Mission Statement, Tested.

11^th January, and already my mission statement for 2013 has been put to the test.

Allow me to elaborate.

Imagine it is Saturday night, you have been clearing kitchen cupboards all day and furtively filling up neighbour’s bins with rubbish from your soon to be rented flat.

You return home and have 25 minutes to shower and change before meeting friends for a curry that has been re-arranged from November.

Your almost-but-not-quite-perfect-boyfriend then decides to wear one of the new shirts you bought him for Christmas from Ted Baker that cost an arm, leg and a couple of kidneys.

Now imagine the shirt is too small, you didn’t know, as someone had not tried it on before….

Hmm, now I was a little shirty… (boom boom!)

Well, as TC sorry the almost-but-not-quite-perfect-boyfriend is violently allergic to returning anything, I then folded it up and dug out the original bag and on Wednesday lunch time took it back to my local House Of Fraser for an exchange.

Wednesday 9^th January was the last day House of Fraser would refund Christmas gifts, and the item needed to be refunded as my local HoF did not carry that line.

To cut a long and rather tedious story short, I had to take the shirt back home with me and search out the receipt, which of course had been packed into one of the 64,392 boxes during the move. All of which are now spread across, TC’s house, my parents house and the cupboard under the stairs back at the flat.

It is a minor miracle I found it at all, but I was a woman on a mission as HoF would now only give me a credit voucher / or exchange if I presented the receipt or proof of purchase and I was not going to loose out, nor was I about to wave a bank statement under the nose of some snotty faced sales assistant in the menswear department.

Last night when TC and I were watching the final episode of The Polar Bear Family and Me (amazing btw!) I said I had returned his shirt and got the money put on a gift card.

I realised by his response that the chance of him going in to buy another shirt was between nil and zero.

He told me to pick up some pans for the kitchen instead.

The Chap has been working on our new kitchen since well before Christmas and had paid to have a brand new induction hob put in. If you know nothing about induction hobs, well all I can tell you is that they don’t get hot, though the pan does. It is all to do with magnets, and mirrors and quite possibly magic. It was one of those Physics type moments when TC starts talking and I find it easier to nod, smile and intersperse both actions with an “Oh, okay!” and “Well isn’t technology clever?”

The sauce / frying pans TC had and the pans I have are not compatible with induction technology. So since November, if it could not be baked or microwaved then we couldn’t cook it at “Southfork”. Even though the induction hob was in, and ready to use.

As I am always happy to go shopping, lunchtime today I popped back to House of Fraser, with the mission statement in mind.

"Keeping It Simply Thrifty will endeavour over the next 12 months to reduce debt to £0.00, increase savings and whenever possible seek out cheaper alternatives to branded goods whilst ensuring that items purchased are done so to ensure longevity of use or (as frugal girl puts it) heirloom quality."

I was going to buy the best quality we could afford, so it would last forever, even if that only meant buying one pan today and slowly adding to it over the next 12 months.

My idea was to buy some Le Creuset, which are the price of a small bungalow on the coast to start off my collection.

I went in fully intending to purchase a saucepan. Until two things happened

1) I saw the price

2) (this was the deal breaker) I lifted one.

Seriously, as good as these pans are and look, they are the weight of a baby rhinoceros being ridden by a kangaroo… in wellies….juggling barbells.

And this is before being filled with chocolate sauce water and vegetables.

Remembering a female’s right to change her mind at the last moment, I asked some advice from the helpful lady in the department and bought some Tefal Preference Pro, after wandering off pretending to think about it when actually I was using my smart phone to check reviews online (all good, bar the usual miserable sod).

A Stirfry Pan and an 18inch saucepan. (see below for a picture)

This will start us off nicely and allow me to introduce fresh vegetables to the “Southfork” diet next week, as well as stop a reliance on pizza and expensive pre-prepared food.

The best part?

House of Fraser had both pans reduced in the January sales with 20% off and they gave me recognition points, even though I had already got them from buying the shirt, and the combined price was £67.20, which leaves me with 80 pence left on the gift card. The shire was £85, and I bought it during one of their 20% off 48hour promotions.

Only one thing remains that worries me greatly…….does this mean that I bought The Chap kitchen utensils for Christmas? and if so does this mean he can buy me an ironing board or something awful like that in return on my birthday?

I think I feel sick…..

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Frugal Feasting!

Morning!

Blogging lunchtime today as I have a work meeting all afternoon, then a doctors appointment, rounded off with my sewing circle this evening.

I have written before about how I like to turn off the radio on the way home from work in the car and just let my mind wander. It is often in this 6-7pm hour that I remember chores or plan projects etc. Last night as I drove home I started to think about what I could eat for dinner.

Ages ago I bought some fresh vacuumed packed ravioli stuffed with mozerella and parma ham. It is delicious and was on offer 3 packs for £3 (not to mention a BB date 3 months in advance) and each pack does a meal for 2 people. It does need a sauce though. Hmmmm…

So I got home and started through the cupboards, 2 large mushrooms were sliced and fried with half an onion and a teaspoon of garlic granules. I added a tin of Tesco value tomatoes (31p you do need to chop them). A stock cube, tablespoon of mixed herbs and then a huge splash of balsamic vinegar, which makes the sauce really rich.

I then allow the pan to simmer for 3-4minutes to thicken.

Finally took the pan off the heat and stirred in half a carton of left over sour cream from the weekend. Do not do it on the heat as the cream will separate.

Result? A really delicious sauce for my ravioli that will also feed me this evening for pennies. Sorry forgot to take a photo, far to hungry!

Following recipes is good, following your gut is better for this frugal feaster. It was so yummy.

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Ratatouille, A Freezer Favourite

Evening, hope you have had a good weekend. Sunday evening, perhaps the most depressing part of the week.

I went and did a shop on they way home from work, I will update the shopping page tomorrow, but here is a quick look at what I got minus a massive box of soap powder, 6 bottles of coke and some Lidl own brand white rum which comes in at the bargain price of £8.99.

Lidl is very good for some cupboard staples, decaf tea, nuts, coke (39p / bottle) and a large box of soap powder. I bought my last box at xmas so I can definately live with buying soap powder 4 x per annum. Buying in bulk with those things means I reduce the amount of times I go food shopping and therefore reduce those impule (radish) buys. Yea, Go Lidl!

I saw some aubergines, officially my favourite veg and there and then decided to make ratatouille over the weekend, it is so simple especially with a slow cooker. Plus it is virtually fat free, packed with veg and freezes brilliantly.

You will need

• 1 Aubergine
• 1 large courgette
• 1 onion
• 1 pepper - i prefer red
• 2 tins of tomatoes
• 1 small tin of tomato puree
• some garlic, I used garlic granules for the first time
• 2 stock cubes, I used 1 chicken and 1 beef
• and some mixed herbs

Cut all the veg into smallish chunks and bung in the slow cooker with the courgettes at the bottom. Turn onto high and leave for 6-8 hours until the vegetables are cooked and the sauce has thickened.

Leave to cool and decant into Tupperware ready to freeze.

It is great with a BBQ, but I love it best taken to work and put cold on hot toast for a very cheap and healthy lunch. Ooo or add a teaspoon of chilli powder if you like a bit of kick.

Did I mention it is very cheap too - about £3 worth of ingredient provdies abou 12 portions. 25p / portion.

I have told you before I am no cook, but really you cannot go wrong.

Just call me Delia...

Frugally yours
Abigail
x

Dress Completed!

I am really excited, I finished my current sewing project last night and I am absolutely delighted with the result.
So much so I wore it to work this morning.

I have to say the pattern has been very clear to follow.

I love the frugality of this dress, the pattern I found in a box of my grandmothers after she died, it had never even been cut out and the material my mum bought me as a present from a market at £4 per metre. The only thing I had to buy was some cotton at about £2 per reel.
It has to be the cheapest work attire that I own.

The photos are from last night at class, so today I just teamed it with neutral tights, black high heels and I put a white vest top underneath for modesty.

I love it!

Not sure what the next project is, I have a pattern for a swing jacket I am dying to try, but no material to make it in.      
So I am thinking that I will make this dress up again over the next few weeks before I visit the NEC Sewing Show 23 – 25th March and hopefully I will be able to pick some fabric up there for the jacket.

I am still munching my way through the roast chicken from Sunday. 1 more dinner servings to go and it will be finished. Plus lunch today was Chicken Dinner soup and it will be again tomorrow, actually it is more like a chicken dinner smoothy. :o)
I am giving chicken a miss for a while after tomorrow evening…

Total spend today 70p on a can of pop.

I got home this evening to find this little bugger waiting next to the bath (sorry about the poor pic), ERGH! I hate spiders especially ones like this - the size of an 8 yo child! It has gone to the big web in the sky now. I know they are the good guys, but I will never be one of those people who can pick them up.

Oh BTW, here is the pizza I made on Friday. Using the easy crust recipe. I can highly recommend it!

Frugally yours
Abigail
x

Entertaing On A Budget.

How Do?

I do not know about you, but I had such a lovely weekend with my friends it seems a shame to return to work yesterday.

Whilst we were out all the time, it did end up being pretty frugal. I took out £50 for a weekend budget and ended up having a lot left which pleased me.

We were back on Saturday to ThomasLand at Drayton Manor for the little boy to visit. Up early and there for the gates opening at 10.30AM meant we got our money's worth. Closing time was 2.30PM. Only opening 4hrs is a bit of a swindle in my humble opinion, but the 2 yo was shattered and it meant his mum and I could have a quiet 1.5hrs round the shops whilst he slept.

We got in on a 2-for-1 deal, so my half cost £13 including parking, but it is just magical to see the kid's faces. As the main park is still closed and it was another blustery damp day, ThomasLand was quiet and there was little, if no waiting for the rides.  This means the toddlers can be allowed to roam free as there it plenty of space to keep an eye on them. Parents are much more relaxed under such circumstances, and therefore so are the kids.

I learnt my lesson from last time and we took sandwiches and homemade cake to eat. So only bought drinks at total cost of £3.50. I do need to invest in a flask I think.

In fact I only spent £1 whilst we wandered round the shops too.

Having visitors does stretch ones budget, entertaining is not cheap. But, I enjoy doing it and everything does not have to be Cordon Bleu. Am a big fan of home cooking with plentiful portions and tasty sauces. I had planned every meal ahead of schedule.

The homemade pizza went down very well on Friday. (pic to follow later) and I made the Lemon Torte featured on SuperScrimpers last week. It is supposed to feed 8, nope 4 I reckon. My gosh it was so delicious. Especially with a little of an already opened bottle of Bailey poured over. Yum!

Saturday 8AM, I put half of the stewing steak in the slow cooker with mushrooms, onions and a bottle of Guinness. 6 hrs on high then a further 4 on low rendered it so tender a fork made the meat fall apart. Served with a pastry lid, mash and peas, it was pure comfort food after a long day on our feet. (the boy had fish fingers). The meat for that came in at £1.20/portion.

Sunday morning we were out again, so whilst cooking some Pikelets for breakfast I roasted the chicken for lunch too then wrapped it in foil for whilst we were out. Only the veggies to do once we were back.

As expected the Chicken did 2 adults and 1 child's dinner, there is a further 4 more meals there too. Plus Sunday evening after stripping the carcass, I boiled up the bones then added left over potatoes, some stuffing and the remains on the bread sauce. My Sunday lunch soup smells and tastes divine. Frozen now for another day. That means the chicken has done 9 meals, roughly 27p per portion.

I picked up my Avon order yesterday evening at Book Club.

This came to a total of £5.50, but the bath foam will last 3-4months. I could get an alternative brand cheaper, but I do not think it is as indulgent. The hand soap was on special offer for 99P as was the shower gel at the back. They will be kept for when my current ones run out. I only buy these products when there is an incentive to do so. BTW the bath foam was reduced too!

It is back today to the £5 Challenge, I spent £1.09 today so £3.91 to last until Friday.

My savings are still looking pretty healthy, which is good as I am still trying to sort out my new front door.

Frugally yours
Abigail
x

Library Visits and Bread Again!

Well Hello again! How are you?
I am brilliant thanks! Had a great weekend and pretty low spend too.
The Chap and I ate at his on Friday night and he took me out for dinner on Sunday, yum - though I did get the drinks before that we shared with some good friends of mine.

To be fair we normally take it in turns to pay for dinner but it had been a while since we had been out just the two of us. Oh, it was lovely!

Saturday I took myself off to my nearest town. Normally, I avoid town centres on a Saturday. Having no money to spend puts me off. Plus, I might spy something I really want, so removing myself from such situations is best.
But, this Saturday I had my expenses cheque to pay in. Well, if that is not a reason to run to your nearest bank I do not know what is!
So I took the opportunity to go the library too and look at what I got out.

Your local library is such a great resource it never ceases to amaze me that I am the only person I know who goes. What a waste to just keep buying books. If I do use my library cookery book in the kitchen, well I just put it inside a clear plastic bag to keep it clean or cover it in cling film...simples!

Unfortunately talking books are £1.50 each for 3 weeks, but I do love having something other than the radio playing in the car so it is a nice treat.

The book is to get some ideas on other breads to try baking. I made some more loaves on Sunday, so still no supermarket bread brought since I decided to give up mass produced loaves until the end of March. So far so good. Plus my costing suggests each loaf I bake comes in at 35p /loaf. And, no horrid additives.

Whilst the oven was on I decided to use up 2 old bananas I had left over from work last week and made 2 loaves of banana bread too. Thrifty as all the ingredients were in the cupboard plus I bunged everything in together thus saving on electricity too.

I thought if honest the banana bread was a little over cooked, but obviously my work colleagues did not agree as 1 loaf got hoovered up by 2pm and there was only 3 in the office today! :o)

They look okay don't they?

I am getting excited currently as it is pay day later this week and I have been organising my budget and what I can pay off - more on that later this week.

The new door is in hand too though I did find out that even though I own my flat the Housing Association who I pay my service charge to insist I have to ask permission before commencing the work. Oh and they charge a fee for that...... £60!!!!!!!!!!!!! I currently have a complaint about the fee outstanding and am digging out a copy of my leasehold to check if they can do this. Even Robin Hood wore a mask! So cross on Friday when I found out.

I have a friend and her 2 yo son down this weekend so currently getting ready for them coming. Entertaining on a budget should be fun. So I am writing a shopping list ready for pay day and planning the meals in advance. I have £4ish left on Feb's budget but really can probably get away with buying nothing else until - Thurs / Friday. But the food budget will have to be extended I am thinking £80 - 100 for the month with a large proportion being spent to restock this week, then only perishables going forward until the end of March.

It has been another week of no food waste which pleases me no end.

Tomorrow - Dentist £30, Evening Course - £15 and Avon Order £5.50. But the afternoon off work... Priceless!

This month is right down the wire financially, after paying for all this lot there is well I think the correct term in "Bugger All" left in the current account so Wednesday is going to have to be .No Spend Day. Lets hope the salary does not arrive a day late again.

Have a great week folks, and remember we may not be rich, but at least we CAN sleep at night.

Frugally Yours.
Abigail
x

Frugality In Action.

Firstly let me say, Hello!! to my new follower - Flourgirl. Thank you so much for visiting! x

Being frugal is an every day occurrence here at W Towers it has to be, to keep to budget and pay back those darn credit cards.

I feel on top of paying everything back and I can see an end date now of December 2012 when I will be debt free, perhaps even earlier when the commission starts flowing again. It makes me feel good to know that I am taking action. I do have bad days when I feel like it is taking forever, but the truth is it is not. "The End" as they say "Is Nigh".
In order to fulfil my goal, I have to ensure that every day thrift is adhered to. I have had 2 No Spend Days is a row, and I feel good.
When I do spend money it has to be on items that will last and are good value.
Tuesday, I bought that cooked chicken for The Chap and I to have. I served it with tinned peas/sweetcorn and the last of the potatoes I bought a couple of weeks ago. Ok, as romantic meals go, it was not the best but it was cheap. The chicken I got reduced for £3.25 and in the end it has served up 4 chicken dinners and there is another serving which I froze for another day. Plus, I boiled up the bones for a good hour and hopefully at the weekend I can make soup. Hmmm, tasty and frugal 5 meals and soup. I reckon that means that the meat has come in at 46p per meal.

I also bought whilst at the supermarket a bottle of own brand caffeine free cola for 60p and a bag of white strong flour for 60p. The food budget for Feb now is down to £15.47. I need a few things and am planning to spend a lot of that over the weekend.

I do make sure now that whatever I buy lasts - I picked up a huge box of own brand washing powder at Morrisons over Christmas and whilst they suggest using 30g per wash I use less and so far my clothes come out clean, I also bought a small bottle of fabric conditioner, then decanted it into a larger bottle and topped it up with water. My clothes still smell fresh. I could probably do away with conditioner all together but when this bottle has already done me 2 months for £1 with still over half left then I can justify buying it.

I air dry all my clothes now and avoid the tumble dryer to cut down on electricity. However, I hate the scratchy towels air drying creates, so instead I air them over night until they are about 80% dry then bung them in the dryer to fluff them up at the end.

I would have liked to do so much this week after work - bake bread, ironing etc but the truth is my family and The Chap came first, deservedly so. My sister has dropped off my nephew with my parents for half term week, at 3 years old he is a bundle of delight, giggles and energy so Monday, Wednesday and tonight I have popped round after work to spend some time with him, bath him and put him to bed. That, if you ask me is a joy. I am taking him out for the whole day on Saturday, and budget be blowed!

Tuesday, was valentines night and of course I spent it with The Chap. He bought me a beautiful card and a box of chocolates in a heart shaped box. I am so touched, no man had bought me chocolates before especially in such a lovely box. 

So, all those pesky chores have got put to one side and I will tackle them on Sunday when I have the time to do it. Bread making here I come.....

To sum up, being frugal this week has not been pesky, and spending time with 2 handsome chaps is never bothersome.

I have also made an extra payment off credit card 1, only £7.01  (such a small amount but it covers the interest payment for Feb and a couple of extra pounds too) I thought things were going so well this month I could afford it, plus nowadays it gives me more pleasure than visiting House of Frasier during my lunch hours. The result today and yesterday I walked round the block in my lunchtime, passed no shops and just felt pious for doing so.

Life really is good.
Frugally Yours
Abigail
x

Soggy Bottoms and February Goal.

It is February tomorrow. January has flown by and seems gone with a slight sneeze and a whimper. I know that feeling!
Time to set myself a goal I believe for this month. I started thinking about it as I was driving to work and thought about all the other blogs I follow.

I am pretty jealous of most who write about thrift as they seem to be stay at home moms or retired. I am far from either. I get up at 6.30am to get to work at 8.30am, I finish at 6pm and get home at 7pm. It is an awfully long day. I find it dificult to keep motivated on thrift and economy, especially as it is dark so early.

One of the reasons I am so envious is the time they have to save money, by baking bread and ensuring them and their families eat healthily. Up until recently once a week I would swing by for a double cheese burger on the way home with fries, as I was quite frankly shattered.

So, it started me thinking about how they always cooked from scratch.I love cooking and baking. So perhaps it is time to review what goes into this frugal miss.

As soon as I got home, out came the cookery books and I made short crust pastry by hand - so proud.

Here is the book I got the recipe from

I defy anyone not to have been hooked on the Great British Bake Off.

So I used the vegetable filling I made at the weekend to make this

Ok, it did have a soggy bottom, but next time it will not as I will use my baking beads for longer.

It should do for 4 meals. But making it is so time consuming. I started at 7pm with the pastry and by the time that had been chilled, the base baked and then it all cooked. I ate at 9.30PM.

Going into the freezer, made me look at how much food I have here at W Towers. Look at all of this.

The Goal for February now seemed pretty apparent. Stop spending money on food, I am just storing.

This coming month, I am giving myself a budget of £40 only to cover milk, bread, veg etc.

If I need anymore than that, well it is a bit poor isn't it?

I need to start making use of all these ingredients. I will take another picture at the end of February and keep you all updated on how I do.

Nice to have a goal. What are yours for this month?

No heating on again this evening. Gosh, it is cold.

Frugally (Shivering) 
yours
Abigail
x

NSD, and Another Frugal Five

Today, I achieved an NSD. What is an NSD you might ask? Well it is a No Spend Day. Which means no money got handed over to anyone during the course of the day. That is a SUCCESS! Yay me!

So halfway through the week and I still have £3.80 in cash in my purse. Hope I can make it until Friday without getting more cash.

I am really trying to get more financially organised and as part of that, my new credit card arrived, so officially I have only one credit card and the overdraft costing me any money in interest.

Had a quiet evening last night, I was supposed to go to my evening class, but as I felt so ill as I am still nursing this cold. I decided to go home. Grabbed a bath, then turned off the heating (remember target of £250 for next quarters utilities) and started cooking. Bumped the eggs dish for the fish fingers, and ate it with boiled cabbage and some frozen home made cauliflower cheese, very tasty and just what i faniced as a bit of "soul food" when feeling under par.

I have started thinking about upcoming expenditure and gave myself a shock about April. It suddenly came to me in April I will need to pay the Utilities again, pay my car tax, buy a present for The Chap's milestone birthday and the service charge on W Towers will be going up. So I need to start planning now.

I also came to the conclusion yesterday after putting £30 of petrol in the car that the money left in my current account will not last until the beginning of February when I get paid next. I was being a little optimistic, I think, as at the beginning of Jan (if you remember) I put £300 away into savings to pay for the gas and electricity. When that bill arrived I actually did not go into savings to pay it. So if I do end up taking some cash say £50 or £100 from my savings to help me through the next 2 week, then I really think that it will still be a win for January, some money put aside in savings and over 8% off my debt.

ANOTHER FRUGAL FIVE FOR YOU

1. Did you know your freezer is most energy efficient when full, as it takes less energy to keep the drawers at the required temperature. Lesson: keep it full. When cooking make too much and freeze the rest into portion sizes. The same is true of your oven. When baking, fill up the spare space with baking trays and tins. More energy efficient, better for the environment and lowering your utilities bill.
2. Always look for alternatives, a case in point. I belong to a book club and need to read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. My local library did not have it, so I posted a Wanted on Freecycle, Within 12 hours I had received an email offering a 1970s copy of the book. From a lady half a mile from my home. All free. Great!
3. Mend it! Always, look at the option of mending an item, even in todays throw away society, big money can be saved. A man 10 miles from me mends Dysons for £35, and The Chap recently got his xbox mended for £25. But this month’s award goes to my sister. My nephew dropped her iphone about a week ago smashing the glass back. Apple wanted £200 to repair it. She googled her problem and found a “You Tube” clip on repairing her phone. She then had to buy the special screwdriver and a new back, which came in at £25. It took her 5 minutes to do it herself. Now that is a great saving!
4. Shopping, do not get tempted with "buy one, get one half price" deals in the supermarkets. Ask yourself, "Do I need another?" As when you buy these deals then you are SPENDING more money, not saving yourself money. This is a good lesson also in any sale. You are NEVER saving money at a sale but spending less.
5. If you live in the UK, join Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert website and sign up for his weekly emails. I have had free pizzas, cheap shoes and countless deals because of this man. Well worth the 2minutes it takes. Plus you only get 1 email per week and no spam.

Off to see The Chap tonight as been a week since I saw him last. Really looking forward to it!

Frugally yours
Abigail
x

Late to the Party – or how I do my best

I have had such a lovely and productive weekend.

Sunday evening quickly arrives again though doesn’t it?

I have really tried to curb my spending since the new year and the only sale items I bought was a new slow cooker as my last one was made back in the early 90s and I was getting pretty worried about leaving it on when I was not home.   I had been eyeing up the Tesco model but at nearly £30 could really justify it since I had one that worked well. However when I went in the other day it was reduced to £12 so I grabbed it and the old one went on freecycle and was picked up a day later.

This week I did had a wander around a House of Fraser sale and discovered some tins half price for baking and since the Great British Bake off has a lot to answer for I grabbed them both which came in at £7 for the two – they are really good quality too. So that means I have a proper bread loaf tin for the next foray into bread making. Plus a square tin will come in useful for the brownies I like to make.

I also grabbed some Christmas cards for next year, which meant I got all my cards sorted for under £4. Not to bad considering I am sending about 40 or so currently.

So under £20 for a bit of sale shopping I hope is acceptable and will not break the bank for this month.

Slow cooking really is the most delicious way of making your food and tenderisers meat like no other. Cheap cuts after sitting in the slow cooker for a good few hours just melt in your mouth.

Remember those drumsticks I bought the other day? Well here are four of them. I defrosted them about 12 o’clock today and them browned them for a a minute or two on each side in a pan before putting them inside the slow cooker with a real hotpotch of ingredients. I rarely follow a recipe unless looking to impress visitors and generally just chuck in store cupboard contents.

Today I added an onion, and the rest of some large mushrooms I had intended to stuff, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some sweetcorn then a teaspoon of chilli powder half a packet of barbeque seasoning I had open, some garlic and a stock cube. It looked a little watery later, so some thickening granules were added. Not rocket science but it really tasted delicious for dinner and should do me for at least three meals.

So these two photos ultimately turned into this...

Which nicely leads me on to a menu plan – to budget most wisely it seems to me that organising what I am going to eat for the week  makes me get the most out of my money and what I have in stock without buying anything unneccesary.

For breakfast I have sultana bran this week which should last me until at least Friday morning, though I will have to buy extra milk.

Sunday

Dinner – Chicken Drumstick casserole with rice (I got this rice free with a Sun token from their Friday freebie)

Monday

Lunch – ratatouille on toast (ratatouille home made and currently frozen in the freezer)

Dinner – Chicken Drumstick casserole with either the left over rice or some of the potatoes left from the cheap bag bought on the 27^th Dec – they still look fine

Tuesday

Lunch – ratatouille on toast

Dinner – The frozen tuna fishcakes I made last week – this will finish them off . Plus I will not be getting home until later and I they will be ready in jiffy once I walk through the door

Wednesday

Lunch – Cheese on Toast I still have some babybel in the fridge.

Dinner – 2 findus crispy pancakes I found hiding in the freezer yesterday along peas and probably a jacket potato

Thursday        

Lunch – cheese on toast

Dinner – mackerel with peas and mashed potatoes

Friday

Lunch - cheese on toast

Dinner - eating with sister

Saturday

Eating with sister.

I have got so much done over this weekend, I finally tackled the ironing mountain that has been building up since Christmas, since it was getting pretty irritating having all these weekend walkers turning up to my door wanting to scale it as part of the 6 peaks challenge. And turned this….

Into this in an hour and a half.

I also cleaned out the fridge and looked through the kitchen supplies, I only needed to throw an old banana that was nearly walking its way to the kitchen bin.

I cleaned W Towers too, so really the only jobs left are to turn these Christmas Cards

 into tags for next year and sort out the paper work for the last 2 months that needs to be either shredded or filed. It is a job I really loathe so I cannot see it being tackled until next weekend as I am out every night this week.

All in all apart from buying The Chap and I a takeout at the weekend and filling up the car, I really feel that I have not done too badly this weekend spending unnecessary cash.

As an aside, giving away my old slow cooker on Freecycle was a new experience for me. I only joined about a month ago and already was gifted a grow your mushroom kit which I am really looking forward to getting started on. It was nice too, to give something away. I had so many responses and I am so glad that it has been gifted to a person who will use it . It is not thrown away or given to a charity shop as I do wonder whether those establishments would have wanted it.

Freecycle around where I live seems to be very successful, and it is lovely to receive the messages, now I feel a bit more confident about using the process I am hoping to clear out some clutter from my home.

Everyone out there has probably been using it for years, but I am always late to the party and only joined Facebook in the summer after vowing never to join its ranks. It is fun, though I never want to get to the point of using Facebook to stay in contact. I am a bit old fashioned and like to speak to my friends pretty regularly or at least personally email them.

The Chap and I went to the cinema last night too using some vouchers he got for Christmas which also pretty much covered the popcorn and drinks there. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol. It was really good fun and with some very amusing moments courtesy of Simon Pegg. However there were one or two scenes which made me feel sick as I am not one for heights. Great Saturday night date movie. We both enjoyed it, though the conversation home did centre on Ethan Hunt’s car…

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

That Difficult Second Post - Mindset

So it is time for that difficult second post, what to write about?

I was thinking yesterday evening about mindset, and how much mine had changed in the last three years and completely shifted in the last 12months. I will give you an example.

Last night after work I had to pop to my local Tesco to pick up an order at the Chemist. Unfortunately, it was not ready, so as I had a bit of time to spare I grabbed a basket and wandered round.

Having started this blog so recently, getting the most for my money was uppermost in my mind and I only had £10 on me in cash so I was determined I would not exceed that.

In truth, I have lots of food in, my freezer compartment is stuffed full of food as I tend to cook in bulk and freeze the rest in portion sizes. Anyhoo, I did need a couple of store cupboard goodies.

But first I happened to glance into another customers’ basket (am such a nosey shopper – also checking to see if another customer has got a better deal) where I spied a wooden spoon and as I have been concerned that my wooden spoons are about 7 years old I decided it was high time I invested in 2 new ones.

I scurried off to the kitchenware section and found a set for nearly £3…. Harumph. £3! I think not! And as I was turning away I saw their value range tucked away at the back, a wooden spoon for about 60p. Much more like it- I picked up two.

I remembered I needed to replace a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes I used at the weekend, the value range were 41p. Again I picked up two.

Then wandered over to the discounted food. You can find such bargains here if you go at the right time. I picked up two items -  a packet of 8 chicken drumsticks for 95p, yes that is right 95p! and a carton of Merry Mushroom New Covent Garden Soup for 20p reduced from £2.10. Both were due to go out of date in 24 hours. 

So the 2 spoons, 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, and carton of soup and 8 chicken drumsticks all came in at about £2.50. Now that is thrifty shopping!

My shopping

I did not want to eat any of my acquisitions last night, so the drumstick got bagged up into pairs and frozen along with the mushroom soup to be used at a later date.

So what did I eat, and did it meet my frugal criteria? – yes it most certainly did. 

I got home and had a rummage and came up with a bag of all purpose potatoes I picked up from Tescos the day after Boxing Day reduced to 11p. Yes 11p!!

I grabbed three very big ones and still have about 75% left in the bag and boiled them, mashed them and added a tin of tuna my mum had given me about three months ago, I dashed in some butter, milk and salt / pepper. 

I then moulded 6 huge fish cakes, dipped them in a bit of beaten egg and then made some breadcrumbs from a slice of the bread I had baked and frozen about a month ago then fried  two for dinner about 2 mins per side. So really all it cost me was about 3p for the potatoes, and the eggs were 10 for 99P so the whole thing I reckon came in at under 20p for 3 meals. I added two corn on the cobs from Iceland (bag of about 8 for £1) and it was so tasty. Plus no nasty additives.

Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to chuck in a frozen pizza often when I get home and am shattered after a day at work, but last night I did think for about 30 minutes of effort I now have dinner also for tonight plus two fishcakes to freeze for another day.

So, getting back to my original point, my mindset has changed – I am trying to spot a bargain and ensure it is used to its full potential. I still want to eat well, but not expensively when I am only cooking for myself.

If I can continue to roll out this change of mindset across other areas of my life then I can hopefully continue to pay off my debts, as i want to  reduce it to under £1000 by the end of 2011. One can but hope.

Frugally yours

Abigail x