Away From The Madding Crowd

Fortune_Smiles

Hope you enjoyed the soup Humboldt - it's one of my favourites. I put a parmesan rind in to give it some extra savouriness.

Oh to have a full water butt - we got a slight drizzle for about 5 minutes here in the Shire. Dark clouds keep passing over but don't fulfill their promise. Mr F is getting quite fed up with this veg patch watering duties.

Fortune x

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82082931#Comment_82082931

Morning @jwil, trust me, that day will come!

I very much enjoy reading your thread and admire how you manage your busy lifestyle. Running became my timeout when I had a young family, a house and full time job. Keep up your efforts with C25K, because something clicks into place when you reach the 5k point and it all becomes so much more enjoyable.

Today's simple pleasure - picking sweet pea flowers from the garden.

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82083077#Comment_82083077

Hi @Fortune_Smiles, the soup was a quick and tasty meal. I decided to make a rosemary and sea salt focaccia to eat with it. This week we will be trying another of your recipe recommendations - prawn tagliatelle with courgettes. Keep the recommendations coming!

jwil

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82085659#Comment_82085659

Thank you 😊 I'm not sure I'll ever be a runner, but I'd like to be able to run. I might surprise myself though!

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

Don’t count the days, make the days count – Muhammad Ali.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £300. Week 5 spend for July was £66.02. Total spend for July was £326.99. Over budget this month, but not too bad given it was a 5-week month and I took advantage of a great deal to stock up on our coffee of choice.

Made full use of this week’s free electric from our provider.

Interest gained on various savings accounts in July was £100.49.

July’s V!nted sales total was £43.02. Money transferred into the Christmas/Birthday account. A little more decluttering completed 😉

Took advantage of a M+S Sp@rks offer in my account; spent £10 and gained £5 credit.

Placed a Bo0t’s order taking advantage of various offers/savings. In total I saved £11.50, gained 360 bonus Advant@ge points in addition to my normal points, and was able to use a free next day delivery code.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Prawn tagliatelle with courgettes (G00d F0od recipe) – I will swap the tagliatelle with whole-wheat spaghetti because that is what I have.

Tuesday – Rainbow couscous (P!nch of N0m recipe), with Moroccan spiced salmon (P0N recipe) – when making the rainbow couscous I will add some toasted almonds for crunch, and replace the pomegranate seeds with sultanas. Using feta bought from Ald! (currently £1.49). Salmon was reduced in price and frozen until required. The spice mixture for the salmon is enough for 4 portions, so I will save half for another meal. I will coat the salmon with the spice mix, cook in the air fryer, and serve with the couscous.

Wednesday – Harissa and honey chicken (P0N recipe) – I will add extra veg, probably sweet potato and courgettes, rather than serve with rice. I will swap the fresh thyme for dried because that is what I have.

Thursday – Ping meal – cook once, eat twice (saves on time and energy costs).

Friday – Spinach & chickpea curry (G0od F00d recipe), with naan bread. We buy 2 x large naans in a pack from Ald!, share one and freeze the other. Today I am using the one from the freezer.

Saturday – Chilli con carne made with 5% fat pork mince, with a small portion of rice – mince was reduced in price and frozen until required.

Sunday – Chicken with BBQ sauce (slow cooker recipe, sharing below), sweetcorn and spicy sweet potato wedges. Chicken legs were reduced in price and frozen until required. I will cook the wedges in the air fryer. This chicken recipe is so easy and uses store cupboard ingredients:

40g butter

Whole chicken 1-2 kg, or portions

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4tbsp tomato ketchup

2tbsp vinegar

2tbsp mango chutney

Half a tsp French mustard

1tsp caster sugar

1tbsp Worcester sauce

Rub the inside of the cooking pot with a little of the butter. Wipe the chicken and season with salt and pepper. In a large pan heat the remaining butter and brown the chicken all over. Transfer to the slow cooker. Add the onion to the butter remaining in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, without colouring. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and bring to the boil. Pour over the chicken and cook for the recommended time, basting occasionally. I cook on auto/high for 4-5 hours, but best to check the cooking times when using your slow cooker.

Healthier lifestyle.

Last week’s step count was 35,674.

Completed 0 free online workouts last week.

Completed 5 free online meditations last week.

Simple pleasures.

I am picking sweet pea flowers daily now.

DH and I continue to binge watch R@ce across the W0rld. Series 2 provided us with an insight into a part of the world that we have not visited. Series 3 was Canada, somewhere that we have been, but this series highlighted the sheer size of the country and how much more it has to offer.

My recent sowing of rocket seeds have now germinated.

Watched an episode of Early Retirement W@anderlust - ‘4 years of retirement – Not how we expected it to be’ on Y0utube. As always, an interesting, inspiring watch.

The reduced dahlia plants that I bought are now flowering.

Donated another bag of decluttered items to Oxfam 🙂

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

KajiKita

Jealous of your sweet peas and dahlias … 😉 Mine are really struggling with the lack of rain here, even with me watering.

Well done for the careful meal planning, grocery spends and the decluttering 😊

KK

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82092714#Comment_82092714

Thank you for your kind words @KajiKita. I very much appreciate your support.

Today's simple pleasure - chocolate and banana overnight oats for breakfast.

louby40

I love the retirement wanderlust YouTube channel. So informative. We are eager to buy a motor home but they are so expensive.

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82093390#Comment_82093390

Hi @louby40, lovely to hear from you. It's a great Y0uTube watch, even for those who do not aspire to own a motor home.

Today's simple pleasure - preparations for family visiting next week.

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

Summertime and the livin’ is easy – P0rgy and Bess.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £300. Week 1 (3-9 Aug) spend for August was £85.03.

August’s premium bond win was £0 (2026 total to date is £325). This month we have withdrawn more savings from our premium bonds and transferred them into our Loyalty Cash ISA’s. We have chosen to make the most of this year’s ISA allowance before the reduction in 2027. Our PB savings are now vastly reduced, no doubt along with our chances of winning anything.

Took advantage of ‘Monday Savers’ at the cinema, costing £4.99 each (free membership). Well worth checking out what offers your local cinema provides.

Bought a couple of items in the M+S sale; a jacket and running shorts for DH, 50% off.

Paid the final balance for our holiday in November from our holiday savings account.

Freebies.

Took advantage of B0ot’s £10 Tuesday offers. Bought a Liz E@rle moisturiser and skin tonic, saving £26. Used Advant@ge card points to ‘pay’ for the items, and delivery was free via click and collect.

DH and I each received a free £10 M+S e-voucher for downloading a Building Society app. These will be used to pay for the 2 x M+S BBQ offers for our family BBQ on Tuesday.

This week’s main menu (we are hosting family for most of the week).

Monday – Roast chicken with stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, hasselback roasted new potatoes, broccoli, carrots and gravy. Followed by individual raspberry pavlovas. Chicken was reduced in price and frozen until required. I will cook a couple of extra chicken legs to accommodate everyone. Cranberry sauce is from the freezer. Broccoli & raspberries were reduced in price.

Tuesday – BBQ (2 x M+S BBQ offer), with homemade stuffed mushrooms/harissa couscous, and corn on the cob. Followed by an ice-cream Sn!ckers bar, currently on offer in S@inbury’s, £1.57 for 4 (Nect@r price).

Wednesday – Meal out.

Thursday – Meal out (with different family members).

Friday – Spaghetti Bolognese, with whole-wheat pasta. Just us again, so a quick and easy meal, using a packet mix.

Saturday – Homemade pizza. I will make a quick tomato sauce, and add whatever veg we have, along with mozzarella, homegrown basil, a grating of Italian cheese & drizzle of olive oil.

Sunday – Prawn & vegetable stir fry, with whole-wheat noodles. I will use whatever veg I have left, including homegrown mangetout & spring onions.

Healthier lifestyle.

Last week’s step count was 37,267.

Completed 0 online workouts.

Completed 4 free online meditations last week.

Simple pleasures.

Family visiting this week. Lots of fun things planned, including a visit to a local event, an open topped bus ride when sightseeing in a nearby city, and a trip to a local water park. Rather than let the taxman take our hard-earned savings when we are gone, we have decided to spread a little Pixie Dust whilst we are here, and at a time when family will find it most beneficial. Therefore, we will be funding the majority of the spends whilst family are visiting us.

I found a holiday read for DH and me in Oxf@m - notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson. Several of you had recommended his books and I am now collecting them as I find them.

An hour or so spent in the garden weeding, pruning, etc. The borders look a bit better for it, but are in need of rain.

DH and I continue to binge watch R@ce Across the World. We haven't visited Japan, South Korea or Java, but loved ‘revisiting’ Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

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