Marginal Gains

Cornish_mum

Just found old post from 10th of May that I wrote but didn’t have time to upload.  

Groceries came in at £106 this week, I didn’t buy meat so that’s why it’s a bit less.  We had a bit of a disaster with the delivery as none of the fridge stuff was delivered (milk, cheese, ham or veg). MrS are trying their best to rearrange a delivery today (I hope), not really sure what’s happening. We can manage for a day or 2 but MrCM will have to go out to shops for food for the kids tomorrow evening if it’s not sorted out by then. Oh well we have done quite well with shielding so far. 

I printed out a shoe size gauge and ordered new shoes for DD; she had gone up a full size (£44 inc delivery), there was very little choice for narrow feet so I had to go for expensive shoes from Cl***ke’s. I hope they fit ok.

We have used more than half of our printer ink for home school so I ordered more, this time there was no branded ink available anywhere so I tried an online ink shop with good reviews.  It was £13 instead of the nearly £30 I had to pay for the last lot I bought on amazon marketplace for branded. It must be so hard to homeschool if you can’t afford to buy resources or don’t have access to the internet.  It seems so unfair on the kids. 

It was DS birthday this week. I baked him a cake with flour I had been saving and made chocolate icing (cream and chocolate). He had his favourite dinner frozen pizza with Fish Fingers and chips.  MrCM feed this combination of freezer food to the kids once, when I was working late and they think it’s the most magnificent treat. 

I made popcorn with the last of my popcorn kernels (can’t order more alas at MrS). 

He was sent a lot of gifts from the family, which was very kind and we had a zoom birthday party with his cousins with a treasure hunt and virtual candle blowing out.  It was really nice and he enjoyed it.  

I dug out roots from a overgrown area of shrubs near our fence and MrCM cut back the bushes, it took us 3 days working now and then to clear about 5 by 8 feet of extra space.  I planted out half of the Kale plants I grew from seed, added a radish catch crop between the plants and have left space for the courgettes.  I planted runner beans by the garage and kids play house.  I need to find other space for more veg (more beans and Kale) and salad. I think I might dig up the monster rhubarb plant (MrCM and I don’t really like it) and the surrounding area.

I planted out half the sweet peas DD and I grew from seed, weeded and cut back hedges in the front garden. Tied in roses and weeded the flower beds. 

I thinned out the beetroot, chard, salad and radishes; we ate all the little plants with a grated carrot and soft boiled eggs for lunch.

Season ticket reclaim is progressing.

I am not sure what is best to do about our Ryanair flights, it looks like we should try section 75. We don’t need the money currently and I am sure others do, so I am wondering if I should just delay claiming.  

We realised DS doesn’t know his alphabet very well so I looked for some online resources to help him. I couldn’t find what I wanted without paying for a premier Twinkl package (and even then it didn’t have enough versions of the visual tracking task I wanted) so I spent one evening making some for him.  It worked pretty well and he worked on it so I will do the same next week.

I am dreading having to decide what to do when work and the schools reopen, I suspect I will be told to continue to shield for a prolonged period and it’s difficult to know what the right thing to do is for the whole family.  Also I know work while officially are telling vulnerable groups to work from home middle management (who I report too) are not impressed by this and want everyone back in. 

Cornish_mum

Money spent 

Groceries came in at £130 I needed to stock up on basics like olive oil and washing powder, I used £10 of nectar points to bring the cost down. I also ordered flour (6kg) and popcorn kernels (1kg) from whole foods online, it cost £20 which is ridiculously expensive compared to normal price for own brand in MrS but no sign of them coming back in to stock and we had run out.

We treated ourselves to £10 of asparagus from a local farm. It was really tasty and it was a lovely trip out to pick it up. It was our first family trip out since early March.

DS and DS have grown again so I ordered some new clothes (£41.50 for 3 joggers and 2 dresses). DH found DS some hand me down T-shirts in the loft and DD is wearing DS old shorts and T-shirts so we have done our best to keep our spend down.

Frugal things 

Season ticket reclaim has stalled- idiotically it turns out I had submitted the claim to the wrong company as the company that runs my train line was not the company from which I bought the ticket as a different company runs the ticket office. I felt like such an twit when I realised. I have resubmitted it but am worried it won’t be backed dated.

I submitted a section 75 claim for our Easter Ryanair flights with lots of paperwork.  I really hope we get our money back. 

Swapped seedlings with our next door neighbor (our kale for her tomatoes).  I think we did better out of the swap! I also potted on courgettes and runner beans and weeded the garden. DH cleaned out our garden and kitchen waste bin and widened a veg bed to make space for more salads leaves.

I made a fakeaway of chicken tikka, homemade naan bread and veggie curry and baked chocolate pudding on Saturday. On Sunday we had roast lamb with aubergines, peppers and courgette with left over naan bread and homous. 

DH cut his own hair, he also cut DS’s hair. I cut DDs hair which is normal for us as she doesn’t like the hairdresser.

I mended my slippers again; it’s the 100th time to fix them and I am determined to keep them 

Grogged

I must be tired, as I read that you'd swapped the kids for tomatoes...

Cornish_mum

Haha! The way DD behaved today I’d have happily swapped her for 10 tomato plants. We think she has lockdownitis... 

South_coast

Ooh, I'd much prefer the kale to the tomatoes! Sounds like you're doing well CM, lots of good frugal activities going on. Don't beat yourself up on the groceries, I think we're all paying over the odds at the moment

Cornish_mum

Thanks South_coast; we are v lucky to be able to have the room in our budget currently to buy what we need and spend the extra to avoid going without.  I feel so grateful that we got our finances in order thanks to MSE and this forum.

 DH has taken kids out for a run around and I promised DD we could plant seeds when she gets back, so I am just waiting for them.

DH worked this morning so I baked with the kids (banana cake and double chocolate chip cookies) as it’s half term. Back to WFH tomorrow.

 I made egg white omelette with parsley, tarragon and chives from left over egg whites that were lurking in the freezer.  It was surprisingly nice so I will definitely do it again. We are harvesting enough salad leaves and the odd radish to make a nice side salad every day. Kids had jackets with cheese and beans which they were very happy with.

Seem to have a billion lots of washing today so very grateful for the hot weather.

Cornish_mum

Month End Totals (May)

Mortgage capital repayment £903 amount outstanding £190833.

Cash improvement £2249, Ed Fund = £28975.

CM pension AVC = £715, increase in fund value including contribution £1264. Mr CM would be similar but I haven’t had a chance to check it. 

I am also saving up my childcare vouchers, I have about £600 so far.

No refund yet for flights or season ticket. 

Half term meant a break from home school, MrCM took the kids on a few walks in local nature reserves and I baked and played games with them.  We have 7 more weeks of homeschool starting on Monday, I am so grateful that DS school is helping us with lots of resources and support but I am feeling daunted at the prospect of another half- term.

Work is busy for both of us so it’s been quite gruelling trying to keep on top of everything and I am feeling exhausted from working in the evenings to catch up. Working full time while not paying for childcare or our cleaner is meaning we are saving a ton of cash but honestly I would rather have my time back and be able to spend the money.  No news on nursery reopening still. I am determined to try and make the best of it and save the money for our long-term goals but do need a solution for feeling shattered too.

Cash savings this month were brilliant, we just spent on food, basic bills and a few items for the children. One of my regular savers matured so the interest boosted our numbers. I will open another one at the same bank. We have far too much money in our current accounts so I need to find a better home for those pennies and need to discuss with DH about a split between a MOP, a new NSandI bond and our ISAs.

I think I will look over my leave allowance and see if I can book in a long weekend at the end of June. I had been saving all my leave for DD starting reception (her school usually have a month long part-time schedule) but I guess that things will be different now. A break from work I think will help me a lot with the exhaustion.

Frugal things 

DH cooked homemade pizza on Saturday so I could have a night off dinner prep. On Sunday I made homemade turkey and kidney burgers with tarragon (it was nicer than it sounds), homemade burger buns and chocolate chip cookies.  The kids helped with the baking and made a lovely mess in the kitchen.

DD and I pricked our basil seedlings, 6 cornflower seedlings and potted on the 4 lavender cuttings that had rooted. 

I mended some of the kids cuddly toys and a unicorn headband of DDs. 

It’s my big birthday next month and when people are asking what I would like I am saying really practical things, like chicken manure pellets and compost! I had planned to go on a spa day but that clearly will need to be postponed.

Both the kids need more clothes storage so DH is making plans for a low cost solution for that. For DS he plans to rearrange his current furniture and repurpose an old book case so DS storage unit can be used for clothes instead of books. For DD he is going to make a hanging rail in her room.  

Cornish_mum

Another week of work and homeschool for us, all very much the same.

DD nursery is reopening in mid-July; after a lot of discussion we have decided to send her back despite my shielding status.  She is delighted and can’t wait to go back (which was the deciding factor for us). DH drove her over to see the outside of the building, he took DS to see his school too. We have £933 in credit in the nursery account so we won’t need to top up very much over the summer.  

Groceries were £130 including beer for MrCM and fillet steaks and other treats for my big birthday meal and ingredients to make myself an afternoon tea. My store cupboards are rammed with food; after running short of things at the start of lockdown, I can’t bear to risk running low on anything.  I only threw away 200ml of double cream this week so we are not wasting much.

Both kids needed new undies and I needed a new fish slice. I melted our old one on the edge of a hot frying pan.  It one of the things I bought when I went to university, from Woolies. Considering, it was so cheap, I am amazed it lasted 21 years.  I still have the metal steamer- saucepan and milk pan I bought at the same time - I miss Woolies. 

I remembered that back in March I used a JL cardholders deal to get £30 credit when I bought new work clothes. JL also had a £5 off deal on this month.  So I combined the deals and ordered pants for the kids, a fish slice, 2 baking trays (the nonstick surface has started to come off on food on my old ones) and heart shaped biscuits cutters, this cost me only £16.95.

The weather here is pretty awful (hail and strong winds on Friday and Saturday and light rain on Sunday).  We managed to go for a family walk at a nature reserve on Saturday and only got slightly wet. It was medium busy but social distancing was fine. It felt strange to be out and about but I was glad to go somewhere and see trees and green space. The kids loved having the chance to really run around properly in the fresh air; it really improved their behaviour. 

On Sunday, I did some gardening in the rain, no one wanted to help unsurprisingly.  I potted on the tomatoes and planted out the courgettes and cornflowers, and resowed beetroot and chard where they hadn’t germinated.  I pulled up the forget-me-nots and tidied up abit. The lawns need a mow but it’s far too wet.  

DH cut his hair again.

Made homemade popcorn for snacks. 

No progress on the clothes storage for the kids as yet, other than a slight rearrangement of DS bedroom furniture.

becky170

Hi Cornish_mum, I've just been catching up with your diary. I'm glad you're doing ok and keeping the kids busy. Definitely book yourself a long weekend to have some downtime from work/homeschooling as it's such a hard slog at the moment trying to balance everything. 

debtfreeoneday

 Only just found your diary so hello!!  We home ed full time and use HP ink. Original printer cost £30 and we pay £6.99 a month for up to 300 printed sheets. Ink is just sent when we are running low. There is a £3.99 option for up to 100 pages.  Might be worth a thought. I don’t know how much you usually spend. 

Will subscribe to follow you x