From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

teapot2

Great work on the budget GP, good news about the green box to end the month as well x

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks teapot2 got there by the skin of our teeth!

So I have been out this morning to do the first shop for March.  In theory I could have left it until tomorrow, or Sunday, but I'm not sure what we're doing, so didn't want to lumber 'chores' on us, if there is the opportunity for 'leisure'.  

I'm pretty sure that what I bought today won't be consumed until March - although I did decide to pick up a £2 'waste veg' box in MrS today, so......  It is the first time (I think) I have had one from there.  Usually there is too much rotten stuff to warrant my budget being wasted, but today, there was a choice of 3 boxes, and I would have passed, but the one box was not stuffed to the gills with kiwi fruit, and had quite a nice assortment of fruit and veg, so I figured it was worth a punt.  It had several things that I needed anyway, including apples and onions, and there were also 2 mahoosive tatties - which won't last us long, but I didn't buy a bag of tatties today, and will make these work for us.  There was also a punnet of mushrooms, a courgette, a bell pepper a clutch of parsnips, some blueberries, a nectarine, half of the stores fresh ginger supply for the year.........  etc.  So it was worth a punt - although at £2 it is always a much harder decision - wish they'd price match MrL with these boxes.  I will re-examine the 2 kiwi fruit that were in this box, and if they aren't too sad, I shall take them around to my chum's as they eat them.  Oh, and there was a papaya in the box too - which I'm not sure I've bought before - I have eaten papaya, but we'll see what this is like - it's supposed to be ready to eat.  It'll be good for LG to see a more unusual fruit 'in the flesh' as it were.

I was disappointed that in MrL they've started on their 10p weekly price increases again 🙄Porridge oats (up 9p) and oven chips were two things I noticed today 🫤  Although the oven chips were on the App offer (for the price the oven chips used to be....) so maybe the price will go down once the offer is off.  I'm still debating whether to bother with the app, as I don't seem to get as much from MrL now, as I did.    MrS 900g cheese blocks had gone up 10p too 🫤

I didn't do a smart shop today, as the products that were 'selected' for me were not on my list, so there was no point.  Even without any alcohol purchased, today's shop comes in at a total of £53.88 😬  Given that there was only minimal 're-stocking' done, that is actually quite shocking.  OK, so a large part of the shop was fresh and frozen veg/fruit, but heck.....  No wonder I need to make every blessed part of these veg boxes work 🫤

I will amend my siggie, as I have ended February's spend, and now need to get on with March's expenditure.  I really don't need to use anything that I bought to day, but it may be prudent to check the veg box contents again, plus, as we're having burgers for tea I might use a few leaves off the lettuce I bought in our burgers.  The only reason for this is that a colleague of DH's had been to a burger restaurant (no, not the drive thru one), and DH had mentioned that it was unlikely to hold much interest for vegetarians.  Well, turns out that there is an alternative menu, and they did indeed cater for veggies and vegans.  I was rather shocked at the cost - but if I include a lettuce leaf in our burgers tonight, we will be having pretty much what was on offer on the menu, and at least I will feel I have elevated it sufficiently to warrant saying that'd cost you 12 British pounds in a restaurant..... 😬

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Up-to-date with my siggie.  

I have ditched the kiwi, the one was rock hard, and the other was going squidgy at one end.  'Arfur' kiwi ain't exactly a generous gift, now is it?  

I wondered why my n*ctar points had suddenly leapt over the £2.50 barrier (notional voucher) today, but then I realised that I had spent just over £30, so the additional points offer triggered - for probably the first time, I have to say.  I still have a long way to go before I could do a 'bit of cash & vouchers' budget month for groceries again 🫤

I hope the weather is lovely with you - I'm enjoying the sunlight here, so restorative, and as I have a wash out on the line, it's helping dry the clothes too.  

I think I'm going to process the mushrooms and then freeze them for another dish/another day.  I've plenty of choice of what I can make with them, but just in case we end up going out for the day tomorrow, I don't want to leave them in the fridge, and have them go unuseable.  They're not in too bad condition, but mushrooms don't last forever, do they, so best prep them.

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

We had burgers for tea.  With the tatties from the green MrL box .  They cooked up well - especially as they weren't 'floury', but 'buttery, yellow' potatoes.  I didn't use any lettuce in the end, I went for the £8.50 version in a restaurant instead 😉🤣

I'm happy that we've ended the (grocery) month having spent nothing extra.  It's not sustainable - as today's shop has illustrated 🫤 - but it was worthwhile doing, and you can bet I will look for future opportunities - even if I have to wait until February next year 🫤

Thanks for popping by.  Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning, and Happy St David's Day!

We're not going anywhere exciting, DH left it until this morning to announce that he's not going to do the task that he was intending.  So a trip out is now out of the question🙄 Never mind, so many chores to do here, and we're not even scratching the surface.

The car requires more repairs 🙄  in the nature of £500 🙄  This is on top of a similar amount that was spent on it last year 🙄  It's starting to eat into money that we're trying to save for a replacement 🫤 We've not been in a position to save for long enough is the issue 🫤 Although a vehicle that we saw that would have been a good replacement was on sale for more money than it was worth, so even if we had some money, I'm not sure we would be any nearer a new vehicle.  We will have to look into taking a loan I think - we'll never get ahead at this rate.  I was thinking of 0% cc, but I seem to think paying by credit card attracts a fee from the retailer - I suppose this needs to be weighed up against interest payments.  Mmmmm, yes, need to give this more thought.

I've done the work-wear wash, and that is pegged out.  We have most welcome sunshine, but no breeze, so I'm not expecting it to be bone-dry when I bring it in, but the items should be dry-ish.  

If the long term weather forecast is to be believed (?) March is coming in like a lamb, so what will that hold for the end of the month 😬

I've repaired a coat that has gone too small for LG (which is why it ripped 🙄) and that can go in the chazzer pile.  It was too good to simply ditch, so a small repair will make it useful for another child, and raise a bit of funds for charity.  I'm finding that donations (such as they are), are pretty much the sum of our charitable giving now 😔 There is a sponsorship event coming up at school, and it's for a charity that I don't wish to support.  The school hasn't adequate resources as it is, and yet they think nothing of disrupting the school day to have the kids raise money for a very slick, marketing savvy "charity".  

I suspect a pot of soup will be for lunch.  And I'm going to do a fricasse type dish in the SC for tea.

We've had the bill increase for BB/Phone, and so I will start to restructure the budget.  The biggest rise is likely to be for CT - but of course, you don't find that out until a nanosecond before the April bills are due 🙄

Grr, I'm being a moany-minnie.  We're in a fortunate position, and we have each other. That is huge, and not something that I take for granted.  

Greying X

redofromstart

Its lovely today, but as you say no wind for the washing to dry.  

The CT rise irritates me, my single biggest bill but so little notice of the size of the increase.  I just checked the council website and see mine is going up by £160 per year.

Greying_Pilgrim

Oh, redo - you're right, if it's been through full committee or whatever, it will be posted on the Council website, yes, I shall look it up, rather than wait for the paperwork.  Although - is it the full figure they post, or do you have to add on the blue light services and parishes/towns etc - talking to myself there don't answer.

Thanks redo - everyone's so knowledgeable on this site!

Urgh, just been doing a grot job.  we've got mould in one of the kitchen cupboards, due to condensation, cold, lack of ventilation etc etc.  I've done the cleaning, and then we've looked at if we can stem/slow down the mould ingress (cupboard is against a cold wall, and there is a gap), and DH has been able to get a bracket behind the cupboard backing (you know how rubbish cupboard backs are - plus this unit is probably 40+ years old 🙄), and has been able to pull in back something like into position, so that's a help.  We will duct-tape to seal the gap that remains.  Probably not going to stop the problem in the long term - the kitchen needs a full reno, but as a short term solution, it's a great help.  To be fair to DH, he's always willing to try to help, and between us we make some progress.  

Greying X

Cheery_Daff

I always admire your DH's commitment to home improvements Greying 😊 I know sometimes there's a tradeoff with family time and days out, always hard to negotiate. Sounds like this will make a good improvement in the cupboard at least.

I got my washing in the machine but not on the line! Nobody in my household has a very big commitment to home improvements (or maintenance, or stemming the backwards flow) so we are currently sat in a cafe while I make lists of all the things that need doing and think ruefully about my washing sitting soggy in the machine 😬

Greying_Pilgrim

Aw, Thanks Cheery.  I suppose I feel the trade-off more keenly at the moment whilst LG is still (relatively) young.  We'll soon be at the stage that they won't want to be seen dead with us, so it feels like we're treading water unnecessarily at the moment - even though I know we've got to maintain a house and a home too.  Plus, being realistic, we get out and about more with LG than DH or I ever did with our respective families when we were their age.  And far more of our trips were simply visiting relatives, rather than going somewhere/doing something.  Fine if you like your rellies, but if you don't........ 🤣  Enjoy your cafe trip!  😁

So the soup option got kiboshed as the cupboard took longer than anticipated - but then it was 'sorted' better than I had hoped/anticipated, so swings and roundabouts and all that 😁 We had cheese salad sandwiches instead - which was actually a nice change, and suited the pleasant weather we're enjoying.  I used some of the cherry tommies out of the MrL box, and one of the lettuces I bought yesterday (as we're legitimately into March now 😁).

I have looked up the CT changes for 25/26, but our lot don't seem to have published the figures - in an easy understandable format - as yet.  I found the committee report, but that is such an incomprehensible word salad, I am none the wiser 🙄However, I don't think that our authority is one of the ones that has applied to do the mahoosive increases, so if I apply a 5% increase to last years figure, I shall have an idea at least, and can finalise the figures as they come available.  Better to have some idea now. 

I've just prepped tea in the SC.  It's made up, but is using a tin of mushroom condensed soup (I Only have 2 left 😱), onion, celery and garlic, qu0rn pieces, the courgette out of the MrS box, along with 3 teeny orange sweet pointy peppers (not too sure what they are actually called, but hoped feverently that they weren't exotic chilli peppers - they weren't ), that were in the box too.  All bunged in with half a stock cube, some hot water (rinsed out the soup tin), and a good glug of white wine.  I'm hoping to serve with shredded sprouts if they're still fit to eat (broccoli out of the MrL box if not), and probably basmati.   

DH has retired to bed.  He's fighting a chesty cough - has been for a while - and just isn't feeling well, but he has been helpful this morning, despite feeling crook, so I can't complain.  There's alot of bugs flying about - someone was telling me about the virus they'd had recently that had floored them, but wasn't cough/cold based, so they were at a loss as to what they'd actually had 😬 But that was the first day they'd felt 'human' in a week or more.  

The sun is streaming through the window, I'm bathed in warmth at the minute.  Feel like a cat 🤣

Greying X

rtandon27

It's been glorious and sunny here!  A load of washing got moved outside instead of finishing off on the indoor airer with the dehumidifier!  I think we can officially say it is spring here in the most western part of the southeast!

I also took the opportunity to have a pootle around the back of the house and through the garden scouting out all the things that need doing!  There is quite the list - it will live in my head atm and get transferred to the master list at some point!  Owning a house is one big never-ending todo list eh?