After the last post I had so many comments and emails saying that you were doing exactly the same as me, spending money to save money. I'm pleased that I'm not the only one, but occasionally I feel we fall into the trap of spending vouchers because we have them!! The questions we should ask ourselves are: "Would I have spent the money I did, if I had not been lured into the supermarkets by the vouchers that they sent me?", or "Am I going shopping today just because I have a voucher?".
I don't know about you, but in my case some of the time I think I am playing right into their hands, spending my hard earned cash on what they want me to buy!!
But I'm not going to lose any sleep over it, what I am going to do is to make the most of the food I have bought so it last me the longest time possible and makes us as many tasty meals as possible, so I can keep away from the shops for as long as possible. I need to keep myself accountable which is something I do most of the time of course, but it's easy to stray if you don't keep yourself in check. So I am going to use the Blog for the whole of 'Stoptober' to keep myself accountable, plan my meals from what I have and give myself a strict budget for any food I have to buy.
I intend to give myself a budget of just £10 a week for any fresh food shopping we need to keep us eating healthily. I will put £10 into my purse on Wednesday 1st and then another one on each Wednesday throughout October. At the end of the month whatever cash is left over will be added to the Sealed Pot, which this year is being used for our Christmas Fund.
So what did I do with the foods destined for the freezer from the last shop (with vouchers) I did?
I worked out how much they had cost me each just in case I want to price out meals, and then wrapped them individually and placed them in a big freezerproof box.
I did similar with the Garlic Breads, so that we can get one slice out as a time if we want to. It's always good to open these packs before you freeze them as the breads tend to be stuck together with all the handling they have had from warehouse to supermarket to home etc.
The Southern Fried Chicken portions were also individually wrapped, priced and put into a tub. I'm glad I bought two packs of these as one pack had one thigh and six drumsticks .... and the other had one drumstick and six thighs!!
All neatly poortioned and wrapped and ready for the freezer.
And because I have most of my foods like this in big boxes the freezer is looking pretty full. Now if I can't make this lot last for at least month there is something very wrong with me!!
We only have guests twice this month so I should be able to cater for us (and them) very successfully. I will put a couple of cartons of milk in there after I have been into Llandudno later today ... but that is all the shopping I am getting.
Stopober cannot come soon enough for me :-)
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I apologize for any mistakes on my Blog, or on comments I may leave on any of your blogs over the next few days, but I am having to do all my computer work on my little laptop as our main computer has been taken very poorly and is at the computer doctors (hopefully) being made better!!
To add to my technology woes, this morning for the first time since we lived here I have no phone signal, so I can't phone anyone either. Ohh woe is me ;-)
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Sue xx
