Four days in

We've been shopping this weekend with a carefully prepared list - not!  Unfortunately, it was not well planned at all, and we went round the supermarket on a wing and a prayer......

We did know what we didn't want, which was a big help - we have loads of meat, frozen fruit, bread and some veg in the freezers.  And I had a plan in the back of my mind about some meals for the week ahead, having vague recollections of what meat we have.

All in all, it was probably a lesson in how NOT to do the shopping!

The EFG loves peas, but we realised this week that we had to move over to frozen from tinned, because she can't eat a whole tin at a time, and never fancies them again the next day, so it is going to be more economical to be able to get a smaller amount out of the freezer.  She loves her chips too, and it is better to have some frozen ones available rather than to have to rely on having some potatoes suitable for chips here.  I did know that I needed some staples - onions and bananas for a start.

I have picked up a tip in the good old Facebook this week - and I am ashamed that I hadn't already realised!  I picked up a bunch of bananas, and weighed them: they were 68p/kg, and the bunch cost me 56p yet a very similar bunch already wrapped in a bag were £1.  I had being buying the £1 bagged bunches and thinking that they were good value - how daft have I been!  No more wrapped bananas for us.  That's 44p saved today.

All in all a spend of £25.58 in the supermarket, and then another £4.99 in the hardware store.......

The wood burner has had its chimney swept and had a minor repair and so been declared fit to go this season.  Still, it looked a little bit the worse for wear and UJ recommended a coat of blackleading.  It's now called Black Stove Polish, but it is basically graphite and does the same job.  The tube cost £4.99 but will last for years, as long as I don't lose it!  With a good dose of elbow grease, the stove has come up a treat and looks lovely now.  It might get lit this week if the temperatures keep dropping.

With a small mid-week spend, our available budget for the month has plummeted to around £65.  We are already looking into the storecupboards and thinking about the meals we haven't had for a while - I know corned beef hash will be on the menu sometime very soon!