Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

DawnW

Suffolk_lass said:

Don't you freeze them? the bananas, I mean - when semi frozen, peel and blitz them and freeze (or mix with custard and freeze) for banana ice cream.

While I'm on a dessert roll, mention of mini mars bars reminded me of a dessert we used to make in the restaurant. Mars bar, nuked in the microwave, slackened with a little double cream then folded through whipped double cream and into individual glasses with grated milk chocolate on top for caramel chocolate malted mousses (or Mars Bar mousses) - it must be nearly 40 years since I made these for a specials board dessert!

Sounds dangerously yummy @Suffolk_lass

foxgloves

Well, actually @Suffolk_lass, I'm not sure I want to eat too-ripe-banana ice cream either. I imagine it might taste like that banana milkshake powder stuff we had back in the 1970s in the rectangular tins. The mars bars dessert sounds yum though. Do you remember that dessert roll thing everyone made back in the 80s.....the one which involved dipping biscuits from a whole pack of choc chip cookies in sherry one by one, sandwiching them together with whipped cream, before covering the whole soggy roll with more whipped cream & a sprinkling of smashed up chocolate flake? I made a couple of those but I liked baking, so never minded putting the effort in. They were quite nice tbf though.
F

foxgloves

Hello Readers,
Well Mr F has been wfh today on an online training course, so he has been set up in the living room while I got on with some kitchen witchery. I do feel I've had a productive day so intend to have some time with my book as soon as I've signed out of here. Mr F announced on his coffee break that he's sat still all day & really needs a leg-stretch so is going out to get the grocery shopping done imminently. I'm the opposite, have been standing for most of the day & am ready to sit down with my feet up! Right, enough babble, here are today's budget-friendly efforts:
*Chose next week's meals from our December master meal plan. 
*Wrote grocery shopping list & added a selection of items from our festive food list.
*Tonight's meal is cooking itself in the slow cooker - Indian butternut curry from the BBC Good Food Healthy Slow Cooker book. Have used the last of our big Guatemalan blue squash for this. It has already provided 4 portions of butternut macaroni cheese, there will be tonight's 2 curry portions plus another 2 for the freezer & I have chunked up the rest for roasting with garlic & rosemary tomorrow as a side veg. 
*Have washed the seeds & spread them out to dry. I don't need any more Guatemalan blue seeds but they looked so plumptious & perfect I couldn't waste them. It doesn't hurt to have some extras as back-up & it's nice to share them too as I think this is a heritage variety. My first seeds were sent to me by an MSE-er with an allotment who used to have a diary on here years ago & I have saved my own every year since then. Got to love free seeds!
*Strained the blackberry & pear gin I started off in late summer. It's filled a full size bottle, a small one & there'll be little snifter for each of us to try tonight. Boozy fruit frozen as Mr F likes it heated up over ice cream.
*Baked a batch of bread rolls.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch & breakfast.
*Made another small batch of jalapeno sauce as I wanted a jar to add to our London preserves hamper. I have everything ready for that now, just need to cover the box & gussy up the jars ready for giving.
*Found a bunch of carrots in the pantry which are not needed for at least the next few days. Now prepped & frozen before they turn bendy.
*Picked a small bunch of coriander. Surprised its still going tbh, as no heating in our greenhouse & thick frost overnight which lasted all morning.
*Fed a bucket of veg scraps to the worm composter as they have scoffed everything.
*Wrote today's quota of Christmas cards (6).
*Cast on 4th free dishcloth from leftover coloured cotton yarns I had in my stash.
*Did 2 surveys.
*Got a 5th & final day of moisturiser from the tube I cut open - now replaced with a travel size freebie. I am on a use-it-up mission rather than buying new, in case Father Christmas is planning to bring me some nice skincare products.
*Only 5 items for ironing & I should think this involved minimal amounts of electricity as I did speed-ironing.
It's just occurred to me that as Mr F has decided he's popping out to the supermarket, I will have a bit of time to progress this damn pair of birthday socks I can't seem to get finished while he's out of the house, so I think I'll crack on with that & read later.
Hope you've all had a decent day. Tomorrow is my Big Budget Day so it will be calculators at dawn. Well....I shall have coffee first, let's not be silly........
F x

foxgloves

Hello Readers,
I reckon I will have rush seat marks on my backside tonight as have spent most of today at my desk. It is my Big Budget Day & I always find it takes me more time at this time of year, as there is plenty of reconciliation to do from November's Christmas shopping as well as needing to make sure extra festive expenses are covered when setting December's. So I'll start with that for today's money saving efforts:
*Big Budget Day. Reconciled & closed November's budget & set December's. We rather front-loaded November's grocery shopping, so I was pleased to see that we actually only overspent it by 74p. I don't need to go into the minutiae of this, but I did work it out in draft form first. Although our December bills are lower than last month with the water bill finishing for the year in November, there are other expenses which outweighed this  - piano tuner, fish box, an annual car park pass & a much bigger than usual credit card bill from Mr F, which I didn't delve into as I know it is because he will have used it to buy my Christmas presents. I buy presents on my CC too, but as I manage all the household financial stuff, I transfer funds regularly from the Presents Pot to pay transactions off. Last year, I lobbed a random lump sum from the Presents Pot over to cover a guestimate of his present expenses, but this year, I decided just to pay it in full instead of making usual Savings Pots payments, which would have included something to the Presents Pot. If anyone's still following this, do treat yourself to a mince pie! Anyway, as a sub section of Big Budget Day, I also.....
*Sorted out December's grocery budget. I've added an extra £100 which should cover December food as well as the usual festive treats & extras. This doesn't include the turkey as I put the money aside for that at the time of ordering & it doesn't include fresh stuff from the market either, as I have £70 in cash leftover from an underspend on the annual hedge cutting & gutter clearing. I've also got most of the Christmas cake ingredients in stock, have already made the mincemeat & have plenty of home made preserves so there are lots of things which won't be coming out of December's grocery budget because they are already sitting in the pantry.
*Remembered to budget an estimated amount for 2 family meet-ups occasions & a night out when we will be eating out plus the pizza Mr F would like to order in after a very busy day (inc long drive) on his birthday weekend. You know, it sounds so basic but it's these kind of things which, if not included, can result in budget figures being thrown out & (not now, but definitely back in the day before the dawn of budgeting at Foxgloves Manor) things being put on credit cards. I well remember how those £30 to £50 spends would add up.....it sounds like not a lot in the singular, but 4 unbudgeted £50 spends is soon 200 quid....& if that's on a weekly basis, that's soon pushing a grand.
*I have paid into our Regular Saver, our Car Fund & bought this month's premium bonds as usual. Also paid the Holiday Pot as this is on a firm schedule so as to cover breaks to which we are committed. The rest of the pots will be paid next month as only one is looking bereft of funds & that isn't an essential one.

 Anyway, enough about Big Budget Day. It's done & it's all written up in the trusty Money Book ready for the month ahead.
*Mixed up a sourdough, now proving in its little basket.
*Low effort nosebag tonight as will be serving the leftover portions of the sausage hot-pot I made on Monday with roasted squash & a home made bread roll.
*Did a little more present knitting over my lunch hour.
*Wrote a list for town tomorrow & got containers out ready for the eco-refill shop.
*Wrote today's quota of Christmas cards (6).
Right, time for a bit of a leg-stretch, as I don't like sitting down for as long as I have done today. Windy, dark & starting to drizzle outside though so am not tempted to go for a quick walk.
Love to all,
F x

PennysIntoPounds

Ooh, a mince pie, don't mind if I do.
Excellent big budget day-ing 🥂

foxgloves

@PennysIntoPounds - Thanks! I do always feel better once the big monthly budget stuff is done & ready to go. Knowledge is power & all that.
F

Makingabobor2

Sounds like another excellently productive day. You deserve a rest now. 

Suffolk_lass

Ooh, thanks, low effort nosebag - reminded me there was a shepherd's pie in the bottom of the freezer, which is now defrosting for this evening

foxgloves

Hi Diary Readers,
Reasonably useful day on the budget-friendly front:
*Dropped bag of books off at charity bookshop in town. Bought an item of festive sheet music while I was there (£1.99).
*Visited eco-refill shop for dried fruit & nuts.
*Bought a bag of chestnuts from market - prepped & froze while still nice & plumptious. Enough for Christmas stuffing plus a spare container to go towards a nut roast in the new year.
*Wrote today's quota of Christmas cards (3).
*Sorted saved calendula seeds into envelope for my seed box.
*Decided to withdraw nephews' birthday money so I can give it to my sis for them when we meet up in a couple of weeks time. Both have February birthdays so it will be good to know it is safely there.
*Divided up weekly cleaning between us. I got first dibs so chose bathroom & kitchen. Mr F did vacuuming & bins, inc compost (in the rain).
Not my cooking night, so no more jobs for me. Am intending a nice hot bubble bath & hairwash, followed by some welcome time with my book.
F x

Suffolk_lass

I always choose kitchen and bathroom over vacuum & dusting too!