer when I have been out for a walk.
Off to ebay my little heart out now as its free listings have fun everyone P0lly x

Everhopeful09

A lurker popping to to say hello, loving the sound of some of the menus! I'm going to be following this thread more closely, wish I had joined you in the Challenge, I'm going to be self imposing the idea for next 2 weeks as 10 days till payday and 60 quid left, plus tesco vouchers. Off to hunt in the cupboards for tea rather than a takeaway!