Giving every £ a job

Blackcats

Here we go again with the stricter lockdown. Unfortunately I think the same people will continue to follow the rules and the same people who are currently flouting them will continue to do so.
I'm part way through organising my recipe folder - I'm a terror for clipping recipes from Newspapers and magazines but never sorting through them, much less cooking them.  I am super happy to have filed lots of them and now this week's meal plan has got some fresh ideas on it. I think it will be a great source of inspiration for weekly meal plans.  I chose a fish, veggie, chicken, mince and "easy" choice.  Easy is something like soup or jacket potatoes.  

My budget month starts tomorrow - 5th jan to 4th feb and I'm looking forward to sticking to my 21% reduced spends - determined to succeed. 

savingholmes

Great goal on the spends side of things. I'll be cheering you on. 

Sarahwithlove

Love the idea of a recipe file maybe I need to do same with my magazines and go through my cookbooks and just make a file of ones I enjoy and want to eat and then get rid of the books themselves 

foxgloves

Hi Blackcats - Great minds think alike! I tackled my recipe collection while the builders were here & it has proved really useful. One of my handwritten recipe books was started in 1991, so there were lots of things in it which I cooked a lot back then, but no longer make, as well as things I thought I might make, but never did. My later notebook of recipes & my box of clippings were the same, so I went through everything & did an edit. The result has been a nice A4 file in vintage stripes (yes, I did buy one!) which is divided into Mains: meat, Mains: Fish, Mains: Veggie, Desserts, Baking, Bread, Preserves & miscellaneous. I've double-sided each recipe (or back-to-backed them) in A4 plastic wallets (these were very much shopped from home, as I bought a huge pile of them back when we were clearing Mum's house prior to sale) & this is working better than my old notebooks as the recipes are now wipe-clean. I'm a very keen cook, so have been really strict with myself. All the recipes which made it through the cut are 'keepers' & things we eat fairly regularly. That left me with a pile of recipes I've never tried, but would like to, so I have put all those clippings in a spare plastic wallet at the back labelled 'For testing'. If they turn out to be things we want to make again, they will be promoted to the relevant section, if not, the recycling wheelie beckons! It did take me a while to copy out a number of the recipes, but it has been well worth it. I can now easily find what I'm looking for & we have enjoyed re-visiting old favourites. I enjoyed the decluttering/streamlining element too......as in how many very similar recipes involving sticking some broccoli & bacon in a macaroni cheese-type jobber so I actually need? I do, of course have lots of cookbooks too, but since I made my new recipe file, I have used it every week, often more than once, so it was well worth it.
Enjoy yours!
F x

Blackcats

Thank you for your support SH - I really appreciate it.
sarahwithlove - I'm so pleased with my folder, I have written a list of recipes that are in my cookbooks and keep the list in the front of my recipe folder to give me ideas for meal planning.  It was very rewarding and relaxing making my folder - I'd recommend it.
ah foxgloves, you've taken it to a new level!  Firstly I want a vintage striped folder and I also need more sub-sections.  I've used the plastic wallets, shopped from home too.  

I made cauliflower rice tonight for the first time - very nice too!  I'd somehow ordered 2 cauliflowers when I did the online shopping for elderly relative so we had 1 each.  I made a Dahl with spinach and tomatoes to have with the 'rice".  A nice, cheap and tasty dinner - healthy too.  Less healthily I've started on the Thornt*ns choccies with my cup of tea and tv.

My new budget month started today with a no spend day.  I have some budgeted spends planned and I was tempted to cheat and buy them from last month's budget But that would just be cheating myself 🙃

Sarahwithlove

I'm certainly gonna have enough spare time on my hands to sort it now. 

savingholmes

Hope you're okay Sarah - and you just mean not going out rather than job
Well done for getting so organised BC - and for sticking to your goals of spending 21% less. Great goal.

foxgloves

It's a really nice project to do, Blackcats. It feels both positive & practical & it is saving time too, as I no longer have to try & remember which old notebook a particular recipe is in.
Glad your cauluflower rice was nice. I've never tried it. Mr F keeps threatening to make it, but it is yet to appear.
F x

Blackcats

Thanks SH - I've only set the 21% reduction goal for January 🤣.  Funnily enough I think it's doable this month and I'm now contemplating variable targets for each month based on last year's average monthly spend.
sorry Sarah - I'd assumed you had more time because of lockdown and I hope that's what you meant.  

Sarahwithlove

Blackcats said:

Thanks SH - I've only set the 21% reduction goal for January 🤣.  Funnily enough I think it's doable this month and I'm now contemplating variable targets for each month based on last year's average monthly spend.
sorry Sarah - I'd assumed you had more time because of lockdown and I hope that's what you meant.  

Yes it was sorry didn't mean to worry you. I work for LA so out jobs are safe until its all over and they do next round of redundancies 🙈 I've been lucky enough to work through whole thing.