Away From The Madding Crowd

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself – George Bernard Shaw.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 3 spend for June was £62.89. Total spend to date for June is £193.48.

A trip to our local town on the bus, taking advantage of the government’s £3 bus fare cap, saving £1.

Placed a B0ot’s order, taking advantage of 2 x £10 Tuesday offers, saving £9.50 on replacement toothbrush heads and £8 on Liz E@rle skin tonic.  I saved 10% on basic Bo0t’s own brand items (with my adv@ntage card) and collected 8 points per £1 spent on their own branded items (as an Over 60 rew@rd member).  Saved £24.24 in total, earned even more points by using an offer on my adv@ntage card, and delivery was free.

Bought a mirror for the hallway from Dunelm, saving 20%.  Used click and collect, so no delivery charge.

Fully utilised our 2-hour free electric via our energy provider.

The pots at the front of our house each contain a variegated ivy and ornamental grass, so I just refresh the top of the compost and add a bit of seasonal interest. This summer I have added self-seeded erigeron, so minimal cost.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Rosemary and red pepper orzotto (using a M+S flavour kit reduced from £1.25 to 20p (BB Sep 25)).  I will increase the veg content by adding chopped mixed peppers and use the remainder of the chorizo in tomorrow’s recipe. Orzo was reduced in price and the rosemary will be from the garden.  The remainder of the single cream will be included in  Wednesday’s meal.

Tuesday – Spanish-style chicken bake (H@iry Dieter’s recipe).  I already have some sweet potatoes so will use these rather than new potatoes and add a couple of carrots that need using up. Tomatoes were reduced in price. To fully utilise the oven, I will bake a seeded sourdough.

Wednesday – Creamy spaghetti with bacon and courgette (from one of my recipe scrap books).  Bacon was reduced in price and frozen until required. The remainder of the bacon will be included in tomorrow’s meal.

Thursday – Hunters chicken with dirty fries (using M+S flavour kit reduced from £1.25 to 20p (BB Oct 25)).  I will adapt the recipe and use chicken thighs instead of breasts, replace the fries with sweet potato wedges.  I will also include some salad.

Friday - Tuna salad with red onion and beans (H@iry Dieter’s recipe).  This is a meal swap from Sunday last week when we had chicken Caesar salad to use up leftover chicken.  I will use the remainder of the anchovies in tomorrow’s recipe.

Saturday – Gennaro’s sea bream (2 Greedy It@lians recipe), with roasted vegetables stirred through whole-wheat couscous.  To fully utilise the oven, I will bake a wholemeal sourdough.

Sunday – Bean and pepper chilli (G0od F0od recipe), with a small portion of brown rice. 

Healthier lifestyle.

Last weeks step count was 47,217.

Completed 4 free meditations last week.

Completed 2 free online workouts last week.

Simple pleasures.

DH and I have measured, sourced, and costed materials for the pantry renovation.  A lady at the local builder’s merchant was incredibly helpful and helped us determine the most cost-effective way to buy the materials for the task. 

A lovely catch-up with ex work colleagues.  We tried a new to us café, which was very nice.

My pea’s have germinated.  I am just growing these for pea shoots, which will be included in salads.

Last week we were gifted a large bunch of homegrown rainbow chard that was used in a yummy frittata for lunches (eggs were reduced in price), and added to lots of other recipes.  

Rescued a bunch of beautiful pink peonies and white scented stock’s (reduced from £4.99 to £2.49).  Apparently, the soothing scent of flowers lowers cortisol levels, the hormone associated with stress, whilst the vibrant colours stimulate the brain and improve mood.

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

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are your seeds.  You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds – Dr. Seuss.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 4 spend for June was £64.43.  Total spend for June was £257.91, so £7.91 overbudget.

£5.51 gained from selling more books to W0rld of B0oks.  Not a lot, but I have long since learnt that every little helps, plus less clutter in the house.  I was able to use a 10% code on this occasion which added a little extra.  Upon completion of the process, money will be paid direct into the Christmas/birthday account.

Made £3 via my crafting. Money added to the Christmas/birthday account.

My claim for Marriage Tax Allowance for 24/25 was successful.  DH has completed the online form and we should receive the £250 tax rebate within the next few days. Upon receipt, the money will be added to the holiday savings.

Fully utilised this week’s 2 hours free electric via our energy provider.

Mid-year check in on our ‘points for Christmas.’  £40 worth of nect@r points - whilst I do my main shop at Ald!, I am happy to purchase items in S@insbury’s that are price matched against Ald!.  £30 via our credit card – paying for our holiday will increase this amount (the cc is paid in full at the end of each month).  £16 worth of Bo0t’s advant@ge points – not bad considering that I have already used some advant@ge points to gain a few Christmas/birthday gifts this year.

Signed up to S@insbury’s Healthy Ch0ice Challenge 25 June – 22 July. Collect up to +1,000 bonus points when you buy Healthy Ch0ice products and complete the personalised tasks.

Bought 2 x L!z Earle products at Bo0t’s, taking advantage of the following offers -  save up to 25% off selected premium beauty, £7.50 worth of advant@ge card points when you buy 2 selected LE products, and 250 extra points when you spend £30 on selected skincare.  Well stocked in terms of skincare for a while.  Just wanted to add that personal toiletries are not included in our grocery budget.

This week’s main menu.’

Monday – Tuna salad, red onion, and beans (H@iry Dieter’s recipe).  I will add some feta and use the remainder in Wednesday’s recipe. This is a meal swap from Friday last week when we had Thai green prawn curry and chapatti.

Tuesday – Vegetable balti (slow cooker recipe) with half a naan bread.  I will use some of the green beans today and the remainder on Thursday.

Wednesday – Tomato and feta pasta (from one of my recipe scrap books). 

Thursday – Smoked haddock fish cake, a few new potatoes, green beans, sweetcorn, and homemade tartar sauce.  Fish cakes were reduced in price and frozen until required. 

Friday – Roast chicken with sage and onion stuffing, swede/carrot mash (from the freezer), spiced red cabbage (from the freezer), a few new potatoes and gravy.  To take advantage of the 1 hour free electric today, I will roast the chicken and bake a sourdough at the same time.  

Saturday – Ping meal -as above (cook once, eat twice).

Sunday – Baked chimichanga (P0N recipe).  I will use leftover roast chicken.  

Healthier lifestyle.

Step count for last week was 50,722.

Completed 3 free meditations last week.

Completed 1 free online workout last week.

Simple pleasures.

Enjoying breakfast outside early in the morning when it is cool and quiet.

Strawberries and cream (not for breakfast!). 

New library books.

My tomato plants are now in the veg box.  Late this year, but I am optimistic that they will catch up. More salad, radish and carrots seeds sown in the veg boxes.  My love in the mist seeds germinated and are doing ok despite the hot weather.

A long walk in nature with DH.  Chose a woodland walk to avoid the sun on a very hot day.

DH and I put the new mirror and some pictures up in the renovated hallway.  Really pleased with how it looks.

Enjoying the fragrance of the jasmine flowers when sitting in the garden on an evening. 

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

Willow1983

Hi Humboldt, just to let you know I don’t comment very often but love reading your diary 🥰 I find it very motivational reading what you do with your time now you are not in the world of paid work… we are giving up work at the end of the year all things going well and inspire to be as organised and budget savvy as you. Willow x

AliBee16

Humboldt, I also dont comment very often but love your positive outlook and lifestyle of daily simple pleasures which I aspire to now that I am semi-retired. 

I just wanted to add another Boots benefit you may not be aware of, which is the recycling scheme. If you can find 5 toiletries which are finished and non-recyclable you can swop them for £5 worth of points when you spend £10 instore. I work in Boots and use this all the time. The items can include stuff like toothpaste and the packaging which cotton wool or wipes come in. Its a bit of a faff to set up but worth it I think. If you decide to have a go just bear in mind that the 'voucher' only lasts for 2 days and once revealed you only have half an hour to spend it (so get your shopping ready first)

Humboldt

Willow1983 said:

Hi Humboldt, just to let you know I don’t comment very often but love reading your diary 🥰 I find it very motivational reading what you do with your time now you are not in the world of paid work… we are giving up work at the end of the year all things going well and inspire to be as organised and budget savvy as you. Willow x

Morning @Willow1983 thank you for taking the time to comment and your kind words.  Because I am no longer in paid employment, I do try hard to get the most from the money that we have.  To quote a phrase used by so many others, 'I try to spend intentionally'. That said, I am also aware that time is precious and we have to make the best of it. 

Exciting times ahead for you.  If you are happy to share,  I would love to hear how you get on, but no pressure if not x

Today's simple pleasure - I bought 2 double sheets in the J0hn Lewis sale for only £5 each.  If anyone is interested, they are polycotton fitted sheets from the Everyd@y range.  I bought white, but I think other colours were available.  I accept that better quality sheets are available, but given the price, I think that they are a bargain.  They have been washed and are now drying outside on the line.

Humboldt

AliBee16 said:

Humboldt, I also dont comment very often but love your positive outlook and lifestyle of daily simple pleasures which I aspire to now that I am semi-retired. 

I just wanted to add another Boots benefit you may not be aware of, which is the recycling scheme. If you can find 5 toiletries which are finished and non-recyclable you can swop them for £5 worth of points when you spend £10 instore. I work in Boots and use this all the time. The items can include stuff like toothpaste and the packaging which cotton wool or wipes come in. Its a bit of a faff to set up but worth it I think. If you decide to have a go just bear in mind that the 'voucher' only lasts for 2 days and once revealed you only have half an hour to spend it (so get your shopping ready first)

Hello and welcome @AliBee16.  So kind of you to comment. Thank you lots for the information regarding the B0ots recycling scheme.  It is something that I will definitely be considering going forward.

Congratulations on your semi-retirement.  I am still adjusting to not working, but the best thing for sure is the gift of time.  Enjoying a leisurely cuppa on a morning, rather than rushing to be somewhere, is the first simple pleasure of my day,  and after years of early starts and long commutes, I appreciate every moment of it.

Working_Mum

Oh Humboldt not only can you grow erigeron you AND you can grow Love In The Mist from seed too - I have struggled with BOTH of these in my garden! I'm very jealous

It sounds like you've had another lovely week on all front - I've recently decided to grow a gifted Jasmine up the front of my garage on the  wall (it needs painting first) for exactly the reason you describe - being able to enjoy it whilst having a cuppa!

Thanks also AliBee16 for the Boots points info _ i have lots of things I could recycle via that route but tend not to use B00ts for day to day purchases. Will investigate more,

Wishing you a productive week!

((WM))

Humboldt

Working_Mum said:

Oh Humboldt not only can you grow erigeron you AND you can grow Love In The Mist from seed too - I have struggled with BOTH of these in my garden! I'm very jealous

It sounds like you've had another lovely week on all front - I've recently decided to grow a gifted Jasmine up the front of my garage on the  wall (it needs painting first) for exactly the reason you describe - being able to enjoy it whilst having a cuppa!

Thanks also AliBee16 for the Boots points info _ i have lots of things I could recycle via that route but tend not to use B00ts for day to day purchases. Will investigate more,

Wishing you a productive week!

((WM))

Morning @Working_Mum, trust me, it is just the growing conditions and a little bit of luck that has enabled me to grow the erigeron and love-in-the-mist.  How lovely to be gifted a jasmine plant, something to nurture and enjoy for many years.  

Glad that you also found the B0ot's information provided by @AliBee16 of use.  Being able to support and share are amongst the best things about the forum.

Today's simple pleasure - the garden looks all the better for some much needed overnight rain.

angieb15edin

AliBee16 said:

Humboldt, I also dont comment very often but love your positive outlook and lifestyle of daily simple pleasures which I aspire to now that I am semi-retired. 

I just wanted to add another Boots benefit you may not be aware of, which is the recycling scheme. If you can find 5 toiletries which are finished and non-recyclable you can swop them for £5 worth of points when you spend £10 instore. I work in Boots and use this all the time. The items can include stuff like toothpaste and the packaging which cotton wool or wipes come in. It’s a bit of a faff to set up but worth it I think. If you decide to have a go just bear in mind that the 'voucher' only lasts for 2 days and once revealed you only have half an hour to spend it (so get your shopping ready first)

Plus if you recycle 5 tablet blister strips you get another 100 points wys £5 so you can use both vouchers together and get £6 of points wys £10
i do it a lot planning my shops to be around the £10 mark 
yes it’s a bit of a faff but once you get into the habit it’s not a problem 

Humboldt

Hello and welcome @angieb15edin. Thank you for lots for taking the time to share the information regarding recycling blister strips to gain B0ot's advant@ge points.  It did take me a moment to work out wys (when you spend)! lol.

Simple pleasures - the kindness of strangers. 

I can sometimes feel 'out on a limb' here on the over 50's, so it's lovely to have lots of visitors this week. I chose the over 50's moneysaving board because I thought it best fits my criteria; I am over 50 (actually over 60), debt free, mortgage free and enjoy a simple, moneysaving lifestyle.  In the words of @Smudgeismydog on the 'How much to live on' thread, 'it is possible to live a fulfilling retirement on quite modest amounts', and I hope that my humble efforts in some small way show that. It is my view that health is wealth and time is our only limited resource, so my DH and I choose to make the most of what we have.  I very much hope that others will join me, by creating their own thread here on the over 50's, and maybe our joint efforts will not only motive ourselves, but will in some modest way, support and inspire others in this next chapter of our lives.