Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

PennysIntoPounds

Maybe gentle feedback to the roofer to save someone else's blood pressure? 😁 @foxgloves

foxgloves

@PennysIntoPounds - I did consider it, but as I'd already nagged him 3 times about the de-scaffolding delay, I decided not to bother.

Hello Sunday Savers,

Hope everyone's having a calm or productive (or both!) weekend - whichever is most needed. I'm intending to do a few pottering around jobs today, but also have plenty of leisure - Sunday paper, crossword, reading, knitting & a soak in the bath. Astonishingly, it's not raining, which is good as the far end of our village has already flooded.

Enjoyed our city centre trip yesterday. A small win was discovering all beauty products at the Emmandess were 20% off. I took advantage of that by buying 2 different body moisturisers to try for less than the price of the one which was on my shopping list from somewhere else.

Also used the £5 H&B voucher which had been put on my card to launch their updated scheme on a big bag of nuts. Shop v busy so I expect lots of people were spending their surprise voucher.

Tried on 2 items in the Marine Condiment shop. Almost talked myself into buying one of them from my Reserve Spends, but decided it was a very warm garment when Spring is not far off. The other garment was lighter weight but I left that in the shop too as I have plenty of fabric just waiting to be turned into tops & dresses, plus a lovely pattern to try out. So I left the shop without having given into temptation.

Went halves with Mr F from our Spends on a film we'd been after for years.

Normally on the drive into this city centre, we pass 3 supermarket petrol stations with better prices than in our town, so Mr F had intended to fill up. However, petrol was between 6p & an astonishing 11p more per litre than our cheapest local price of 126.9 so we waited till we got back.

Mr F is roasting a gammon today. It is the bargainaceous one we got from that recent butcher deal. I am already eyeing it for several further meals.

Enjoy your Sundays,

F x

Twolabsandacat

126.9 for petrol is amazing FG. Our local town is currently around 133 but was higher before Christmas. Like you, I try and fill up on my way to places and find them soooo much cheaper!

Blackcats

135.9p round here! Why is there always a .9p in the price of petrol?

gammon - yummy! Will enjoy hearing about the extra meals you conjure up from it.

badmemory

I guess you don't remember when everything in shops used to end with 19s 11d & then later with 99p. It is the same mindset. They assume that none of us are bright enough to figure out that 126.9p really might as well be 127p. It is 126.9 here now (not when I bought obviously) but don't asdas normally end in .7. I think they do round here, but by the time I get there I have spent miore than all the 0.2p.

Debsnewbudget

currently £121.9 at Costco Manchester, but you do have to be a member.

Makingabobor2

We are paying 130.9 here for petrol. But its slowly coming down from the 134 it was at Christmas.

foxgloves

@badmemory - I just about remember pre-decimal currency, but definitely recall everything being priced at £?-99 afterwards. It used to drive my Nana mad. She used to think she was being 'swizzed' (one of her favourite words) by the shops who were trying to fool customers into thinking stuff was priced lower than it was.

Everyone who commented on petrol prices - interesting how much variation there is. Mr F says that cheaper petrol in town is 126.7 not .9 so even better. The petrol station is a branded one (not supermarket) but is on the corner of Waitbl00m's car park. Waitbl00m is tucked away up a side road & as you can't see the petrol station at all from the main road, it wouldn't surprise me if a whole lot of folk in our town don't know it's even there, thus missing out on the best price locally.

foxgloves

Afternoon Diary Friends,

Pretty much a standard Monday for me today, except Mr F is home early to take back some time from last night, when he suddenly had a 52-mile round trip to go & deal with an out of hours emergency at work. Anyway, today's budget-friendly efforts:

*2 loads of laundry done & on heated airer.

Divided up the rest of the gammon joint Mr F roasted yesterday. It was the one we got for £5 as part of a recent butcher deal. It's looking like at least 16 portions - 2 roast dinners yesterday, 2 ham & sweetcorn pizza tonight, 2 pasta bake, 2 sliced ham, jacket potato wedges & poached eggs, 3 lentil & ham soup, 2 ham, sweetcorn & spring greens** hash, 2 ham & mustard sandwiches and a spare portion of roast dinner frozen for a work lunch at some point. About 31p per portion. Yes, of course I'm making things which will involve adding plenty of veg, but it feels like a good s-t-r-e-t-c-h of the meat & stocking up of freezer with future meals.

*Did my usual Monday morning budget updates.

*The £100 from ERNIE landed so I sent it to our Emergency Fund.

*Did 8 PA surveys - loads around today.

*Made dough for tonight's pizza base & a half-batch of rolls.

**The aforementioned spring greens were discovered during a swift veg triage this morning. No plans for them this week, neither of us could recall why we'd bought them, so I prepped & froze some for making the hash & the rest for wokking as a side veg at some point. I can't bear food waste.

Soot was funny this morning. He was on early lunch pester, so sat repeatedly headbutting an aloe vera plant to get my attention. It's always tummy o'clock where Soot is concerned.

Ah well, we are off into a new week. Let's have a good one,

F x

Baileys_Babe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81876024#Comment_81876024

Our local Asda fuel station the prices usually end in a 7.

Whenever possible I refuel when out and about. Yesterday I filled up for 125.9, I often see places within 2 miles which are 7 p to 10 p more per litre, which would soon mount up.