February, Forward Planning and Food

I've kept detailed accounts of spending for many, many, years. (Can even tell you how much I spend on fresh fruit and veg each month for instance!) Now and again I think about stopping but then remember how handy it is to look back to previous years to see what was spent or to see whats coming up. That's how I know March and April are two Very Expensive months. Car service and MOT for one thing and already the water bill has arrived. It will have to be paid as I intended to get all the water butts installed  for garden watering before getting a water meter but haven't got that organised yet. The sewage bill and the Council Tax bill will turn up in March and my TV Licence is due in April.

Anyway, looking back..............................

All the usual expenses though the month.......... 4 weekly electric bill, 2 x diesel for the car, charity donation, phone bills. Extra expense were the visit to Anglesey Abbey and snowdrops plus the apple tree, compost and then plants from the catalogue. I bought shoes and batteries and postage stamps and then a new standard lamp for reading after the one that we'd had for years, gradually getting wobblier, finally fell apart. The window cleaner came and then all the usual small bits and bobs needed to run a home  - and that great big lump of £338  for heating oil.

And mentioning postage stamps reminds me that a penfriend told me that from January 2023 we are not going to be able to use any postage stamps that we still have as they are changing to bar coded stamps during this year and 31st December is the last date to use any without a bar code. It seems the Post Office might operate a swap system for a while but there will be no point stockpiling stamps before price increases anymore............. the bar code will know!

Sometimes I seem to spend too much on food and I'd like to spend less. Not because I have to...........like back in the 80's and 90's  when we had 3 children, big mortgage and one very average income............... but I'd like not to have to use more of the savings (that I'm thankful to have because of downsizing) and from much experience I know that food spending is one of those things that can be managed (unlike expenses such as the Council Tax where there is no option)

This is a shortened look at my account for February Food which was a good month as I'm still using things that were in the freezer from before Christmas (luckily I didn't have to abandon many things after the electric being off for 24 hours, - annoying but not too costly)

1st Feb Aldi                   £ 22.00

            Morrisons           £  3.80

10th      Aldi                   £  6.57

            Asda                   £11.50

                                       £43.87 

Village Shop                  £  2.49

            Aldi                    £  3.80 

                                        50. 16

Village shop                      1. 49

Eggs from stall                  1.00

24th Aldi                         19.20

                                        71.85

 

and that included fruit for making chutney(a post for next week) and as I was in Aldi at the end of the month I bought a new big tub of peanut butter while it was there and 3 x 2 pints of milk to restock the freezer.    Outside of home made I had coffee and scone at Anglesey Abbey, 1 Pensioners fish and chips, a breakfast bacon roll and coffee at Morrisons when the electric was off and a coffee and sausage roll at an event I went to last week which I'll write about  soon.

                                                                 

The main meals I ate with the food bought in my Aldi/Morrisons comparison shop at the start of the month and items from the freezer and cupboards were........................

Home made quiche x 4 with various accompaniments

2 x Stir fry vegetables plus noodles with Chinese party food from freezer (2 each of mini veg spring rolls, prawn toasts and tempura prawns) 

 Love these but they don't stock them all the time

 

3 x Warm pasta salad with sardines, toms, cuc,olives,peas or with feta etc.

2 x 2 Cheese and onion "saus" rolls with veg

Roast Chicken Thigh Joints with veg  and then again with salad

Nut burger in bun with salad

Pensioners Discount Fish and chips

2 x Corned Beef with veg and then again with salad

2 x Vegetable and Panaar curry with rice and Naan

Co-op goats cheese and veg lattice withvegetables

Omelette with salad

Pasta, salmon and broccoli bake

Pizza and salad

Sausages and roast mini potatoes and veg

(and must have been a few other things that I can't remember)

My breakfast is always coffee and toast and marmalade and my other meal will be something like cheese and crackers and fruit or something similar and sometimes I just have another piece of toast. Preparing one meal each day is enough for me, I'm not very adventurous anymore, just can't be bothered. 

 

Now I just need to keep the food spending as low as this month even when I run out of the pre-Christmas stockpile

Back Tomorrow

Sue