Giving every £ a job

Sun_Addict

I went the other way and had my grocery delivery a day earlier. Only to take advantage of a £15 off voucher though. One of my favourite 80s songs is Heaven 17 Come Live With Me 💕

Blackcats

Lucielle - wow a parcel from The Falklands is exciting.
SA - I love that song too - I was always intrigued  by the "I was 37 you were 17" lyric - mainly because at the time 37 seemed very old .... seems very young now particularly as my children edge closer to that age 😱

the storm is raging outside - one of the cats stuck their head out of the cat flap and changed their mind and is now snuggled up on my blanket on the sofa.  Hopefully they didn't need to go out for anything urgent! 

savingholmes

Yes my cat has been refusing to go out too

lucielle

It wasn’t that exciting just some clothes she sent home. Probably to lessen the load of her suitcase. 

L

Blackcats

Cats still very reticent about venturing outside.  I hear the clunk of the cat flap and a few moments later hear it again as they come scurrying back indoors.  

Lucielle - I had visions of hand made garments using Falkland Islands wool - this is based on my very limited knowledge of the Falklands. 🤦‍♀️

thrifty things achieved ....made rice pudding using nearly out of date almond milk (from the pandemic stores) - it was ok but very sweet.  Collected my very first olio items ... plenty of broccoli which I'll turn into broccoli and Stilton soup which also uses up a small chunk of Stilton.  Also got some pastries which we took on our walk to go with our flasks of tea and coffee.  Claimed back some Christmas related expenses from work - £68 which will be very welcome.

Also, I get a regular payment on 18th of each month and I'm going to round down to the nearest hundred (approx £25) so I'll top this up and buy a premium bond.  

Meal plan and shopping list prepared.  2 night's meals using components from the freezer. I think I will be on budget for grocery spends this month.

[Deleted User]

My computer is playing up whilst I'm trying to OCR a document so thought I'd catch up on your diary even though it is work time - computer currently saying "waiting to start"!!!  I'm always so impressed by your grocery/cooking efficiency and really need to take a leaf out of your book!  How did you find OLIO?  Debating whether or not to try that myself.

Blackcats

Thank you Rebecca - I hope your computer decided to start - staring hard and crossly at the screen never seems to work for me.
you are too generous about my grocery and cooking efficiency.  I record my successes here as I still surprise myself with my progress but I'm a rank amateur compared to many of the folk on here.
Olio was a good experience but you are more time poor than me so might not be a good investment in time but is a good investment in preventing food waste.  I made broccoli and Stilton soup using the free broccoli and had a toasted whole meal roll (also an olio rescue).  I got some lovely tulips too - still doing ok but will probably only last another 3 or 4 days.

I returned a couple of am zon purchases today - so quick and easy.  I do have some qualms about the business but I can't fault how convenient it is.  I do try and support small businesses too.  Anyway £12.38 coming back from them to me.

savingholmes

Glad things are going well. I think Oli thing is worth it if you can get a few items from the same person. If not you need to consider time and fuel.

MissRikkiC

We have an olio FWH in the next street and she has regular slots but her collection times are usually 10pm Friday and Saturday so there has to be something worth going out for. I have used them it alot though and the app says I’ve saved over £600. That’s crazy isn’t it. 

Like you I enjoy making things with the items though, it is good for the soul

Blackcats

Yes SH and Miss RikkiC I think if there are a few items Ol io if worth it and it's such a good concept.  I can't believe my tulips are still ok - I feel like I gave them a new lease of life.

so, the end of the month summary.
a few frugal wins -
got an extra 8 days from my primer by cutting off the end of the tube - a la Foxgloves - OH  is always amused by the concept of primer for the face 🤩.  
food collected from ol io for the first time and used up
home made valentine's dinner - really nice and of course a fraction of the price of eating out on 14th Feb
sorted wardrobe and resurrected some clothes that I haven't worn for ages 
rounded down a regular payment into my account and bought a £25 premium bond 
£108.75 swept into my accumulation of marginal gains pot 

less than frugal ....
slipped into some bad eating out habits/takeaway habits - a spontaneous curry which we enjoyed and fish and chips which was disappointing.  I thought I'd set a generous budget but I went over with a couple of coffee shop visits and a couple of breakfasts out
I'd budgeted for gifts but a few unexpected spends crept in - a colleague was bereaved and I sent her flowers (which she really appreciated).  2 colleagues had leaving collections.  On line giving platforms seem to imply the need for much higher contributions than the olde worlds envelope round the office system as your contribution is visible to the rest of the team.. that will be a saving after I've left work 🤣

OH who rarely buys anything for himself bought some sort of hi fi gadget.  No budget for it at all so used personal spends he bought it in the Bay of E and he used some nect ar points that he'd saved for years. Still needed a top up of £ though but he is very happy with whatever it is he bought (music still sounds the same to me 😵‍💫)

so the long and short of it is that I reduced the February budget and went over budget but spent less than in January.  I've just set the March budget .... fresh start tomorrow - still learning, still practising.