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My blog is about our life after MORTGAGE FREEDOM (achieved Oct 2012), saving hard for TRAVEL EXPERIENCES and EARLY RETIREMENT from my job as a teacher. I also have an ULTIMATE LIFE LIST (which works like a Bucket List)of dream travel destinations and experiences. Please leave a comment if you can. I love reading them! A little about me! I am so grateful for the life I’ve been given. I don’t need ‘things’ to be happy. I appreciate my family, friends and the value of experiences over the materialistic. By respecting the power of money and using it wisely we have had a beautiful, simple wedding and bought a tiny cottage with some land overlooking fields. We try to live simply and appreciate the beauty of the nature around us. But we have an adventurous side too. I met Mr SFT whilst travelling in Cambodia. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY!

WHAT IS SEALED POT SUNDAY?

PLEASE JOIN US FOR SEALED POT SUNDAY!!

Have you been emptying your purse each week into your pot?

Have you found a coin down the back of the sofa and fed your pot?

Have you been putting in all your £2 coins or Loonies or Gold Coins in?

Have you 'saved and not spent'-not having that coffee has meant more for the pot?

Please pop along EVERY SUNDAY and share your week with the other GLOBAL SEALED POT CHALLENGERS. It's a chance to get to know and support each other! Maybe pick up an idea or two? And keep the momentum going-we have 20 more weeks to go until we open our pots together.

Monday, 14 January 2013

EATING WELL ON A BUDGET (WEEK 3)


Hi Everyone!

WEEK1-TOTAL SPEND £21.33
WEEK 2-TOTAL SPEND £13.87
STOCKPILE TOTAL: £36.26 out of £240

WEEK 2-GROCERY SPENDING UPDATE 
Our Weekly Budget is £20. Our Annual Stockpiling Budget is £240 or £20 per month



Found this...quite liked it!

Week 2 Spending

                           
Creme Fraiche    = 0.85
Smoked Salmon  = 2.79 
3 x Smoked Haddock Fishcakes      = 7.50 (on special offer)

Weekly spend = 13.87

So £6.13 under! Yeah! We really didn't need to buy much last week.


Stockpiling Total has diminished by  another £6 as we stocked up on 6 packets of Quorn (Vegetarian) Sausages. Which is less than half the normal price. 


MENU PLAN THIS WEEK


Mon:Cereal 
School Lunch/sandwich for Mr Sft 
Mr Sft - Omlette/Homemade Leek and Potato Soup 

Tues: Cereal 
School Lunch/sandwich for Mr Sft 
Homemade soup/Mr Sft eating at his parents. 

Wed: Cereal 
School Lunch/sandwich for Mr Sft 
Homemade soup/Mr Sft-homemade burgers, potatoes and carrots. 

Thurs: Cereal 
School Lunch/sandwich for Mr Sft 
Homemade soup/Mr Sft-Veggie Sauasges, potato wedges and beans 

Fri: Cereal 
School Lunch/sandwich for Mr Sft 
Smoked Salmon Pasta 

Sat: Beans on Toast 
Homemade Soup 
Haddock Fishcakes mash and veggies 

Sun: Beans on Toast 
Sunday Lunch at my Parents 
Homemade soup

What's on your menu this week?

Have you stockpiled some special offers?

Are you keeping to your Grocery Budget?

Sft x



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29 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your menus. I don't have time to write what I DID eat this week. Maybe next week. See you then. ~ Linne

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  2. I have a Mini Challenge this week, it's the week of the four potatoes and the three fish fillets, so that's what the meals will be built around, it's going well up to now :-)

    You're doing really well with your budget and your stockpiling, love the tips poster, very true.

    Sue xx

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    Replies

    1. Hi Sue,

      I am LOVING your mini challenge, please keep it going as long as poss.

      Salmon is my favourite food of all!

      I love that tips poster too.

      Sft x

      Delete

  3. My freezer is quite full at the moment, so we're eating meals from it this week. Tonight it's beef stew and dumplings, made with some reduced beef I bought and froze a while ago. Good wholesome food, seeing as it's currently snowing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Good to hear your using up, particularly reduced priced beef.

      Perfect for this weather.

      Sft x

      Delete

  4. Please can you share your recipe for smoked salmon pasta? S/Salmon is a rare treat but we occasionally get an opened half pack gifted, and apart from sandwiches or with scrambled egg, I don't really use it.. Thank you x

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    Replies

    1. Hi Fostermummy,

      Oh, this recipe is soooo simple.

      Cook pasta (we use penne) whilst you:

      Cut up 2 cloves of garlic (finely).

      Cook briefly in butter (got to be careful not to burn garlic).

      Wait to cool.

      Cut up smoked salmon

      Add creme fraiche to garlic and butter.

      Add chopped up salmon.

      Stir and gently warm.

      And that's it.

      It's nice and tasty.

      Sft x

      Delete

  5. I really need to stretch our meals. We have been so bad of late as it is so hot and everyone wants something different. I'll just post evening or main meals as our routine is cereal or something very simple for breakfast and sandwiches for the meal other than main meal. I am planning to use things that are in the freezer and fridge already as I have decided to stay out of the shops for the rest of the week. As we store long life milk and I have plenty of bread flour this is perfectly doable.

    Monday- Tacos
    Tuesday- Left over boiling bacon with salads
    Wednesday- Salmon fish cakes
    Thursday- Chilli con Carne using left overs from Monday
    Friday- Something simple from the freezer stock
    Saturday- Something chicken from the meat in the freezer
    Sunday- Slow cooked beef for pasta. Left overs can be converted to lasagne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Good news about staying out of shops. Sorry to hear everyone's demanding different meals!

      You menu sounds delicious.

      Salmon Fish Cakes seem a popular choice!

      Sft x

      Delete

  6. I made my own salmon fishcakes last evening. I found a small tin of Salmon at the back of the cupboard. Mixed it with a small amount of onion, a small amount of green pepper, seasoning and lemon juice. Added an egg and mashed potato. Rolled in flour and shallow fried in a little oil. Made over 8 large fish cakes-cost was about 80p in total. Served with veg bought from Aldi-new potatoes-49p, carrots about 25p and some runner beans from my last crop. Total for four was about £1.50. Our plates were very full. I had previously made an apple crumble the evening before made two-so had that again with a pkt of Rum sauce left over from Christmas. This is now a very requested meal and i was amazed at how easy it all was. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Hi Gilibob,

      You salmon fishcake recipe sounds delicious. Not surprised it's been requested again.

      I will definitely try it and such good value too.

      Sft x

      Sft x

      Delete

    2. Thank you sft. I am going to have a go at making fish fingers next. I have made a veggie version before and meant to do one with cod fillets. I am hoping to cost it all out and see if i can beat a well known brand for size, price and tastiness. :-) x

      Delete

  7. I found you through Our New Life in the Country on a post about the sealed jars - I love this and your blog!

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    Replies

    1. Hi April!

      Lovely to hear from you!

      Would you like to join the sealed pot challenge.

      We'd love it.

      Sft x

      Delete

  8. Hi SFT Loving the menu plans each week, maybe I should join in with this one, I usually just stick mine on the boiler. I wish hubby liked Salmon, he will have tinned in a sandwich if pushed, about twice a year and thats it, if I have a salmon steak he has pork chop! My daughter in law is a great frugalista, she will go to the fish market (they know her now) and ask for salmon carcass's and strip off any flesh to make fish cakes, she usually gets about 3lbs from a couple. Not bad for a freebie, she does buy fish at the same time. The fishmonger told her they sell them for fish stock.

    I am trying really hard to stick to my Grocery Budget and so far its working :-)

    Karen x

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    Replies

    1. Hi Karen,

      Our menu plans are quite simple but they work for us.

      Fortunately Mr Sft likes salmon and since it's my favourite food we eat it regularly. I often joked I could give up chocolate but not salmon and that's what I've done.

      Love the idea of your DIL using salmon carcass's! I'm not sure how Mr Sft's mum feels about my frugal nature :) I hope she appreciates it.

      You are doing BRILLIANTLY with your Grocery Budget so far.

      Sft x

      Delete

  9. No menu plan these days, things just evolve at the moment, but we are eating lighter meals due to it being the holiday season and it has been hot. I have plenty of food on hand but have started stock piling meat that's on special for when I have to start harvest meals.

    Reading your chart above I couldn't help but be reminded about refined sugars! I have been very good about limiting them but I have fallen off the wagon the last couple of days as there have been chocolate coated scorched almonds from Christmas making me eat them and of course the more you eat the more you want!

    Enjoy your delicious menu.

    Sx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Hi Sandra,

      Yes, it's nice to have light meals in the summer.

      Good to hear about the stock piling.

      I'm am so proud that I am eating hardly any refined sugars now.

      Sft x

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  10. I swear that we were out of everything this week, so I had to get lots of pantry staples. That was way too expensive. We'll have to really keep things together to stay on track this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Good luck with keeping on track HP!

      I think we are going to have an expensive week next week.

      Sft x

      Delete

  11. Food shopping came in at around £13 this week, I needed some fruit and veg, milk and meat for lunches.

    All other food is being used from the stockpile.

    Menu for this week;
    today- chicken curry
    Tuesday- fish pie
    wednesday- sausage meatballs and pasta
    thursday- chicken casserole
    friday- home made pizza
    saturday- indian platter (left over from NYE celebrations)
    Sunday- roast gammon

    Lunches are pretty much the same each day
    Stephanie- Cheese spread (asda version of philadelphia)roll
    Dylan- ham roll
    me- cheese (Christmas leftovers) and crackers.

    We all have our lunches with various fruit/salad items.

    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. That's a great weekly total Sarah!

      A lovely menu too, we've got a fish pie to eat in the freezer.

      Sft x

      Delete

  12. I'm still doing well with my £100 per month budget - it's been almost a year now! This week's menu -
    Sunday - chickpea curry and rice
    Monday - vegetable pasta
    Tuesday - mushroom and leek wellington, roasted veg
    Wednesday - gardener's pie, cabbage and peas
    Thursday - tomato and lentil soup, homemade rolls
    Friday - 3 bean chili and rice
    Saturday - vegetable stew and herb dumplings

    Breakfast is cereal/porridge/toast made with homemade bread. Lunch is usually beans on toast, soup,hummus or leftovers from the previous evening. Snacks are nuts, seeds, raisins, apples and bananas or homemade flapjacks and scones. All meals and bread are homemade, as are rice puddings and fruit crumbles which we occasionally eat. I'm so glad we stopped eating meat, fish and dairy as I just couldn't afford to buy it now. I took my Mum shopping last week and as I wasn't buying anything I walked around with her and saw the price of things she was buying - I was shocked at how much prices have increased since I last bought meat, fish etc. I have a good stockpile of pulses, grains, tinned tomatoes, tinned chickpeas, coffee, flour, sugar, dried fruit etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. You do so well Scarlet!

      And your menu is delicious.

      All meat and dairy are so expensive-I'm not surprised you were shocked at the prices when you went shopping with your Mum.

      Sft x

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  13. I am almost at the end of my monthly budgeted allowance! But I did stock up on chicken and some non-food items that are required. The name of the game this year is BUY in BULK!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Yes, definitely. Buy in bulk when you see those bargains!

      Sft x

      Delete

  14. I've been trying a few new foods this week. Figs, blueberries (yum and back in season) and chick peas. I've been cooking all myself and am trying to make things a little adventurous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Great to hear you've been trying lots of different foods. Love blueberries.

      Well done on being adventurous.

      Sft x

      Delete

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