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Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Good and Bad

I've been writing down what I spend. I'm not trying to stick to the budget at the moment, just track where I'm frittering the money. Today I spent £3.60 on a hot chocolate in the new cafe in Tesco and took a picture like a blogger.


I've been continuing with that for three weeks now and I'm happy that I'm doing that. After a few months, I'll look over the records and see if there is a pattern and whether I can change some of my spending habits. And sometimes I don't buy things because I'd have to write them down - and that has to be a win. There are still stupid impulse purchases, which I'm not currently admitting to outside my journal, but they're fewer and I'm hoping that it will make me think about things in a different way. 

On the other hand, I've got over twenty pound of potatoes that need using up, and they aren't part of Sunday's meal (cleared with DH) and bear and DH will be eating non-potato things all this week at least. I'm going to eat a lot of mash, I can tell. I'll share any inspired meals. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

14 comments:

  1. For giggles: About 10 days ago, on a Friday evening, I pulled out a cookbook and made a recipe for scalloped potatoes for 2 of us. I made the white sauce, then realized that the recipe called for 6 potatoes, and that I'd better get out the glass 9X13 pan to put it all in. I did add the onions and then found some ham to dice as well. Then I put it in the hot oven and realized that it wouldn't be ready for 90 minutes!! So on to some other meal that would be done in 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the potatoes cooked and ended up in the refrigerator covered in foil, where they stayed, in diminishing quantity, for the next 8 days. Yes, we ate the very last of them eight days later. They served us well during that week - but I am NOT going to eat any more potatoes for quite a while!! Good Luck on your potato meals!

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    1. I can completely identify with this! I may look up a recipe for scalloped potatoes, it's not seen much over here, but it sounds good.

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  2. I am trying to watch what I do spend but I don't write things down. I probably should as I end up spending on silly things. I think that's what I shall have to do as hubby gets closer to retirement.

    Love the hot chocolate photo. Someone in my camera club group did their year long project on the coffees they drink daily. They took photos of all of them and they must have spent a lot of money lol!

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    1. At £3.60 a time, I'm not having them daily! It was very pleasant, though, for a treat.

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  3. I had an excess of potatoes last year so cooked them all and mashed them. Put them into 1 litre pots and then into the freezer. After defrosting they are good fried or used on top of a shepherds pie etc. They are OK if you reheat them in the oven or microwave.

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    1. I have a regrettably full freezer. But at least 18lb is in a paper sack, so may last until I've thinned the freezer out...

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  4. That looks like a delicious cup of hot chocolate. Well done keeping your spending log. I kept one for 3 months before I started to budget, partly to know how much I was spending and on what. I was going to start doing that, again, this month, but, I had other things going on. February will be a good time to start, for me.

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    1. You have so much going on! The hot chocolate was very pleasant indeed!

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  5. Slice some of those potatoes thickly and pour a little melted butter and plenty of salt and pepper on. Layer them up in a bowl with onions and cheese and bake for about forty minutes. Very tasty and filling.

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    1. That sounds amazing! I'll have to skip the cheese, but I can add extra butter...

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  6. £3.60 sounds a lot for a rather small hot chocolate, but then I haven't bought anything like that for years and I know prices have risen sharply. My son was telling me the other day that a cleaner can charge £50 an hour. I thought £15 was pushing it. You can tell I don't have a cleaner. Actually, just a quick look inside my house would tell you that.

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    1. Prices are rocketing! And while I thought that the cup was quite small, it was described as a medium! It's the first hot chocolate in ages, and I probably won't bother again for a while, although it was very pleasant.

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  7. You can freeze mashed potatoes. I make a huge quantity in one go, usually with cheese and garlic. Then I freeze it in indiidual portions. I usually heat from frozen in the airfryer. Delicious.

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    1. My freezer is currently stuffed, but most of the potatoes are in a paper sack so may last while I make a dent in the freezer.

      Your mash sounds amazing.

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