My 25 Months Challenge

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Hi Humdinger - was kicking myself and had to pop back on to say i hope you are doing ok? I'm sorry i didn't ask before i think mainly being glum i need more time to process things and think properly so i was rushing my post as was on lunch and by the time my thoughts caught up with me i wasn't able to post - until now. x

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Posts won't be this frequent all the time  I have made the soup and have plenty of ingredients to make several more so i will aim to do this and use up all the ingredients to avoid any waste.

We had a tasty yellow stickered tea and there is enough leftover for lunch tomorrow.

Tomorrow is mainly a yellow stickered ingredients tea. I said to Mr Socks for a treat we'll have curry Friday - he thought i meant I was buying takeaway  I bought poppadoms and made curry using yellow stickered meat and will make rice tomorrow. I have yellow stickered naans too.

Saturday i think i'll use up some ingredients i have in to make a recipe and lift out some ys fish or meat to go with it. Some of the ingredients need to be used up so a good choice.

Which moves the other yellow stickered meal (already cooked and in the freezer) to Sunday with some of the gifted veg. 

Excellent a plan.

I have 8 things ready to list on the bay and still an item I need to photo and put on.

Have a good evening all x

Tahlullah.H

The YS meals all sound wonderful and a great use of food with no waste.  I should be as inventive!

To answer your other question regarding self help books, the only one I have ever read, which I really enjoyed was 'The subtle art of not giving a fu*k'.  In my humble opinion, a great book.  Perhaps you have already read it.

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Hello all - well a busy day yesterday meant i didn't get on here to update as i wanted to. Thank goodness it's the weekend now! And, whilst i've things to do today, one of those things is plotting and planning mse ways so i am in here to update.

Meals are all going to plan so far - one part of the meal yesterday wasn't as good as usual - i blame Mr Socks efforts  But we still ate it    

I posted some bay sales but the funds needed to be used to fill the car up with petrol for the journey. i know i don't need a full tank for this but i have a strong dislike of going to any petrol station so i now fill up when i go so that the unpleasant experience is less frequent. The drive to work is pretty significant too so i would have needed petrol yesterday and again some by Monday morning so it made sense. I also posted some books i sold   

The next part wasn't so MS - i overspent shopping by £7.97. The breakdown shows this as:
2 new shopping bags £2 - character bags - last time i didn't get a character bag when i really wanted it and was then gutted when it sold out. This time, to avoid that happening again, i purchased and now feel guilty - is there any way to win with this i wonder?

£2.50 - coffee on offer - will be needed within the next 2 weeks and i am not likely to go to this particular shop again in that time. I guess this was a spend which was due to happen soon and it just happened sooner. Same with the next spend:

£2.30 oil - i have needed this for weeks and finally found the one i was after on the shelf ( i spotted it accidentally whilst looking for something else - why do some supermarkets seem to have things you'd think would be together all spread around).

£0.49 - fruit - because i like it and it will be used and it was a good offer.

All these spends mount up. You'll probably have more interesting and stimulating posts like the above to look forward to in the coming weeks as i aim to keep food spending down over the coming months. I have a large unexpected bill to pay and am trying to squeeze money from every sort of budget i have in order to cover this.

I need to plot out this month's spends. July has largely been taken up with putting a bit of money to one side for something else instead of focusing on the current credit card i am aiming to clear. I am back to focusing on this this month - but with the unexpected bill and most things already gone on the bay i am not sure what i will achieve. I will get the items listed on the bay this weekend - i have a couple of things that i have been putting off listing but just need to do it. Also, if anything does sell funds may be used to purchase Tahlullah's recommendation. Thank you for this suggestion.

So plan is to plan the spends from the budget, list on the bay and stick to the meal plan.

Hope you're all good.

Humdinger1

StripeyTightsSpottySocks said:

Hi Humdinger - was kicking myself and had to pop back on to say i hope you are doing ok? I'm sorry i didn't ask before i think mainly being glum i need more time to process things and think properly so i was rushing my post as was on lunch and by the time my thoughts caught up with me i wasn't able to post - until now. x

Thanks Stripey, am doing well.  Totally agree re being overtaken by events! Am doing hours of walking most days and it really helps, as does avoiding news after lunchtime.   All of your shopping will be used and I think we must all be spending more than usual as we still get stuff when we see it rather than wait till running out! I've managed to rein myself in slightly as at one point, I was spending at 250% of my usual monthly level, when lockdown first hit; that plainly wasn't sustainable or necessary.  A brief moment but one I've had to sternly wean myself away from.  Your diary is never boring, just tells it like it is - and the pressure to maintain a fantasy lifestyle is behind much debt in my view; don't get me started.... lovely to see you posting love Humdinger x 

savingholmes

Glad things are settling down Stripey. Good to see you posting more. Hope your leg heals or gets treated soon.

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Hello all
Humdinger it is nice to see you again. I have only managed 1 walk so far but i hope to improve this when i can do so without causing pain. 
I think a lot of people spent more on food initially - i found i was simply because when i finished work and went to the shops only the expensive brands were left and if it is a need and a lot of shelves were empty then there really wasn't any choice.
I am conscious of trying to keep spends down at the moment - although my spending today may not show that.
Savings Thank you - lockdown has delayed appointments understandably but i will make sure i get any help as soon as i can as it won't all be dealt with at once.

An Update 
I wrote this month's budget out and have been just now ticking off payments as i've done them - making sure the money is is in the right place for bills. So that was one of my planned activities. I also listed a few things on the bay but still have a couple to go on. I like items getting a new lease of life as they head off to a new home, I like having less things and I like money coming in so it should be easier to just get on with it.
We have stuck to the meal plan and had leftovers on Monday. Today was casserole and tomorrow is chicken and potatoes - the chicken because it needs using up. Rest of the week we will have: Pizza Thursday, freezer surprise Friday, Pie on Saturday and Pasta on Sunday - these things may get moved around.
Tonight I prepped the veg left in the fridge for freezing because i still have 9 portions of soup from making the last lot  and 
So food shopping since i last updated: 

£3.87 on 5 packs of meat (reduced) and which will do between 10 and 13 meals. All frozen up and a good bargain

£5.27 for items on my list and i am also getting £0.90 back for this as well. All usual fresh stuff as well as toiletries.

£10.81 on reduced food - spreads and pates for when we don't want too much to eat, bacon for breakfasts, sausages for breakfast or tea and beef for 4 meals.

£28.25 on cat food - though i think i've been overcharged by £5 - i will need to phone them tomorrow - another thing to do. i did quickly look at the receipt but obviously the number looked right... That is frustrating but if that is the price then i do really need to slow down and scrutinise the price in front of the product - it may be the price was in front of this product and that there is a very similar product - i've had that happen before. I will see how i go on phoning them tomorrow.

Right i am now off to bed - i have obviously not managed the no comp in the evening but i had to move the money around and i so wanted to pop in.

I hope you're all doing well and i will be back soon.
Sx

savingholmes

Meal planning and ebaying sound good. Have fun too

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

hello all
Super quick post and I didn't realise it had been so long. Meal plan stuck to. Yesterday was leftovers from freezer surprise. I have planned a few meals out and will need a few ingredients to go with what we have so have added those to the shopping list.
I am trying to keep a spending diary too - started yesterday.
I do need to list on the bay still.
Right must dash but nice to pop in and say hello to all.
I hope you're all doing ok

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Hello all

I hope all are well? I enjoyed listing the meals on here last week and we stuck to them too as well as having leftovers for lunches or extra portions to freeze. I have planned out this weeks meals and will see how that goes too. I have been pretty good at meal planning in the past - for us a few days / week ahead works best mostly because of space limitations.

And i know it's early days but i'm enjoying popping things into my spending diary - i do a bit of analysis to. Hopefully this will make me consider spends more - it has all been good so far.

I decided as the bay is going very slowly i would pay the proceeds off the card and having done that will push myself to list the few bits i've sorted out tomorrow - this will be more items gone after all. i have been spurred on lately to renew my enthusiasm for wanting to have less 'things' I don't have lots but am sure, like many, i have more than is necessary and having less should help with the simpler life i aspire too. Because our house is very small it is easily untidy simply because there is nowhere to put things. I'm clearly also ignoring the fact we're both very untidy people 

I have been gifted a few more food and drink items and have gifted other items to others too - food, household items and clothing. The food was more of an exchange than anything else and it is good it's not only not going to waste but it is keeping all our spends down - I wouldn't let it go to waste anyway but this saves me thinking of something to make with the leftover bits when we already have plenty in. I know i could just buy what i need in the right quantities but this isn't always possible depending on the shop and also half a broccoli and a stick of celery just aren't available.

I made a lovely tea today - yellow stickered ingredients so bargainous really. Tomorrow will involve a fair bit of cooking and 1 of these will be a new recipe - it is a good thing i have a free evening!

Have a good evening all.