Away From The Madding Crowd

mark55man

thank you for all your lovely posts this year.  lots of qreat quotes - I'm a real sucker for one liners (or two or even 3).  I am jealous at your organisation but its good for me to see how other people do it.  I'm taking some down time before heading back to work so see you in 2025!!

mark55man

PS I was looking through some forward looking quotes to use as "amuse bouches" at my new years eve dinner with friends (not us hosting), and I came across this old favorite even if Woody Allen himself is a bit of a disgrace nowadays I still like this one which seems fitting as we enter a new decade under a new leader

“Mankind is facing a crossroads - one road leads to despair and utter hopelessness and the other to total extinction - let us have the wisdom to choose correctly”

Hope its not too gloomy for y'all

Humboldt

Thank you @mark55man, enjoy your downtime and your new years eve dinner.

Today's simple pleasure - a stunning peach and pink coloured sunset.

Humboldt

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year.

Motivational quote of the week.

What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year – Vern McLellan.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Having used £50.00 worth of Nect@r points, week 4 spend for December was reduced to £84.48. Total spend for December was £250.19.  

I am still utilising the seasonal vegetables that were on offer in Ald! for just 8p. 

Interest gained on various savings accounts for December was £162.40.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Homemade cheese quiche with a large mixed salad.  I will use leftover cheese and salad items. I will utilise the oven by cooking a sourdough loaf.  

Tuesday – Chinese meal at home using shop bought items, the majority of which were reduced in price.

Wednesday – Redcurrant leg of lamb (slow cooker recipe), potatoes roasted in duck fat, swede/carrot mash, honey roast parsnips, and sprouts (from the freezer).  Leftover mince pies, which I will warm and serve with leftover B@ileys ice cream.  Lamb was bought when on offer at half price and frozen until required. Homegrown rosemary from the garden. 

Thursday – Ping meal – as above (cook once, eat twice – saves on time and energy costs).  No dessert today though.

Friday – Spiced carrot and lentil soup (G0od F0od recipe) with homemade sourdough bread.   Soup will be cooked in the slow cooker.

Saturday – Garlic roast chicken with stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce (from the freezer), roast vegetables, brocolli and gravy.  I will utilise the oven by cooking a sourdough loaf.

Sunday – Ping meal – as above.

Healthier lifestyle (not so healthy over the festive season).

Completed 0 free online workouts.

Completed 4 free meditations.

Step count last week was 32,530.

Simple pleasures.

The quiet time between Christmas and New Year.

Downloaded our boarding passes for our winter sun holiday.

Knowing that our money saving efforts have contributed to our winter sun holiday.

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

Nebulous2

Great update again Humboldt. We've been using Ald! regularly recently, but unfortunately the cheap veg was often sold out. 

The other German discounter must be feeling rejected, as we both got an offer today for £5 off a £30 shop. Has to be used within 11 days, but if we take a trolley each it will be good to get £60 of groceries for £50.  

Organgrinder

I decided some months ago to get a Tesco clubcard plus subscription. £8 a month for 10% off two shops plus extra coupons. Generally I "save" about £10 a month net but of course Tesco no longer send me money off vouchers.

However, I have noticed that overall I end up paying less than I would if I shopped solely in Aldi as some items are actually quite pricey because of the limited range.  So I end up doing two main shops in Tesco plus two top up shops in Aldi.

louby40

We shop in Aldi and Tesco too. My partners daughter works for Tesco so we have a colleague Clubcard which means we get 20% off food and clothing. It's a great bonus.

bluenose1

Great update, will try and bear in mind your motivational quote as very true,
Two ping meals, very impressed, such a good idea.
I tried this recipe for first time and all family thought it was delicious, added bonus good value and very little washing up. Based on just that recipe have ordered some of her books off eBay.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_and_rice_bake_97733

After months of getting majority of our food via online shopping I went to Asda, B&M and Morrisons yesterday as Asda didn’t have the dog food in we use. Forgotten how tiring it can be doing a full shop.
Have been doing my yoga nidra meditation for 15 minutes a day since New Year as want to get into good routines.
Enjoy your winter sun holiday, the money you have saved on food compared to most is incredible. 

Nice thought escaping this weather.

Humboldt

@Nebulous2 Sorry to read that you missed out on the cheap veg. For the majority of 2024 we did our weekly shop at Ald!. However, whilst S@insbury's were offering extra Nect@r points via their C0unt up to Christmas Ch@llange,  I began buying items that they were price matching with Ald!.   It gave us an opportunity to try the quality of St@mford Street products, and whilst I will continue to buy some, I will go back to Ald! for others. I also found that S@insbury's change the items that they price match on a regular basis and their Nect@r prices are not always a good price. 

£5 off a £30 shop is a good offer. Unfortunately, the management of stock in our local L!dl is often lacking, particularly with regard to the quality of their fruit and vegetables.  That said, I keep an eye on their offers and will check them out when visiting a friend who lives close to a L!dl.  As I have said previously, I have no loyalty to any particular business, shop or product, they all have to work hard to get me to part with our hard earned cash. 

@Organgrinder prior to moving, Tesc0 was where we bought the majority of our weekly shop.  That was some years ago, and we would now have to travel some distance to reach a Tesc0's, so we no longer shop there.   Like you, I agree it is best to shop around.

@louby40 20% off food and clothing is a great incentive.  Just wanted to add that I loved your latest post about not being worried about weather conditions here potentially affecting your flight home from holiday.  These are the simple pleasures that bring joy during retirement. I hope that you had a fab holiday.

@bluenose1 I accept that maintaining a budget does take time and effort, but I found that the more I did it, the easier it became.  We are all different and what is important to some may not be to others, there is no right or wrong way, but we all have something to bring to the party. Thanks lots for sharing the recipe, your kind words and  holiday wishes.

I so appreciate all who take the time to comment, or support me from the side-lines by offering their thanks.  Happy New Year to you all.

Today's simple pleasure - yesterdays crisp, clear night that was filled with a myriad of twinkling stars. 

Organgrinder

As it turns out I'm currently deciding where to shop today. Most likely Aldi to be honest as I'm still a bit battered and bruised from my recent snowboarding trip and Aldi is the closest.

It's back to work Monday so a last bit of indulgence this weekend is called for.

Decisions, decisions.