From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

badmemory

It sounds to me as if that gas oven has lost its insulation or some of its jets aren't working. Mine is very old but I have never had one side cook & the other not.

Greying_Pilgrim

It was the grill that did that badmemory - and whilst the bank of flames appeared to be working OK, it was located towards the back of the grill oven space, so I'm not sure how the heat was supposed to evenly cover the food. On an electric grill, the element is much bigger, and the heat possibly radiates out to cover the grill pan area. I certainly won't be rushing to ever buy a gas cooker for my own home, anyway.

So, lunch is munched. I did potato, pea and (grana) padano soup…….. Easter tatties, the dregs of a bag of economy peas from MrS, some of the grated grana padano we brought home from holiday and a tin of evap milk, with a base of Easter onions and garlic whizzed up with some celery and fried off. I finished it off with a sploge of mint sauce and some Greek seasoning. Done in the PrC, so took about 10 mins prep and 10 mins cooking time. It made just enough for 3 big bowlfuls and LG declared it 'lovely and warming' - as fairdo's DH and LG had been tatting about in the garage and garden - and the wind is cold.

We have had showers here, but we're "supposed" to get a dry period until at least 4pm. If we do, I'll bring the washing in then, as unless we have wall-to-wall sunshine for the next 2 hrs, I reckon that the washing will be as dry as it is gonna get, at that point, so I'll have to accept it as it comes in.

This Easter hols has whizzed. I accept going away has speeded things up, as the week before Easter did seem to last longer. But we were blessed to be able to go away, and the weather was so good. We saw plenty of things that we wouldn't have spied in Greying Town, and the fact that the swallows are back in Blighty - despite them not being here with us yet - is heartening.

Greying X

teapot2

Interesting re the gas oven GP. I grew up with a gas cooker one in our kitchen, [I remember North Sea Gas being introduced] my Mum was an excellent plain cook and baker and aside from the slightly scary 'whoosh' when the jets ignited I found it easy to use as I grew up and was encouraged to also cook and bake.

I remember being somewhat discombobulated by my first experience with an electric cooker and that took me some time to adjust to. At the moment, I've a gas hob and electric oven and wouldn't mind either going forward.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

Well the dry period didn't last as long as forecast, so I got the clothes in (whilst it was spitting with rain), at about 25 to 4. Actually, to think that we've had quite a bit of rain today, the clothes were surprisingly dry. They're on the airer now, and fingers crossed they will be dry enough to put away tomorrow.

Tea was out of the freezer, I had some cooked lentils and some 'ragu' that I'd made out of plant-based mince some time ago, so I defrosted both, added them together and added in a tin of plum tomatoes and cooked them up. Added in a bit of seasoning, and a splash of red wine vinegar. I served it with boiled rice and steamed broccoli. We had a spoonful of grana padano over the top too. It did look slightly on a par with a restaurant meal - and every scrap was eaten up. Yoghurt and banana was for pud - I'd had to have a chat about portion size again…..

DH and LG put the pizza away for me last night. DH used a huge label on each pack, instead of writing on the label and then cutting around it, and the pizza slices were stacked on top of each other and have frozen together 🙄 Now the pieces will have to be used all together in one meal, rather than being useful for a lunch, or for LG's snap box……. 🙄I despair of my crew ever 'getting' this frugal living mularkey.

I can't think of anything else MSE relevant. I haven't spent any money today, so that's a plus! 😁

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Back to normal. Snap made & packed. Uniform set out (thanks past self for getting everything laundered).

Bed linen wash is on. Half of the holiday stuff, and the other half will go on as soon as this wash is done. It's sunny but relatively still here. Not too sure what that will mean for drying, but I want these linens done, dried and packed away.

I've got to claim a £50 voucher for changing my BB provider, and I haven't looked into it fully yet (email came whilst on hols), but I think the choices are MrT, BigRiver or m&$. I need to obviously check if those are the only 3 choices, but then need to think what option will give best 'bang for buck'. We don't buy much from the BigRiver at the moment. We're no longer routine shoppers at MrT, but clearly we do still spend money there, and whilst I don't think you have to spend the money all in one go, I'm not sure how I could get 'best value'. Ironically, that just leaves m&$, and I have got options swilling around my braincell for there. Not necessarily the cheapest, but 'needed/wanted' and it would enable us to make purchases, rather than 'eating into' grocery money or any other funds. I'm minded at the mo, to purchase one of the 'meal deals' and some clothing for DH. That may not use up the whole £50, so it may be a poor choice - if there was eg £10 left over, and I couldn't think of anything else from m&$ to purchase. I'm sure the vouchers will be time limited.

My definition of 'being rich' would be not having to agonise over how 'best' to spend a voucher……. 🤣😉

We've dental visits this week, so I need to organise and prep meals, so that we're not rushing about hither and yon. I've also got to try to have a lean week grocery shopping wise, to try to make up for spending too much in the start of the month. I mean, it was never going to be easy, being on hols, but I'd still like to try to come in somewhere near my budget - all to play for.

Ta for popping in.

Greying X

Watty1

Having been watching on social media M &S might not be as expensive as you think if you pick the right things. Basics are usually ok price wise, I buy a lot of veggies there which are comparable with other places (athough you do so well with your boxes that might not work)

Greying_Pilgrim

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81960555#Comment_81960555

And the flip side of that is that at least 'selecting' mindfully, you get what you 'want'. The green boxes are - for the most part - great, and I've tried things that I wouldn't necessarily buy, but if you're selecting what you know you'll use, there should be less option for waste (bearing in mind we all have emergencies, calamities and unforseen happenings in our lives). I think I could probably spend the £50, and clothes for DH are to replace ones that are eons old - LG wasn't even a twinkle when some of them were purchased, so we could achieve 'vfm' in longevity, rather than 3 tins of beans for a £1 type vfm. So I've definitely not excluded m&$ from my thought process - and indeed, at the mo, it's the front runner.

But I do need to look into the email, and see what the options actually are - and then go from there.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

☹️ Turns out the 'giftcard' is a pre-paid credit card, and to get the full value, you have to use it online, if you want a physical card to use in-store, you lose £5 of it to 'postage'. I know I'm an old fossil, but when I got vouchers with my insurance purchases, there were a choice of retailers, and it was a virtual gift card with a reducing balance. I'm seeing this M'card as just hassle. I appreciate that (presumably) you can spend it where you like - but I don't shop online, and not for £50. Am I overthinking this?

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Have I got this right? A pre-paid card can't be used in part-payment (I should imagine this is particularly critical for online purchases), so unless you can make a purchase for £49.99, I'm going to lose "something" aren't I? Even if I make 2,3,4 separate purchases - unless they add up to £50 on the nose, I will lose some money. If I have a physical card, I already lose £5 to "fees", but in a shop - let's use m&$ as an example, I could put clothing items in my basket, and then move to the food-all, and purchase food or drink, or magazines etc etc. When I come to pay, I still need to not exceed £45, but I could get a variety of products, for that money - which I couldn't if I was shopping online. I don't do online grocery shopping, and have no desire to start.

Is my logic, logic-ing?

Greying X

themadvix

You have. And also, I think m&s food online direct is very limited - most is available through Ocado, which you won’t be able to use your voucher for. I hate these pre-paid cards - they are such a pain. Also, if you can use your voucher for YS stuff in-store you’ll be able to make your £45 go much further.