From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Grumpelstiltskin

GP Your comments about teaching LGP about money. You wonder how many children, especially those who would have started spending during Covid think money is only on a phone or card and virtually never use cash.

I dread to think how they will cope if they ever have to resort to using cash.

Greying_Pilgrim

Hi Grumpelstiltskin - yeah, it's been made even more an abstract concept than it was to begin with by all these new payment methods.  I'm hopeful that simple maths, and the knowledge that pretty much - for most things and in most circumstances - you have to work for what you get; will foster a better understanding of the importance of marshalling resources.  Can but try.... 😁

So, shopping done. 

Gulp.

I spent just over £53 in MrL alone 😱.  The scores on the doors are;  £67.05 spent on food/groceries and £16.96 spent on non-food - which was predominantly on dish soap, body soap and clothes 'soap' - t'ain't cheap keeping clean 😕

No £1.50 boxes in sight in MrL, and I only got one YS'd item - some (big) mushrooms that had been YS'd down to 40p.  I'm pretty sure everything I had on my list was instock today.  I didn't get any (fresh) fruit in my shop today, but there were quite a few vegetables of different types.  The MrL total did include a couple of bottles of red wine, but just looking thru, no other real 'treats'. 

In MrS, I did buy some courgettes as they were £1 (nectar price), and we've not had courgettes for a good while - although I'm well aware they are not in season in the UK. 

Ho hum.  

I must admit, although i am mindful of DH's sick days impacting on household income (bless him, he tries everso hard not to take time off - so he must be feeling crook at the mo), I do feel less anxious now that we are living in this house.  It was far more worrying when we were renting, as the monthly rental absorbed such a lump of the household income.  I know what a priviledged position we are in having a roof over our heads, so my needing to keep a tight rein on the grocery budget is not a fear of affording the rent, but trying to keep on track with saving for replacement windows.  But I would be telling untruths if I didn't admit that it has been a little easier to convince DH to get better first, rather than 'get back to work soonest'.  

I have put some dried chickpeas on to 'quicksoak' (hot water method) and need to cook them up just now.  Right, I'm away to amend my siggie.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Well, DH has struggled on, back into work today.  Not sure he couldn't have benefitted from another day off, but he had improved - and the nosebleeds had stopped, so.....

I cooked up the chickpeas yesterday - I did them for 15 minutes in the PC as they hadn't soaked overnight.  I then froze most of them, but used some in Sweet Potato Jalfrezi - which is a 'Meat Free Monday' recipe, which i got from the cookbook (library), but is one I can't find online to link.  I don't bother with the cauli and mango pieces in my version, and I use JamieO's recipe for Jalfrezi paste (minus any chilli).  Served with lentil dhal and basmati rice.  LG wasn't super keen on the Jalfrezi, and left a bit 🙁

Snap is packed up.  Uniform set out.  Not too sure if I will catch up with my laundry today - it looks dreich overhead, and the forecast sounded equally dreich on the radio. 

I need to process those YS'd mushrooms today.  I ought to make some more chickpea and mushroom bangers, as they went down well with the troops and were munched.  

I'm not sure now what we will be doing (if anything) on the holiday weekend, as doubtless if DH is asked to work Saturday morning, he'll leap at the chance, as he feels he's let us down by being ill 🙄

Sorry, can't come up with much on an MSE vibe, so I'll stop being boring and shuffle orf.

Greying X

themadvix

You are never boring Greying!

Greying_Pilgrim

themadvix said:

You are never boring Greying!

Aw fanks love......***pops a fiver in't post 2 tmv***..... 🤣

So I'm going to take a gamble on the weather and with a load of washing.  Whilst it's all grey and gloomy with us, there is a good drying breeze, so I'm going go for it.  The beebeecee forecast hasn't been right for us all week, so I can't afford to lose another day's potentially dry laundry.

I think I may have a bash at a sort of ratatouille pasta bake for tea, and I am going to have a bash at making some 'savoury' flapjacks too.  I had a recipe from yonks ago (pre-BG) from the lovely Seaotter which i will revisit and see if it will still work in a child-friendly context.  Obviously there are 'do's and don'ts' with regard to what you can send into school with your child for snack (🙄) and lunch.  But unfortunately, there is a child who has taken it upon themselves to be judge, jury and chief sneerer about other children's "everything" - including their snack/lunch options 🙄 LG has been unwilling to take a (bought) oat bar since the child declared it "full" of sugar - which of course it wasn't, as LG's mother had actually taken MUCH time and effort to research the ingredients to ensure they were OK, were green under the 'traffic light' system and didn't contain nuts, like alot of proprietary brand do............    But of course, one child's negativity trumps all that....... 🙄 

Right, the washing machine is beeping, so time to peg out.

Ta for popping in.  Appreciated.

Greying X

kayannie

I've made savoury flapjacks - you've reminded me that I haven't made them for a while. I'll have to dig the recipe out, but they're mainly oats, carrot & what I consider to be rather a lot of cheese.

I've been turning a mountain of mushrooms into soup. I managed to get the last £1.50 box from L!DL yesterday & there were 3 packs of mushrooms in it (a family pack of white ones & 2 packs of chestnut ones). Also, 2 packs of on the vine tomatoes, 2 little gem lettuce, 3 beetroot & an avocado.

KA

Greying_Pilgrim

Ooooooooh kayannie - you lucky sausage getting a MrL box - contents sound spiffing too, just my jam 😁 The recipe I have has cheese as an ingredient - although on one of my previous waffles about them, it appears I shoved yoghurt in, in lieu of cheese/some cheese, and they still worked/tasted nice.  

Well, I got orf my bum and wandered into Greying Town.  It's been irritating me up oneside and down the other that we only had 2 keys for any door at the back of the house.  DH very kindly, at my behest 😉swapped around the locks in 2 of the doors that we use the most, as the one key could be copied, whereas the other was so worn.....  Needless to say, my keys are always at the front of the house when I need to go out the back, and at the back when I'm rushing out the front...... So I got a new copy today.  In the longer term, the doors themselves need changing, but it was £10 well spent to retain my sanity in the shorter term 😁

I've shuffled the CHB.  With bank holidays and holidays this month, there should be 'spare' money to put towards the next school trip - so I will pay for that, rather than divert penny counting and tuppence snaffling from the 'C4C' pot.  Any surplus CHB will have to be applied to School Uniform replacement, as that will be required for 'branded' items either at the end of summer term, or at the start of Autumn term.  LG has been very good about wearing a 'preloved' item, which tided us over thus far, but I've noticed there is a small tear in the garment, and it's starting to look very worn. Due to the small policy change regarding uniform, we will definitely require 2 of the branded items from September.  I still think the headteacher is barking up the wrong tree, but it's not worth arguing further, the battle is as won as it's going to be.

I did have a wander thru M&$ foodhall.  Heavens, I think I'll stop.  Their YS'd things cost more than I pay full price in supermarkets.....  For possibly the first time ever, I was wandering around thinking, actually, I can no longer afford to buy anything in this shop.  It's a miserable feeling.  I get it if the pack sizes were bigger (they weren't), or I was comparing organic with non-organic, or ethical/sustainable with slash & burn, but it was just pedestrian foodstuffs.  

Right, I've chores a-plenty to attend to.  

Greying X

themadvix

I know what you mean about M&S Greying. I ended up buying a few bits there this morning because I needed to get back for Mr MV to use the car unexpectedly (I was there to buy some suitable work trousers - they were ouchy price compared to my normal second hand purchases!) - £7.91 for bananas, two bramley apples, eggs and butter and that was with 10% off on the fruit. I needed the eggs, butter and apples for the pudding I'm making this evening, so didn't have a lot of choice. OK, the bananas were organic, but none of the rest was. It would definitely have been cheaper at Sains, which is nowhere near the cheapest supermarket. I honestly don't know how they justify the prices - I doubt very much they're paying their suppliers more fairly than other places.

EssexHebridean

Definitely a good spend on the key Greying - it’s amazing how small things like that can drive us to the point of utter distraction when they interfere with smooth running of life, but they do, and if a (relatively) small spend will sort that out for the time being, then good for you for spending it! 

rtandon27

ooo GP - how absolutely vexing in regard to the child who thinks they have a right to criticize another's food! - Would LG feel comfortable declaring 'my mama made it for me & it's the best food in the world' if the said bar was homemade???  I'm not sure how precocious our little one is, but if they declared that confidently and loudly, it might just put an end to the judgey 'friend'?

Completely agree with EH on the absolute necessity of those little purchases that make a world of difference!  Well spent on another key!