Time For Change

Oh dear

2010-02-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

I was just looking over my blog and noticed that it looks like we only eat very bland, unhealthy and meaty dinners. I think it is because I am trying to use up what we have so I can restock and start again meaning we don't have much variety. I hope this hasn't come across this way!

I am hoping to use up the majority of stuff by the end of this week and have asked James to give me £40 on a Friday each week, instead of £150 once a month. I am hoping this will help me save more money and stop me hoarding and stocking up on things and never using them!

So only one more week of not much variety and then I can start over again :)

Oops... Weekend Meals and New Job!

2010-02-16T06:39:00.000-08:00

Hello!

So Saturday we went to a lovers rock concert at the O2 Arena. It was fantastic! Better than last years in fact. We were treated to a Chinese buffet there by my mums partner! It was very tasty :)

Sunday we had a few friends over for a valentines dinner :) We had chilli con carne, Jacket potatoes and salad.

I should really of stuck to my meal plan yesterday, but James treated me to a take away. He treated me because I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited :) I start Monday!!

So this weekend I am going clothes shopping to buy a few bits. I already have some black trousers, that I bought for the interviews, and quite a few tops I can wear, but there is always room for more ;)

I will let you know what I manage to buy :)

Oops... Day Three Beef Curry

2010-02-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

I was meant to do battered fish, chips and peas, but I fancied this instead ;)

Here are my items for my beef curry. I have never made this before, but saw a recipe (which I didn't follow) and thought it might be quite tasty.

Casserole Beef

White onion

Ground Coriander

Kidney Beans

Salt/Pepper

Coriander and cumin curry paste

Hot Masala curry powder

As you can see I make it up as I go along :)

First I sweat the chopped onion in a tiny amount of oil on a very low heat.

After 5 mins I add a table spoon and a half of the curry paste.

Then I add 1/2 pint of hot water.

Give it a stir and then add the casserole beef.

After a few minutes I then add about 3 table spoons of Hot masala curry powder.

Give it another little stir and coat the beef in the powder.

Then add another 1/2 pint of hot water, handful of red lentils and two bay leaves.

I will leave this too simmer for about 2 hours. ( Every 20mins add a bit of water as it will go too stodgy) Then for last 15 mins of cooking while I do the rice I will add Kidney beans. At this point you could add any other vegetables you want.

Florida!!

2010-02-12T04:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, we have decided to go to Florida!! I am so excited. We want to go in September time as it's cheaper and it will be during the school holidays which will hopefully mean less queuing.

If I get a job in the next month (job interview lined up on Monday), we will be going this year. If not we will be going next year. Either way I can't wait.

For me and James to fly with Virgin for 14 nights, 4x4 Car hire with insurance, Self-Catering apartment and 14 days flexi-ticket for the parks is £2,500! Pretty good I think!

We want to take about £1500 spending money. When we are there we only rally need to buy food and any junk items that we want.

5 mins from our apartment is a Walmart and a Publix. Boy am I excited to visit them! (looser alert!).

I am so excited! Have any of you been to Florida?

Oops... Day Two

2010-02-12T04:12:00.000-08:00

I didn't have much time to post yesterday. Yesterday we had sausage, chips and beans. That's not our actually dinner in the picture above, but I didn't have time to take pictures. Although it is far from being healthy, it certainly was yummy! Comfort food is a must when its snowing and cold outside!

Oops... Day One. Spaghetti Bolognese

2010-02-10T05:48:00.000-08:00

So here are the ingredients for my Bolognese sauce.

Red lentils

A can of mixed bean salad

A can of peeled tomatoes

Tesco Frozen Mince

Tomato Puree

Red chillis

Sage

Mixed Herbs

Paprika

Chilli Powder

Salt and pepper

Firstly, I Browned the mince and then added one white onion. Is it white or brown? I never know. I never add any oil when frying mince as It has enough of its own.

I then added a squirt of tomato purée and my herbs and spices.

I then added a tin of peeled tomatoes. Normally I buy chopped, not sure why I had peeled, but they broke down really easy with the wooden spoon.

Then roughly a hand of red lentils. I made the mistake of adding too much before and it turns the sauce quite mushy.

Then a tin of mixed bean salad.

Then roughly half a pint of beef stock.

A quick stir and then some chopped sage and its done. I turned the heat off and put the lid on and will heat up for around 15 mins later before I am ready to serve.

It might not be technically right, but it smells and tastes yummy! I will serve with spaghetti pasta and garlic bread. Mmmmm I can't wait :)

Oops... Day One

2010-02-10T05:09:00.000-08:00

Somehow I have ended up worth £29 left of my grocery budget! I had £150 2 weeks ago! Where has it gone. I know I spent some of it for James' Party, but I didn't realise it was so much. I have spent about £40 on food and meat for the freezer. So this is day one of my Oops challenge. I have to stretch this £29 until the 26'th February which is 17 days! I am sure I can do it *FINGERS CROSSED*.

I have quite a bit of food/spices/tins/meat and vegetables in cupboards and in the freezer.

My meal plan for this week is:

Breakfasts:

Oatmeal or Toast and Jam

Lunch:

Leftovers from dinner or Ham salad sandwiches and fruit.

Dinners:

Spaghetti Bolognese with Garlic Bread and Salad

Pork Chops, Creamy Potato stacks and sweetcorn.

Enchiladas and salad.

Battered Fish and chips with peas.

Sausage, chips and beans.

BOLD items are meals we have already had.

As you can see it is not the best meal plan, but everything on the list is things I have already got to use up.

Saturday we are out to the O2 for a lovers rock night and Sunday we are having a few friends over for valentines day so I wont need to plan dinners for those two days.

Ok this is not technically the first day of my challenge, but my third. I want to be able to share pictures with you all so I am going to start this as my first day. Tonight we will have Spag Bog for dinner. I will share pictures with you later.

Mario Party

2010-02-09T11:45:00.001-08:00

Saturday was the day of James Birthday Party. What fun we had! All of our friends made such an effort with their Super Mario costumes. There's me in the front row in the gold dress. (I was the "star"). We had great food, a tasty rum punch and a blast on the karaoke :)

Its so nice to think that your nearest and dearest make the effort for something you have planned. Especially during these tough times.

This was just a quick post to share this picture. I will be back tomorrow to start my new grocery challenge with you all.

Frustrations!

2010-01-28T09:36:00.001-08:00

Me and James had a talk about mortgages blah blah! We decided that for us to be able to borrow a comfortable amount and an amount that would buy us something half decent I would need to get a job. It is so frustrating being told that we can only borrow X amount when we know we could borrow more and be able to pay it back with no worries on just James' wage. We would be able to live quite comfortably with a mortgage payment of £800 per month and still have enough for bills, going out and savings. We know this because we managed when we were renting for a year in 2008/09. The only reason we chose to move back with James parents is to be able to save a 20% deposit which would be ridiculous otherwise. Then I wonder whats the point. We thought we would only need 10%. That's what the bank told us 6 months ago. Now we need 20%! That's £25,000+. What happens when we reach that goal in 6 months time? Will we then need 30%! It is so off putting when you reach your goal and then to be told you need to do it all over again.

Anyway, James and I decided I should get a job in order to save quicker and be able to get a better mortgage deal. Once we knew we were comfortable paying that back say for instance a year, then I could leave my job and continue what I love doing. So I went for an interview Last Tuesday after being shortlisted from 239 applicants to just 5! I then had the second interview this Tuesday which went better than I expected. Before hand I had researched the company, the polices, the job description, brushed up on my excel and word skills to complete their tests which I did with some good results and practices different interview questions.

Now I have just found out that I didn't get it! I am so frustrated! I know it was only the first job I had applied for and I did well to get that far, but I'm still gutted! So I will keep searching and keep applying until I find a suitable job! Sorry for the rant, but I needed to get that off my chest :)

Exciting stuff!

2010-01-16T05:02:00.000-08:00

I am a firm believer in making the most of your time/life and experiencing as many different things as possible. One thing I have ALWAYS wanted to do is grab a couple of friends and go camp at a festival. And guess what?!......

ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL 2010....... HERE I COME!!! :)

4 of us have booked our tickets and the ferry last week! I am so excited.

We were considering camping the "normal" way, by grabbing a tent an pitching up like sardines with 10,000's of other people, but I have persuaded everyone a different option!

A Bellepad! Sleeps four of us!

The company hire out a field which they fence off. They have 24/7 security, OWN toilets and showers and only people booking with them can access the area. So much safer then camping elsewhere! It is £345 for the weekend (thursday-monday), but split between four is only £87. I am glad to pay that bit extra for piece of mind and to be able to wash my hair!

I will keep posting with more news soon.

January savings update

2010-01-10T13:17:00.001-08:00

So this is the first month of 2010! What a clever girl I am! ;)

So I think it is time to get my Emergency fund savings moving.

I have just been on Tesco's mobile recycling site and have just had a quote back for £95.00 for 5 mobile phones. I am chuffed with this, but will have to wait for them to receive the phones and check that they are working. All 5 phones work, but I'm sure that 2 of them have minor problems. Anyway, I want to get rid of them and will welcome any money. I will also get 1000 clubcard points. The £95.00 is going to be on a Tesco Gift card, but I will just shop in Tesco for a month use the gift card instead of the food shopping cash and put this in my Emergency fund.

I have also listed 10 CD'S on Music Magpie and will recieve just under £8.00 for them.

So all in all £103.00 for my Emergency fund! Woohoo that's a nice figure to get the ball rolling. I am also going to try and put £50 from our food budget towards it too and the change from my change pot which I am going to empty at the end of each month.

I am the kind of person who only feels encouraged to save when I see money in an account/pot. So I am hoping this Will be a great start to the year! I will let you all know how it goes at the end of the month. Sunday 31st January.

Ssshhhh....

2010-01-04T02:29:00.000-08:00

It is James' Birthday on the 3rd February and I want to do something different this year. We had so many presents for Christmas that I can't think what is left to buy him! So I have decided to have a surprise birthday party for him on the Saturday 6th February.

During the day he is going go-karting with the boys and I have told them to keep him busy until 7pm! They are in on it too. I have invited everyone over for 6-6.30 so plenty of time before birthday boy comes home. I think he will be leaving around 10am so I can only start decorating and cooking then!!!!!

My grandad gave me £65 towards the party (aww) and I am going to use £50 from January's food budget. Yes this is £50 I am meant to save each month, but what can you do?

I am known for serving great food and lots of it! So I can't disappoint this time. There are around 25 people coming give and take a few. I am telling everyone to bring a bottle so I only really need to pay for food/decorations and a bowl of punch.

So I have £115 to pay for this. Any ideas or tips please? I normally cater for 10 and prefer to have one pot dishes with bread and side dishes for people to help themselves.

Is that the date already?

2009-12-30T04:57:00.000-08:00

2010 is literally around the corner! Actually I think it is sitting right next to me.

I'm sure just like me, you had a list of things to complete before 2010. Have you managed to complete them?

I have sorted our all of my beauty products. I will need to stock up on a few things, but at least I have room now.

I have also sorted out my wardrobe. WOW! I can't believe I have finally been able to say that. I got rid of a LOT of clothes.

I have started my new exercise routine. I got the Wii fit plus for Christmas and it is fab! I can make my own routines up and it tells me how many calories I have burnt. I am starting of by doing 30 Min's a day, but I hope to bring this up to 60 Min's. I am aiming to loose 12lbs in 2 months which I think is reasonable. I will let you know how I get on.

Lets see how many more I can do in the next couple of days.

Living within your means!

2009-12-26T14:56:00.000-08:00

WOW, How busy was Christmas! I am soooo tired, but it was all worth it. Until next year!!

Did a Christmas rubbish/junk/snacky food shop on the 23rd which came to £80! Used my nectar card which I thought had £2 on it and was so shocked/ecstatic/hyper to be told it had £42.50 on it! Not too much, but more than what I thought.

I got a lovely Links of London bracelet from James. I already have the completed sweetie set (spoilt I know!), so was thinking what could it be when I saw the bag. It is from the brand new Britline Collection which only hit the shops last week! I am so chuffed and yes I am showing it off. Of course I am LOL! Oh dear, he made a mistake there I think. Now I will want the complete Britline set like the sweetie set. As they say, "I'm worth it!".

I was thinking to myself today about money and some of the things made me laugh. Most people moan about having no money or having to cut back and it is so true when people say you have money for things you want. Isn't it all about living within your means? Here is what we spend a month.

Savings: £1000
Food budget: £400
Rent (James parents): £200
Car Insurance: £56
Spending money: £600

This works for us and we manage well. We have no debt and although we have no mortgage we would be able to afford one as our "mortgage money" is currently being used instead to save for a deposit. We reckon once we have a mortgage it will be around £600 per month so we know we will be able to manage. When I look at that amount we have I know we are lucky and grateful for what we have and that I have found someone who is willing to look after me and works hard for money to support us both. I am glad I have been able to learn money saving tactics, learn to be frugal and realise how bad getting into debt is at a young age. I am lucky to have a partner that is happy letting me have control of the finances and not spend money left right and centre.

This year James bought me a car for my birthday, over £1000 worth of jewelery and I hate to think how much else, but I know it's alot. This is not me boasting in anyway, but thinking about what we have makes me grateful for things and realise that actually moaning about having no money and having no money are two different things! I think too many people focus 100% on saving for the future and get disappointed when things are not working out in their favour. Life is for living and although I am every bit for saving for the future you still need to enjoy life while you can.

Hmmm, I am not sure what I have just written, but hopefully you can make some sense from it! Just a few things that were on my mind lol!

x

This blogging lark!

2009-12-14T11:09:00.001-08:00

I told myself that when I get a blog I am going to post all the time, take pictures of everything and all that stuff. Now I have a blog I am doing the opposite!! I am really going to have to buck my ideas up and get on with this "blogging lark"! x

8th December: Week Shop

2009-12-08T06:05:00.000-08:00

I always (well mostly) do my weekly shop on a Tuesday. Starting today. LOL :)

I used to do it on Sundays, but it was too busy and pretty much everything was sold out and I had to pick from the dregs. I am lucky enough to have a large 24hour Tesco store 5 minute drive from me. I have decided to go tonight around 9 o clock as I heard this was a good time to get bargains. And boy do I love a bargain! I also know James will be watching a film a "boy" film tonight so I can take as long as I like. I hate going food shopping with him! SCUSE ME LOVE, I am on a budget and that £3 pack of biscuits are not part of it! Also, don't you find they keep questioning you on what you put in the trolley. "Why are you buying 8 tins of tomatoes when there is 4 at home?" Don't ask stupid questions! I'm trying to stock up on bargains here! Honestly. I think he gets embarrassed when I put a whole pallet of head and shoulders in the trolley because they were reduced to 80p from £1.94! Well he is the one who thinks he "needs" the Head and Shoulders range for men because he couldn't possibly use a non branded one at football.

I am hoping to get some washing powder on offer, some toothbrushes, tinned sweetcorn and potatoes, salad things and cooked ham.

I will update you with some pictures and prices tomorrow.

Oh before I forget. I am babysitting today have been since 7am! So that should mean £40. I am going to treat us to some Christmas snacks. I know you wont hold it against me!

How should I save money?

2009-12-03T12:08:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about my Emergency fund. I said in a previous post that I wanted to save at least £70 per month towards my EF. This means all my focus will be on saving £70 a month, but will this mean I will stop when I get to £70 and only save this amount a month. Maybe it is better for me to set a total amount I want to save and focus on that instead. This is all very confusing so I hope you have been able to follow me!

Many experts say you should have 3-6months BASIC income saved as your EF. This means the necessities like rent/mortgage, food and things you need to live on and not what you would normally have. I worked out the bare minimum we could live on a month as £1000 and that is pure living costs and no entertainment!

So I have decided to set my target to save £1000 at a time. Im hoping this will relieve some pressure and mean I have goals that are quicker to achieve and will keep me motivated when I see I am near to £1000.

Did this make sense to you ?

Goals for 2010

2009-12-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of things I want to achieve in 2010:

Health and Beauty
Exercise at least 3 times a week=(3 hours per week).
Create a beauty regime and stick to it.
Try and use more natural products.
Drink 8 glasses of water each day.
Eat my 5 a day.

Clothing
Make do and mend
Only buy for special occasions and Holiday
Organise Wardrobe and buy all essentials in January sales to last me all year

Money
Save at least £70 per month for emergency fund
Cut food shopping bill to £100 per month and stick to it
Cut down on wasteful spending

Home
Buy first home with James
Only use natural cleaners and washing powders
Start growing own produce with the limited space we have
Learn one new recipe a week
Learn to organize freezer better
Convert James to powdered milk without him knowing :)

General
Take more photos and Scrapbook them
Regularly post on my new blog :)
Read different genre of books
Socialise with friends and family more

I will continue to add to my list, but this is a good starting point.

Planning a Christmas Buffet for Ten for £40

2009-12-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

This year it is our turn to host our group of friends secret Santa.

I was in two minds on whether to have a sit down cooked meal or a buffet.

I have decided to mix the two! :)

I am going to set the table for ten with some nice handmade name cards and have a centre piece.

Then on a separate table I am going to set up the buffet.

My menu so far is:

Vegetable Lasagna
Roast Gammon
Roast Turkey Crown
Potato, smoked salmon, onion and cream terrine

Falafel
Devilled Eggs
New potatoes, oil, salt pepper
Olives
Tortilla/dips/carrots/cucumber
Beetroot
Pickled onions
Pickle
Cheese
Bread
Salad-lettuce/cucumber/tomato/red pepper/sweetcorn/ red onion
Salad dressing
Condiments

Jelly
Meringues, ice-cream and fruit.
Custard
Christmas pudding
Mince pies

Lemonade
Pepsi
Orange juice
Water
Tea
Coffee
Hot Chocolate

I have asked everyone to bring their own alcohol.
I will be honest I already have the Gammon in the freezer and the ingredients to make falafel.

I have budgeted £40 to do this with.
I will post my shopping list when I do it and also some recipes and pictures of the end result! Wish me luck.

Food Shopping Budget

2009-12-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

We used to spend £200 per month plus extra for toiletries, washing powder and tissue e.c.t on food shopping and boy did we waste a lot of food!

I love cooking and trying new recipes and we never eat ready meals and limited processed foods.

We recently decided to try £150 and this is to include everything. It is going well, but as I said in a previous post I want to save £50 from my food budget and only spend £100.

I think this is achievable. Let me show you a list of a few everyday items (most of which are store brand) and the prices of them in our area:

Tinned tomatoes= 35p
Tinned tuna= 55p
Tinned Kidney Beans= 19p
Pasta 1kg= 86p
Rice 1kg= 73p
Milk 4pnt= £1

You get the idea you can get things for cheap and I really can't see or taste the difference in lower brand goods to the top quality in these items.

One thing I try not to skimp on is meat.

I do one big shop a month stocking up on non perishables like tins, toiletries and things for the freezer. I normally buy meat in bulk then separate into portions for the freezer.Then I do one weekly shop which includes fresh items like fruit, vegeatables, milk and cooked meat.

How much do you spend on your food shopping?

Creating a home office

2009-12-02T06:53:00.001-08:00

One of my goals is to set up a home office space.

We currently live with James parent's and have our own bedroom and our own front room.

We were renting a flat for a year, but unexpectedly James' mum became ill and we moved in with them to look after her. Not only that, but it will help with saving for a deposit.

I want to set up our home office in our front room, but we have limited space. We have a table that folds in half with drawers on either side. Not a very good description let me find a picture.

It is very sturdy and very heavy. We had this for in our flat as we didn't have a dining room so it was space saving to have in our living room.

The length of the table in this picture with just one side open is 26cm long and is 74cm high.

I think if I was to use this in our front room now I could only use it as pictured with one side open.

The drawers are very handy for storage of most office things e.g Stationary.

I will post some pictures when I finally get round to it. Any tips are most welcome!

Money Saving Goals

2009-12-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

I have decided to try and save for an emergency fund.

I realise that because I am technically not "employed" and I do not claim benefits I need to make sure I have some money saved for those mature years!

Me and James are not yet married although many people say it is inevitable that we will be.

When James brings home his wages every month I take "control" over them and out of this I do put some aside to form some savings for the future.

As nothing is guaranteed in this life except taxes and death I want to make sure I protect my self and have some savings of my own for the future.

I am only going to be able to save small amounts each month, but as they say every little helps!

So my goals are to save at least £20 in change every month. We always seem to have a lot of change floating around mostly gold and silver. We have to vases that we use to collect the change. One for silver and gold and another for coppers. All the change collected in these I will take to one of those change counting machines in the supermarket and put the amount into a high interest savings account.

We budget £150 per month for all groceries. I am going to try and manage on £100 allowing me to save £50 per month towards my emergency fund. I have recently become a convert to Lidl! Yes I was a snob, but I have been so impressed with the quality in there that I am now even buying meat :)

So I am planning on saving £70 per month for 1 year which equals:

£843.86

This is based on 1% interest each year, but obviously I will transfer money from different accounts to benefit from the best interest deals. At the moment the rates are around 4.25%!

If I do this for 10 years it will equal:

£8,830.49

This may not seem a lot, but it's something and in this life is better than nothing.
These accounts are one I want to be able to forget about so when I do look one day and there is a few hundred pound sitting in them it will mean more.

My Emergency fund is for Emergencies, well I never!

This includes:

Major car/home problems
Unexpected Bills
Job Loss/Unemployment for James
In case I need to stock up on food or toiletries which I hope I wont.

This does not involve Christmas, Birthdays or any other celebrations.

Welcome to my blog

2009-11-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

Hi, I hope you stay around long enough to enjoy my postings and to get to know me some more.

I set up this blog to make my goals seem more "fun" and distract me from the waiting game of achieving them. I hope to share my tips and tricks on living a frugal life, saving money and most of all enjoying life!

I hope to also learn from others by being here.

See you around!

Paige.x