It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

CKhalvashi

Completely cleared the garden yesterday.

Just a tip (which I didn't think of before); use a rake to go over the grass, I'm going to be putting some seeds down when it starts raining but its quicker than digging and turning it up.

About to settle into some (heavily reduced) lime and mango chicken with chips in tortilla as I can't be bothered to cook properly tonight. Should take less than 5 minutes and cost less than £1/head, less than 50p if not ignoring the serving suggestion.

London_1

Good Morning chums I'm back from my hols and life is getting back to normal. I had £30.00 for the last two weeks budget for July and spent £15.00 odd on fruit and veg and have £14.63 left for incidentals if needed for the rest of the month.

I raided my squirelled away cash, and did my big shop including virtually filling my freezer
 (yesterday at Asda's just got there at the right time and got lots of Y/S stuff, mainly chicken, mince, sausages and pork steaks for £19.71 ) and now have zero shopping to buy for at least a month.

 I was quite pleased as I had done an inventory of tinned stuff etc before I went away so didn't have a lot to buy for the cupboards and the staple stuff is all topped up I spent just under £99.00 and the freezer is full along with the fridge. I thought I would get it done before the really hot weather started so no need to go trailing around the shops.

I noticed how the prices have risen even in the space of a fortnight, so I'm glad I'm restocked and won't need to go near a shop for awhile for food .

Got lots of salad stuff in so this week with be mainly cold salad for main meals ,so not a lot of cooking required so a saving on the electric bills  

With luck any cash left will go into my six month seperate account for left over budget money.
I had almost £70.00 in there from Jan-June so the July - December cash (if there is any ) will go in there, and will be used just after Christmas to help restock any shortfalls in the cupboards. Get a few bargains just after Christmas when the shops are selling off Christmas food etc.

I saw in Tescos how expensive an ordinary chicken had become the days of the £2.99 chicken is long gone now.

But in Asda's yesterday I struck lucky I got three huge chicken breast reduced to £2,70 so they were cut in half and will
make at least 6 meals for me ,plus there was a pack of 5 deboned chicken thighs that were pretty large as well reduced to £2.20. That is 5 Hunters Chicken meals for me, again a bargain.
There were 6 pork loin steaks at £2.70 that when I brought home before I froze them I dipped in egg and dried stuffing mix so another 6 meals there.
With the 2 kilos of mince, and  a pack of 10 Heck sausages the whole lot came to a tad under £20.00 and I sat and worked it out I should get around 35 meat blocks for a main meal at just under 60p per portion so add the veg and maybe a small pudding thats around £1.00 per meal  so I'm quite happy with that, 35 meals for £35 sound pretty good to me 

I bought some block butter at £1.75  and I dug out my 'butter curler ' from back in the days when block butter was all there was on the market and if I use it for half a dozen or so butter curls in a dish with the weather being so warm I don't need 'softened buttter' from the fridge. I can use the butter curls from a dish ,:) they soften up fairly quickly in the kitchen in the warm weather 

I did bring back a few bits left over from the holiday house so they will get used up this week.

But I'm watching the prices closely online, if I need any thing else I have Asda's Tesco's Aldi's and Sainsbury's near to me so I just look online to see the best price and go there if Tesco are price matching Aldi's then I use tesco's and get my points. As is said every little helps

Streetching every penny and getting the best value for your cash is what everyone will be doing to help with the rising fuel  costs this winter.

I am definitely turning into a squirel as I have started laying in my winter stocks already

By the way if anyone likes Heinz spag-hoops they are 85p a tin in Tescos at the moment, but if you pick up the free Tesco July August magazine  there is a 50p coupon in there so it brings it down to 35p worth having in the cupboard as a standby. I quite like them myself and will some times have half a tin with egg and sausage for a quick light tea and the other half on a slice of toast for lunch so 35p will help with a couple of light meals.

I always check the Tesco free magazine as they have some decent coupon offers in there sometimes, and to me 50p is ten bob off for those of you who remember what ten bob is  

Take care chums its nice to be back 

JackieO xx

elsien

I’ve just added up how much I spent on holiday and am now going back to my ostrich impression with regards to holiday budgets. You only live once, or that’s what I keep telling myself. 

Florenceem

Good to see you back JackieO and that you enjoyed your hols.
We need to buy milk today - could have done with getting it yesterday but don't shop on a Sunday.
I need to get our uniforms sorted today ready for the weekend's enrolment. Shirts and blouses can have a quick refresh in the washing machine. I have some hand sewing to do on epaulettes.
I also need to make a Birthday card.

London_1

I stocked up on 6 cartons of long life UHT milk on Saturday when I bought fresh milk .I don't mind UHT , as I only really have it in tea, or if I make custards.Aldi's was the cheapest at £4.50 for 6 ltrs and dated until December.

Hung my washing out first thing and everything is bone dry .I just dropped my grandson at work and its really far too hot to be out in, so I am sitting by the fan in my sitting room knitting, and listening to the wireless very relaxed and chilled out  with a nice pot of tea and some stem ginger biscuits that I treated myself to while on holiday my idea of heaven at the moment 

JackieO xx

Toonie

That sounds great Jackie, glad to hear you had a good holiday, and what wonderful bargains for restocking your freezer.

My plan in this heat is to do as little as possible, though I do want to make a congratulations card as my friend recently had a baby, so want to make her a little something. I've got plenty of bits and pieces, plus stamps, so will make something this afternoon.

I've also done a little winter prep, a neighbour was getting rid of a load of wool insulation from food delivery boxes and so I asked if I could have it, and I've cut some old holey trousers up to make draught excluders, I'm useless at sewing so I've tied the ends off with some scraps of twine. Soo, that's two sausages to use at the kitchen door and the front door.

YorksLass

CKhalvashi said:

For £1200 with no exit fees, I'd be tempted to risk it and go for the deal.

Errm, not quite sure how you calculated this!  The variable offer at £147.53 pm is £1770 pa and the fixed at £244.94 pm is £2939 pa.  They have used our annual usage but these prices are worked out using the current price cap figures that will change, come October.  Current predictions say the typical annual charge will then be £3249 or £270 pm.  However, until such time as the October price cap figures are known I can't work out what we could be charged on a variable.  The fixed deal may also not be available or, if it is, it could be much higher than the current offer.  Still pondering.

Florenceem

London_1 - I am not keen on milk full stop but prefer fresh skimmed milk to UHT. Those biscuits sound yummy - lovely treat.
Upstairs landing was fairly cool so I did the ironing - only one wash load so very quick.
My kitchen is cool so I will make the cards that I need in there - just heard of a bereavement so two to do.

CKhalvashi

YorksLass said:

CKhalvashi said:

For £1200 with no exit fees, I'd be tempted to risk it and go for the deal.

Errm, not quite sure how you calculated this!  The variable offer at £147.53 pm is £1770 pa and the fixed at £244.94 pm is £2939 pa.  They have used our annual usage but these prices are worked out using the current price cap figures that will change, come October.  Current predictions say the typical annual charge will then be £3249 or £270 pm.  However, until such time as the October price cap figures are known I can't work out what we could be charged on a variable.  The fixed deal may also not be available or, if it is, it could be much higher than the current offer.  Still pondering.

The difference between £1770 and £2939 is?

elsien

There are some “best guesses” on here, if it helps at all. Have to be honest, it just makes my brain hurt.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6367810/october-price-cap-electricity-cost-per-kwh