Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Greying_Pilgrim

7_week_wonder wrote: »

Just popping in to say that although I'm not posting at the moment (stinking cold and real life intruding) I'm still reading and cheering you on!

And *very* belated happy birthday Beanielou:)

So lovely to 'see' you 7 Week Wonder thanks for dropping by. Has your new role started yet? Hope the cold disappears pronto - we're still trying to hold on to the thought it is summer here

Piquant wrote: »

Oh really?? keen cooks eh? :rotfl::rotfl:I've never been remembered in the library GP....Well shame on them lovely Piq :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Joining in the chocolate thread, I love chilli chocolate particularly when accompanied by a glass of red wine Not sure about chocolate crisps though. Pret do salted chocolate and it is lovely, but probably an acquired taste. It took me a lot of acquiring until I liked it.... *snort* :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

miss_empty_piggy wrote: »

Me too. Life seems to have thrown me a curve ball at the minute and need to get my head back in the game. Wages are set to reduce by about 550 a month which is going to be an absolute killer. Need to rethink the budget. Good luck everyone and have a great day x x x

Oh, miss empty piggy, that is tough, a huge reduction. Still, the DF board is the place to be eh? With such wonderful ideas and support, you've at least got a head start on how to tackle it. I hope we can offer you support here, and thank you for popping by.

Well, Good Morning :hello:

Today will be a NSD again - we don't actually need anything, so I'll wait until the weekend. I've sorted out a meal-planner for the month, and shopping list, just got to put it through 'mesoopermarkit' to see who is cheapest for what, this month

Quite a good selection in the Ald* super six this fortnight, so I'll be making use of that.

Dinner this evening will be a version of vegetable biriyani, with an omelette. Looking forward to that and watching the footy. Will tape Gardener's W0rld - Mont's got a bit boring of late - although loved the allotment in London last week.

If you've popped by to catch up, read and leave a comment today, thank you. I do appreciate it

See y'all later.

Greying

Karmacat

Hi Greying! Read the first couple of posts, haven't got to the one on p14 yet ... but I'm trying, honest

You're doing well on the NSD - I have to say, since that little supermarket opened up by me, I've spent more on "popping out" than I realised, and not as many veg as I should have. So I'm "popping" there today for fresh veg only, and then going to the big usual supermarket for a bit of a stockup - boring but necessary things, like lightbulbs, kitchen gloves, toilet paper, salt, blah blah so today is going to be a mahoosive spend. But before that I'm finally taking Alys back to the library - I bought her foraging book in The Works ages ago, but the library had The Edible Garden, so I was poring over that, great fun

An mse diary is a fantastic focus, isn't it - so glad you find its helping. Have a good one today :kisses3:

Mint1955

Thank you so much for a flashing lightbulb moment

Do a list and put it in my supermarket to work out where to go for bargains ...... How did I get to 57 years old and not think of doing this ;-)

Any other easy hints and tips to stop wasting money on shopping apart from going to aldi first which I have just started doing and what a difference that makes.
Sheila

Greying_Pilgrim

Mint1955 wrote: »

Thank you so much for a flashing lightbulb moment

Do a list and put it in my supermarket to work out where to go for bargains ...... How did I get to 57 years old and not think of doing this ;-)

Any other easy hints and tips to stop wasting money on shopping apart from going to aldi first which I have just started doing and what a difference that makes.
Sheila

Greying sits, cross-legged in the corner of the room and adopts the pose of a wise sage.......................


Greying develops cramp.....and with assistance, is helped into a comfy chair............

Greying brings finger tips together, adopts the thoughtful expression of a mystic and adopts the idiomatic phraseology of 'O wise one' so beloved by h0llywud..................

'Seeking soopermarket, low priced shopping tips, it is U are.....'

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Sorry Mint1955 couldn't resist..........:D

Um, right, yes, 'mesoopermarket' is a boon, however, I find that it can be a little hit & miss. It often lists lines that our local stores don't carry and also, it is very good at giving you the impression that the store has stopped selling basic/value/smartprice/essentials lines when they haven't. So a good starting point, but not the whole story. Ald* is good, especially in quality terms on a wide variety of items - but you'll always get the duds - plus someone might rate something, and you think it is pants. But you can ascribe that to any product and any store. If you have a L*dl nearby, give them a look over too. They differ to Ald*, but can complement it - depending on the sort of groceries you buy.

By far the best piece of advice I have picked up in all the years I have been [STRIKE]hanging around [/STRIKE], seeking the imbued wisdom of MSE, is to 'know your prices'. Difficult if you buy different stuff every week, but absolutely vital if you buy similar things at regular intervals. And it comes into play when you see YS'd stuff too. The Ald* super 6 choice regularly sees the other soopermercados YSing stuff. Brilliant you think, but if Ald* are doing 1kg of carrots for 39p (last fortnights offer), and M0rrisons bag up 500g of carrots for 37p with a yellow sticker - where's the bargain?

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but it's helped me. Some folk use a 'price book' - a small notepad to record the prices of stuff that they regularly buy. I try to retain it all in my head, but it's getting increasingly difficult - particularly now that so many places are changing (ie decreasing) pack sizes

And never apologise for learning something new. I'm a firm advocate of education - so ask questions away, if I can help, I will, but failing that, someone on MSE will......

Right, dinner needs finishing off and dishing up.

Maybe see you in a while.


Greying

teambathmat

Love reading your diary Greying,... what do you do for a living?, you should be a writer or something like.

What does YS'd mean though??!

Greying_Pilgrim

teambathmat wrote: »

Love reading your diary Greying,... what do you do for a living?, you should be a writer or something like.

What does YS'd mean though??!

I can't divulge that teambathmat - we'd have the paparazzi round the thread in no time.................................:rotfl::rotfl:
(and yes, I am taking the persistently out of myself again..)

YS'd means 'Yellow Stickered' or 'reduced'. It got coined thus on MSE because ASD* use big yellow stickers to show reduced price goods (aka 'whoopsies').

Hope that helps.

Now, my stylist, PR and fluffer are due any moment, must dash.....

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Karmacat - you are right, the focus this diary has given me is great and it is helping - enormously

Well, today has been fab. I've accomplished all I set out to do, plus a little bit extra Mind you, the weekend's list is mega :eek:
It was a NSD, but that's only coz their ain't no pennies in me purse Roll on pay day (thought it was today - got my dates mixed up )

Piq has shared some really fantastic news on her thread - which is great to be a part of. Wishing you every continued success and happiness Piq :T

Dinner was vegetable biriyani with an omelette. Although, as per usual, I don't cook it as specified (in the oven). I cook the rice by the absorption method, get it nice an fluffy and then add in the spiced vegetables and mix. I find it easier, but it is not authentic, by any stretch of the imagination.

Um, if it works, a photo is here;



I just thought I better clarify, I'm including the photos, sort of as a reference to me, erm I'm trying to make dishes that are tasty/interesting, but still in budget. I love cooking and part of the thrill for me is getting a variety of dishes into my repertoire. If it gets boring, you must say - I won't be offended. But I did read a piece in Rick Stein's latest cookbook (tied into his 'India' series), which I thought spoke volumes - and I hope can be applied to other nationalities. Rick wrote;

Because when Indians talk of food they talk of their life

I thought that was great, and very much what I want this diary to be - because, as much as anything, I am trying to eat good food, whilst making savings to contribute to other areas of our life here at Greying Towers (an emergency fund is #1 priority).

I would prefer to keep certain aspects of my 'RL' out of my 'MSE' diary. However, teambathmat posed a question that has got me thinking. I would never describe myself as a writer, and yet thinking about it, 'communication' has been a huge part of my life/employment. I'd never really thought about it before. That said, I sometimes say entirely the wrong thing and get misunderstood. So I'm no expert in it. Obviously.

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

Piq's good news - still smiling about it. And I hope it is plain sailing hereonin

for writers - of cookbooks, chicklit, 'O Level' (;)) set texts and of scientific papers that you need 3 Doctorates and an 'ology' in referencing to understand...... all good

for sharing - DP brought home some mini chocolate bars from work again. Just what I needed, and such an enhanced taste after eating a plate of spicy biriyani...... maybe these flavour mixologists are on to something after all........:rotfl::rotfl::T

Thank you for dropping into this thread. For reading and for commenting. It is appreciated by me.

Right, better go and pat & stroke DP :kisses2: who feels the computer is getting more quality time of late........:rotfl:

See y'all later.

Greying

miss_empty_piggy

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Oh, miss empty piggy, that is tough, a huge reduction. Still, the DF board is the place to be eh? With such wonderful ideas and support, you've at least got a head start on how to tackle it. I hope we can offer you support here, and thank you for popping by.

Thanks Greying, today has been better as it's not looking quite as grim as it was yesterday, so thank goodness for that.

Your tea looks gorgeous. x

teambathmat

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

YS'd means 'Yellow Stickered' or 'reduced'. It got coined thus on MSE because ASD* use big yellow stickers to show reduced price goods (aka 'whoopsies').

Ahhhhh,now it all makes sense.....will sleep better tonight now,thanks Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Ahh, visitors to the thread whilst I was away - thanks for popping by.

missemptypiggy - glad the news was a little better than expected - thank goodness for that indeed.

teambathmat - :wave:

mint1955 - I remembered something else. It depends what retail outlets you have available to you in your locale, and your access to transport etc etc. But I no longer automatically think of 'soopermarkets' when wanting to buy food - particularly jars/packets etc. I buy more things than ever from places such as h0me bArgins, (B&M), W1lkinsons etc etc. They often stock branded products at a fraction of the soopermarket price. I have bought things from HB that are cheaper than App. fod8s and are still in best before date........ I'd love to 'do a Jaymee' and say that I buy all my fruit and veg (covered in mud) from my local 'saltodeearth' market. Sadly the one we have is pricier than Mr S, MrM&S and MrW for it's F&V - and that is some list of competitors to be more expensive than! And no, the quality is not better - unfortunately

Goodness, what a list of chores we've to plough through this weekend! However, we will be making some time to meet up with friends for a natter, so it is not all hard work

Well, we've limped to the end of the month finance wise. Whilst having the 'key fund' has enabled me to have the money for the insurance bill and have £ for our D/D bills, it has been tough to get to the 31st - no denying! If you recall, I 'swept' £35 out of the money pots as soon as the washing machine went bang, to make sure I had enough to do this. £35 out of an overall budget of £160 is quite a tall order - plus in addition, I had increased costs of using the laundrette to come out of the budget too. It will not surprise you to learn that DP agreed to let me keep back some of the 'fun' money from last weekend in order that I could do a wash and semi-dry of clothes this week. Thank goodness launderettes are open past 5pm

Technically, we end the month with £20 in the key fund, as this is what DP saved on the insurance cost. However, we are no further forward in the card ocredit saga and have no washing machine. I'm glad that I set my mind to visiting the launderette for a while - I'm not going to be disappointed

I can now, however, turn my attention to making our holiday a reality. We have the money to pay for the accommodation. By some miracle, we used the car so little last month, that the fuel lasted from the previous month. We set the fuel money aside, so this will be used (adopts Jules Walters breathy tone) for the journey............ Food will come out of the normal budget - and I will be trying hard to include nice treats in that, and 'entertainment', well that will be provided by walking, visiting NT properties and such like. I know it is not everyone's idea of a fun hols, but it is our cup o tea

Oh, just in case it seems like there is a clash of priorities, we will wait to see if the bank ever allow us a card, to sort out what we do re a washing machine. We have got a plan b and plan c to try too. So, I'll have a machine of sorts, just now

Dinner this evening will be a try out of a 'fritter' recipe and will be 'relaxed' dining It'll owe more to 'cowboy chow' than 'haute cuisine'.....:rotfl:

Today will be a 'spends' day. I've to get all the 'humdrum' stuff that Karmacat mentioned yesterday - lightbulbs, stamps, rubber gloves etc - that cost an absolute fortune :eek:

I forgot to mention last night that I made yoghurt whilst preparing the biriyani. It's had over 12 hours in the flask. Doesn't seem to be any different to other batches I've made. I have noticed thought that one of the flasks has a definite 'dairy' tang smell to it. They are just about washable - by me, DP's hands are way to large. But perhaps I've not scrubbed hard enough, not sure. So I've put some scalding water and a slash of vinegar in them to soak to try to make them 'smell of nothing' again.

Thank you for popping in, reading and commenting. I do appreciate it.

See y'all later.

Greying