Put away your purse & become debt-averse

MissRikkiC

Enjoy the sun! I feel like i need a week of doing as many money savings things as possible having just updated my grocery spends! Maybe your list will contain something everyone could do every day for a week to be extra MSE themselves

foxgloves

OK, back again & I did find setting myself that challenge quite motivating. I have achieved the following money saving things today:
*Pulled another 1.5kg rhubarb, prepped & froze it.
*Baked a loaf & fed sourdough jar as I plan to bake for the freezer tomorrow.
*Rounded up a few use-it-up items to avoid food waste - a bag of out of date quinoa has been swapped into tonight's meal for a pilaf instead of using rice as planned. An over-ripe banana & very squishy peach went into a smoothie for my lunch.
*Updated Personal Spends spreadsheet.
*Did meal plans for next week prioritising 3 meals minimum from a roast chicken & the rest of the week from the freezer.
*Wrote grocery shopping list.
*Found recipes for a couple of chilli-based preserves I want to make to use up some rather elderly bags in the freezer. Checked stores so as not to buy ingredients we already have in stock.
*Wrapped B-i-L's birthday gifts & boxed ready to post this week. Box & bubble wrap from my recycled wrappings stash, gift tags made from gifted shiny card & recycled ribbon.
*Did 7 surveys. 
*Rejuvenated a handknitted cushion cover (had stretched v badly) by felting it in the washing machine. This has re-sized it & it can now be refilled & used.
*Made decision about a faulty purchase. Already had 2 replacements, broken again. Refund this time.
*Cut some coriander from the greenhouse for using in tonight's meal.
*Cut another bunch of sweet-peas from the garden - free flowers & chemical-free room fragrance.
*Asked Mr F if he will feed the veg when he does the watering tonight as there are fruits starting to appear on our tomatoes, cukes, chillies & courgettes. Want to maximise our homegrown crops.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch. 
*Checked the big winter duvet that I washed in the bath recently (like treading grapes!) & packed it away. It has dried absolutely fine, is defo a lot cleaner, smells nice & fresh from drying outside & has fluffed up sufficiently to carry on using it. Much greener than binning it & buying new. I only need to buy one new one now, instead of two, so will be spending half the money. 
And that m'dears, is today's money saving bits. Think I'll chop a bit of veg now & get ahead of myself for later.
Cheers,
F x

DawnW

Intrigued re the chilli based preserves Foxgloves - I make chilli jam (Nigella's version, v. hot) and chilli jelly (based on quince jelly and warm rather than hot). I use quinces because I always have loads of them, apples would do just as well - or pears.

Are your recipes different from these? As I have a box of chillis in the freezer too....

Sun_Addict

How do you stop your coriander from flowering? Mine was doing really well, I was using it but it’s gone all straggly and flowery. 

Onebrokelady

I have a big pot outside my back door and a lovely fern has made it's home there along with something low growing that gets pink flowers and a tall plant that currently doesn't have flowers but looks nice, it looks like a wild flower pot so I'm leaving it as it is for now 😀

Pixiehouse55

Hello Mrs F and gang. Well we've just had 2 weeks respite(should of been in Thailand) We have had the Decorator in so all upstairs, bathroom ceiling and doors done and all banisters and spindles. New Garage door fitted. Hubby and I have spent 1 of the weeks off getting the garden up together hubby has gone through his garage and sold loads of his tools, still more to sale. Ive got a page on social media selling my craft stash...... how many dies?? 🤣😂🤣😂.   Sold plants. Hubby has got all his Bonsais to sell yet!! We are nearly there. House should be on the market next month fingers crossed!!!  Retirement and a Narrowboat life is nearly here😊😊😊So that's why I've not been on here. Lovely catching up with what you've all been doing in your gardens in this gorgeous weather. Take Care and keep safe . 

Tescodealqueen

Your plans sound great Pixiehouse55. Friends of ours did the same thing 3 years ago and have been happily navigating the canals of England  meeting old friends all over the country since then. Although the locks are hard work everyday is a holiday of sorts

foxgloves

@DawnW - Yes, I use Nigella's chilli jam recipe too, Dawn. That's one of the things I intend to make another batch of imminently. I've tweaked the recipe to use 'Hot Lemon' chilli variety so I sub in yellow peppers instead of red ones. I had a big crop pf those last year, so saved sufficient in the freezer to make two more batches. This will be the last one until I grow this variety again.
The other things I intend to make will use my frozen scotch bonnets - a very hot chilli sauce - my own recipe - which has a base of mangoes. It's incendiary stuff. I was aiming at the hot Caribbean sauce sort of vibe. I will use more scotch bonnets in a pineapple chutney (also my own recipe which happened by accident a few years ago when there was a temporary mango shortage!).

@Sun_Addict - I always used to have that problem with growing coriander, then I read in a gardening mag about a variety called 'Calypso' which lasts better, so I always grow that now. I think this is because it has a low growing point, so you can take several cuts from it like you would with cress. That's how I grow it - in a medium pot in my unheated greenhouse, I don't thin it out or anything, it grows nice & lush & I just take the scissors across it when I want some, leaving that section to re-grow while I keep the rest for next time. A couple of sowings, 3 at the most, keeps us going all summer & into September & you can get that from one packet.

F x

foxgloves

@Onebrokelady - If that pot looks pretty, it doesn't matter if it is wild flowers. They are great for insect life. I only really hammer the invasive ones which are a trouble to other plants/paths.

@Pixiehouse55 - Ooooh, that is all sounding so exciting! The lads in the village where I grew up used to work the lock gates for passing boats & would get thrown a 50p for their troubles. Girls weren't allowed to do it, as it involved muscles, which we used to think was very unfair......although we were only interested in the earning potential, not the physical effort, if I'm honest!

F x

foxgloves

Hello m'dears,
Just a quick one from me today as I haven't really done anything worth sharing. A bit of money saving kitchen activity first thing. Despite all the flour in our pantry, we actually had to buy a pack of rolls & a loaf recently as my bread baking schedule got a bit out of sync, so I have baked a dozen rolls & a sourdough loaf for freezing & they can come out next time there's a baking wobble. Also discovered quite a few carrots which hadn't been used so I've sliced, blanched & frozen them before they went past the point of no return. They will do for Sunday lunch, so have crossed carrots off the shopping list. More use-it-ups in tonight's pasta - my meal plan helpfully just said 'Thursday - Some sort of pasta' so I have made a tomato/vegetable sauce recipe we like which is very good for getting rid of onions, celery & carrots when they look like they are going to end up on the compost. With a bit of grated cheese on top, that's a meal, so sorted. It is easy to scale up for batch cooking/freezing too.
Have counted my bedspread squares this afternoon & I only need to knit another 18. One of those is already on the needles, half done, so by tonight it will be 17 or even 16, depending on if I have something interesting to watch on TV. 
Well, I shall sign out & go & have a tidy-up as my stuff seems to be spread far & wide from my activities this afternoon. Hope everyone has managed a reasonably decent day. 
F x