The boiler repair bill was paid and then the mower repair, they were the two unplanned bills on top of paying the TV licence, then the usual food for me and the cat, direct debits for phones, broadband, council tax and charity and just one lot of diesel. A bit more than usual was spent on postage as I sent parcels to the two 3 year old grandchildren (the cupboard which held all the bits and pieces found at boot sales last summer is now more or less empty, so I hope boot sales start again before the end of the summer)
I sent for vegetable plants to make up for my seed failure when normally I would have got them from a boot-sale or garden centre and bought myself a birthday present.
Despite only going out and doing food shopping 3 times - Morrisons once, Asda once and the local Co-op once, I still spent the usual amount on food due to buying the yogurt mix packs and getting an order from Natural Collection (for food things I usually buy at the Oxfam shop) which cost more. Although I'm now well stocked with those things to last through May and June in some cases. I noticed some food items have gone up in price - a coincidence or not? and I might have bought a few extra things? ..........
For instance this is what happened due to going in the Co-op for the post office and looking round the food and standing by the fridge dairy products while queueing to get out - Clotted cream leapt into my basket! to go with the scones and jam which are home made.
Anything Frugal
- When I'm washing up I still catch the cold water in a jug before the hot arrives although when the solar thermal panels are heating the water it is much hotter, so I often end up putting the cold back in the bowl after all.
- Boiler not on much with warmer weather. I used the heat caught in the conservatory during those hot days to warm the living room in the evenings.
- Saved money on Diesel because of not going out.
- Rhubarb and asparagus from the garden.
- Avoided using tumble dryer all month by picking the right days to do washing
- Parceled up books to sell to Music Magpie - £11
Looking ahead to May's expenditure...............
My car breakdown cover is due, it's also Eldest Daughter's and Eldest Grandson's birthday but other than that there are no big expenses, so it all depends on how long we are stuck at home.
Did you hear the results of a university survey? Talk about stating the blinkin' obvious........... . We are visiting food shops less often but when we are there we are buying more! Well fancy that!
Back Tomorrow
Sue
Swings and roundabouts with money at the moment, isn't it? I agree, prices do seem to be slowly on the up, and I don't think it is coincidence. Interest rates already going down too. Not much we can do about it, though.
ReplyDeleteThere should have been a dentist bill so that's just put off until later. Interest rates can't get any lower!
DeleteDaniela Camara.
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We've saved a lot on diesel, but then paid a LOT more shopping wise as can only shop every 3 weeks or so because of the paucity of Tesco Click and Collect spots and having to stock up. It's a lot MORE because we normally shop around - bulk of shop done in Lidl normally, some stuff from Aldi, fruit and veg dirt cheap from Abergwili. My apple addiction (they're good for asthma) is costing more - I can get 10 apples for £1, or a tray of 25 or so needing eating for £1. In Tesco it's £1.60 for 6! Prices seem to have gone up in Tesco too. Plus our daughter's shopping needs are slightly different to what we normally buy so our bill is bigger. We have to so a sort of IOU backwards and forwards - she will pay for non-food stuff we need on line.
ReplyDeleteStill, I don't need new clothes, dental checks are put back until July, no wandering round the charity shops, car boot sales, or going to auction - but then no Fairs to sell at to bring more money in either!
Our big expenditure this month was having the plumber in to replace a badly-leaking outside downpipe (£170!) but it had to be done as the wall behind it was getting damp.
In theory I should be saving a fortune by not going out - perhaps May will be better
DeleteWe got clotted cream from our local Co-op to have with home made scones, naughty but very nice. We found even in lock down unexpected bills still came.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only person to have clotted cream leap into their basket!
DeleteI think you are right about prices going up, oldest son went shopping on Saturday and he quoted a number of items that have gone up. Still far less petrol being used. But it is the unexpected things that add up as well, our cold tap in the sink of the shower room has stopped working, we have managed to get the tap, now we just need to get a basin wrench to get the tap off. Helen S.
ReplyDeleteHope you can get the tap fixed without the expense of a plumber
DeleteDont you just hate it when things leap off store shelves into your basket. I wonder how much was spent on what we already know. The phrase 'no shit Sherlock' is so appropriate!
ReplyDeleteThe leaping food is very strange!
DeleteFood prices are definitely on the rise in the US. People, if they have enough money, are spending more because the food distribution has been very uneven around the country so folks buy things whenever they show up on the shelves, whether they originally planned to or not--never knowing if they will be able to get an item in the future. In general, if one is able to get a grocery delivery slot, perhaps only 75% of the order is actually fulfilled due to shortages (e.g. no milk in my last one). Makes meal planning--especially with a budget in mind--a little trickier.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Mary. The uneven supply is making for uneven availability because when it comes, it goes fast apparently. I've not been to the store since March 15, and my hubby has only gone once. We're relying on Amazon and other online sources, and on one of our sons and a neighbor for things like milk.
DeleteReminds me of wartime when people would join a queue outside a shop without even knowing what they were queueing for , but a queue meant something was in stock and would sell out fast
DeleteWell done Sue...you appear to be tackling the problem of isolation in such a positive manner. x
ReplyDeleteIsolation is tedious but at least I'm still well
DeleteClotted cream really does have some naughty habits by he sound of it. How annoying!
ReplyDelete;-)
xx
I dread to think what a SW group leader would say about clotted cream!
DeleteOh! Sue! Clotted cream! That cancelled out the gain from no coffee and cake at the distance meeting of the small WI. But maybe all the bicycling will help. Roderick
ReplyDeleteI've not biked anywhere at all this week - too wet and cold. Must Do Better!
DeleteClotted cream sounds like a much deserved indulgence. Powdered sugar kept into My cart so I could make a second, larger batch of peanut butter fudge. My gas tank is still sitting on the full line, as I have driven less than 20 miles in the last 6 weeks. The credit card bill this month should be a delightful surprise.
DeleteI have noticed an uptick in grocery store prices and not just because I go less often and buy more. Since I shop primarily at one store I do have the old prices in my head. I also noticed higher prices when I use the pick up grocery option at another store I use... Yes, I know they have to cover the cost of someone putting my order together and bringing out to the car. Hoping though that prices will go down when this is over..
ReplyDeleteI think we in the UK will have to pay more for fresh produce this summer and autumn due to a lack of people from Eastern Europe coming to work on the farms
DeleteIt's wine that has a habit of jumping into my shopping basket. Don't you just hate it when that happens :) X
ReplyDeleteLuckily I don't drink so it tends to be cake or chocolate thats attracted to me!
DeleteMy daughter dropped off some strawberries and cream for a treat for us.
ReplyDeleteI have found since Covid that our food budget has become difficult to properly track. We spend more but shop less and the prices are higher on everything! We still can't find all that we need so we buy extra when we do find it. At least we are not spending money on going out these days!
ReplyDeleteFood leaping into shopping baskets! If hubby came shopping with me, there were always strange items appearing in the trolley - apparently they had jumped in there all by themselves!
ReplyDeleteYour scones look delicious :)
I find chocolate tends to leap under one's finger when shopping on line.....
ReplyDeleteClotted cream is one thing that I would certainly buy if ever I saw it in a shop. In my segment of the US I have never seen it for sale. And from when I have had it when visiting England/Scotland I love it. I tried once to make it myself, but with no luck, just a waste of the cream that I used in the attempt.
ReplyDeleteEveryone keep healthy as much as you can. And a treat now and then is a good idea. Mine has to be dark chocolate since I can't get clotted cream/
Priti Patel announced that shoplifting figures were down on this same period as last year - I wonder why - could lock down hold the key - another stating the obvious maybe!!
ReplyDeleteLove clotted cream and scones.
I too have spent more on food in the last 7 weeks - buying it when it's available - even though I had lots at home already!
ReplyDeleteWhile I have saved $250 on two months worth of transit passes I have probably spent the same amount on masks & gloves and a couple of things from Amazon. I'm hoping that things will even out over the next couple of months as I will need very little.
I have booked to have my window A/C unit installed in the bedroom and I'm thinking of adding one to the living room this year as I'll be spending more time at home. Even once they start to ease up a bit (not until the end of May at the earliest) - I work for a church and we don't expect to be up to speed until much further down the line so I won't be going into the office at regular hours for a bit.
I know I am spending more on food right now, partly because of buying groceries to take up to Kris's. Yet a great deal of the increase is because of rising prices. It seems like things get more expensive by the week.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
The supermarkets are very clever with their one way systems and queueing us up down the aisles waiting to pay, I've spotted all sorts of things on my forays down aisles I don't usually visit.
ReplyDeleteI may have bought a tube or two of Pringles last time I was waiting to pay in Tesco ;-)
I've noticed prices a bit higher too. Less items on shelves. I saw toilet paper at one store! Didn't buy it as we have enough. It feels like a scavenger hunt. Can't find it at one store, there it is in another store.
ReplyDeleteSince changing to having a water meter, I, too, collect the cold water from my hot water tap. I keep two large jugs on the windowsill ready to fill. I'm paying for that run-off water, so I won't waste a drop! I use it for kettle filling and watering house plants.
ReplyDeleteDaniela Camara.
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