Now or never

Its_time

I am so chuffed I managed to get an Aldi click and collect saving me £5 on my Tesco order but I also have extra things in my basket that we needed, it's not until the 29th Dec which works out well.  The total cost is £50.19/£75.00.  If I can do that every week..happy days
I actually feel that things might work, I looked at my shopping account which will have £75 in it on Friday, the shopping payment wont go out until Tuesday and it felt good that it did not affect my main current account.  Everything is budgeted for.
The house insurance and car insurance due beginning of January is going to be around £8/900, I think we will get around £500 back from the electricity so that leaves £3/400 short, I think we've been lucky, next year the savings will cover it.  I'm saying will, not maybe.
I've done a meal plan for the next 2 weeks and have shopped from it.  DH prefers homemade bread to shop bought so I have only ordered 2 best of both loaves to keep for a day when I can't make our own.  I've got lots of ingredients to make cakes so that will be a saving as well.  I used to do a monthly shop but was always popping back and forth for things I'd forgotten or things we fancied, a month feels a long time without going shopping.  Weekly is going to be much better I am sure.  
It's time

Its_time

Foxgloves, that is exactly how I am feeling about paying the car and house insurance.  I am miffed that it ruins my new budgeting plan and cross with myself for letting it happen.  I've just been on top cash back and confused etc. looking for a better deal for the car insurance but my original insurance company has offered the best so I have renewed with them, total of £246.49.  Also the house insurance is staying with the same broker but different insurance provider total cost is £470.26, a total between them of £716.75, as long as the electricity pays us £500 back the short fall will be £216.75, definitely not great but thank goodness for the electricity over payments....still counting my lucky stars.  The house insurance is very expensive because of the businesses we run from here, to be honest I am just grateful to get it!  The savings I have put together starting in April will cover these payments next year.....hmmmm maybe any savings in the pot after car and house insurance and Christmas next year can be moved to a long term 'don't touch pot' for retirement, I suppose that is a thought??
I've made 6 small jellys with sponge in glasses (well wine glasses really) and tomorrow I will add custard and cream so we have 6 small trifles, i've done the chocolate log and to be honest everything else is going in the oven tomorrow.  We are having beef and that is out defrosting as is the bacon for the sausages and bacon rolls.  (Hate saying pigs in blankets ).  I am doing dinner for everyone tomorrow and also dinner for us for boxing day, I will only have to warm it up.
Helped DH out on the yard this morning quickly and then back inside.  DS and his partner along with DH are just finishing up a few jobs and they will be done for Christmas but they won't rest completely if I know them, workaholics the both of them
I've had Christmas music playing this morning on Alexa hoping it will cheer me up.
It's time x

Its_time

I've just joined two challenges for 2021 in the hope that they keep me focused.  The Grocery Challenge where I am spending no more than £75 a week so £375 for January and the Pay all your debt of by Xmas 2021, I know I wont manage all the debt by then but have set a reasonable target of £10,000, it is definitely something that can be done but I need to work hard at it.  I've also tried to set a signature, I have no idea whether it has worked!!
It's time

Its_time

Clearly not

Its_time

Yay! Done

joedenise

See you on the Grocery challenge @Its_time.  I post on there too as well as following on here!

Its_time

It's a date Joedenise
I feel quite bright today.  We had a quiet day yesterday, a much smaller Christmas dinner and two deserts rather than the fridge and cupboards rammed for days afterwards and DH the size of an elephant as he tries not to waste anything.
I've kept dinners from yesterday for today so we are having them for tea, and have some chocolate log left as well.
I've sorted out the dining table and put all the Christmas cutlery, dinner service and glasses away along with the serviettes and crackers we didn't use, there is enough for next year now so I need to remember that! I've put a note in my diary to say I have enough and don't need to buy any.  Just waiting for one more spoon to finish in the dishwasher and then they can go up till next year.
I have brought my exercise bike back up from the sheds, it's a cross trainer as well and I never use the bike part as it is just too hard for me, I use the cross trainer bit and have used it so far for 5 minutes today.
I thought about it and have put some goals in place, I am taking it a month at a time and trying not to be unrealistic using my new motto which is 'Slow Down'.  I go flat out at everything and I need to slow down, not necessarily do less but slow my thinking down.  
Goals for January are:
Drink 3 glasses of water each day (currently I only drink tea or coffee)
Take a vitamin D tablet
Lose 4lb in weight by 31st January, going to do this by calorie counting and using myfitnesspal, total weight I need to lose is 23lb, based on 4lb a month I should get there around June time I hope.
Use my cross trainer for 10 minutes daily, starting today and building up to 10 minutes a day by 1st Jan.
It's time

Its_time

Spent half hour this afternoon making a list of everything in one cupboard in the kitchen.  The pasta, sauce, gravy cupboard.  Well......there's absolutely loads in there.  Most importantly half a pack of spaghetti, two seasoning mixes, some ready mix custard and a pack of rice - all out of date .  There are 4 packs of chicken noodles going out of date in January so they are on the list to use up.  DD has suggested that I fry some bacon and chicken, mix the noodles with them and then grate cheese and mix in breadcrumbs, grill and serve with garlic bread, that is what I will do.  Very often I have a crust left from the homemade bread so I will make that into crumbs,  I do fancy this, if we have it twice in January it will use the noodles.  Everything else that is coming out of date doesn't go out until May so there's time there.
Note to self, check cupboards for things going out of date before doing shopping list and meal plan around them.  
It's time

Blackcats

It's so easy to keep buying food and putting it in the cupboard and not using it.  I have a bad habit of doing this.  If it's any consolation I used an out of date bread sauce mix yesterday which was absolutely fine and I'm just contemplating how/when/IF to use a Jam*e Oliv*r packet of curried lentils that I have no idea when and more importantly why I bought 🤷‍♀️

Its_time

Hmmm...well DH said ignore the dates and based on you using your bread sauce mix Blackcats, I am going to do as you both say and use them up
I've been busy today so far, helped DH outside for a while, done 2 loads of washing one being bedding, made dinner, gone for an hours walk, hoovered through, put all the dried washing away and now I am having half hour sit down.
Can't remember if i've already said this but sent the first £120 to the credit card and £75 into the shopping last Friday, am really looking forward to this Friday so I can do it again.  After my Aldi click and collect on Tuesday I might not need to do it for over a week, if I do it will be for milk, butter, eggs and mushrooms, I might see if I can add these onto my Mums order or my DILs' order, it seems silly to pay £4.99 click and collect for these few things or to add more things to the order to make it worth while which is what I would be more comfortable doing.  I think I prefer to keep my money in my purse and just buy what I need.  Definitely have all I need for meals until 25th January and probably longer.
I've put lasagne, spag bol and curry into the diary for meals for January but I am going to make 6 meals instead of 3 which is easy and then put 3 in the freezer for a fortnights time, saves time and probably money I should think.  I am also going to use half the enchilada kit and use the rest a fortnight later, rather than everyone having more on their plate just to use the entire kit up, I will think of it as two smaller kits, i'm sure the unused wraps will be ok if I freeze them in between.  I am also going to bore DH by giving him a cooked dinner on a Sunday and then the same on a Monday so I can again prepare 6 meals and have 3 each day , better see how this goes...I do need him on board after all lol, maybe they would still be ok to eat on the Tuesday? Hmmmm I wonder......
Dinner was tuna sandwiches with homemade bread, easy and a favourite.
Tea is pork chops, onion rings and some chips, was going to be curry but there were two pork chops in the bottom of the freezer and no chicken, the chicken was in the outside freezer which is now out ready for chicken and tomato pasta tomorrow.
It's time