Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Makingabobor2

marionmgcars said:

After buying 2 magic bags from Aldi I spent the morning vacuum packing the food in individual portions - left lots of space, rather than using takeaway containers.  Now have two small  freezers well stocked, so hopefully won’t need to spend too much more this month on food budget.

then spent two hours at my knitting group, enjoying a cup of tea and lovely company.  Feel like it’s been a good day 👍

Ooh never heard of an Aldi magic bag

joedenise

I keep looking by my local Aldi never have anything - it always says on it Nothing Today!  

How much do they charge for their bags and are they worth the money?

Suffolk_lass

joedenise said:

I keep looking by my local Aldi never have anything - it always says on it Nothing Today!  

How much do they charge for their bags and are they worth the money?

Never any here except one Saturday and they are £3.30. I have resisted going for the two in my favourites when I just checked  (Morries and a BP M&S) as we just do not need anything. Feeling slightly smug now (it won't last!)

Pixiehouse55

Helloooo Mrs Foxgloves!!
I thought I had lost you then seen that you had started a new Diary. Happy New Year and all that. Boating life/Retirement on our Narrowboat is still utterly amazing, best decision we've ever made. December 22 we were stuck at Leighton Buzzard  due to Snow then the canal froze over, it was a lovely place to get stuck in, farmers market on Saturdays was brilliant, they had a Cheese stall, oops lots of money spent 😀 😄.  Finally moved from there Dec 23rd . Got stuck again at Grafton Regis due to severe high winds and rain then again the canal froze over!! We now have Solar Panels, Lithium Batteries and a upgraded Inverter. Free electric now plus we don't need to use the Generator to use our Washing Machine, Ninja or Immersion. Moved from there Feb 4th. We are now on the Leicester Line at Market Harborough. So pleased to have found you I will start at the beginning and catch up. Hope everyone's OK? 
Xxx

foxgloves

@Pixiehouse55 - How lovely to hear from you! Sorry I haven't got around to replying to your PM, which I did receive & will respond. I'd intended just to mention that I'd started a new diary. You are still a long way away from my neck of the woods. How nice to have an update about how you are getting on . I bet the canalside/waterways looked so pretty during the snow. I wish we'd had some here. We are a lot further north than that but have had no more than a few flakes. Lots of hard frosts though, including some which didn't melt at all during the day. Spending money is what cheese stalls are for! (especially if you are frozen into the canal!) It sounds as though you have really been getting the boat sorted out with all the new energy sources. Glad to hear it's going well for you.

@Moorviews - Yes, 'Food & nutrition'  - that was the O'-level I did too, a very useful course, especially because we did actually learn how to plan & cook meals, including what to do with leftovers. So much more practical than being told to take in a slice of bread, some tomato puree & grated cheese then calling it a pizza, which is what a colleague's son did in Year 7! Hope you find your pedometer. Once I'm eating healthily & in a good mind-set, I do find I'm motivated by daily step-count achievements, esp on the very rare occasions I beat Mr F!

@weenancyinAmerica - That's interesting. I've never heard of the 'Yuffie' as a socio-economic cohort grouping, but I think it does back up my regularly expressed view that the 'baby-boomer' grouping is much more diverse than the mainstream media would often have us believe. 

F

Makingabobor2

oh how lovely to be living on a boat @Pixiehouse55. We often say we would love to do that, but DH has far too much "stuff" that he won't part with, think we'd need a boat each....lol

foxgloves

And it's hello to all Thursday Pence-Wranglers,
Not a no-spend day today, as Mr F is doing the grocery shopping on his way home to free up our time this weekend. I've also purchased a big genealogical index as a download this morning, but that's budget-neutral, as I paid using my Personal Spends.
Today's wins have been as much about getting my diary organised as anything, but as I've often said, keeping very organised always ends up saving us money one way or another:
*Printed out, checked & filed new car insurance docs - also made sure new monthly DD is entered on our bills spreadsheet.
*Arranged appointment for specialist dental scan. I've been referred to a private clinic in the city centre so have picked a day when Mr F is on leave & we can make the most of the car parking charge by combining it with some shopping & anything else we can usefully do while we are there. 
*Booked a hair cut - it's a bit later than I'd ideally have liked, but I know the salon gets very booked up because their prices are so good. £10 for a dry cut, which is less than Mr F pays at the barber!
*Remembered to give Mr F my card for tonight's grocery shopping so as to maximise loyalty points. 
*Added another £ coin to my secret tin.
*Tonight's meal is a classic use-it-up opportunity. I am poaching salmon fillets from the freezer & will serve with some rather elderly giant couscous cooked with turmeric, chopped peppers from the freezer (I like to roll ingredients forward towards another meal) chopped onion, garlic, a handful of currants & basically whatever I come across which needs using. Tasty & healthy.
*Did a survey, but it seems a slow day for them & I think I'll probably give up until tomorrow.
*More sock knitting over my lunch hour.
*Made some notes from a diet book I borrowed from the library. I had planned to buy it, but I think it's so straightforward that my couple of pages notes relating to key points will be sufficient, & will save me £8.99. 
*It was raining yesterday by the time I got round to thinking about those outdoor tasks, & has been drizzling on & off all morning today, but I will just pop out later to add two primulae to the containers by our front door, as they're looking a bit tired. The old spendy me would have bought probably up to £50's worth of primulae & other early spring flowering plants/pots of assorted bulbs by now, to do some sassy seasonal containers, but if I wait just a bit longer, the many pink primroses in the back garden will be in bud & I can split & move a few to the front containers/borders for a free option. In fact, I can start moving them as soon as I like & they always look pretty, wherever I grow them.
*Fed sourdough jar ready for baking tomorrow.
Well, I can hear some feline activity downstairs, which doesn't sound entirely positive.....I've already found a my HQ windowsill & the landing wallpaper slarmed with muddy pawprints today (Ash) & now it sounds as if Soot is up to his new trick of climbing up to a high space on one of our shelving units & shoving our stuff off to make more room for himself! Hope everyone's managing to have at least a reasonably decent day.
F x

EssexHebridean

I'd not caught up with Al's now doing TGTG bags - needless to say they're not in our area by the look of it though - about typical, that! I think the stock management in ours may well be better than some though as we fairly rarely see YS'd stuff in there either.  I may consider treating us to either a C0sta or a Gr3ggs one over the weekend if I can pin one down though - both work well as a nice treat on an occasional basis. 

foxgloves

I didn't know about the bags either, although I don't go in Mr Al's more than about quarterly for pantry stock-ups these days. 
Always worth keeping eyes peeled for bargainaceous offerings. 
F 

marionmgcars

joedenise said:

I keep looking by my local Aldi never have anything - it always says on it Nothing Today!  

How much do they charge for their bags and are they worth the money?

Mine were very good.  Usually added to app “too good to go” later in evening to collect next day.  This was a photo of one I collected.