Last year's basket
Yesterday the weather was absolutely foul. It had been blowing a hooley all day and didn't let up at night either and it broke the main stem off my lovely Hellebore, leaving one slender stem remaining. It might not survive for another year after all 😟 We went to bed listening to the wind howling and the spatter of heavy rain on the windows. Despite the noise, I slept well for once and awoke to beautiful sunshine because the storm had blown itself out. It has been a day for ironing and flinging windows open to let in the Spring air !
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I keep putting off writing a new budget. I intended to do it today but, to be honest, I'm a bit scared to and keep procrastinating. I'm just worried that the pension increase won't cover the increase in bills let alone food costs.
Sainsbury's has just dropped another spanner in the works too. From April 7th (I think it is) the minimum order for home delivery will increase to £50 instead of the current £40, otherwise delivery will cost £7.50 (up from £7.00). I can understand why they need to do that but our food budget is £55 per week and I really don't want to spend it all in one go. I will need to shop more carefully and double up the ordering of staples so that I can have deliveries every 2 weeks instead, and then we will have to drive to the store for the fresh stuff once a week. There is always so much to tempt me instore. Aaarrggh 😒
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The one bit of good news is the car insurance which we managed to get down to £321.33 by going through the comparison site Confused.com Once the policy kicks in, Gray will have access to a free Greggs coffee each month as well as a £20 shopping voucher. If there is a Sainsburys one, he'll ask for that 😊 That's one thing sorted at least....
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Thanks so much for popping in. Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,
Angie 💗
Our car insurance has gone up, newer car and bigger engine. We did a Go Compare, then rang our Insurers who dropped their quote to match the ones we had found. Why don't they just send you that quote, think they rely on people automatically renewing. We had a small shop in Aldi, but a larger one in Morrisons as there are some items we don't compromise on buying. Hoping to fit a library visit in soon. Take care. Xx
ReplyDeleteI do think you're right about insurance companies relying on renewing, Gill, but we rang them and they wouldn't/ couldn't match the online quote so we ditched them. We definitely saved some money there.
DeleteI picked up the new Richard Osman book from the library on Tuesday. I didn't realise that I had reserved the large print version 😂 Oh well, I can read it now without putting an extra light on! Silly me 🤣
Have a lovely weekend xx
That sounds like quite a wind storm you had! At least it didn't cause any major damage to your property. Well done getting the car insurance lowered. That's quite an achievement. I hope you are able to make your new budget without too much delay, Angie. And I hope you are able to make it all work out so that your spending doesn't exceed your income.
ReplyDeleteIt was , Bless. Thankfully no structural damage.
DeleteI really must be brave and tackle the budget within the next week 😨 I know that Graham won't do it!
Enjoy your weekend.
That's good you got a reduction with your car insurance plus a voucher and free coffee as a bonus. The way food prices are going up is scary. I am juggling around what we cook and eat. I have been bulking meat dishes out with lentils, substituting half of the meat with lentils and it seems to be working well so far with things like cottage pie, Bolognese, meat loaf etc. I am happy to go fully vegetarian but my Husband is a real carnivore and does like his meat. He will eat one or two all veggie meals a week but for the rest he has to have his meat fix. We don't shop on line and I do understand what you mean about the temptation to buy more when in store but I write a list and stick ruthlessly to it only getting any reduced items as extras and then only if they are good reductions. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea to bulk out meals with lentils. Unfortunately, they don't suit my digestion so I'm lucky that Gray will eat some veggie meals like lasagne and homemade soups. It is certainly cheaper than meat meals. We'll all be juggling meals and leftovers for some time i think. Scary indeed.
DeleteOur provincial government is adding costs to things like insurance, driver's licenses, and many more items. Most do not take place until next year, but man costs keep right on rising.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Oh my goodness, Jackie, where will it all end....
DeleteCan you still scan the Greggs app when you pick up a free coffee? If that would work it would mean that every ninth coffee of Graham's would earn you a free one too. We are making full use of the app at the moment. Up to now this month we have already had a free coffee, doughnut and a sausage roll. :-)
ReplyDeleteNo, I dont think you can, Sue. If I get a free coffee and then buy one for Gray I think only one registers on the App. It is great to have free stuff though 😀
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