NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

Busymumofthreeplusdog

I'm still reading, not much posting and TBH not a lots of frugality over the past month. That said, it's been kept in check and mostly budgeted for. Anyway, new month. Main aim is to get the food bill down, I struggle to get it below £450 for the 5 of us plus kitty. It does include cleaning stuff etc too rather than pure food related. Perhaps I should be more specific in my adding up and the real food budget could be revealed... Think I will try this for May.
Thinking of treating the kids to movies and chips tonight as they are so keen to see the new marvel movie and they are getting to an age where it's difficult to find things we can all do together. I'm certainly not adverse to a little comic hero oggling...

WeeMidgie

Jackie, I remember the aluminium name strip machines too. The strips were very soft and so didn't last long without getting bent out of shape.

I have saved enough money to move on to the next stage of sorting out my small back garden. By the middle of June the paving will have been extended, and a long planter two sleepers high built. Bye bye [STRIKE]grass[/STRIKE] moss! It will be so much easier to keep when it's all paved, and some more pots put in place.

I hit Morrisons at the right time today, and have my veg for the next few days, all items came with a yellow sticker. I like to use salad leaves as a base for stir fries instead of rice, and at 19p for a bag, it makes for a healthy a cheap meal.

I hope everyone has a happy Bank Holiday weekend.

Lynplatinum

Ahoy there

Past my bed time so Ill be brief:

Edwink - glad to see you back

Vulpix - glad op is done and hope you recouperate quickly and fully ASAP

Debtmess - welcome! A wet weekend baking and cosying up with familiar old movies from DVDs where you can all quote the lines - also HM pizza reminds me of the lovely times I had with my lads - its one of the times they remember with great affection!! (they are 32 and 28 now!!!)

NBI out of the window today a bit due to circumstances beyond my control But this eve have tried to make amends by a) making a salmon risotto HM and from scratch and from freezer/stores with enough made for another day + making a HM chocolate cake from stores as well. Also filed my own nails and painted them (a day out beckons tomorrow - I never thought about it but I have always done my own - never paid for them to be done so I suppose its NBI (if not new NBI )

Anyway must get to bed!! busy day tomorrow!

nursemaggie

debtmess sorry you are having to miss your weekend away hope DS is better soon.

Vulpix Take it easy until you are healed just because they send you home in a couple of days does not mean you are well. Some ops take months to get over.

Get well soon all poorlies and have a good weekend.

[Deleted User]

When my DDs children were smaller than now we used to pack two cars with five kids and two dogs and the hampster in a cage plus the clothes and trundle off to Caister for a 'Sun' holiday cheap as chips then about 9 years ago with the family growing and needing more room we graduated to a holiday cottage and have done that ever since, usually on the Isle of Wight but we have had a few in Sherringham, Norfolk and one at Sea Palling in Norfolk (thatched cottage, full of spiders never again !!!!)

The caravan was ok if a bit uncomfortable as I'm not that built for sleeping on a put-u-up sofa,especially when invade by five small wriggly children at the crack of dawn who all want a cuddle:):):)

Because my DD has a large family we always take picnics where ever we go and this year as usual we are off to the Isle of Wight again.We have a converted theatre apartment this year which sleep 9 and managed to get it through a friend of a friend so saved quite a bit.
I am looking forward to it, and we start collecting odds and ends to take with us around June .dry goods like tea,coffee, sugar, rice and pasta all go into one of those large supermarket long life bags.I cook a large chicken the night before we go so we can have it cold with almost anything when we get there (saves thinking about what's for dinner)Into my car (I have a seven seater that converts with a huge boot) go all the suitcases, food,picnic (for the ferry) fishing rods cricket bat football and tennis ball sandbuckets and crabbing lines usually the hampster goes last and is tucked in tightly on top so the cage doesn't move around.I have one of the boys in the front passenger seat with me and my DD has the three others plus two dogs in their car.(her DD has left home so no longer comes away with us) and around 900 a.m. its waggons roll and we are off to Southampton to catch the 12.00 ferry.This year we are staying in West Cowes which will be nice and we are only five minutes from the front so no need to use the cars as much.But when we go off to Colwell Bay for the day then all the paraphanalia is packed for the day out.fold up chair for me, and picnic and play stuff for the boys. I sit under the beach brolly with my flask and picnic stuff, reading or knitting and the kids all swim or play cricket,football etc.If we go to Sandown we always take the kites as its a great beach for kite flying.

Fort Victoria we can make a BBQ there so that's another good day out. Both my DD and I are seasoned hands at packing a large cool bag with bits for the boys to munch .We always have the last night of the holiday at a nice restaraunt for a meal as by that time we have used up all the food we've bought.

DD goes sea fishing with the boys and my son-in-law and I are happy to just sit on the shore and let them.Last year twice she caught dinner for us which was great and my son-in-law cooked it.As soon as we get home we start looking for the next holiday cottage or flat to rent next year and we save hard all the year for our two week holiday in the last two weeks of August. Possibly my eldest DD will drive down for a quicck visit whilst we are there as its only a 15 minute crossing on the red jetfoil boat and she will enjoy a day out on the Island I'm sure.
Its a very old fashioned sort of holiday based around the children and family and we make sure the kids get out in the fresh air and enjoy where their Granddad was born and brought up.My two DDs went so many times as children to the IoW they know it like the back of their hand and DD loves to show her children where she went, and what she did, when she was a little girl.great place for a family holiday and nice uncluttered beaches.

MyHappinessProject

JackieO -Your family holiday sounds fantastic! Many memories being made for all the family, and something great to plan and look forawrd to all year...very nice! A lot more thought goes into this than a hastily booked all inclusive+ lots of airmiles away. Good for you!

[Deleted User]

Thank you, we do have a great time and to DD she adores going there as it reminds her of her late Dad and Granny and her childhood.She says that when she retires it where her and her OH want to move to as she has such nice memories of spending so many long summers there when small.(and during the winter as well.We used to go there so often when my late Ma-in-law was alive its definitely home from home for us as a family.
Only 15 weeks to go :):) and every spare penny is stashed and the boys all start looking online to see whats going on.We know already that while we are there the carnival will be on in Cowes which we enjoy.
Well third day with NBI today so May is going well already.I shall be going out to Dds for dinner this afternoon as usual so I have no dinner to cook ,but I will make a cake to take with me for the boys as they seem to have hollow legs at the moment Next month DGS Henry will be 14 on the 3rd June and DGS Mikey will be 11 on the 1st so two birthdays very close to each other !!! I shall sort out with DD later today what they would like for their birthdays .
Hope you all have a good NBI day and week ahead
JackieO xxx

pm2326

Morning folks

Not much happening on the spending front this week....spent £13.63 at aldi yesterday on a top up shop, mainly fresh veg, salad, dairy, bread and a couple of tinned goods that I'd used up during the week.

Good job it's raining heavily today and I can't go in the garden as I have a paper to complete for work for Tuesday and if it was sunny there'd be no way that would be done!

Don't have any other plans for the weekend apart from a bit of cooking, planning on making a turkey meatloaf for tea today and some corned beef pasties to use up some ready made pastry I found in the freezer dated Feb 2014!!!

vulpix

Thank you lovely people for your good wishes.I have surprised myself by being a bit of an invalid.Still a bit grotty and shaky if I try to do anything.Enjoying reading the thread,always such interesting posts.Vx

Kerry_Woman

Still plodding along. Have decluttered quite a bit this week. Did manage to give a carrier bag of things to the cs a few weeks ago. Have started to fill up another one. It is amazing as to what I have found that can be decluttered and had the courage to get rid of it. There is still quite a way to go. A few things can be taken to the recycling centre.


Really have to monitor my food/household spends. It is up this year for the first four months compared to the same time last year. Have managed to get some things reduced and Mr. A price guarantee for the last few weeks. Have resisted not buying things though and managed to buy some things using vouchers that was needed.


Not a lot of temp work at the moment, so looking at my options regarding work.


Just deciding of how much more I can cut back on.