*** This is Sparta ***

lotti379

Another £10.27 spent in the c0-0p, still under food budget at £22.05/£25 for the week and £26.06/£80 for the month. If I get to Friday without having spent any more of it I will PAD the £2.95, like a good and disciplined MSEer! :money:

Must have a bit of a think about what to do next week, I think Mr L is coming to visit so food spends usually go up massively, I think I will need to get creative...

Moneymash

I was going to start talking about myself...naturellement but I see someone is in need of my help.

karmachilovething wrote: »

Asda were doing £3 for a tub of B&J on the weekend. Not the best price, but cheaper than usual . . . I was enjoying for Full Vermonty this weekend as a result, despite the fact that . . .

Ok Karmachilovething, stop right there, let's rewind and back all the way up!!!!!!!!!!! Here this now, do not pay £3 for B&J's yes it was cheaper than usual and you enjoyed it, but not when it is £2.25 at Iceland as it was this weekend, (if they are going to claim half price I would prefer them to round down to £2.24 but what's 1p between debt-busting individual and huge corporate conglomerate). Even cheaper today I got Cookie dough flavour from Farmfoods for £2. So always remember your frozen food specialists when special offer hunting, the downside is they don't have the full supermarket range, but they can be the first to have the newer flavours.


All the best people are born on 15th August, even if I do say so myself

Really!? I beg to differ, people born on the 8th of June rock :cool:

Quite weekend witht he BF. Went to the SM and bought things for a BBQ on Saturday, which he insisted on paying for, and have left me with lots of lovely things to eat (because no man can buy the right amount for a BBQ!). But DF had led me to believe that there was charcoal in the shed. There wasn't, so cue late dash to buy some. £5 total spend for the weekend though so pretty pleased with that.

I'm the same on food, Moneymash, it's one of those things I have difficulty cutting back too far on. On the other hand I hate waste, so I tend to magic lovely things out of bits from the bottom of the fridge. The humous-cheese-mushy avocado pitta was not my best is all, mostly due to not having enough time to organise a better lunch for myself! This week I already have lined up: cold BBQ salmon, with potato salad, green beans and leaves; BBQ roast pepper (can you see the theme here?!) and halumi cous cous, which is enough for 3 days; and stir fry veggies and noodles. Yum

Yes if I am going to debt-bust for years I am at least going to enjoy my food. You can still enjoy branded food as long as they are on the cheapest special offer ( not all special offers are equal or indeed very special) and refuse to buy them when they are not. Asda, Sainsburys, Iceland, Farmfoods and Tesco are all within walking distance for me ( How I wish Morrisons was) so I just follow the special offers about, when I can't get any on a particular food, I assume that's when the special offer has traveled to Morrisons.

So I brazenly went back to Tesco today, and bought some relish reduced to 79p, but saw something shiny on the floor... a 20p so relish was actually only 59p.

So I spent 59p in Tesco and £5.28 in farmfoods, so I have £33.01 left in my budget. Yikes!

The first class stamp I need has now changed to a second class stamp. I will post card tomorrow so that it arrives in time. I am also kicking myself that I didn't get my free prescription last time I was at the hospital, now I will have to pay for it.

I worked last night, so that was the hat trick completed. The very 3 nights I booked off as holidays I ended up working. I have in fact covered my own annual leave (so for this week I will get paid for 6 shifts but will only have worked 3 shifts).

Now for my next trick...I got my pay rise :j (the cheeky letter worked) and they have back dated it correctly.

Mrs_Toast

I'm claiming for SFD no 7. I did spend £2.80 on the farm trip but I found the cash in the living room so it was 'free' cash. Will put the rest aside for emergencies.

We had a lovely day at the farm and DS was reasonably well behaved. He was absolutely shattered so am hoping he will sleep in tomorrow. Back to normality tomorrow as DS is back at preschool :jI'll be volunteering at the foodbank for an hour so another SFD tomorrow. It's FIL's birthday tomorrow but as he doesn't want/need anything, have told DH to offer him a couple of drinks next time they go to the snooker club. I've already bought a card so at least that's sorted.

I managed to find some shorts for DS on Sunday at M&S so spent £13.80 on 2 pairs of school shorts and 2 pairs of smart shorts delivered to store. Right, off to make DS's packed lunch for tomorrow.

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi all

Just checking in everyone, sorry but too tired to absorb any of your posts. Got up at 7am, made pie filling for tea, sorted some washing, took DS to the school bus, took the dog for a quick walk, did 3 hours at my voluntary job, grabbed a sandwich on the move, did 2 hours at my paid job, made tea, cleared up, walked the dog again, took DS to cricket and got home at 9pm. Havent even made my bed today.

Compared to Kats working life this is nothing I know but I am sooo tired. Must be getting old.

On the plus side I havent had time to spend anything, although I havent done my daily spreadsheets either. Off to bed now!

LoveaDove

Mmmmmmm, Cupcakes......

Lovely to catch up on all of your posts! Looks like generally a good weekend, with ice-cream, money saving and bargains!!

So after 5 failed attempts at logging in here (from a different computer) and being locked out for 15 minutes, I have finally made it through the MSE fortress walls! And I am very cool, calm and collective... :cool: honest.

Had a lovely jubbley time away with the fam, sad to come back early (work) and leave them there. I enjoyed my cheapo train trip back, I failed to mention that I upgraded my train ticket to first class (whilst booking) for £1 and cashed this in with a bigger chair and a 'complimentary' coffee and biscuits. *Nom* Oh and the sheer novelty value of having never legitimately travelled First class before.

Saturday was a spend free day- travelled up with Mummy Dove and Sister Dove for free. Mummy Dove provided all meals whilst away. Some Spends the last couple of days- but in small proportions. Just £2.95 on a Veggie cooking book- all proceeds to an Animal Sanctuary we visited Sunday. Then £2.20 on my bus fare from the train station and £1.39 for Fish Food for my 15 YEAR OLD Goldfish! No longer Gold, very much Silver and still going strong bless her. All spends from my budget for the 'excursion' which was budgeted at £50. Minus train fare (£11.50 online bargain), bus fare, cooking book and fish food actually leaves me with £31.96!! Straight towards debt repayment :T

Whilst Mummy and Sister Dove are holidaying I have the responsibility of looking after Mummy Dove's house, garden and kitties for her. Her house is about 6 miles from mine so I'm popping in each day for the rest of the week. Mummy Dove informed me before I left, that she had left extra food in the house to last me the week for B/L and D! Looks like my £12.50 food budget this week will also be thrown at the debt too! Woooo! :T

Anyways, I have waffled on farrrr tooooo lonnnnnng, and have probably sent the lot of you to sleeps! So I shall bid ye a night that is good and see you on the morrow!

x

Actually Saturday wasn't a SFD as I'd booked that ticket (dum dum dummmmm)

NinjaSavingKat

EVENING!!!

Well hello to you all! MoneyMash I can see where you are coming from regarding the food! I am only scrimping like a good 'un this month as I got no overtime last month BUT I won't buy branded items if I find SM branded items that taste the same.

More importantly is the yellow sticker run I completed tonight. I got out of work 15 later than expected and was in a panic that I wouldn't be able to get my normal train. I should be in bed by now to be honest but I need to SHARE!

So I get to Tescos. I spot the discounted vegetables and fruit. Disappointing but pick up 3 punnet's of strawberries for 40p each. I find spinach for 20p and humus tubs for 31p each and get two. I continue my wander / search / stalk towards the chilled section and the "british cheese" selection is reduced to £1.50. Still too much out of my reach so I leave them...I find bread for 40p, baps to freeze for 40p and keep wandering as there are a few sections in this Tesco's...

Low and behold a woman with a trolley, standing by the meat, with her discount machine in her hand and she was discounting things a LOT more! I spot a colleague of hers approach with three boxes of said cheese selection and he motions to her to reduce them even more. A sudden influx of yellow-sticker-hunting-grannies descend likes flies.. they hover, pretend they are not interested whilst pressing their soap smelling bodies in the face of the poor Tesco girl and place their grabby hands close to the bargains...

A young man approaches ( by young I mean in his 40's ) and reaches for a box of cheese.. I deflect him and advise he waits the discounted ticket which was being printed as he approached. Within seconds he had a box reduced to 90p, thanked me and walked off. What did this kindness on my part cost me... CHEESE SNATCHING GRANNY THIEVES!!!! They swiped the boxes from under my nose, with hands on them before the stickers were attached and "pretended" they weren't there to do that in the first place.. I actually emitted a "oh no" whilst they swiped. The fiends!

I have never felt so gutted, cheated and stupid for being nice to that bloke. I got some cheese elsewhere for 90p and reconciled myself with the fact that I wouldn't have eaten the brie and the blue cheese as fast as the date would've required.. and my fat deposits don't need any assistance with their current residence on my thighs...

So I picked up three little tubs of profiteroles for 37p each...:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

My episode cost me £4.49 which shoulda have been £18.12.:T:T:T Then 93p on cheese and 65p on a cucumber. I came home and made lentils with the hald wildted spinach and now I need to go to bed...

It's been an eventful evening...:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Onwards and Upwards!!!

LoveaDove

Morning! That sounds like a frustrating experience Kat! The yellow sticker lurkers terrify me- especially the sudden frenzied atmosphere. All social rules go flying out the window when those stickers first appear!

lionheartedgirl

Oh NSK!!!! Karma will thank you in other ways I'm sure but in the mean time :mad: :mad: :mad: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I'm glad you posted your YS haul though as I have had some corkers recently and wanted to share too

3 little cheddar packets (100g each) for 10p each. Beautiful Isle of Man cheddar - mature not my preferred eye watering vintage extra mature, but tasted gorgeous and right on time for the IOM TT so I enjoyed themed sandwiches last week :rotfl:

2 soup mix packets (add water, bring to boil and then liquidise) for 38p each = 6 lunches for just over 12p each.

portabello mushrooms for 10p a box = really cheap veg fajitas. I'd never done them with veg rather than meat before but they were amazing! so will be doing this more often.

2 rainbow trout fillets for 35p mmmmm

BEST OF ALL... and I am stupidly excited about this because the last seabass I ate was in one of my favourite restaurants (and someone else paid :cool:), cost £15. Yellow sticker price = 20p!!!

I'm trying to work out what to have it with to make it a proper feast to be savoured in every way.

Food spends are now £29 of my £50 budget. This week I only bought milk, loo roll, the soup mix and some bits to make a key lime pie (everything else I had in so it was just limes and cream). I don't eat loo roll obviously :cool: but it does count under my supermarket budget so normally include it in my spends.

I have a freezer fit to burst that I've built up over the last couple of months so am very confident I'll manage on my budget. This is the lowest amount i've spent on food in years. I eat well and don't feel deprived at all (well apart from cravings for sweet things which I shouldn't have too many of anyway!).

Other things have been a little spendy but nothing too serious. And nothing else planned for the month now other than bus fare if I need to go into college. I'll tot up SFDs and report back.

NinjaSavingKat

Lionhearted - it's too exciting for words. Almost have an anxiety attack though if I can't get there fast enough. I ALWAYS wear flat shoes that day at work so I have happy feet,the chance to dash and spare room in my "lunch bag" without carrying extra shoes to change into just for the SM run... It's an out and out military operation.

Forgot to mention the 2 x 4 tofu yoghurts ..from £1.49 to 37p each as well. Although I get the distinct feeling I need to eat them sooner rather than later... suits me.

Yes this is the least amount I have ever spent on food. I made another bath of spicy lentils last night and have enough for 3 meals. 6 Burgers made from a yellow sticker can of kidney beans (11p) and a packet of falafel mix from my Mumsy with the newly frozen yellow sticker baps...

Defo enough to last me through until next week now. I froze some strawberries for when I need a sugar hit and the stewed apples just don't cut it and as a treat on my porridge next week or so...

My spend budget has already hit the two week quota of £12.50 each and gone over - so I shall be attempting to not buy anything more for the rest of the week...

Fingers crossed...
Onwards and Upwards ...:T

thriftylass

Wow, well done on the YS hunts. I always go to that section first too but probably at the wrong times. Still get a few bargains each week.

Tesco sent me an email about my vouchers and glad they did. Forgot I still had a £5 voucher, a double points voucher (binned it thought the date was up) and loads of coupons. Gonna look through food and use them to top up veg, fruit and milk on Friday as necessary.

Not much else to report. Today should be a SFD as should be Wed and Thu. OH definitely enjoys my cooking now more as I'm more creative. Yesterday we had lovely value pork chops, baked with cheese and onion on top, gravy, YS asparagus and mash with herbs from the garden. Yum...