Bless - I think this hardward store is a similar age to yours. He said that it had been open for 67 years. There is something so reassuring about those shops.
Well, my stomach is currently behaving but I'm having all sorts of fun with what feels like a sinus headache. I am not looking forward to the hairdressing appointment tomorrow. I'm definitely feeling under the weather. I suspect I'm getting a cold, and with all that has been happening, colds seem to be so much worse now. DH is also rough. He has a sore throat and is not on top form. I picked up a wide selection of throat sweets for him and we are all having an early night.
I am going to settle down after this and write some lists. I've been having a little success with them this week, and they are keeping me on track. I've got a notebook for my price book. I thought I'd share my processes and mistakes on here, because it may be useful to others.
This is my new A5 notebook.
The tabs are marking sections as it's a project book with inbuilt dividers. I thought I would mark them as 'Fresh', 'Frozen', 'Food Cupboard' and 'Misc' (I had some rude ideas about something that would represent a mish mash of cleaning and health and that would start with 'F' to keep the theme, but I'm going with 'Misc').
I'm not entirely sure how it will work. For example, there is no point in me buying bagged salad in bulk when there's a good sale, so do I track it? DH has a bag every week. As it is such a regular buy, I may keep an eye on how it goes and just track the price so that I have an idea of how the budget will work. On the other hand, if I see mushrooms at a good price, I can chop and freeze them, and the same for root veg, so that is probably worth recording.
I jotted down some prices.
I will never win prizes for penmanship. But I think I need a separate page for each item, and I need to be more specific. Currently, on Tesco's website, there are Rosedene cheap small pears at £1.73 per kilo, Conference pears at £2.79 per kilo (half price with Clubcard), Seasonal pears at £3.82 per kilo and organic pears at £5 per kilo. I need to check out the farm shop for these as well, as they may or may not be equivalent prices, but they may be better quality. I'm working through ideas, and I'll share as I go. I'll get rid of this page and start again. I knew that I would be changing my mind a lot, which is why I'm starting out with an extremely inexpensive notebook.
I'm still keeping my shopping list notebook. I use it intermittently, but I've been using the same one for ages. I try and use up all the page so stuff gets squeezed in all sorts of corners.
It's getting a bit battered, but I'm using every scrap of it.
I still haven't found a handbag that I like, after bear spilled hot wax on the current one. I dug this out of the back of the warddrobe. I got it ages ago from my friend eBay, but there was a smell. The smell has pretty much gone.
It's a little bigger and will take both the shopping list and the price book as well as the rests of the rubbish I lug around with me.
I need to sit down after posting this and make a shopping list. I could do with getting the 10% off shop done tomorrow, and my ideal schedule would go - drop off bear around 7.30am (his choice!), then go straight to Tesco and do the big shop, hopefully finishing not much later than around 9.30. I don't need huge amounts, but I need a few bits and I may as well group them together and then get the money off. It costs £7.99 per month for the Tesco Clubcard Extra, so I need to get more than that using the 10% off shops. Ordinary clubcard reductions don't count as you get them with the free clubcard as well. I want to pick up some clothing (10% off F&F clothes if it's not already on sale) and shop for some Christmas presents. I also need to call in Aldi for a tiny bit or two before diving home and grabbing a shower then heading back towards Heckmondwike for my appointment at 12pm. By the time it's finished, it will barely be worth going home to come back, so I'm planning on getting some serious knitting done as I wait to pick up bear.
Then home, and I'm risking letting you know that I'm planning homemade soup for DH and I. Bear has utterly rejected soup, so he will have something beige. Normally if I even whisper what I am planning for dinner then it all goes wrong, but I'm hoping it will work out.
Writing stuff - I'm still planning on removing some of the stories under A Whisper in the Shadows so dip in if you feel like it before 2nd October.
Hugs and good health to all.
Glad to hear that your stomach is behaving and I hope the sinus headache eases and neither you nor your husband comes down with a cold/cough/flu - this is the season for it!
ReplyDeleteI would have a page per item for the price book - apples (all kinds) on one page with the cheapest current price as my guide. If prices stay at that price or go lower, then, I'll stock up (I find that apples stay fresh in the fridge for weeks); if prices go up, then, I will buy only the absolute minimum needed for that week of the next cheapest available.
If bagged salads are a weekly purchase, and you are fine with whatever is available (rather than a particular brand of bagged salads), then, I'd buy whatever is on sale that week.
In addition to the lowest prices for stocking up purposes, I also have a price point, above which I refuse to pay, if at all possible. Unfortunately, prices keep going up so much here that the price point is becoming harder to maintain!
Good for you that you're making lists! I am still thinking about them, but that's about it lol.
ReplyDeleteI do need to keep track of prices. I went to buy some ibuprofen today and the cost of the bottle had more than doubled!! Yikes. I bought a smaller one and will check somewhere else. It's ridiculous.
I did make sure to use some coupons a shop had sent me in the post. It's a place I usually shop at and the items were things I normally buy. I really have to make sure to keep a handle on the food budget! I'm actually dreading what the heating cost will be in winter. It's too cold here to turn heat off (not to mention pipes freeze and burst) but I'm going to have to do something to manage the cost. It will probably be a cold winter!
Shopping takes so long these days trying to find all the best offers. We are making good use of the Sainsbury's scanshop offers both DH and I get different offers each week and they are always on things we normally buy and there are big savings to be made, though I don't use the scanner at all I go round and pick up any reduced 'red sticker' items and go through the normal tills while he gets the scan shop offers for both our cards. A bit fiddly but works for us and saves money.
ReplyDeleteThe mind boggles - how did Bear manage to spill wax on your bag? I do like you new one thought and hope it works well for you. Bags are such personal things aren't they?
ReplyDeleteI hope the homemade soup was a success.