And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

Betterthanever

Hi...hope you don't mind me tagging along for the ride! Meal planning is a way of life for me and has made a massive difference to my stress levels as much as anything else. I do think I have scope to cut the grocery bill, though so will make that my next MF focus!

museumworker

PP, you're very welcome for the Shopm!um tip, they are very fast payers so you should see your money back in no time. In comparison I just tried the tcb app for groceries bought instore and the camera takes odd photos so don't think I'll see my £1 back!

Just wanted to save how impressively low your spends were for August, and love the fact you didn't feel deprived. Your os amount js amazing!

I too am not great at grocery spends - once I've got my finances nailed down with all my switches etc I'll be heading that way.

Am sure you'll sail through September.

MW x

maia_evo

Thank you so much for your diary. I'm a newbie and have a lot to learn about food shopping!

I have just spent £70 at Ald! for the week and thought I was doing really well (used to spend over £100 a week in the supermarket) :eek:

May I ask, what is a YS week?

pinkypig

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

Urghhhhhh marking books. I do not miss that! How ridiculous is your marking policy?

Its rigorous and for rigorous read relentless:eek:!!

pinkypig

Betterthanever wrote: »

Hi...hope you don't mind me tagging along for the ride! Meal planning is a way of life for me and has made a massive difference to my stress levels as much as anything else. I do think I have scope to cut the grocery bill, though so will make that my next MF focus!

Hi BTE :wave:

Thank you so much for stopping by - please do, the more the merrier and the support on here is such a source of motivation

I actually started meal planning to take the stress out of work day dinners and realised it also saved a fortune. Win/Win:D

The great thing about grocery spend is there's always room for a tweak:money:

Best of luck with your goals - I've had a lurk on your new diary !:o

pinkypig

maia_evo wrote: »

Thank you so much for your diary. I'm a newbie and have a lot to learn about food shopping!

I just spend £70 at Ald! for the week and though I was doing really well (used to spend over £100 a week in the supermarket :eek:

May I ask, what is a YS week?

Hello Maia :wave: nice to 'see' you . Always nice to know I'm not just rambling on to myself :rotfl:

YS is yellow sticker or reduced items. I pop into my local supermarket at final reduction time once a week (about 8pm here). Everything is 10p:money: I get veg and fruit and microwave it for a few minutes to par cook and freeze. I never pay full price for bread etc. If it feels stale I don't bother if it feels fresh it goes straight in the freezer. Meat and fish are harder to come by but you occasionally get lucky. We had roast pork leg tonight which will do lunches tomorrow, pork fried rice for tomorrow's dinner and padded out with stuffing there will be enough for hot baguettes and HM wedges on Tuesday and it was £2:j

You are doing well with your weekly spend as many people spend way over £70 and going to Aldi is a great plan as it saves loads of money. I used to just try and shave off a couple of pounds a week but it gets a bit addictive!
Have you ever tried a stock cupboard/freezer challenge to use up what you've got? Its amazing how long you can manage without having to shop:)
The very best of luck with your plans. There's a goldmine of knowledge and tips on here and the OS board.

pinkypig

museumworker wrote: »

PP, you're very welcome for the Shopm!um tip, they are very fast payers so you should see your money back in no time. In comparison I just tried the tcb app for groceries bought instore and the camera takes odd photos so don't think I'll see my £1 back!

Just wanted to save how impressively low your spends were for August, and love the fact you didn't feel deprived. Your os amount js amazing!

I too am not great at grocery spends - once I've got my finances nailed down with all my switches etc I'll be heading that way.

Am sure you'll sail through September.

MW x

Thanks MW. August's spends are a bit artificial because I had 11 days hols and my spends came out of my holiday budget. They'll probably be less impressive this month
Was proper thrilled with my OS payment though

pinkypig

Back to it tomorrow:eek: preparing for my body to go into shock :rotfl:

Another dad day today so not much achieved but I'm off duty next weekend so intend to have a bit of me time

I prepped dinner before I left so we got our Sunday roast tonight which pleased the kids. Loads of leftovers so no lunches to do for tomorrow and two easy dinners ahead.
Other than that doing my daily cleaning routine was about all I achieved at home.

I did however manage ;

A 6p TT:rotfl:
Drank 1.5 litres of water
Ate healthy (porridge and blackberries, spicy butterbean soup, roast pork with green beans, peas, sweetcorn and air fryer roast root veg and roast potatoes)
Arranged for chimney to be swept
Sent admin emails
Packed my school bag:eek:

Off for an early night in anticipation of being half dead by the end of tomorrow:o

PP x

wishingthemortgaheaway

Good luck tomorrow. I'm assuming it's an inset day. I hope it's positive and not an ear bashing session.

pinkypig

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow. I'm assuming it's an inset day. I hope it's positive and not an ear bashing session.

Thank you . It was inset and I've had worse!