Away From The Madding Crowd

Dizee123

All this talk of birdsong and walking has made me realise that one of my favourite benefits of retirement is the elasticity of time.
When I worked exercise had to be fitted into a busy schedule and day long walks were few and far between especially with ageing parents and grandchildren to prioritise.  Now our ladies walking group fits in 2 to 3 per month.  Last week we did an open country walk and took binoculars as there were numerous buzzards and red kites wheeling around the sky.  We were also lucky enough to see some great bustards and the beginning of March hare madness in the fields.  We could spend as long as we liked just identifying and watching wildlife.
.....although one of the drawbacks of getting older was where we spent about 15 minutes looking at little brown humps in a field waiting for them to move before realising they were molehills ....   

Humboldt

@Katiehound thank you for sharing the links.  I especially enjoyed the video.

@Dizee123 welcome.  Being able to choose what we do with our time is a real gift.  Thank you for sharing your beautiful walk and it's abundance of wildlife. The fact that you watched molehills for 15 minutes did make me laugh.

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week

What is this life if, full of care.  We have no time to stand and stare – The Welsh poet W.H. Davies wrote the poem ‘Leisure,’ which begins with this line. A joy to read.

Money Saving

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £200 per month.  Week 2 spend for February is £65.37.  Total spend to date is £151.00. Looks like we are going to be over budget this month!

Stocked up on a few craft items in TheW*rks and saved £1.65 by using my reward voucher.  The Together Rewards Card is free and you gain points when you spend.  I also picked up 2 x 8 metre rolls of Christmas gift wrap for only 25p each.

Trip to the local town on the bus.  I took advantage of the government’s £2 bus fare cap, saving £3.  The scheme runs until 31 December 2024.

Replaced my old Fitbi* (it was no longer under guarantee). John Lew*s had a newer version with £15 off and I was able to reduce the overall cost by another £5 using a code sent to me.  Free delivery.  Hopefully we will not have to replace anything else this month! 

This week’s main menu

Monday – Chicken & stuffing, swede & carrot mash, broccoli, spiced red cabbage (I will make a large batch and freeze some) and gravy

Tuesday – Ping Meal - As above (cook once eat twice – saves time and energy costs)

Wednesday – Salmon in chilli ginger sauce (Hai*y Dieter’s recipe) with stir-fry veg and noodles (salmon was reduced in price and frozen until required)

Thursday – Macaroni cheese surprise (Heart UK recipe) with salad

Friday – Ping Meal - As above (cook once eat twice – saves time and energy costs)

Saturday – Roasted tomato soup with wholemeal pittas (the base of the soup was made in September last year using our homegrown tomatoes and frozen until required)

Sunday – Lamb tagine (BB* Good Food slow cooker recipe, but I will use less lamb & add more veg) with a small portion of cous cous (lamb was reduced in price and frozen until required)

Overnight oats in various guises account for most of our breakfasts, we like to add Aldi’s frozen Black Forest berries (currently priced at £1.89 for 500g). I will cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker today (Monday) and the leftover meat will provide a few lunches, together with homemade soups from the freezer.

Healthier Lifestyle

Completed 2 free workouts via Fab*lous50s on You*ube last week

Step count last week was 52,475

Completed 3 free meditations

Simple Pleasures

Books read 2/2024 – Laura’s Handmade Life – Amanda Addison (book swap with a friend)

DH and I had a trip to a nearby market town at the weekend.  Visited a lovely café and treated ourselves to a cappuccino and shared a freshly baked amaretti cookie.  Bought a large red cabbage (50p), a bunch of scented narcissi (£3) and a wholemeal sourdough (£2.95) from the farmer’s market

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.

bluenose1

Thanks Humboldt, lovely read.
 Inspired me to read the Davies poem in full, so very true. Something I need to learn to do more of.
Enjoying your meal plan and really good idea re ping meals, something else I may copy
Food shopping definitely seems more expensive, though I don’t want to skimp on what I think is healthy and nutritious so will increase our budget if required, appreciate some can’t do that.
Thanks again for lovely read, would much rather be on threads like this than reading the newspapers etc as they just seem to be more and more divisive, very rarely watch or read any news now.

Savvy_Sue

I had to learn that poem in Junior School. Sadly the sing-song way in which we recited it has ruined it for me - as did the da-da da-da da-da da-da regurgitation of Hiawatha! 

uralmaid

Crikey - don't know how you get your food bill to £200 per month. We spend on average £400 per month. There is only the two of us unless we have visitors which isn't very often.  I buy fresh food mostly and cook from scratch. We  neither of us have a drink very often so no alcohol purchases are included. Just meat, fruit and veg, bread, cleaning materials and cupboard staples like flour, sugar, tea, coffee etc. Well done.

[Deleted User]

uralmaid said:

Crikey - don't know how you get your food bill to £200 per month. We spend on average £400 per month. There is only the two of us unless we have visitors which isn't very often.  I buy fresh food mostly and cook from scratch. We  neither of us have a drink very often so no alcohol purchases are included. Just meat, fruit and veg, bread, cleaning materials and cupboard staples like flour, sugar, tea, coffee etc. Well done.

If you have no debt and have enough income it doesn't matter how much you spend. Myself and elderly relative probably spend at least £400 too and we don't care lol. No compromises here on food or for that matter heating. lol

Humboldt

@bluenose1 it certainly is a lovely, thought-provoking poem.   

You may recall, that I hoped a diary would keep me motivated and may even help others in some small way.  I was therefore, so pleased that you took the time to tell me that you were enjoying the meal plans and were also considering ‘ping meals.’ I have been creating a weekly meal plan for more years than I care to remember. They began out of necessity and enabled me to feed a young family on limited funds. Each week I only bought what was on my list, knowing that I had enough money to feed my family well. As time passed, I began to realise that we ate better because I was more aware of the ingredients in each meal.  It also became apparent that there was less waste due to choosing several recipes that fully utilised the ingredients purchased that week.  To achieve all of this, I had to increase my recipe portfolio, and therefore the menu often featured something new and interesting.  Now, despite our circumstances being very different, creating a weekly meal plan is still second nature to me.  Like you, I do not wish to skimp on what I think is healthy and nutritious and so I am currently monitoring my budget with a view to increasing it to £250. These are difficult times and I empathise with those who may not have this option.   

@Savvy_Sue welcome.  When I read your comment, my head was instantly filled with the singing of times tables!

@uralmaid thank you.  My food budget includes the items that you have listed and I also cook most of our meals from scratch. I keep a stock of store cupboard basics (I do not hoard) and try to purchase these when they are on offer.  I find that eating less meat, buying seasonal produce, growing a small number of vegetables, and actively looking for discounts helps me keep within budget most of the time.  You may have noticed that reduced items often form the main basis of a meal on my menu’s (I very much hate food waste).  My DH and I are happy to eat the same meal twice (‘ping meals’) which also reduces costs.  I do expect to spend more when we have visitors and on special occasions, I am ok with this.    

@[Deleted User] what can I say, “I like a challenge.” Even though I can comfortably spend more on food, I choose to set a food budget and continue with my tried and tested method for all the reasons stated above.  The monies saved are then redirected to other funds to spend as we choose. After all, time is the only limited resource and DH and I want to make the most of it.

Frugality is not a trait of the impoverished but a hallmark of the wise – David Sharma

Today’s simple pleasure – fresh raspberries with our overnight oats for breakfast (purchased at a reduced price of course!).

uralmaid

I am in awe of you Humbolt.  I do try and plan menus although sometimes I change what we are having as when it comes to it, I just don't fancy what has been planned. We don't tend to eat out much as we live in a small village and no restaurants. There is an Italian restaurant in the next village and we are in fact going there on Sunday for a .meal with friends but it might be 6 months or more before we go there again.  I do my grocery shop mostly online and get it delivered as our nearest supermarket is 10 miles away.  

Humboldt

@uralmaid thank you for your kind comment.  There are so many wonderful individuals on the forum, many of which make my money saving efforts look like a drop in the ocean.  If you are interested in food budgets, perhaps have a peep at the Old style MoneySaving thread (if you have not done so already). How we spend our money is a very personal choice, and what works for some, does not work for others.  That is the joy of these threads, no one is judged and we can take what we want from them.   

I am lucky enough to have several supermarkets within walking distance and that enables me to buy reduced food items on a regular basis (the exercise is also free).  We try to follow our menu plan, but sometimes it's just not possible.  When that happens, I'm ok with it, after all there was a good reason. We probably eat out once a month and when we do, the cost is not included in my food budget. I hope that you enjoy your meal out on Sunday, Italian food is one of my favourites.

Today’s simple pleasure – met a friend this morning and enjoyed a chat and cuppa.