How to fall in love with saving money

cathybird

The cream on the choc pots looks a bit splodgy but you get the idea. :

cathybird

Good morning all and what a lovely morning it is (down this way anyway). I hope everyone is well. I am heading off down the allotment very shortly to look it over. It will need watering, plus other work which I won't have time to do this morning. I have been thinking that what I should really do with some of my allotment produce is try to sell it (I get a massive glut of fruit every year) but I've got no idea how I would go about doing that. I need to look into it though because it might raise a few extra pennies.

I should also look over my house for stuff I can sell off. The trouble with things I've got rid of over the years is eventually I tend to need them again. I got rid of a sander a couple of years ago. Now I need a sander! Which is the sort of thing that makes me reluctant to let go of anything.

Have a good day, all.

organic_wanabe

Your food looks wonderful and healthy. Thanks for posting the pics. I will have to give some further thought to what I would serve for a total of £2.50 per head. For 6 people I would have £15. I suppose the starter would have to be soup and homemade bread which wouldn't cost much so I might be left with £13+ for the other two courses. It would also depend whether I could count my store cupboard goods as 'free'. If so then it should be fairly easy. For instance a vegetarian lasagne with salad and garlic bread for main. I could then make a pavolva with cream and perhaps a couple of tins of drained peaches for topping. I might even have money left over for cheese and biscuits. It would make a change from my usual policy of over-spending just in case. For instance I would usually have melon and parma ham just in case my starter didn't suit everyone and at least two desserts just in case ...

Having an allotment would make it much easier - I would have all the fruit and veg I had grown. I used to do potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries and salad leaves in the garden but the snails usually managed to enjoy them before I did!

I know exactly what you mean about getting rid of stuff and regretting it at a later date. My husband is always wanting to clear out whereas I am very reluctant and like to hoard - our attic, garage and garden hut are like Alladin's Cave.

atush

Wow what a lovely spread, esp for veggie food lol. I love my meat and shellfish, but I could get into some of that easy!

I spent less this friday, back under 80. Would have been cheaper but I had to stock the wine rack back up lol

cathybird

Aw thanks guys I must admit, I worked hard to try to make it look nice. The asparagus and gruyere tart really is yummy - I just finished the leftovers last night.

organic wanabe, the first thing I thought of when you mentioned pavlova was growing strawberries They're actually very easy to grow but sadly you're right about the slugs. Not sure what the solution is there - slugs and snails are really hard to deter. Growing them under cover? But then it gets expensive. I grow gooseberries by the ton, and think they are the absolute business, so would be tempted to make a gooseberry fool or something similar - gooseberry curd tart? With gooseberry jam underneath? I bet that would be yum. I must give some thought to how to feed people for £2.50 each though. It's a good challenge

atush, I didn't mean to make it a vegetarian spread, it just worked out that way really, but it was really nice, if I say so myself, and didn't feel lacking in any way - you know how vegetarian meals can sometimes feel like they lack a centre or something. I love meat and shellfish as much as the next person though - must try to make the next spread a meaty one.

Re the wine, I'm actually quite close to the end of my three months off, have found it easy and really positive, but looking forward to the odd glass of wine when I finish it (and the odd champagne cocktail - I've missed those)

JoJoC

Hi everyone,

Yet again, I've been awol.

It all starte when I got a new phone over a week ago- I only really access this place on my phone and the new one has taken some getting used to!

Life is hectic, I start my secondment in a few weeks so I've been working a lot and doing the bare minimum in between.

We also bought a new car last week and picked it up on Monday. We wee due to change it anyway so I'm excited about that.

A busy month (again) means we've dipped into the savings a bit I've had no motivation whatsoever and really need a kick up the bum. Also need to work out exactly how much is left in the savings.

I've been managing to keep my weekly shopping down though which is good

How is everyone? Cathy your food looks lovely!

cathybird

hi JoJoC, thanks, and good to hear from you I've been a bit awol myself, and need to knuckle down to reach my savings goals for this year I've got a lot coming up in the next month though - my dad is coming over to visit and we are doing a bit of travelling, plus I have house bills to pay too. What sort of car did you get? ... A new car and a new phone, I think that would take up a lot of my mental energy too, sounds exciting.

I've started relying too much on buying food for lunch again and need to have a think about that. It's nearly the end of May already too, don't know how that happened - it was January a second ago!

JoJoC

I have no idea where this year has gone Cathy. They do say that time flies the older you get and its so true.

I've got a few things to fork out for in June and July butvstill need to really rein in thebspending and try to have more willpower!

It's funny how we're all feeling unmotivatedbat the same time

Any nice plans for the weekend?

cathybird

hi JoJoC, funny you should ask as I became a British citizen today This is my weekend btw - I'm back to work on Sunday - and I'm really chuffed about it so I guess it was quite a nice plan. Tomorrow I'm just taking it easy, doing house stuff and relaxing. And you? ...

atush

Congrats Cathy!!

Have tomorrow off, you deserve it.

i have been good and only spent 80 at tesco today lol. weather crap and cold here. had to put on the heating for an hour.