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

sammy_kaye18

Sending hugs and healing vibes to all those who need them. 
I have heard that numbers are picking up again with the new variant and I expect there will be lots that is confused with heavy colds etc in the future. 
Myself and DH are fully jabbed (3 jabs) and son has had 2. Daughter as yet has had none at 13 years old. 
Son caught it recently and that was his second time, husband has had it twice and daughter has had it once. I am the only one in the house who hasn't had it but I don't like to socialise or be around groups of people so I just luckily manage to avoid everything. 

Have finally gotten it through to my DS about taking lunchboxes with him to work and he seems to be paying attention and saving money. He also downloaded the Greggs app as they frequent in there and just for signing up he was given a free pizza slice and hot drink so I am hoping he will use that more and save himself some money and earn himself some freebies too. He is going to go once a week and stock up his lunchbox box for his sandwiches etc so its finally sinking in for him, 
Also have gotten daughter into have breakfast before she goes to school. The last few days she has had bacon sandwiches and then we had homemade waffles last night and I had batter left over so I made her a fresh waffle this morning as her breakfast. This is saving me money too because she use to buy herself breakfast as well as lunch in school and it was costing me nearly £5 a day! 

flamingo747

Krakkkers said:

I am confused about this as when it started I worked at a factory with 800 people and not only did I never meet anyone who had the virus but not even anyone who knew someone who had it.
3 years later I still have never met anyone who has had it or knows anyone who has had it?

Everyone I know has had it at least once! 

euronorris

Had an awful night. High fever, body aches and a god awful headache. Barely slept! Thankfully those symptoms seemed to melt away around 5am ish. A friend took DD to school for me, so once she left I went straight back to bed. Feel a lot more human now!

@sammy_kaye18 check out too good to go for greggs bags. I bought a couple recently and got sooo much food from them for £2.59 a bag. In one bag there was a pack of 4 cream filled chocolate doughnuts, 2 yum yums, a chicken Mayo baguette and a tuna Mayo roll. It would be a more cost effective way for your son to enjoy the occasional greggs.

Krakkkers

Yes toogoodtogo can be great but check out the star rating for each shop first as i have used 2 different Costas for toogoodtogo and had completely different experiences which were reflected in the star ratings.
The best one i get around £30 worth for £3.

YorksLass

It's now halfway through my financial year - I do April to March, like the tax year - and I've spent this afternoon going through the household accounts to make sure we're on track.  All the major bills are paid by DD so I know they're in order and, thanks to a new fixed price plan for gas & electricity, I now have an extra £95 pm in the kitty.  

From this month, £25 of that is going into the grocery budget.  From April to July I managed to stay under budget for food, household items and toiletries and put that spare cash on one side - just as well since I went over in August and September.  It evened itself out overall, but the extra cash will make it a little easier.

I have a separate Xmas grocery savings pot but won't be parting with any of that just yet, even though the SMs are starting to stock the goodies they want us to buy.     

So, other than the usual bills and groceries, what have we bought since April?

Clothing wise, DH has had new slippers and socks (both needed) and I've had new bras (needed) and a 3/4 sleeve top (sale price), paid for from the clothing budget.

I also had to have new distance glasses in June - again, the cash was there in a separate savings pot.

From my treats purse I've bought some French soaps, a new-to-me summer dress and a top from the CS, a bunch of flowers and a couple of bars of chocolate.

Despite saying I wasn't going to buy any more knitting yarn, I did get some when it was on sale and paid for that from my crafting cash.  I didn't feel too guilty though since (a) I had the money for it, (b) I've used a lot of the accumulated stash that has provided us with warm clothing for the winter and (c) I enjoy knitting.

Each month I also ring-fence some cash for various other expenses - mobile phone top-ups, annual SM delivery pass, Xmas/birthday presents for family, hairdresser's appointments, taxis (when needed) and stationery/stamps.  There's even a jar for Sundries i.e. anything that doesn't fit into any of the other categories.  This system probably wouldn't work for everyone but I'm happy with it.  

mumf

We have a very similar system as you YorksLass. It works for us too. 

London_1

YorksLass well done on your organisational skills. I normally am pretty organised but this year sadly fell by the wayside owing to ill health.
The year didn't start well, as I spent three weeks in hospital with an acute gall bladder infection, and then 7 months attached to a drain on my tummy.

 It meant that the fairly big shop I had done before Christmas (luckily a large stock up of tinned stuff, basic and freezer stuff were not greatly used).
But the upside was not going to the shops very often, and using what I had in stock if possible. I was literally only buying fresh stuff, or things I had run out of .

 In August I had an operation which meant I could eat slightly better (my appetite had diminished quite a bit ) along with my weight which was another thing to be a bit more cheerful about  

 Then after I came home I started to have tummy problems again, and what started as one good day for eating followed by one day when I had considerable pains even to the extent of drinking tea I was feeling very uncomfortable and poorly again.

 By mid September I was getting perhaps one good day followed by several days when I just couldn't eat very much at all.

Then on 22nd September I was really poorly and was blue-lighted into hospital once more and it seems I had a femoral artery hernia that was in danger of turning to Sepsis so the next night another emergency op.

Came round in recovery feeling so much better, if full of stitches once more.

Then the next day, as I have a BP that goes up and down like a fiddlers elbow, the dear little nurse said what we will do is raise your feet and drop you head back a bit to stabilise you, (I also have a small heart problem) just shuffle up the bed a bit .

This I did forgetting that my left hand side was knitted up with stitches and pressed down with both feet to shuffle up the bed .There was a feeling like a 'twange' and apparently I've now torn a muscle in my groin, and at the moment I am still in hospital bed bound .

The physio are trying to get me a rehab bed they are a bit like gold dust at the moment, and yesterday my DD had to go to my house and bin all the fresh stuff in my house as I've not been there for 10 days .

So my budgets are all over the place, and as there is apparently a Drs strike ongoing at the moment I've not got a clue how long I'm in here for .

But hey ho no shopping to get at the moment So I'm hoping as soon as I can walk again I will be able to sort out my budgets once more .

My two DDs have been great bless them, and they know how much I loathe being stuck in a bed, but once more I'm having to be a patient patient

 I think by the time I'm up and mobile again there will be a fair amount in my various pots.

I also, because I had been eating down the stocks a bit have been thinking obviously of my move in the spring with DD to the IoW so we will be amalgamating our joint food bits, its surprising how much stuff you can accumulate in your food cupboards over a course of time, so I am hoping when I eventually get back to my kitchen I will be able to use as much as I can up, especially the freezer stuff, the tinned stuff I will probably donate to my youngest DGS Mikey, as he is a penniless hard up 2nd year student so tinned stuff will be very handy for him.

I must admit this hasn't been the best year and like yourself I am normally organised and pretty good sorting stuff out. But I will get better and life will become normal once more. The nurses are fantastic folk and I have absolutely  no complaints about them at all, but golly it is jolly hard to just sit and think all the things I should/could be doing instead of virtually nothing. Luckily my youngest brought me my laptop in, so I can do a jigsaw online or just surf and keep up to date with the news etc. But gosh its a looong day at times and I am so looking forward to going home and life being 'normal once more. Even a mooch around the shops would be nice. Right time for another cuppa ,they seem to arrive every hour I think its meant to cheer us up  

Well done on the separate pot system I do that as well and its a nice bonus when there is a bit over I put mine in my "Happy Cash Stash" for a treat day out with one of my DDs or to treat one of my grandchildren

Onwards and upwards 

JackieO xx

YorksLass

Hello Jackie, I've been reading along as and when you've posted and can only imagine you'll be glad to see the back of this year!  I'm pleased to hear the nurses are looking after you so well but can understand how frustrating it must be - I know you like to be busy, so being stuck in bed must be torture for you, even if there are copious cups of tea.      Fingers crossed the ongoing strikes don't affect your treatment and that you'll soon be well enough to go home.  Don't be doing too much too soon when you get there though! X

Many years ago as a young mum I had a housekeeping tin to keep cash in for various bills.  I expect a lot of us remember them.  The tin is long gone and major bills are now paid by DD rather than cash, but old habits die hard - hence the various cash "pots" for smaller expenses.  I use empty herb/spice jars with a piece of paper in each one to record how much is in there and it's easy to see where the money is going - or not, as the case may be.     And yes, every so often there's a nice bonus of surplus cash that can be used for something else.

I think know the reason I was under budget for groceries from April to July was because I was using up stocks before buying any more stuff but of course, come August/September, I've been stocking up again before winter sets in.  Old ladies and snow/ice are not a good match!    My original budget was probably sufficient but the extra £25 pm will help since prices are still creeping up, albeit more slowly.  As an example, last week I noticed a jar of thick cut marmalade I normally buy that was 60p a year ago went up to 70p, then 80p, then 90p and is now £1.05.  And that's the SM's own brand!  They do have a basics cheaper one at 75p but there's hardly any peel in it so I'll not be buying that.

Today's dinner is a chicken stir fry with noodles to use up various bits of veg from the fridge and I'll do some kind of sauce with it, maybe satay or a sweet & sour.  Ready made stir fry sauces are another thing I no longer buy due to the cost.  Tomorrow's culinary efforts will be cream of mushroom soup and a coffee cake.

Do I need a grocery delivery this week?  Maybe not, as there's only 10 items on my list so far - none of them urgent - and I doubt if I'll reach the minimum spend for a free delivery.  If need be I can do a local shop instead.

borefest

Jackie, get well soon & keep safe ❤️

weenancyinAmerica

Jackie, Hope you get well soon. We need your wisdom on here.