Giving every £ a job

badmemory

Call me cynical but the absence of anything that actually states how much ofwat says is okay for the total of the next 5 years & how much it has gone up %age wise this year, leads me to believe they will be responsible for a "fudge" in future years.  The enclosed paperwork did say a lot in general terms about what they were going to do but of course nothing that actually specified what that would really be.

Blackcats

@badmemory - our council tax bill arrived with a load of glossy leaflets about what they had done and planned to do but unfortunately I'm too cynical to bother reading it all. Ironically  I suspect up and down the country similar leaflets are going straight into our council waste bins for disposal in some silly waste of resources loop.

we usually have a fakeaway Friday but have enjoyed a cook once eat twice day today.  We had overnight oats that started on Wednesday for breakfast.  Yesterday MrBC made a delicious pan of chicken noodle and veg soup which we also had for lunch today and I made a huge slow cooker batch of 3 bean chilli which we are having again tonight as filling for burritos.  There's still plenty to freeze for 2 "free" meals in the coming weeks.  

I'm planning on making sticky, sweet and spicy chicken in the slow cooker next week using a recipe from the cookbook I borrowed from the library.  I'm trying to add a few new recipes into our meal plan otherwise we just seem to default to our usual favourites.

RebeccaPAgain

Wow - 37 new posts on your thread since I last logged on!  Absolutely LOVE the blanket - so gorgeous.  And great the way the hotel for the concert worked out - totally saved what would otherwise have put a blot on the experience.  Also loving the invite to the party and its terms!!!

Blackcats

Thank you RebeccaP - the blanket has plenty of imperfections but it was made with love and I don't think a 3 year old will be too harsh a critic.
yes the terms and conditions of the party invite make me smile.  It's in a church hall at 10am so will certainly set an unusually glamorous tone for the day.  My daughter said it's best to have the party early in the day as toddlers seem to get more erratic as the day goes on,  I'm envious that some of the 3 year olds will probably be wearing crowns or tiaras.

not many tasks from the various lists have been completed today - well actually none completed so far but I'm optimistic that one OAT (overdue annoying task) will get a big green tick next to it later.

we made bagels today and had them for a late lunch.  There seemed to be lots of prep stages of proving, proving again, immersing in water and finally baking but they were very nice indeed.  All ingredients were from existing stocks and the filling was scrambled egg, salmon (from the freezer), last of a bag of spinach and a few cherry tomatoes.   OH had a cafetière of freshly ground coffee and I had a fancy cup of tea and we speculated on how much it would have cost us in a fancy bistro,   Still feeling full so might make do with some maltezers for tea.  

Sarahwithlove

My water company gave me the option to leave my dd at lower rate and then carry across to next year. But I decided against that and logged on to increase my direct debit to cover it. But most seem about 40% increase over the year 

joedenise

Sarahwithlove said:

My water company gave me the option to leave my dd at lower rate and then carry across to next year. But I decided against that and logged on to increase my direct debit to cover it. But most seem about 40% increase over the year 

That seems ridiculous to me, if you did that then next year’s DD would have to be higher to cover the amount not paid this year.

Blackcats

I agree that it's best to take the pain of the increase this year rather than have even more pain next year.

we have slipped our shopping day this week from Monday to Wednesday so that we trigger our Lidl 10% voucher at the start of April.  We received a £10 off £100 voucher to use this week but having weighed it up we don't need to spend £100 at the moment as cupboards are full and freezer is full.  I reckon there's no point in spending more money than necessary to "save" money especially as we will get a 10% off next week.   

 It was no struggle to feed ourselves yesterday and today and hopefully we will have a nice surplus in the groceries pot which can be diverted to fill up the H&WB pot to reach its £500 target,   However, I need to make a dentist appointment so that pot will need more funds on an ongoing basis.  The dentist appointment is on my OAT (overdue annoying tasklist) so I'm strangely motivated to make the appointment but reluctant to deplete the pot.  On balance I think the excitement of giving myself a green tick on my list is enough to make me make that call tomorrow.

redofromstart

Your comment about Lidl made me check, and I have a £5 off a £40.  That is a push for me given that I usually spend under £20 but useful to know it is there if there is anything interesting for the garden.

Blackcats

@redofromstart - perhaps it might be an opportunity to stock up on non-food bits like loo roll, washing liquid etc.  supermarkets are clever aren't they?  The offers are tempting enough to lure us in to perhaps spend a bit more than we normally would.  Although I do think Lidl are generous with their freebies and vouchers.

badmemory

I wonder how long it is going to take supermarkets to realise that there are a lot of us who only buy when we have some sort of deal.  Do not get me started on clubcard prices.  I only buy toilet rolls when they are on clubcard price & nowhere close also sells them.  Coffee ditto.  I have been on the verge of offering the person in front at the till the use of my clubcard, usually a man, frankly it hurts to watch.