I'm back! Trying to spend less on food!

Duchess2

I’m good thanks @mumtoomany. I’m afraid that RL keeps getting in the way, but “just keep swimming” as Dory says. I hope you manage your repairs at a more reasonable cost. Everything is so expensive now it’s hard to do anything for a reasonable price.  I was hoping to complete our decorating with the two months’ payment holiday for council tax, but by the time you add in three sets of curtains and carpeting for a 25ft room I might have to add a bit to the budget. Be lovely to have the room freshened up, it’s just the doing bit and the cost that rankles.

I love tinned pears. Have a hankering for some now. Take care xx

mumtoomany

Hi, @Duchess2, I hope we can get them a bit cheaper too. Hoping to just get running repairs, rather than a new roof. Hope you manage to get your decorating etc done for a reasonable price. Still eating the pears! Last night I made a pear upside down cake. That will get desert for a few days. Still have some left in the fridge, and two more mega tins in the pantry. Feel free to pop in for some.

Hugs, mumtoomany.xx

Duchess2

GM all. Still trudging along with the finishing for the lounge. Starting to look good. Carpet laid and furniture back in. Have ditched a large kallax-type unit and reduced a large fish tank unit down to a sideboard plus got rid of of one cd rack and it’s all looking less crowded and neater. Have trimmed down the ornaments that have returned too. Easier on the eye and to clean. Costs at well over £1000 and still some to go. I figured this will be the last time we completely change colour and so we just had to go for it. Had to raid the savings.  It’s nice to see some sun at last. Hope you are progressing with your repairs @mumtoomany. My food budget hasn’t fared well whilst we were so busy. Much more effort required this month to repair the damage. Onwards and upwards!!

mumtoomany

124.96
Hi all. Still around, just busy. Total food spend for February was £124.96. We ran out of cheese, potatoes, chicken and fish. Those with the normal fruit, veg, bread and milk, soon added up. Prices still going only one way. Noticed this week that oats are up to 99p per bag. Only a short time ago we were paying 60p. 

We have changed car again. The fiesta was just too small. If on the school run, one child had to go in the front Too low down to get in and out of easily. No space for the dog. We now have a quashqi, may have spelt it wrong, cost £2000. Hopefully will get some back from selling the fiesta. Nephew is sorting it for us. 

Roof man is due to come now at the end of the week. He has had a lot of rooves to fix following the storms, and had to wait for a little less rain. 

DS1 and DD3,  have still not moved. Another house fallen through. They are viewing another on Thursday. Close to where DD2 has moved. Third time lucky, I hope. 

Will be away for a few days next week. Relative is at a tribunal for unfair dismissal. Helping her with her case. 

Will try to post a little more often,  hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx

thriftwizard

Hi @mumtoomany! DD2 & I have just spent another week up near your neck of the woods & I was amazed to see that the spring flowers are further ahead up there than down here! It's usually the other way around; as we make our way north & west we can literally say, "A week behind - no, more like two weeks," but not this year. I still didn't manage to get to the magic greengrocers but DDiL pops in whenever she takes the baby to visit her colleagues over there.

Hope your barn roof is mendable; as DS1 & DDiL are finding out, one major drawback of owning property is keeping on top of and affording maintenance, especially when events completely outside your control land you with big bills. They'd just finished sorting out a horrible drainage mess under their patio, which eventually had to be completely dug up & the drainage re-routed so that they could actually use their kitchen sink; this had gone on for two years with several builders totally failing to find the cause of the problem despite lengthy investigations leaving their back garden looking like an archaeological dig. Turned out the drain ran backwards and uphill for some unknown & totally bizarre reason, under the conservatory, before heading back down to the digester. The previous owners must have known that something was drastically wrong, but swore they'd never had any problems despite the water bubbling up in the middle of the patio whenever it rained, never mind after doing the washing up... Anyway, no sooner was that sorted out & paid for than the storm blew in and totally demolished their big, beautiful & much loved Halls Supreme greenhouse... that won't be mended this year, sadly!

My neighbours have just bought a Qashqai & absolutely love it. Hope you'll love yours too.

mumtoomany

Hi, @Duchess2, meant to say hello in the last post. Sorry to hear your shopping bills have been high. I find I manage OK until life gets in the way! 

Hi, @thriftwizard. Yes the barn is fixable, just expensive to get "a man" to do it. But I won't allow dadtoomany to go up on high roofs any more. Also takes time to get fixed as all the local builders are snowed under with work. There's  always something needs fixing with property. Glad your son has fixed his patio, sad about the greenhouse. Maybe suggest a polytunnel as a replacement. Ours has withstood the worst of winds, that have taken down roofs and trees, and been standing now since 2016.

Chilli last night, made with the night befores left over bolognese. A portion left for the freezer for OH, when I'm away. Pancakes for lunch. I'm making hunters chicken for tea, with whatever we I can find in the freezer. Plum and apple crumble to finish off for after. 

Forgot to say when we went shopping at the start of the month I spent £15 and some change, must find the receipt.


Hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx