Is your March miserly or munificent? Join the frugaleers sharing news and tips.

[BigSkies2022]

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NSD here today. Made a pizza from scratch using leftover bits from last week that I froze ready for this week.
Lost half a stone from being ill this week. Quite happy but that pizza probably put it all back on!
I was about to suggest @pistachiosanscream for food ideas! Always inspires me to look through the cupboards before I shop now.
Hope you are better soon @PenniesButton , WFH is amazing for when you're not well. I'm glad your boss let you have the option.
@ChipshopPickledEgg I'm the same. Mum was never ill. We are never ill though either are we?! How happy are you it's Friday night and you can collapse a little. I am.

I have been shopping today spent £40.06 in Lidl and £24.78 in Home Bargains and paid £100 towards the family holiday in October.🙁

I've just had a name change fail 😆

What's everybody's weekends plans?

Mines very quiet but it'll be one of those with a few unavoidable spends unfortunately. Just treated DH to an Indian as childcare will be on him this weekend.

That’s such good news @needastrongoneagain. I’m really pleased for you.

I hope everyone who has been ill is starting to feel a bit better now. I am pretty much recovered after my illness.

2 relatively low spend days here.

I took dd out for some bubble tea after school yesterday and also bought her some shampoo. Total £12
Today I’ve signed her up for a sports tournament in half term which was £10.

I think this weekend will be a moderate spend one. I’ve got a friend coming over tomorrow and we usually (although not always) take it in turns to buy a takeaway. I’m wondering whether I can get away with cooking instead. Trying to think of something impressively Saturday nightish that also won’t cost too much to get the ingredients.
I also promised dd I’d take her and a friend to the fair which is always expensive but at least this time I’ve budgeted for it!

I have the basics for your pantry. Always have pasta, rice, herbs and spices, stock etc

I meal plan every week, and I’ve just done and placed the food order for this coming Sunday. It’s nearly £140!! I am going to make some changes, I’m going to swap out one of the meals for the pasta with homemade sauce that was suggested by @Mochi1fudge. I’m also thinking I will have enough pulled pork to use for 2 meals, maybe the second meal pulled pork with jacket potatoes?
New meal plan for this week is ….
•pulled pork in rolls w/ wedges, coleslaw & salad
•pulled pork w/ jacket potatoes
•sausage casserole or Sausage w/ mash & veg
•Spag bol
•chicken korma w/ naan bread
•Chipotle beef pasta
•Pasta with homemade sauce

Need to pop onto sainsburys and make the changes so hopefully will bring the price down, even by a little bit.

I’m good at meal prepping, just don’t have many new ideas. I did hellofresh for a few weeks last year and have some nice recipes that I like to use from that, I also use a few weight watchers recipes. The korma is a ww recipe & it is soooo good.

So I’ve decided the hair diffuser is absolutely useless and does nothing for my hair at all. It actually makes my curls less defined and makes my hair puffy!!
Could I return it to argos for this reason??

@PeenaM this is my idea of fun! What type of chicken are you using for the korma? If your buying chicken breasts it might be better value to get a whole chicken and either cut it down yourself or roast it and have it for a few meals.
though does depends how many people you are trying to feed. I’m 2 adults and one child. One chicken would be roast chicken or chicken and salads for one meal. Chicken enchiladas or quesadillas for another and maybe a pasta or a risotto for another. You might also get chicken stock out of it too but I don’t bother usually.

one of the things I try to do is to run my fridge down to almost nothing as this makes me use up items that have been lingering a bit. I find quiche and kitchen sink pasta dishes are great for the odds and ends that need to be used up.

I’d also look at bulking out meals with cheaper vegetables. So adding in frozen corn on the cobs to go with the pulled pork means you could use less pork. I often mix frozen peppers, sweetcorn and chicken with spices and cream cheese to make an enchilada mix. Could also be a topping for jacket potatoes.

your chipotle beef pasta sounds like a hello fresh meal? I got that one before and now make a version of it myself. I bulk out my meat with lentils and add in sweetcorn and peppers. I just double the spices. I freeze the sauce in portions and then it’s a quick dinner as you just have to make the pasta.

egg fried rice is another great filler meal and a bit of pulled pork would make it very nice. Another one for the frozen vegetables.

I do like fresh veg! But find that for bulk cooking of saucy meals the frozen vegetables work really well.

do you like Mexican? We eat that about once a week. I often make a black bean and corn salsa that I pair with pulled pork etc. add in wraps some lettuce and you have another meal. I cooked dried black beans in bulk and freeze them. Often make this by simply stirring in some cheap salsa dip with a few more spices. Also makes good burritos.

i tend to also always keep jars of pesto for easy meals. Pesto pasta with brocolli and other random veg is a staple. I also use pesto when making other sauces as a shortcut.

We are 2 adults 2 children, my eldest has a huge appetite & eats as much as my dh at dinner so it’s basically 3 adults 1 child.

For my korma this week I remember I had some chicken breasts in the freezer that need using up.

I normally do a whole roast chicken on a Sunday & this will do dinner that night & then lunches for myself and dh Monday & Tuesday. This week though I used the leftover chicken to make a stir fried rice dinner on Monday. That was rice, chicken, veg I had in the fridge, scrambled egg, soy sauce, should have been sweet chilli sauce but I didn’t have any so I used ketchup. It was really yummy!!

I like your corn on the cob idea for the pulled pork, I love corn on the cob, my girls wouldn’t eat it though. My youngest doesn’t like corn & my eldest would struggle with eating off the cob - she’s only been eating ‘normal’ food (as in
not mashed or puréed) for a couple years. She’s autistic & has a chromosome deletion syndrome & this would be a food that she wouldn’t understand how to eat, if that makes sense. She is however a great eater otherwise and loves all food, not fussy at all, I’m very lucky as I know a lot of autistic children who are very restricted in what they will eat.

I like Mexican, my youngest struggles with food that’s too spicy though!

My child thinks salt is a spice 🙈. For her I try to have some components separate. So we will have the corn salsa she will have the corn separately. I’ll cook her chicken first and leave her peppers uncooked. Painful but working hard at making her try new things. Any meals that can be broken down into the components work well for us. So for the chipotle pasta she will eat the posta, corn and cheese but all separately. We will eat the finished meal.

Honestly sounds like you are doing great and the cost of food has just increased so much. I was looking at my Lidl receipts on the app. A jar of salsa in 2020 was 59 cents and is €1.29 now.

might be an idea though if we did start sharing our meal plans. Those of us that do them. Always great to get more ideas

Oh the humble jacket potato 😋. I get the Lidl Deluxe potatoes if they are on offer or just some decent maris pipers, lovely and crisp skins with oil and salt, filled with butter, baked beans and grated cheese. Used to be my teenage go to. I've also found they cook well in the slow cooker so the oven isn't on for 1.5 hours. I often slot them into my menu plan.

Also we make tuna and sweetcorn paninis, in the sandwich griller with grated cheese.

I put a bit of salad on the sides of these dishes to make them a little healthier!

Today I had a McDonald's - was supposed to meet my friend for lunch but we had to postpone - I suppose I spent less money and calories at McDonald's! £8.49.

Also £2.40 at the leisure club bar - went to the gym to work off the MacDonald's 😂 then worked in the bar.
£6.65 co-op for bread and eggs
£11.79 Vinted, using the money I made I got a lovely pair of turquoise Crocs for the garden and generally loafing about in this weather.

Pleased to hear the meeting went well need
Peena I would take it back and try for money back. My hair is thick frizz. I have no option but to straighten it.

Great news on the IFA need. Hope the anxiety and stress is easing a bit now.
lovely meal ideas there. Wasn’t there a website if you put your food in it suggested meals. The food waste one maybe?

peena would less meat dishes work? Though we eat tons as we all are trying to eat more protein.
love a jacket with beans & cheese. Not sussed about butter tho

lsd yesterday £12.45 pizza for DC
Iceland and Aldi this morning for bits Sainsbury’s didn’t deliver

I sat and updated my finances in YNAB yesterday and was shocked at how much I’ve spent in the last month. It’s those ‘little’ purchases that really add up. I’ve organised my money for my bills the rest of this month and in June, and will track my money in YNAB much more regularly, as well as using different debit cards for pots.

I was out last night (£55), I’m out with friends this afternoon and at a friends tonight. I go on my cruise on Wednesday so my spending money will be allocated and I will stick to it! Luckily all drinks and food are included, and I’ve paid already for some excursions but we have lots of port stops (some of which I will mainly stay on the ship - so no extra spends).

when I’m back I have a huge pile of stuff to sell on Vinted or eBay so that should boost my budget a little.

@lifelongfrugaleer Yes I don’t mind doing less meat dishes. I just need some inspiration 😊

Great idea @pistachiosanscream to share meal plans with each other!

Yday was a nsd 😊

Tonight dh and I are off to dinner, as today is our wedding anniversary. Dh is paying for dinner & then I’m paying for the babysitter - hoping the meal won’t be too expensive, baby sitter will be about £50. The person coming is amazing!! She works at dd’s school, totally gets her and has a great bond with her, she doesn’t want paying. I’ve reluctantly got her to give me her bank details so I can send her money!

Tomorrow will be the weekly shop which after my meal tweaks have managed to get down to about £125! Going to a sen trampolining session tommorrow afternoon, £22.40!
A spends weekend, but good spends 😊

@chimichangaz the cruise sounds great. I have never been before but would love to go on one and take in a few countries. I always start looking at them but then come to a halt. How far ahead do you book?

Yesterday was a LSD. I had to get a few bits to finish my outfit for communion today but had a voucher so spent very little.

Hoping today will be LS too.

I’m curious about the cruise too @chimichangaz. Where are you going?
I’m looking into going away on a cruise with dd over the Christmas holidays. I’ve never been on one either but I’m looking for something fun, distracting and totally different to do for the first Christmas without DH.

Two NSDs this week. Other days were food and petrol (that will last a while).
Claim submitted for cat's dental. Hope they pay out as he basically just had his teeth cleaned.
I want to get some bedding plants for the garden, the ones in Morrisons were almost dead. Will go to the garden centre next week for some, they cost more but at last they're looked after. I have a £5 off voucher so that will help.
Got some more cat sitting booked in which all helps.

Morrisons £15 on papers and Woman's Weekly magazine foru Mum and a few other bits .
Lovely day here , hopefully everyone is enjoying this gorgeous weather. 😁

My mum used to read Women's Weekly religiously, I didn't know they still published it!

Thanks all re the meeting with the IFA. It's 3 years since DH's stroke. I haven't had the chance to stop since then and process both this event and taking on the business and a lot of family, really nasty politics, my kids trauma and just how much my life has changed. It comes out eventually and it's like I've hit a wall, I'm filled with anxiety, panic and exhaustion. I need to stop and just 'heal', if that's the right word. I'm relieved and lucky that I can.

Appreciate circumstances are different @SockHop, but if you can give yourself any time and space, please do. The cruise sounds ideal, a complete change of pace and plan from the old normal.

I love all these menu plans, thanks for posting them. I'd forgotten the joy of a well baked spud!

Enjoy your anniversary @PeenaM, sorry about the diffuser!

We are also on the protein boost train @lifelongfrugaleer

Menu plan

Tonight and tomorrow - veggie and meat chilli leftovers.
Sweet potato coconut dhal (Bosh recipe on YouTube that I use loads, it's easy, nutritious and cheap)
Muhammara chickpea/veggie stew and rice (Anna Jones). May add haloumi as I've some to use.
Fresh tuna (picked up cheap and froze but a lovely treat) with spring veggie orzo.
Chicken broth - I use a bought cooked chicken for ease, stick in any old needs-to-be-used veggies, lentils or pearl barley and the pressure cooker. We probably have this every other week and it's wholesome, cheap and quick once you've chopped the veggies. Lidl fresh bread if I go past said establishment. It does for lunches usually too for the next day.
Shakshuka and crusty bread. I've plenty of eggs in, and chopped tomatoes!
Tomato veggie pasta if needed.

I'll probably do another chicken dish as I have two full chickens in the freezer from a yellow sticker haul last week. When DH was in hospital we basically ate veggie but DH is much less keen so the meat quota has increased.

NSD today. We will need coffee in the next couple of days. An extra £18 was spent yesterday as a friend grabbed a bulk buy of toilet roll at Costco for me!

Successful day at DParents' yesterday. Nobody fell over, nobody cried, and I ordered more cushions, a footstool and a sample for curtain fabric. M&S website still not functioning so socks and towels will have to wait.

£13 at Waitrose on the way home. That branch is too damn' convenient. Even so, I managed to forget red lentils, toothpaste and washing powder. But we can push all those to tomorrow, so today is a NSD.

Lower body workout, followed by gardening today. Frugal win: found a bag of horticultural grit in the garage, left over from last year. So the pots that have been planted up can get top-dressed, like on the gardening programmes, for no extra cost this year. Our windows are filthy, so I will clean what I can reach tomorrow morning, and then I can look at our newly-tidied garden through the clean windows!

DH has brought home posh chorizo and salted almonds from his run. Neither are on my food plan and I don't care.

I’m glad others forget items they specifically went into a shop for @BigSkies2022!!

Oh and I did check my HMRC records and, as I thought, I’ve full entitlement to a State Pension. Not sure why I wouldn’t, given I’ve always worked, but Martin Lewis does mention it a lot and I had a short period working part time when the kids were small and I’m ‘only’ 52. I was in financial services when part time though, and it did pay pretty well.

NSD today 🙌 I’m getting a payment of £293 from Octopus as we have solar panels and that’s from our export tariff. I’ll also be getting a refund of £129 from EON as they seem to like collecting our money 🙄 That money is going to be going off my credit card.

Had a good haul in the yellow sticker aisle in Tesco yesterday. Got a load of stuff for the freezer (all meat) Spent £8.50, should have been £37 so all good.

Haven’t been on in so long. Also haven’t budgeted my salary on YNAB either 10 days later!

electricity bill came in today, new provider an extra week on billing period and €50 less 😁

@needastrongoneagain thats great news about the planner. Sounds like you need a break after a tough few years and now you can plan for that knowing you will be ok financially

I haven’t had shakshusa in ages so need to put it back on the rotation.

i hope everyone who was sick are now on the mend.

friday was spendy. I did a lot of holiday and house admin. So €75 on holiday insurance, €73 on airport transfers, €50 amazon on boring stuff like dehumidifier tablets. €6.30 on breakfast at work and €7 on snacks for work drawer. Finally €110 on groceries. Ended up finding reduced meats in lid
so bought some items off my list. Also stocked up on sunscreen.

saturday was a NSD.woohoo. Finally.

today I’ve a few things to pick up but hopefully won’t be too mad. Need more compost and items for small child’s lunches

£60 on an afternoon out in the sun with friends.
£15 Aldi
no other spends today