Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!

Naomim

GeorgianaCavendish wrote: »

First shop in Aldi this weekend and I was really impressed. I did a meal plan and shopping list in advance and with the exception of a couple of store cupboard items I got everything on the list. I put it all into MySupermarket and found around 90% of the items were cheaper in Aldi than anywhere else. The quality of the food was excellent too, especially the fresh fruit and veg - far nicer than my local Tesco!

It's great isn't it? I can get "nearly" everything I need in there for a family of four. I have recently bought their washing up liquid as well instead of my usual Fairy and it's brilliant. Pots and pans nice and clean. Their toilet rolls aren't too bad either. We did try their custard yesterday but sadly I'll be sticking with Ambrosia. It's all trial and error, :money:

Post up your meal plan so we can all get excited by your food choices this week. I love seeing what other people are having and it gives me ideas

Naomi x

GeorgianaCavendish

My dinner plan for this week (recipes are ones I've tried over past couple of years from Hello Fresh or Gousto, I'm not this creative naturally!)

Butterflied Chicken with Feta, Leek and Minted Potatoes
Chicken & Chimichurri Quesadillas and Patatas bravas (supposed to be with sweet potato wedges, but I forgot to buy one so we did a sort of DIY patatas bravas with new potatoes)
Creamy Pasta with Peas and Bacon and salad (will do this on two evenings that we're both working late)
Beef Stew (will also do lunch the next day, no recipe - I just shove things in a pot and leave for ages)
Lamb Moussaka and salad (will also do lunch the next day)
Pizza

I'm also going to make a batch of Jamie Oliver's Mexican Tomato Soup (I make this without the rice, and I don't bother doing the sprinkles and nachos) to take to work along with a sandwich. I love this soup, it's a nice level of spice and has a zing from the coriander and limes

GeorgianaCavendish

I got a cheque for £100 from First Great Western in the post yesterday :j
There was no cover letter but I think that this is in relation to a claim I put in for a cancelled train back in November. I had completely written it off as I didn't hear anything so I'm really delighted with this! I'll pay the cheque in today and update my YNAB budget to allocate it to an overpayment on my MBNA card.

JoJoC

That soup sounds delicious, GC! I've opened up the link to take a look It's 0 deg up here today and I cannot get a heat in me - it's definitely a day for soup. I'll be saving this one for later and might plan it in for next week for lunches. I'll need to see how cheap i can get the canned roasted peppers - maybe B&M?

Wow - a nice surprise from the train people! What a lovely bonus! I just got a cheque for my delayed train last month and the train was in July, so they do like to take their time. They took a lot of hounding as well, so I think they maybe just hoped that I'd forget and they wouldn't need to pay me. £54 i think i got back and a £20 off voucher for my next season ticket.

Hooray for train compo!

Treadingonplaymobil

Great news on the cheque! Always nice to get a bit of unexpected money.

GeorgianaCavendish

JoJoC wrote: »

That soup sounds delicious, GC! I've opened up the link to take a look It's 0 deg up here today and I cannot get a heat in me - it's definitely a day for soup. I'll be saving this one for later and might plan it in for next week for lunches. I'll need to see how cheap i can get the canned roasted peppers - maybe B&M?

Wow - a nice surprise from the train people! What a lovely bonus! I just got a cheque for my delayed train last month and the train was in July, so they do like to take their time. They took a lot of hounding as well, so I think they maybe just hoped that I'd forget and they wouldn't need to pay me. £54 i think i got back and a £20 off voucher for my next season ticket.

Hooray for train compo!

It really is lovely and has just the right amount of spice to give you a nice warm feeling (but not so much that I need to go rushing for a glass of water :rotfl:). I usually get jars of red peppers from my local Polish supermarket, I have seen them in Tesco but they are smaller size jars and more expensive. Otherwise I imagine Lidl or Aldi would have them?

I'm so pleased about the train refund! I was not sure if they would accept my claim because I forgot to keep hold of my train ticket at the end of my journey so submitted my pick up confirmation from the ticket machine, seat reservations and my online receipt, but it just goes to show it was worth it. I must get in the habit of putting in a claim every time the tube is delayed too, I used to do it a few years ago and I would end up with between £5-£10 a month in vouchers

GeorgianaCavendish

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

Great news on the cheque! Always nice to get a bit of unexpected money.

Yes, it feels like a proper little bonus! And thanks to my strict YNAB-ing, I am able to put it to good use instead of needing it to cover a direct debit or it triggering a spending spree because I've got a bit of extra money and am bad with knowing when I get to the end of it.

JoJoC

Interesting about the tube delays - I might see if my local trainline does similar. I'm sure they do! Although my trains are delayed daily, only by a few minutes. They're only delayed majorly around once per month so i'll need to see what the rules are. No harm in applying for a few extra pounds here and there.

GeorgianaCavendish

JoJoC wrote: »

Interesting about the tube delays - I might see if my local trainline does similar. I'm sure they do! Although my trains are delayed daily, only by a few minutes. They're only delayed majorly around once per month so i'll need to see what the rules are. No harm in applying for a few extra pounds here and there.

Tube delay rules are delays of 15 minutes or more, I think our local overground is 30 minutes or more. There was a particularly bad period a couple of years ago when I would get stuck on at least two delayed trains a week, I was so exasperated by them that I would make a point of claiming every single time. I haven't had such bad luck with tubes for a while but I need to keep it in mind so that it's my automatic response to getting delayed

Naomim

GeorgianaCavendish wrote: »

My dinner plan for this week (recipes are ones I've tried over past couple of years from Hello Fresh or Gousto, I'm not this creative naturally!)

Butterflied Chicken with Feta, Leek and Minted Potatoes
Chicken & Chimichurri Quesadillas and Patatas bravas (supposed to be with sweet potato wedges, but I forgot to buy one so we did a sort of DIY patatas bravas with new potatoes)
Creamy Pasta with Peas and Bacon and salad (will do this on two evenings that we're both working late)
Beef Stew (will also do lunch the next day, no recipe - I just shove things in a pot and leave for ages)
Lamb Moussaka and salad (will also do lunch the next day)
Pizza

Ooh sounds lovely. sadly I have the worlds fussiest 7yo and I don't "enjoy" cooking so the idea of making two meals an evening is a nightmare. What I try and do is amend what we are having so it's either plain or take her things out early so no sauce etc gets added. So if I make a curry, I cook the chicken and she has plain chicken and white rice then we have yummy sauce and rice and samosa's etc. She'd live on chicken nuggets & strawberries given half a chance although she is looking forward to pancake day today.

GeorgianaCavendish wrote: »

Tube delay rules are delays of 15 minutes or more, I think our local overground is 30 minutes or more. There was a particularly bad period a couple of years ago when I would get stuck on at least two delayed trains a week, I was so exasperated by them that I would make a point of claiming every single time. I haven't had such bad luck with tubes for a while but I need to keep it in mind so that it's my automatic response to getting delayed

I never knew you could claim for tube's :eek: I don't use them for work but MrM does. Our overground isn't too bad with delays but they do make it so very, very hard to claim. My season ticket is on my Oyster card so it's not like I can send that off either! Lucky you with the extra money though. Lovely little bonus :T

Naomi x