Week 3 Meal Planner & Shopping

Well i knew this week was going to be a much more expensive shop as it was my monthly shop, by this i mean the shop where i get things like washing powder, pet food, nappies and oil. Even though i was expecting it to cost more i was shocked at just what the grand total was.

I had spent the grand total of £57.03!!!!!

I couldn't believe quite how much i had needed to spend and i was actually a little annoyed and upset about it, well until my other half pointed out we used to spend that much and more every week and almost always double that for the monthly shop.

This is this weeks list

1 packet corned beef
1 pot mild chilli powder
1 pack night time nappies
2 packs day time nappies
3 packs baby wipes
1 packet chocolate bars
1 pastry mix
1 deodorant for me
1 deodorant for lee
2 multipacks crisps
1 tub soured cream
1 roll tin foil
1 garlic
1 pot paprika
1 bag table salt
3 large bottles milk
2 packs flavoured water
1 bag dog food
1 box washing powder
1 box cat food
1 bottle fabric conditioner
1 bag carrots
1 bag potatoes
1 bag onions
1 bottle sunflower oil
1 can chopped toatoes
1 tub soft cheese
1 block mature cheddar
2 packs part baked rolls
1 pack minced turkey
1 box chestnut mushrooms
1 family box mushrooms
1 pack mixed peppers
1 pack bananas
1 bag rice
1 tube tomato puree
3 packets biscuits
1 box wheat biscuits (weetabix)
1 bag porridge oats
1 jar coffee
3 loafs white bread
1 bag chicken food

and this is the weekly meal plan

Wednesday - Chicken curry and rice
Thursday - mushroom stroganoff
Friday - Chilli con carne and rice
Saturday - being naughty and having pizza
Sunday - Meat and Potato pie
Monday - Mushroom stroganoff
Tuesday - Chilli con carne

The pizza and garlic bread on Saturday will cost another £4.50 so the total will actually come to £61.53. Even though this is what i now consider a big spend i have been looking at the finances for week 4 and we are still looking good.

Normally the day before payday we have nothing left in the bank account and are usually down to the last few pounds in my purse (occasionally we have even had to borrow of the mother in law to buy essentials or put petrol in the car) i cant remember the last time we put anything into savings. I never want to be in that position ever again. As it stands at the moment we are on track to have left at least £500 i cant believe it :-) :-)
The night before payday i will transfer whatever we have left into the savings account (which has had a very sorry balance of £0.00 for at least the past 8 months) i cant wait to see what the grand saving total will be.

Plan of action for week 2

Well this week my plan of action is Christmas prep and before anyone says it, I know what you are all thinking, you're thinking "WHAT??? Christmas is she mad? The answer is NO i am not crazy and there is method to my madness, i will explain.

As a lot of you know i love growing my own fruit and vegetables and now is the time to plant my potatoes ready for my Christmas dinner and this got me thinking about the festive season and the costs associated with it.

So as well as planting my potatoes i will be getting the rest of my winter veg planted out (sowed the seeds indoors a few weeks ago to get them started). I will be growing onions, turnips, carrots, swede, cauliflower, beetroot and as mentioned potatoes. Nothing beats the taste of your very own grown and freshly picked veggies.

As well as making my Christmas dinner as frugally (and tasty) as possible i am determined to have as much of a handmade Christmas as i can. This isn't just for cost reasons either i really believe that handmade presents are so much nicer than shop bought. It takes no thought, effort or love to nip to your local Boots and spend £15-20 on some smellies that are mainly all fancy packaging and nothing else anyway, where as to make your own personalised soaps, bath bombs, candles etc takes time and thought and they are totally unique, just one offs just for the person they are meant for. Now how much nicer is that?

Once i got thinking i realised there are so many more things i could make for gifts. Everything from chilli jams and herb oils (from my own grown chillies and herbs) to scented wardrobe hangings and knitted/crocheted hats, scarfs and glove sets.

So far my main ideas are:-

• Crocheted little stockings (24 of them) numbered so i can hang them on the Christmas tree and fill them with little chocolates so the kids have a reusable advent calender. This is a picture of a few of them i have made already

• Making my little man a Minion (from despicable me) hat, scarf and mitten set. i have already made a start on this and have completed the mittens and most of the hat here they are so far.

• Soaps and bath bombs. I am still trying out different scents and colours but they are so cheap and easy to make and who doesn't love have a nice relaxing soak in the tub with some nice smellies? here are some i have already made.

• Scented wardrobe hangings. For anyone that doesn't know what these are they are basically little stuffed pillows joined together with ribbon with essential oils in them. You hang them up in your wardrobe to keep your clothes smelling nice. You can also do individual ones to go in draws. Here are some i made for a friends birthday.

• I am going to make my little man a "Stuffy" toy. He loves the programme show me show me from CeBBies and you can't buy the toys so i am making him one myself.
• Herb oils and chilli jam with chilli truffles made from my home grown chillies and herbs.
• Hot water bottle covers personalised with initials
• Mug Huggers. These are cute little covers for a round coffee cups (knitted or crocheted) usually with faces on. I am making snowmen ones and giving them around a mug with little jars of hot chocolate powder, mini marsh mellows and chocolate chilli truffles in them. This is the pattern i will be using, i love this woman and have crocheted loads of her patterns.

Now do you all understand why i need to start the Christmas planning now? I am going to be a very busy lady over the next 15 weeks and i will keep you all posted with how i am getting along with it.

Week 2 Meal planner and Shopping list

I am having to stretch our weekly shop over 9 days this week as we don't get paid until next Wednesday and i really don't want to dip into saving for food shopping.

I already had chicken breasts in the freezer and a massive bag of rice as well as all the spices needed to make a cheap tasty chicken curry. This is the recipe i use

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1110136

I add mushrooms to to this curry to bulk it out and double it up and by doing this it feeds 3 adults and 1 toddler for 3 meals, so 10 adult portions. That takes care of 3 days and i think i will make a pasta Bolognese as that does 2 days. I have some potatoes left from last week that need using so making a big pan of potato hash as that also does 2 days, with the sausage casserole i have left in the freezer from last week i just need to think up something to fill one more day and i think i will probably do either a cheese and mushroom omelette or chips, egg and beans so now for the shopping list. This is my list that will feed 3 adults and 1 toddler 9 evening meals plus breakfasts, dinners and snacks plus all the usually extras.

1 packet nappies
1 bag of onions
1 packet of chocolate bars
2 multi bags of crisp
1 garlic
2 packets of baby wipes
1 box of beef stock cubes
1 pot of natural yogurt
1 bag red split lentils
1 jar pickled beetroot
1 large bag of carrots
8 bottles flavoured water
3 bottles of milk
1 tub soft cheese
1 block mature cheddar
12 fromage frais
6 tomatoes
3 peppers
1 bag of pasta
1 tube tomato puree
1 can baked beans
large bunch of bananas
broccoli
4 cartons passata
4 cans chopped tomatoes
1 family box mushrooms
3 loafs white bread
2 packs minced meat
8 part baked rolls
3 packets biscuits

The grand total for this weeks shopping has come to..........................£33.91. that is broken down between £24.87 in Aldi (but i did buy an extra mince meat as it was on offer at £1.39 for 500g and it freezes really well so would be daft to miss out) and £9.04 at Morrisons.

Not only am i starting to really get to grips with this frugal way of cooking/shopping but i am genuinely enjoying it.  

Week 1 summary

First of all let me apologise thats its been a while since my last post but its been crazy busy here with getting the boys ready for school next week and birthdays, naming days, building projects, other halfs interview prep and generally just getting everyone where they should be, when they should be there and with what they should have (i feel like i am a PA not a SAHM).

Although i said i would update daily with how my living for less challenge is going on reflection i feel weekly updates would be best as there are days that i dont spend any money at all and some days i dont even leave the house which would make for pretty boring reading.

Week 1 has gone amazingly well, we have now got rid of one of our cars so we are back to being a one car family and this in itself has saved us a small fortune (£1334 p.a to be exact). This is broken down as £121 car tax, £45 M.O.T (if it doesnt need anything doing to it to pass), £10 p.w petrol and £54 p.m insurance. On top of all that we got £175 for the car so to my total shock that is roughly a saving of £125 p.m!!!!!!!

I have also had my mum's birthday this week but sticking to my frugal way of living i have made her birthday present and got the card for less than £1 (card factory is now the only place i will ever buy cards from). I have made her a lovely red and white patchwork quilted blanket, i already had the material and wadding so all it cost was my thought, love and time and with having my little man's hand and foot prints on it i am sure she will love it.

I did have to pay postage (which i nearly had to remortgage the house for!!!) £4.50, when did postage start to cost so much? but i also sent my little brothers and step dads birthday cards and presents in the same parcel so i will have not birthday or postage costs in weeks 2 & 4 (beginning and end of September). My brother just wanted a maths set from W H Smiths which cost £6.50 so across 3 birthdays including postage and cards i spent £13.25 which i think is pretty good going.

I also had my friends little boys naming day to go to which would normally see me spending £20+ on a present but instead i ask her if instead of a present she wanted me to make his cake (i make a lot of cakes) she happily excepted the offer. I spent the grand total of £2.94 (butter 84p, icing £1.21 & card 89p) i already had eggs thanks to my girls (the chickens), flour, sugar, jam and food colourings. This is the cake i made her.

This week i have also been out in search of free wood or pallets as our chickens where in desperate need of a nice big run. This is the wood i found just dumped by the side of the road

After pulling some of it apart and rebuilding, a lick of paint and some wire mesh we had a finished chicken run. Kirstie Allsopp would have been so proud of me :-)

It may not be the prettiest chicken run in the world but it serves its purpose, was free(ish) and loving made by me. I did need to spend £17 on the wire mesh but its a small price to pay for happy safe chickens and they will have paid for it themselves within 6 weeks as they provide me with 14 fresh free range organic eggs per week and if i was to buy them from a super market they would cost me £3 a week. I already had nails and paint and i feel very proud of my little self and have had no complaints from the girls.

All in all i would say week 1 has been a roaring success. we saved money on everything from cars to cakes, we stuck to our food shopping budget and didnt need to get any extras and we even upcycled some free found wood. I must admit i am feeling a little smug and looking forward to what week 2 will bring.