Bricks Not Books

Greying_Pilgrim

I think there are so many variables that impact on/affect household grocery budgets that comparison is always difficult. Speaking personally, I always have the 'what can I learn' mindset, to see if I can lower my grocery budget. But it's pretty low as it is, and so I try to maintain that (in the face of rising prices), within the parameters of what I can do. For example, I don't benefit from YS'd things much, as I don't visit the supermarkets at the right time. Food waste schemes sometimes yield veg or bits to try, but are inconsistent in our area. You're right VH - thank heavens forums like this exists, as if people do want or need to lower their bills - grocery included - there are threads and advice and guidance for them to try. Again, just from Fam. Greying's viewpoint, a lower grocery bill (without compromising on nutrition), frees up money for trips out and about or NT membership - but if I had more money in my budget, I would certainly spend it, getting a broader range of veg & fruit, and I would definitely factor in convenience foods for those CBA'd/busy being busy days - if I had more, I would definitely spend more - despite the fabulous examples of resource marshalling on MSE! 🤣

Greying X

VintageHistorian

I would love some more CBA dinners! That said I do find I dislike the idea of regular takeaways for myself. They're nice enough as an occasional treat but I do prefer something home cooked, even if it's home cooked, home frozen, then home defrosted and home reheated 🤣

Day 1 of my annual leave and I have been out and about before it gets too hot. First treat breakfast of the week in the M&S cafe, followed by doing some project work and then popping into the foodhall. The onwards to Sainsburys and Next for more project work, into Waitrose for a food shop top-up and into Tesco for the same.

I don't want to switch on the oven or airfryer at all on Tuesday or Wednesday (or Thursday, ideally, but I don't think I can keep cold meals going that long) so I've rearranged the meal plan. Picked up some yellowsticker sausages and a pack of mini chipolatas in Waitrose and they are currently cooking in the oven, as are some sausage rolls. Tomorrow night we'll have cold sausage sandwiches with some picnic bits (and salad for DS and Mr VH). I also got some pre-cooked chicken breasts in Tesco and quiche in Waitrose, and some pitta breads. So on Wednesday DS can have a little Greek-style dinner of pittas and chicken with cucumber, and a few more sausages, and me and Mr VH can have the quiches with more picnic bits and salad. I've got two individual packs of carrot sticks with hummus for DS to try, if he doesn't like it Mr VH will eat the second one.

I also picked up a reduced small roast pork joint in Tesco so I'm wondering whether to cook that now while the oven is on, or try to squeeze it into the freezer.

I needed some new hiking boot laces and a new pair of walking shoes so I popped into Mountain Warehouse with a 20% off voucher from a magazine. Picked up the two essentials plus a new small umbrella (mine has pieces starting to come off) and a pair of water-friendly sandals for DS. Almost everything already had some kind of offer on it so add the 20% off and I got a pretty decent discount overall.

DS needs a reusable water bottle for nursery so I've ordered one from the Rex London sale and also bought a few more things on sale, including a bag for an upcoming birthday (it said "mini" but the picture showed a small child with it on their back so I hope it's a proper bag and not a tiny one), two Christmas gifts for DS and my brother, and some bits to go in my Christmas charity donation. That's been dispatched today so I hope it arrives before Thursday as I think DS is the only one in his nursery class that doesn't have a reusable bottle at the moment.

I don't think I will need to spend too much more this week but it depends on what I decide to do for dinner in the latter half of the heatwave. I'm not enjoying it at all, I'm not someone who likes sitting in the back garden sunbathing with their feet in a paddling pool, so this heat is not something I'll make the most of. Except for drying laundry of course, the freshly washed towels are drying as we speak. We had a nice afternoon at my parents house yesterday and my Mum sent me home with some cake so I'll enjoy a piece with a cup of tea at 4pm. In the meantime I need to do a few hours work on The Project (and have a lazy day tomorrow).

Dinner tonight is steak baguettes but with pre-made baguette from M&S, no more cooking once I switch off the oven later.

Have a good week everyone!

VintageHistorian

Last day of my annual leave and I have absolutely hated this weather but otherwise had a lovely time.

Tuesday was a much needed lazy day. Read my book, did some writing, played on the Switch, watched some TV and pottered about. Wednesday was my usual day off so it was me and DS. The heat was getting to him too, he was a little subdued. We had a play in the garden before it got too hot, collected a click and collect order, then watching Disney movies until lunch time. He didn't nap but did have some quiet time, we did some more food shopping, and Mr VH worked from home so we had a little picnic dinner in the garden.

Yesterday I dropped DS off at nursery and then did some work on my shop, including a stockcheck of packaging that's been on the to do list for months. Ordered more packaging, listed some vintage books and restocked and updated some other shop bits. Popped to the garden centre at lunch time and came home with cake and a cheese scone. Also started reading over my ebook and started to make notes for edits.

And today has been another lazy day, but the humidity and heat are stifling and it's been less relaxing than Tuesday. I would have liked to get "something" (not sure what but I could have found something!) done this afternoon but it's just too hot. I did pop to M&S for a loaf of my favourite white bloomer bread, and I've been in my pyjamas since. But a nice walk with some loud music or a potter around the charity shops just isn't enjoyable when the weather is like this so I've mostly just sulked indoors 😅 But I did sit down and do a money shuffle so £4.35 has gone to the mortgage.

Dinner tonight is an M&S spaghetti carbonara. Never as good as the authentic version but I wouldn't go near Italy at this time of year, love it but I can't do heat.

Have a good weekend everyone!

sunshineli

Sorry that your annual leave hasn’t been ideal due to the heat, but it sounds like you have still had a nice relaxing time reading and playing Switch. I can relate about the heat though, I’m really not enjoying myself and I don’t feel like doing anything in this weather!

VintageHistorian

June OP total - £40.90

Been a bit quiet as we've just been pootling along. A few external stressors but nothing I can really post about at the moment. And also it was, until the past few days, too hot to do much.

I'm under the food budget by a decent chunk this month and the freezer is overflowing so I hope I can keep that up for the rest of the month. Next weekend I'm going to do a picky tea for dinner (probably Sunday) as the main reason why the freezer has no room is because of all the little bits I've bought reduced and popped away. There isn't actually that much homemade in there at the moment so space will be cleared and then some pasta sauces can be made and put away. DS's drawer is also starting to look sparse so I need to go some meatballs for him and probably a sausage casserole too.

Last weekend we went to an agricultural show. £20 each for adult tickets which felt like a lot, but there was a lot to see and DS had a great time, and he was free to get in as he's under 5. We took a picnic with us so apart from paying for a ride on a carousel and petting some reptiles (and then buying 2 toys for DS as well) we didn't spend much. We had a nice time as the heat wasn't too bad in the morning, we'd like to go back again next year if the weather permits.

I've had my first proper Vinted issue this week. Bought a book that I was hoping to give to DS for Christmas but it arrived quite badly damaged. It was described as "very good condition" so I don't know if they're fibbing (hard to see from the listing photos) or if it was damaged in transit as they hadn't bothered putting any bubblewrap or similar around it. It was only £2 but I raised it as a problem on Vinted and the seller is now demanding I send it back because the photos I sent don't match the book in the listing (they do, they've just got a bloody great tear on the back cover because it arrived damaged, maybe next time do more than wrap it in an envelope).

Anyway, it'll be a chance to use my new labal printer which I still need to set up.

DS is starting to get a little spoilt and expects anything that comes through the door from Vinted to be something for him, as I've been getting a few bigger t-shirts and some winter bits. New wellies were also purchased in Asda during the week, he loves them so much he cried when I wouldn't let him wear them to nursery. But I'm not raising an ungrateful little !!!!!! so there's a moratorium on buying new things for him for the rest of the month, unless I can get them put away before he can see them.

Dinner tonight will be leftover toad in the hole with crispy sliced potatoes. I won't have the football on as I care about neither team (I would have given in and watched if England were in the final).

Have a good week everyone!

VintageHistorian

Can't remember exactly how much the food shop was this week but both Waitrose and Tesco were under their expected amounts so I'm still under budget for this month.

I had a look at the butchery counter in Waitrose and spotted a rolled lamb breast that had a big reduction as it was close to 5pm. I've never cooked lamb breast before but I decided to buy it as enough lamb to make at least 3 meals (maybe 4 depending on how much it shrinks during cooking) for around £6 is not something I will turn down! It can sit in the freezer until the autumn weather shows up as I think it'll make a nice warming roast.

I also got courgettes, meatballs and sausages so DS will soon have ratatouille, meatballs in tomato sauce and sausage casserole in his bit of the freezer. He also has one shepherds pie, one cottage pie, some cooked sausages and mash, and some M&S chicken teddies. So enough to keep him going for another month or so.

I set up the label printer. Installation was easy. Printing off the labels at the right size was less easy, not helped by 3 different providers giving me three labels in differing sizes and layouts (there's a special place in hell for whoever decided to set up to send labels in landscape when I'm clearly going to be printing portrait). The book has been sent back so I look forward to more unhinged messages from the seller. I also decided to get on with a task I've been putting off for months and finally put a load of books and CDs through Music Magpie and We Buy Books. Two boxes are now sealed and ready to go. One will be picked up by Evri on Friday, the other I need to take to a Royal Mail locker. There's currently a locker set outside a shop on the high street but when I went to use it this morning it wasn't switched on so I'm not sure they've finished setting it up. There's another one in a nearby village so I'll try that.

I have also ordered myself a new hoodie for when the weather turns. I've been planning on getting a new one for the past few months. This week I've been a bit fed up with all the things that have been hanging on my to-do list for most of the year so I've made myself just get on with them. There's still plenty to do in the second half of the year.

Dinner tonight was spaghetti and meatballs. It was the last of the Ikea meatballs so now it's essential that we return there before 2027 😅

Have a good rest of the week everyone!

Fortune_Smiles

I'm making plans for my winter wardrobe too. Seems strange with all this sun shining down on us but we know it won't last for ever 😉

Fortune x

VintageHistorian

I'm almost looking forward to it @Fortune_Smiles!

Using up my last day of annual leave before the allowance resets at the end of the month (working has a "use or lose it" policy). Unfortunately it hasn't started off well. After nursery drop off I tried to take one of my boxes of books to a different Royal Mail locker but it didn't have a label printer and like the muppet I am, I had left my label in my bag, in my house. So I had to lug the box back to where I'd parked my car. Third time's a charm tomorrow perhaps.

Then I came back to find that our neighbours had just been informed that their cat had been knocked down by a car. So they're obviously very upset. We're not a pet family so it was nice to see their cat in our garden, hopping up and over the fence. DS always enjoyed seeing it too, now I'll need to explain it to him 😔

Before all this I had realised how much the external stressors are getting to me at the moment (not to be TMI but my cycle has been all over the shop over the past 2 months and since I have no other peri-meno symptoms I'm blaming stress) so today I'm attempting a bit of a reset. I need to do laundry and I need to do some batch cooking for DS. These are the things that must be done. Otherwise the day is my oyster. I've had 10 minutes catching up with my planner and a cup of tea. I'm going to go make scrambled eggs on toast with the good M&S bread I bought on Wednesday. I will have a bubble bath. I will do the 45 minute walk down the high street as I need to move more, hopefully my reward will be a nice roll from the bakery but if not there's plenty of bread for a sandwich when I get home. I will play on the Switch, I will read my book, and before getting DS I will have a slice of homemade lemon drizzle cake and a cup of tea. Oh and I'll try to squeeze a bit of writing in at some point.

And hopefully I will unwind enough to not get so endlessly frustrated over little things all the damn time.

Dinner tonight will be an M&S lasagne and I might have a small piece of garlic bread with it too. Have a good day everyone!

VintageHistorian

Quick update - First attempt at scrambled eggs came out odd. Did the float test and they were fine, sniffed them and they were fine, but they went weirdly frothy when I whisked them and then on pouring into the pan I realised the yolk was oddly watery. So tipped them down the sink, washed out all the utensils and started again. The second lot of eggs were fine (albeit slightly overcooked as I rushed them because I was hungry).

If that's not the third thing for the day then I'm going to start getting annoyed 😑

VintageHistorian

Total OPs for July - £35.61

There were no further issues or disasters on my day off. It was just far too short 😅

Work has been extremely busy this month for various reasons but I got a big project over the line yesterday, so that's one thing I can tick off.

We came under the food budget by £23.93! 😁 Not sure how, I feel like I didn't do a huge amount of freezer using this month. But I checked my account the other night and can't see any shops I haven't included. Perhaps it's just because we didn't need loads of extras this month. We've already spent it in Aldi as we did a restock of Mr VH's microwaveable rice, he's now happy with supplies in the cupboard.

We also finally bought the bottles of water we've been discussing for week (prompted by Gatwick being cut off last week), Mr VH has put them in the garage. While he was there he also took out the baby bath and metal stand we had when DS was a newborn. I've photographed them and I'll see if anyone at work wants to buy them. I added nothing to the Disney fund last month and September is when they release their bookings for next spring, so this month my aim is to hustle a bit more before we see how much it will cost us.

While we were in Aldi we had a look in the middle aisle and found they had the "Large family" books for 79 pence each. DS already has the full collection but I bought 2 to go in the Christmas charity gift donation box.

There's a few things that need to be purchased this month. The main one is car insurance. It's due closer to the end of the month so I'll do the comparison this week on TCB so I can get cashback through them. I would also like to buy 3 Christmas presents this month, and one of my sisters has a birthday next month. I have just bought her gift as a shop I like is having a summer sale and I figured I should get it done before I forget.

I have also given myself a target to declutter 50 things this month. We shall see how successful that proves to be.

And now I need to get DS up. Dinner tonight is either baked ciabattas or chicken and parma ham pasta, I haven't decided yet.

Have a good weekend everyone!