May the frugaleering be with you - frugal chat and support for frugalers old and new.

[babsmam]

I took the liberty as we were nearly at the end of the last one.

Lsd hopefully. Going to the opticians (free) and I'll then buy glasses from glasses direct if I need them. Will have to pay for parking and also need some salad which will have to be from waitrose as that's what's in town.

£7 on EB books for kindle yesterday.

Today is a bank holiday here. To remember the 71st anniversary of the island being freed from nazi occupation. Will probably wander into town later - there's a ceremony marking the occasion, and a bit of a party. Might go and indulge in bean crock (hammy beany stew) cabbage loaf and jersey wonders (sort of like donuts. But better).

We've had a slight reading book error. Ds got a really dodgy book from the library. It was in the early reader's section, but really should have been in teenage large print. It was about a father drugging his daughter to make her psychotic so she'd knife her mother. It involved an illustrated visit to a secure psychiatric hospital. Ds's eyes were like saucers by the end. After I'd read it, mine were too. Here I thought I was keeping him safe by giving him books instead of the computer. Oh well.

On the plus side the book was free. (!?)

soap welcome you're in good company here
What do you have in stock and we'll help you make a meal from it.
One recipe I picked up here that's a great filling soup is an onion, 2 carrots, 2 rashers and a handful of lentils, some worcester sauce if you have it. What I do is saute onion & rashers, grate in 2 carrots leaving peel on, add worcester sauce, boiling water and a stock cube and bring to the boil for 5 mins then add a good handful of red lentils and cook for another 5 mins.

The cooking bacon from aldi/bacon lardons is great for this if you don't have rashers in.

Welcome soap. I buy bulk bags of rice which work out at about 30p a meal for brown rice or 15p for white rice. That fills a big gap cheaply. It's the meat that I find costs a bomb. You're doing an amazing job on such a budget. How many are there in your family?

Does anybody else find that cooking in bulk only leads to eating in bulk? I have been bulk cooking diced chicken breasts and putting them in the freezer recently but my concept of a one-person-sized portion is right out of whack. I recently realised that I was cooking 5 chicken breasts and dividing the cooked meat into 3 freezer bags. That means I'm feeding one person 1 and 2/3 of a chicken breast instead of just one. Eeep! It just doesn't look like very much when it comes out of the pot.

Very busy day here, working 9 till 5. I have twelve visits to do. I've completed 6 so far. Just on a quick break and I've nipped home to put the slow cooker on. It's enchiladas for tea. Yum.

ipsogenix it does when dh is around, if I cook double the amount and don't take the extra portion out it means he will end up eating more than the usual amount. The trick is to divide it up before he sees I've extra done!
Why are you not dividing into 5 bags or even 6? We always had a chicken fillet each but when I get the deal at butchers and only 2 chicken fillets are included it's plenty for me, dh and the 2 dc.

Welcome soap.

Oh wow ipso!

Well lsd was a success I think.

£2 parking the bastard doesn't give change
£1.50 toy in charity shop for ds as he was so good when I had my eyes tested
£3.46 in waitrose on a massive bag of salad leaves and an awesome gingerbread tractor for ds.

Raining here and we've just had a power cut may just stay in today and clean.

so far nsd.

yikes Ipsogenix! Had similar issues in the charity shop I volunteered in - lots of erm grownup books in the children's section because the cover/size was misleading!

Love the new name BTW. Is it Asterix inspired?

Aww em pity about the power

Power is back. That was a scary hour. Couldn't watch tv or boil the kettle!

Least you had battery power in your phone/laptop/tablet

Nsd today. Yippee
Hi soap, have you been through all of you bills to see if you a) need them and b) are getting the best deal. Hope you gws

Yep. Power in my phone. Not entirely sure how I would have coped otherwise.... first world problems

Welcome Soap. Some weeks, I spend £35 on food for me and my DS (13), so it should be fine.

My new smart meters have been installed this afternoon, but I don't know how to read them yet! Anyone? I've topped up £10. Maybe they need a while to settle down.
Right, spends: £10 Meters, £14 Pilates, £7.42 Co-op and £3.70 café. Total: £35.12.

Why oh why have I only just discovered 0% fat hgreek yogurt n fruity granola although will have to find cheaper than tesco £2 for 500gms.

Quiche with wedges n veg for dinner the quiche has been in freezer since Jan 2015!!! As I brought reduced n went dairy free for ds2 as was bf n he is allergic I am now mostly back on dairy just reintroduced yogurt. I am sure quiche will be fine

Dh has spent £5 in shop on milk flour and yeast. He is making soda bread.

The house is clean and I have steamed the carpet. Have got a bunch of bags together to take to work tomorrow. Handbag, bag with all my meeting notes from last week in it, gym bag.... Ready to be like a pack horse and carry it all in to work in the morning.

Saw a voucher earlier for a car valet. £39 for a wash, wax, internal Hoover and deep clean. Tempted but could probably do it myself. Car is filthy. It needs a clean.

Hello all, 12 visits don't? Blimey hope they were quick ones! I managed 9 today and haven't stopped for more than about 5 mins, have been flagging as 4th day on, am so ready for my day off tomos! Have got a 2nd year student at the moment who is very nice and looks like she will be more of a help than a hindrance which is good!

Welcome soap

Have managed a NSD but may pop out later and get petrol and milk as have none at all. Jacket pots tonight for tea with beans and cheese

east that is my favourite snack and haven't had it for months as I'm too tight to buy fage and I don't want to be getting the higher calorie one in aldi

I've been debating a new phone. I bought a refurbished phone last year to get out of having a contract. Said contract is up in July, I'm eligible for early upgrade. In Jan when having battery trouble I took phone to Apple store but there were 3rd party parts so they wouldn't repair it. At start of April it took a dip in the loo (this is when I discovered eligibility for early upgrade) last weekend I dropped it on tiles and shattered the screen, this weekend ds picked some of the broken shards out so now the screen is in even more danger of giving up.

Screen replacement is €89, upgrade is €99 but tied into a 24 month contract. I do love my iphone and use it instead of a pc most of the time. What to do! Wait out until upgrade time and see if there's a better offer, package will stay the same with current providers

Welcome Soap, we are a nice friendly bunch here, with a listening ear and good advice

Abel and Cole delivery today of £25, lots of salad and veg, soya milk, healthy snack items.

Haven't spent any cash.

Weather is still glorious here, and I hope it continues forever!

I am having a salad for tea and the DC bacon and eggs. I need to menu plan for the rest of the week,

Have I missed Fluffy recently, or rather her posting?