Buying a little piece of Middle England; Manifesting my way to mortgage free.

debtfreewannabe321

Oh, food shopping arrived ten minutes before the four hour slot! Thank God I didn't go out.... £92.92 to add to my already large signature for this month. Oops.
And copy and pasted from the grocery challenge...
"Omg I don't know what's happening this month but we have three (maybe two if I can eek the last week out) more food shops left in this month and I'm already at 400.54/500 😦
I also didn't plan for Easter holidays...kids haven't stopped eating 😭 I made homemade snacks for three days and they scoffed the bleeding lot in one night after DP and I had gone to bed. I've only just noticed when I went in the fridge to put the shopping away. They left the empty Tupperware in there with the lid on so I thought it was still full! Sigh...I think April will be more about containing overspends and damage limitations 🤣"

LadyWithAPlan

So sorry to hear about your friend and your sister - hope the diagnosis gets better , you have so much going on and such news makes everything harder.
Ignore all blackbirds!


Glad you left finally - loving how you are determined to colour in those squares!!

Those kids of yours are growing  fast - maybe cook  some roast potatoes and leave in fridge  to heat up with some bits  (beans, cheese, houmous etc) for when they are  late night hungry.. and other cheaper ways to fill them up.  Or egg fried rice with veg bits (and chicken/bacon etc  if they eat it) is always great reheated...
I do a huge lentil and mushroom cottage pie - with a mash/sweet potato topping from Hell Fresh that is a good stand by and freezes well as well  - recipe

https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/lentil-and-mushroom-cottage-pie-63fe37a810ddad6ab9e1497a

I LOVE my pressure cooker - does amazing chicken/meat stock so quickly. Plus you can also use for veg that take longer eg squash, beetroot etc.
Plus you can  do a quick tasty  veg rice dish   - add some lightly sauteed meat/chicken  into the PC, threw in some veg and even some frozen stock, spices, maybe tomato puree, passata and some lentils/chickpeas  etc if you want plus uncooked rice and give it 25-30 min in the PC - delicious and nutritious.. 

HotDog2020

DFW123 I enjoy reading your posts. I hope your friend and sister getter better soon and it does not weigh you down too much.

I internet food shop too and it does make for more controlled decisions (not always), you may not get access to everything you want, but it would work out cheaper getting one brand item over shop own, then buying all shop owned and an extra half trolley of stuff, also it means not traipsing through the aisles and bashing trolleys! 

Also I have got out of the habit of buying in bulk, I found that out by the last few items I either did not want anymore or they were no good, always better to buy just what you need, there are exceptions where it might be valuable, and perhaps you are being savvy, but I just would warn against it, unless you have only good expeiereces of it.

It wouldn't hurt to get an xray, take youself to a&e they will do it on the day...That is what I would do. Rather then leave to heal wonky and potentially make things worse.

It also sounds like you are doing well on the survey sites, I find that being a single loner companies are not interested in knowing anything about me, they prefer peops with kiddies.

I just wanted to touch base and wish you and wish you a positive outcome over the coming days, weeks, months and years.

I agree with Lady with a --ignore the blackbirds!

HotdogX

debtfreewannabe321

Thanks for popping in @LadyWithAPlan I didn't realise the PC could be so versatile! My mum had one when we were growing up but she burned herself badly on it (she is as clumsy as me) and it always put me off trying one tbh, hence why I have got to the grand old age of 45 and only last few days tried one finally I will have another look at what I have in and can cook in it. My DS is omnivore, DD is veggie both make their own choices on what they want to eat out of the house (or indeed buy in with their own money) but I refuse to spend my money on meat (ethical reasons but also budget reasons I simply can't afford it), I will buy cheese and eggs and milk etc if they ask for it though. DS loves my lentil and mushroom cottage pie which is much like the one you posted actually so good to know it is quite nutritious. I gave up most fake meats a long time ago they are expensive and for the most part taste horrid esp the fake mince. So my dishes are usually made with lentils and mushrooms or beans...although i'm still to give up the veggie burgers and veggie sausages. 
@HotDog2020 thank you so much I agree with the shopping. I buy in bulk at the beginning of the month things like dried pulses and rice and this month I thought I would try something different, buying in bulk everything on my meal plan for the month (so all things that could be frozen or put in cupboard) but something went wrong I will probably go back to how I was doing it last month as that worked...one week at a time. 
Thank you both on the blackbirds, I am a silly superstitious type seeing omens good and bad in everything I blame it on my Irish grandmother who passed it on to my mother, they had a superstition about almost everything you could imagine lol. Friend is still reeling I think considering her husband is so close to the end. My sister is still not well, very weak but at least no sepsis! 
My foot- I am going to get it seen to as the pain is lingering too long, although the rub I bought with knitbone and arnica is helping it a lot it is still sore and doesn't feel right. I wish I were closer to the hospital it is a good 45 minute drive so I think I will try the drs first  

debtfreewannabe321

Morning all, 

NSD

Well today will be a NSD I am going to start tracking them from today, will mark it in my budget diary. I have 21 days left of this month (w-t-f) and we are down to money in pots and very little in the current accounts. I am aiming for 15 NSDs ...ha wish me luck that may be a little high.
AIM HIGH as they say though...  

There's a hole in my bucket

Last night I bought a rug on fb MP £20 there is no stopping the money leakage...although...I had planned on getting one from amazonia.....it has been in my basket for weeks on end...£45-60 dependent on the final size I went for (I wanted the big one) so I decided on one last hurrah of spendthrift ways for the month and drove over to buy it last night. It is 6' x 4' and bigger than the biggest rug I was hoping to get on Amazonia so I am happy with it. It is pink too and pretty  

DP doesn't listen
DP I think spent most of the night up with money worries on his mind. I got the budget out this morning and tried to show him where his money was. He wasn't broke he was just cashflow broke or as we used to say when I was using YNAB, 'YNAB broke' There was money in pots he needed to reconcile his spends with me and the budget book, which he did this morning, and I will take from the pots and give back to his account. We moved across £75 or so to his current account from the pots and he felt better then *rolley eyes* I had already explained how this would work, but I felt like someone wasn't listening *rolley eyes*
So budget is totally reconciled now and we know what is what and where we have overspent. Food is the obvious one. And all the other bits like takeaway and painting etc are actually fine, we have taken that from our pocket money, so all is okay there.

Final payday & any other money we make 
I will be paid on Friday and we will have enough to pay for food going forwards. At least I have already made the money I wanted to for the MOP goal this month so I am really happy with that. Any more money we make can just sit in our accounts now I think. I have no other wants or needs for the month other than ongoing food shop.

General consensus on food bills
I don't have many fb friends any more after I whittled them down to less than 200 but this morning after DP's upset and me feeling like I had stolen all his money when in fact it has just gone on bleeding food I went on FB and asked my friends what they were spending on food for the month. Most were around 500-800 I had a few friends message me too with their amounts and these aren't your usual MSE people so I realised I was at the bottom end of the budgets that were being set, most of them did a meal plan too only because they are being forced to because of the cost of living. Basically the general consensus was "they" are robbing us blind and we are all struggling. It made me feel a bit better tbh, I know British people don't really like to talk about money but meh, I will tell anyone anything, and I was grateful people shared their experiences with me on where they are shopping for cheaper stuff and how they are cutting down. 

Today's plans
DD had an unplanned sleepover last night and then disappeared with her friend to the 'shops' for two hours. We live in a small market town where the only shop open at that time of day was Mr T. So I rang her, she was in the skate park. DD never does things like this. I told her to get home immediately and that I was responsible for her friend's welfare when she is staying here. Grr. I had to cook for an extra place which I wasn't expecting but thankfully I had enough to divvy out so all okay. I think I will be saying no to any more sleepovers, I will use the excuse of you need to revise. That friend is not a good influence. (gawd I sound like my mum). DS is off to his dad's house on Friday for one week. I pray he comes back in a good mood but I shan't hold my breath. Anyway I digress from today's plans, I want to wash all DS clothes today that he wants to take with him, get DD to tidy her room after the sleepover. I will probably have to drop her friend home. It is raining out but I will pop out with dog at some point, and I want to make a banana loaf with blackened bananas.

Dinner...hmmm... I need to check my meal plan I can't remember what is on it now. I will probably hold back the jacket potatoes for Friday if I need to do a long drive to meet ex to hand son over. I will make some houmous today too from the chickpeas.

DP is getting a new car today, so we have to stay in and await delivery. The old one will leave at same time. I will not spend a penny today so will be offline for much of it to avoid temptation. I have a person coming to hopefully collect something later I have listed for sale, I am also waiting for survey money to clear and v1nted items to clear.

OHHHH and I am writing my resignation letter today to send off on Friday - my friend and fellow supervisor has found a new job meaning she also doesn't need to return! So we are both handing our resignations in together.....a silent protest if you like at the way things are run there. I am quite excited by that, she's not sure on what to write so I will be doing it for her...it's just a basic one no 'you're all fec king useless'  but I don't think she's ever written one so I said I will do one for her similar to mine and send it to her to vet and change as she wishes. 
Righty ho off I go to get started on my day I hope you all have a good day.

debtfreewannabe321

Oh I was about to log off and remembered I had checked the mortgage account this morning waiting for it all to catch up with DDs and OPs and my mortgage now stands at £97,646.20!! something to make me smile today, if nothing else. 

LadyWithAPlan

Well done on the Mortgage - its going down!!
Food budgets are crazy  right now - so good your DP is aware where the cash is being spent

My parents spent £200 in 2 days pre Easter on food  - just 2 bottles wine, 4 eggs and the rest food. So glad you are getting clear on yours - the monthly grocery challenge thread is amazing, well worth joining and really helped me get my Grocery budget down - they suggest you set it , track it and then try to whittle it down by £10-£20 a month. Plus they have loads of recipes and some very experienced frugal grocery budgeters on there with some great tips.
April 24 grocery challenge link here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6514031/april-2024-grocery-challenge?utm_source=community-search&utm_medium=organic-search&utm_term=grocery+challenge


I would google Veggie PC recipes -  there are loads - (an instant pot is also a PC so use their recipes as well - just use similar timings)  it does great rice dishes super quick, does pulses brilliantly, dal etc  and does great veggie soups plus veg like cauli, beetroot etc ... stock in like 10 mins you can then blend down and add to..

i also have a halogen which I do roasts in but I was also nervous of the PC - that rattling sound when I was a kid...  but now I love mine - I won it actually from a betting site and I am a big fan now. It is out most days even mid summer.

debtfreewannabe321

Thanks @LadyWithAPlan for popping in, I am in the GC but I will be honest I haven't looked at their recipe section in a long time - I will have a look. After having used the PC now a few times I feel slightly more confident I still have it seared into my mind the time we had to rush to hospital with mum so I am still very cautious but that isn't a bad thing I guess. I am going to try a recipe in it as I bought it just for chickpeas and other pulses I bought dried not really knowing what else to do with it. Growing up I think all my mum cooked in it was ham. Mine wasn't quite free but I was happy with £4 as it doesn't even look like it was used much

With regards to the food prices, I had a friend message me last night, she is also trying to pay her mortgage down, she is at uni and has another job but took on a part time one in Mr T doing late shifts, her job is to change price tickets at the end of promotions etc. She said she hadn't really paid much attention before but yesterday after I made my post she took her phone in with her to take pics for me And there was a theme, the stuff with a tonne of rubbish in (factory made food, sugary or full of aspartame) had price drops or very small increases (pennies) the stuff that was healthier for you was going up on average 50p + per item. She was as shocked as I was. I barely buy any rubbish from supermarkets, we get our crisps on subscription from Amazonia as it's cheaper and I buy the odd thing for the kids. So it's no wonder my bill is so high considering all the fruit and veg I put in. 

I actually went through my receipt and this what I bought for £93 from Mr S
 
FOR MEALS:

9 different types of veg
10 different salad items
red lentils dried
falafels
stock & gravy
baslamic vinegar
cheese for the kids
poppadoms
sea salt
5 x baked beans
tahini
1 x OJ
garlic
ginger
naan bread
1 x veggie burgers

SNACKS:

1 cake
2 x hot cross buns
8 vegan yoghurts
8 veggie yoghurts
6 different types of fruit
olives
2 x dates (Will make protein balls)

Everything where I could was organic.

And That's all Folks!

That's what a shop in April 2024 in UK gets you for £93! Especially if you try to eat healthily. Eating healthily seems to be for the elite only on a big budget.

There is nothing I have missed out.....that is my whole receipt. I could cry! I actually took out things like biscuits and small snack choc bars for the kids because they pushed the price over 100. The only thing I bought that I could have done without was the cake and hot cross buns but honestly I thought Fk it we need a treat - at least one in there.
So the shopping would have come to 85 then which I still think is unbelievable for what is up there.

Ugh. Anyway rant over. Tis what it is. Not very happy about it though. 

I am debating whether to drive to next local town to do a Mr A or Mr L shop once a month to try and get costs down a little but I have to factor in the petrol costs which is 14p per mile and it is a 30 mile round trip so costs me £4.20 if my mental math is correct. So would have to be saving at least that to make it worthwhile. 

Yesterday I made humous (1 frozen and one to eat now), it tasted really good but was a bit of a faff to do as my food processor doesn't blend very well, I transferred it to our small smoothie maker half way through and that was better. I worked out costings and to make enough for a month I would save £2.50 on my usual spends of humous.
I made flapjacks, forgot to put baking sheet down though and basically it is now like smashed flapjacks still tastes good though. Enough for a few days.
I made banana loaf, again enough for a few days, I think I will freeze half the portion today as well.
I also made a lentil/mushroom spag bol with peppers and onions which tasted really good. I made enough for 2 portions so one is in the freezer. Today I am doing a pasta sausage dinner, something quick and easy as I spent hours in the kitchen yesterday. 
One thing I was grateful for as I stood on my feet for hours baking and cooking, was my new rug which is down in the kitchen. Our kitchen floor is always freezing and very hard to stand on as it has concrete under the lino and this rug was a saviour for my poorly foot, it was warm and soft and I was happy I bought it.

Yesterday was my first tracked NSD> today will be my second. I am not going out at all aside from to take the dog round the block a few times. I will try and time it when his friends are out so they can have a social on the green near our house and it wears him out in super quick time running around  

The guy arrived to buy the pond waterfall from us, money was paid via bank transfer to DP account. He was still miffed about having no money so I told him to keep it *rolls eyes* I did try explaining again that this is what happens when you buy takeaways and paintings and records etc, your pocket money doesn't go far and honestly I felt like I had robbed him after his moan. I showed him all the pots with money for specific spends like DIY, household and health etc but twas to no avail, he was still miffed. I told him quietly and with a smile, to keep the money from the sale and waltzed away from that transaction whilst it was still happening. Sigh. He has gone off to a conference this morning in his brand new car with his brand new designer jacket and shoes and designer jeans and apparently feels poor. Meanwhile I am at home with primarni pjs on, no job to go to wondering what the hell is the point of life.

Mid-life crisis I suspect, again.

He won't be back until tomorrow and maybe we might have both cooled off by then. He gets to eat and drink to his heart's desire at the conference dinner later and have a nicely warmed hotel room to sleep in...but I have the banana loaf, flapjack, blankets and the dog and Now tv to keep me company so actually I am not jealous Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened 20 years ago if I had taken the path of getting a career instead of being SAHM taking the odd job here and there to pay the way. I wonder if I would have more respect for myself, and others would have that respect for me (like my children) and I know I would now have a paid off mortgage already....actually I would have had 3 years left to run on it as I bought my first house when I was 23......
shoulda, coulda, woulda....
anyway it is time for another cuppa and I will catch up on some diaries as I haven't had time lately, I will be searching for the meaning of life if anyone can point me in the right direction of the correct thread for that I would much appreciate it

beanielou

I have said for years that it costs more to eat healthily than eat rubbish. Sad but true. 

Hope your OH comes back feeling less hard done to! 

skint_spice

My first and second mortgages would have been paid off when I was 48! If I hadn’t left my well paid job I would be paid around double my current wage and current mortgage was taken on at 52 due to end at 67 - now struggling to find the positive point I was going to make 😂 any rate you are not alone in questioning your decisions! But life has been interesting and full of variety…