SmlSave's extremely small steps to reducing the mortgage

SmlSave

The parsnip cake is awesome!!!!!!! And my god I feel bloated after making lentil burgers too, they were so good I ate 3

The monsters 'helped' me cook so the kitchen looked like a flour bomb had gone off DH was not amused when he walked through the door although I'd already hovered and wiped down once.

I finally paid back a mum the tenner that I owed and MIL gave us £40 for DDs birthday. Popped to the shops and only bought fresh stuff instead of being tempted by an easy lunch. The kids ate the whole tub of grapes, 4 oranges and two bananas already - it's no wonder we spend a fortune on fruit.

One charity bag of DDs clothes have gone and I've another filled ready for Wednesday of toys that shouldn't be missed. May place the bag up the street so DS doesn't see it on his way to school as he has pulled out things that he insists he loves.

One file of paper work sorted too, everything over a year old put in a bag for burning. Dug a section of the garden today as well (good weather!) In an attempt to get rid of garlic bulbs that are choking my baby lavender.

Feel like I've done really well today

SmlSave

So my new washing machine is so effective that it strips the dye from jeans and I now have to separate darks from whites to save my whites from going grey As its officially a "new toy" DH has taken over the clothes washing which is great because - I don;t have to do it :T However, it's also not great as the washing machine is now on everyday with sometimes only a handful of clothes (clean clothes sometimes) in. I :eek: with the thought of the electricity bill going up.

So to refresh my mind I've picked the first 10 off a money saving list to see how I'm getting on:


1. Take advantage of cashback and reward credit cards - Just applied for a new card for DH and should receive £29 cashback I really need to check Quidco more often before doing online transactions
2. Recycle old mobile phones, DVDs, CDs and clothes - Took a load of Wii games to be cashed in and got a grand total of £12. Everything else goes to charity
3. Use comparison sites. -Totally hittign this one :beer:
4. Use balance transfer credit cards - N/A as no outstanding cards
5. Buy own-brand goods - Baked beans (tick) Juice/Squash (tick) Ketchup (tick) Cereal (tick) some stuff just don't taste right though
6. Cancel your yearly gym membership - N/A
7. Bulk-buy foods that don't go off - Rice, I buy large bags of rice and might do a muscle food order again
8. Switch energy suppliers - I may think of this next year but the pain is currently not worth more than the saving
9. Use discount websites to save on days out - Tesco vouchers come to mind, perhaps we need to go on days pout more often?
10. Cycle/walk to work - :j:T:j

Overall not bad but room for improvement.

newgirly

Hi smlsave , I hope all is well with you and the family

SmlSave

Hi NG lovely of you to pop in

I'm living the high life - tucked up in bed with a cuppa and the tablet, having eaten tiffin cake with wizzy cream this may be the reason my kcals are easily 1700-2000 and size 16 beckons.....

DH isn't impressed but I've had a go at moving some paving slabs around. I now know why the old owner had an odd shape path...he hadn't left room for the size of pavers. Grrrrrrr.

DD is a cute child of destruction, I'm constantly amazed at the amount of mess she can make in such a short time! 3 outfit changes today.

DH has decided that he wants gabion walls on the boundary to retain the garden from next door. I don't like the look of the things but then I saw
I wonder if you could attach a trellis to the top?

SmlSave

SmlSave

It's 8pm and I'm tucked up in bed again, no idea where all my energy has gone. Even running with the kids feels like walking through treacle. Large cuppa and an early night will get me through work tomorrow.

Had an expensive couple of days with going to soft play (by taxi) and haircuts all round (with maccyD as bribery) Spent a lovely afternoon with my mum and nan chatting about the garden and all the things we could do.

Did some meal prepping so there's five/six homemade 'ready' meals that just need veg cooked. Picked up asda's 29p potatoes, leeks, cabbage today as well as kid snacks to get us through to next week..

SmlSave

So after my 5 money saving tips I thought I pull across the first five healthy tips I've collected to see how I'm doing: -

1. Drink Water - This is surprising hard work. On average I'm managing one extra glass of plain water but the overall aim is to drink a glass in the morning, before meals and before bed. I'm just going to keep trying until it becomes a habit. Says i as I swig a bottle of Diet Coke :rotfl:
2. Go Meatless - One meal a week is easy so the aim is now to go to two Using less meat saves pennies, the environment (DH watched a Cattle Conspiracy recently which was an eye opener) and lbs. I've discovered that soy mince really bulks standard mince out and you still get the 'meaty' feel
3. Halve and save your portion I think this is a more American idea or one for people who eat out all the time. However, I've found that only eating half my bought sandwich still fills me up for lunch so I'm giving it a go
4. No cheese - I love cheese Blue cheese, goats cheese, mild, medium, mature...all of it But its hugely calorific so I'm trying to cut down
5. Reduce alcohol - As there's currently none in the house (if there were I would have drunk it ) this currently isn't a problem. However should alcohol be available I intend to drink the same :beer:

I think the verdict is - could do better :rotfl: but every little helps.

As I was trying to tell my Mum I want to become healthier and to actually maintain it so tiny, small, minuscule changes are the way to go.

and i ran part of the way to work this morning. :j

SmlSave

:easter_ba The chocolate, oh the chocolate! :EasterBun

One cupboard full ready :eek:

SmlSave

Tired kids and frazzled adults today. 12 days till schools back in session ! isn't that naughty of me

The garden looks great as I've had the chance to do the lawn and £50 has us a tidy front garden, finally, after the trees got cut down last year. Had to raise the bed to avoid all the roots.

The weather's been so changeable that the clothes are being tumbled dry and I'm pleased with our fancy, electric guzzling machine.

SmlSave

I'm stuck under a poorly girl and of course it's lovely weather today and centre parks on Monday

Here's hoping she perks up over the weekend. I've started packing and getting the food all sorted. Dinner goes

Lasagne
Kebabs
Tuna burgers
Chilli