Sammie is Skint

Hi all

sorry ive not been around for a few days caught the lurgy off my boss and been battling a cold ever since

its a skinter than ever back end to this week what with bills and other expenses im hoping to spend as little as possible on grocery for the coming week

heck

i know when my bills are due out but some months a certain bill decides to alter the date it comes out, like today it wasn't due out until the 1st Feb so this morning i am forty something overdrawn-

bummer

im annoyed as now i will be charged £8 odd from the bank!! not very happy

anywho it will be pay day Friday then the routine starts again of splitting, saving and stretching the pennies for another week

 ho hum

so im making a quorn chilli con carne for tea tonight i will be stretching it out with extra tinned tomatoes, extra red pepper, and a whole tin of kidney beans,

only two for tea tonight so hoping to have plenty left over for portioned up freezer meals

ive had a look in cupboards and freezer so have thrown together a meal plan for the coming week and a shopping list of what we need


Thursday (tonight) - Quorn chilli con carne with rice and homemade yogurt flat bread
(making extra hoping to freeze a few portions of chilli)

Friday- Just me for tea tomorrow so it will be some of the above chilli or something easy like fried egg butty, sausage butty, noodles, or soup.
 ive not much of an appetite with this bloomin cold

Saturday/ Sunday - its just me at home so again easy meals, porridge, toast and soup, pasta or noodles, or something on toast, that will do me just fine

Monday- its always egg, chips and beans, i find this an easy meal when ive done a 9-6pm on a Monday and we all really enjoy this- kinda comfort food

Tuesday- Homemade mince and onion pies, cabbage and roast potatoes
( i will be making extra pastry and making quorn mince and onion pies and beef and onion pies for the freezer)

Wednesday - Just me at home so something easy for me or something grabbed from homemade freezer meals

Thursday - Homemade cauliflower cheese savory rice and onion fried potatoes

Friday- Homemade yogurt pizza, (in the freezer i have all the toppings i need, mozzarella, spinach, peppers, onions, and mascarpone) homemade potato wedges, baked beans

 (choice of puddings for the week  if anyone so wishes -rice pudding-ice cream-peaches-jelly)
will do some baking on the weekend, apple cinnamon buns i think ive apples to use up

Saturday - start again lol

so the actual grocery's i need to complete the upcoming weeks meals
Bread £1
3 litres Milk - £3 Corner shop
Fresh Orange x2 cartons -  £1.30 Tesco Value
Bag potatoes - 69p Home bargains
2x tins Beans 48p Tesco Value

3 packets cookies -  £1.20 Tesco Value
cereal bars - £1.00 Poundland
crisps - £1.00 Poundland

1 litre oil - £1.15 Tesco
Tea bags - £1.00 Tesco Red Lable temped to try Value ones 25p
Cheap margarine for baking 89p Tesco
Savory rice - Tesco Value  25p
Frozen cauliflower  - £1.10 Tesco

we have dog food and cat food, they need biscuits and treats £2 biscuits treats £3
we have laundry supplies
we have cleaning supplies
and we still have some fridge foods and fruit

so altogether a spend of £19.06 for the upcoming weekend and next week i can cope with that i think

ooh its blooming freezing up North, icy on the cars and roof tops again this morning although mighty better than a couple of days ago everywhere was frozen solid i literally ice skated to work lol

not much planned for the weekend fussy teenager is at the x's this weekend, OH is working away, im home alone with the fur babies, fish and Mr man (gecko)
lots to do at home thou the yard wants a good sweeping and a tidy up
i have a half decorated bedroom -tbh i just cant be arsed with it lol
everywhere needs a general tidy up
dont get me started on the front bush (ooh err, the privet hedge out the front :)
dog needs walking
and i need all the above groceries

and i cant be bothered with any of it as feeling all stuffed up with no energy
i shall have to force myself, you never know it might make me feel better

wishful thinking sammiantha

Catch up soon
Sammie xx

EDITED
**************
bloody hell i cant believe a gel pen at work must have leaked and ive not noticed it, i look like a chuffing smurf
all over me, one one has said anything and only just seen it all over my hands, and face when passing the mirror

one of them bloody days already !!

An afternoon of this and that

Hello all

weather not much different ooop North we have had a few misty mornings, wet evenings and its been chilly and grey..roll on spring and hopefully some brighter days

worked this morning and spent this afternoon prepping some bits for the freezer

i had some fresh mozzarella that needed using ive sliced and diced and put in a tub, ready for adding to anything i fancy

what was left of the plums i bought reduced last week have been made into plum crumble, popped into plastic tubs but when frozen will easily pop out and transfer to a small Pyrex for baking in the oven

apples from xmas still sat in the fruit bowl, so they have had the same treatment and have been made into crumbles

a few carrots in the salad draw have started looking a bit well battered lol, fine when peeled thou, and blanched and cooled these are destined for the freezer too

phew not a bad afternoon and saves wasting food

Did a bit of laundry this morning before school and work, hung that up on the maiden, too damp to peg out so the maiden will do

no idea whats for tea tonight something cobbled up i expect haha as long as it is warm and filling we are not too fussy

off to tidy around now
sheesh it never ends

hope you are all warm and well wherever you are

sammie xx

Saving money on shower gel

Firstly thank you for the messages regarding the RSPCA, they finally got back to me and have concluded that yes someone must have been messing around, i said they are welcome to come and check the house for birds if they wish but they insisted that wont be necessary

thank good for that
they also said there was no name as to who reported it, so i still have no idea!

apparently the inspector who came and left the card had also put on the system that it seemed unlikely the right address as my house looked far too tidy from the outside

lol i had to snort at that
even though the bush needs extreme trimming and there were leaves all outside the front door oops but im happy that they agree i have done nothing wrong

phew

****


So i used to buy our shower gels from one of the pound stores as i figures £1 or 99p was good value for some shower gel compared to some store own brands costing around the same, 89, 99p mark i just used to grab them from Poundland

Until i was in Asda one day and saw there brand of shower gel 250ml for 39p a bottle

hmmm 

i purchased some and can honestly say they smell amazing and clean you just the same

since spotting these and stocking up they can be tricky to find, just like anything else that's good value you will find them on the bottom shelf usually tucked away

but worth a look and definitely worth a purchase

even two bottles amounting to 500ml is worth  the 78p and still cheaper than Poundland

winner 

and i shall be buying these from now on and saving the pennies in return

they come in several scents and they even do a 2 in 1 shower gel and shampoo - double bargain!

The nourish and delight one i use to fill up the hand wash and smells lovely

If you see them give them a go, these will be permanent in our house and ive had no complaints from fussy teenager or the OH

Sammie xx

Devastating

No post yesterday im afraid

and i shall keep this short

OH and myself were at the end of a phone for most the day

two friends who moved away to pastures new had found out they had lost their baby

such a sad time

and a horrendous ordeal

she started spotting last week to went to the hospital to be checked they said all was ok as she did experience this with her past two pregnancies with no problems

they didnt scan her, fast forward a week later and again started spotting and was experiencing pain

two days she has been in and out of hospuital to be told sorry no one can scan you for x amount of days as all the team are currently in emergency surgery's, and finally was only offered some kind of pain relief late last night, her husband paid for a private scan at another hospital to be told at 20 weeks, that the baby had died not long after the 12 week scan

last night they induced labor

and thats all we know as of yet

Mr and Mrs R we are so very very sorry and really have no words what a horrendous thing to go through

💔

Someones having a laugh

Someone is, i dont know who, or why

some idiot has taken it upon themselves to start reporting me for various things

i had a knock at the door earlier but was busy so when i actually got to the door no one was there but a card was through the letterbox

this time from the RSPCA

a note to call urgently a inspector Mr Small

ive to contact them about the birds in my care, or lack of care as the card states

i was bloody furious

the only bird in this house is the OH lol unless shes reported me for not looking after her lol

jokes aside i was fuming

i phoned them on the number provided

explained everything and now awaiting a call back from said inspector 

a couple of months ago it was the 

POLICE and SOCIAL SERVICES

again i hadn't heard the door as was upstairs cleaning, i came downstairs with some laundry to put on and as i walked through the dining room to the kitchen i saw a Police officer and another woman with her dressed in plain clothes stood in my kitchen!!

what the hell is going on were my words'

Police woman said we knew you were in as i looked through your keyhole and could see the key in the lock, so we came around the back and your backdoor was unlocked so we came in

we are here as we have had  a report that you are miss treating two children in your care

WHAT THE HELL

yep that came out of my mouth too,

said woman with her as she introduced herelf to me was bloody social services to come and take said kids away!!! with van waiting outside 

omg again i was bloody fuming

i was quiet off with them

she asked if my name was Sarah? No its Samantha?

next question - do you have two small children? nope

i have a 14year old son would you like to see his pictures dotted around the room?

oh she said i think we have the wrong person

the address was correct on her call out but wrong name..hmmm

absolutely furious how the hell can the police have the wrong details on something so serious? i honestly think someone done this on purpose, i have no clue who thou

what on earth will be next

i was left shaking from the police visit i wondered what on earth was going on first thing you do when you find an officer stood in the kitchen i honestly though something terrible had happend to someone

seriously what sicko would waste emergency services times like this

Im really angry

sammie xx

Chicken Nuggets

Not sure if anyone eats these but i saw the offer and thought id pass it on

38 chicken nuggets reduced to £1

should be £4

theres a voucher in the tesco magazine for £1 off

makes these free

may help someone who like them 

Coppering up

Good afternoon all, and welcome to a couple of new followers
💟💟💟💟💟💟

So far in January i have saved £25.00 and put it on the Pockit card

Coppered up all the loose pennies £5.00 worth

Paid January's penny a day challenge up front £4.96

Made a start on Febuary's penny a day challenge im upto £2.74 with £10.00 to go- im trying to get ahead with it and will pick and choose amounts from here on as and when i feel it, as and when i have a little extra money or not basically

OH has started saving £30.00 a week with work, so we hopefully wont miss it but at the end of the day we are down 30 a week so need to make the money stretch even more

a good start to January i think - im happy with that progress so far

Its cold again oop North but has been very sunny and dry out, starting to draw in a bit now thou, and feels a little chillier

not much going on today im thinking i may attempt to sort out the pan cupboard
i dread it every time
so many Tupperware lids and no tubs! no idea where they vanish too

i need to nip out for some fresh milk but we dont need anything else
tea tonight will be cauliflower cheese, with the reduced cauli, savory rice and southern fried chicken
easy enough and filling, plenty of tins of rice pudding, peaches, and bits in the freezer for puddings if we fancy anything

popcorn in the cupboard to make if we watch a movie tonight
and unopened wine and beers from christmas if we fancy a little drink

its football today we live a couple of streets away from the turf and all i can hear is
'come on burnley
come on burnley
'come on burnley

meh not into football at all the OH is and played a lot with being in a team for years, now a few friends play for man city ladies, its all waffle to me i just don't get it -lol
and apparently it isn't 'just a game'
hahaha


Thats it for today, im off to find my dressing gown and extra fluffy socks brrr its cold
hope you all have a lovely weekend, stay warm, until next time

Sammie xx

disguising the basics

Just a few penny pinches
following on the theme of fussy teenager lol

ive found if i pour basics fresh orange into our juice jug and put in the fridge there is no moaning about the value juice - it looks posher

and the value biscuits?

 yes i do the same put them in  a glass cookie jar and hey presto no whining about cheap biscuits-they all get eaten
 with no moaning- why does packaging make people feel so different about a product?

does anyone ever feel conscious while shopping if your trolly is full of the basics?

Sammie
xx

Yellow stickering and a whoopsie

good evening all

blimey its been cold again today

its been trying to snow all day, and it started properly about an hour ago, completely white out at the moment and looks very pretty, i suspect it will vanish soon enough as soon as it stops it starts raining again, ive tried to get a picture but my bloomin phone is on its last legs

DS is praying it doesnt stop, anything for a day off school lol 

I nipped to Asda around 4pm we needed dog tins and cat pouches, i got lured into the poundland where Asda is on the industrial estate, its a big poundland and i popped in

and didnt pop out for nearly an hour lol

heck

i spent most my time just mooching and browsing around the shop, it was really quiet and i was enjoying  myself lol,

i saw some really lovely things, all the valentines bits are out, and some actually look rather nice, we all needed new toothbrushes i picked a three pack up, i spotted some of the laundry gel so stocked up on two bottles of that, then the rest was 25p christmas stock - oh dear i did buy a few things and feel awfully guilty for it as i did splurge out just the other day on bargains

hmm 

go on then i will show you what i got

again please excuse the crappy pictures

2 x large hessian sacks 25p each

3 x woodland animal ornaments 25p each

3 x stockings 25p each

pack of napkins 25p

3 x packs of cards 50p for all three

4 x sets baubles 1.00 

there was a roll of paper added to the total, i forgot to take a picture, also 25p

i spent a  total of £4.00 on xmas bits - should have been £17.00

and £3.00 on household items

this is before i get to Asda..chuffing hell.. was bursting for toilet by the time i was finished i had to nip to the loo in Asda, i hate having to go the toilet while out, i think its the hovering above  the seat that does it lol...and to top it off someone rushed in to do a number2...christ on  a stick ive never gone so quick 

So the Asda shop, i got the Felix and Winalot for the animals

2 x value bleach as Tesco didnt have any when i last went

and some washing up liquid

it was still early so not much reduced down by a lot

but i did grab a few things 

plumbs reduced to 15p

cauliflower was 45p

a bag of pears for 25p

sugarsnaps for 30p

and a bloomin cherry pie...naughty naughty sammiantha 

that was 43p

thats enough spending for now im off to sit on the naughty step

Sammie 

xx

Bargains, prepping for xmas 2017

Hello all, and welcome to some new followers to my blog

thank you all so much

i find it funny how people enjoy my ramblings

And thank you to some very nice comments from you all,  blossomgate yes i am genuine, and genuinely skint lol, no frills over here, i am what i am and thats that

****

Chuffing heck its freezing up North

really windy all night and it hasn't let up all day, starting to rain now too i suppose better than snow thou brrr

I worked this morning but needed to pop into town this afternoon as i had to return some school trousers for my son as they were too small, blinking teenagers grow way to fast, and I had to post some pc disks for my parents, that was eventful our local post office has now been re located into WHSmith in town and its always packed, i had to wait for ages to get served

whilst i was in town i picked up some gift bags in the Poundland 25p Christmas event they were 25p each but I spotted some 3 packs for the same price so managed to grab 6 packs so 18 gift bags in total for £1.50 should have been £6.00

Also managed to snaffle up 7 rolls of wrapping paper for a total of £1.75 should have been £7.00

Two boxes of glass angels 50p should have been £2.00

Three boxes of beautiful glass baubles 75p should have been £3.00

Three packs McMillan Christmas cards 50p should have been £3.00

Three packs of tags for 75p should have been £3.00

big pack of napkins for 25p should have been £1.00

i was really happy with that as its all things i would by nearer the time but doin it now will save me money in the long run, i was so mad with my self on xmas eve i was wrapping some last minute gifts and i run out of paper..i had to nip to the local corner shop and they had nothing left but had gift bags, i bought two and he charged me £3..i was fuming lol anywho i will be prepared this time around 

i needed some cat treats from Wilko and while i was in there i spotted some gift tags reduced to 17p a pack so grabbed two packs of those too, should have been £1.40

whilst mooching around i also spotted a poor old orchid for 20p im not sure if it will come around or not but ive given it a good watering and will pot it on as all the roots are showing, i always see plants in Wilkos and they never look watered, so we will see, and that should have been £6

i had to return the school trousers in M&S so popped down to the food hall as it was 4.30 ish they were just marking bits down so no massive savings but i did pick up some minted potatoes for 40p so i was happy with that 

i think thats about if for today, oh thats it we have a few glasses in the house but i noticed a few chipped and one had a massive crack in it, i think they were from Tesco 50p each when i originally bought them, plus i have small hands and really struggle to hold them when full of liquid, anyway i bought two packs £1 a pack with three glasses each in, they are the same pattern as the old ones but much slimmer and easier for me to hold and these were from Poundworld

overall chuffed today with my bargains, ive got all i need  so no need to buy any more now, and i saved allot of money too..thumbs up from me 👍

Tea time was odd last night nobody really fancied much I ended up making egg chips and beans for DS , the OH wanted chips with melted cheese on, and I had some beans and a few chips.. then we all had peaches and ice cream for afters

Oh dear not a great tea but it's what we fancied I often find when the weather Is like this you always want stodgy comfort foods.

Tonight its a reduced chicken and asparagus pizza with some of those minted potatoes

Sorry for the rubbishy pictures the camera on my phone is about to go i think

As always thanks for popping in y'all

Sammie xx

Apocalypse

just a quick pop in

2 things made me laugh today

....

i had to laugh OH went in the kitchen cupboard for something this evening and all i heard was

'Bloody hell'

Is there an apocalypse coming or something?

(hahahaha oops thats all the tins stock piled into the cupboard)

...

second laugh was my DS

Now he's as camp as christmas (he's bloody gawjus )

while putting on his makeup (yes makeup)  this morning and chatting to me i popped into the spare bedroom and all i heard was

'For god's sake, ive just cocked up my bloody eyebrow now'

(oh dear hahahahaha god bless him he makes me laugh and does makeup better than me and only 14)

ive been giggling about this all day

Sammie xx

Saving money with shampoo and conditioner

I just want to say hello and thank you to three new followers,  for some reason i cant figure out who you are or find your blogs if you have any? i think something has changed either with my settings or its just me being stupid but i cant figure it out lol

But welcome and thank yoou

****

The OH and DS have yet to realise that they have been washing their hair in Tesco version of Pantene for the past several months

i just fill them up with Tesco version

300ml in each of the Tesco ones compared to 150ml and 200ml  of the Pantene

Tesco 75 p each (used to be 50p)

Pantene these were from poundshop

but dearer if purchased from elsewhere

Safe to say saving some pennies with these and i shall keep to these too

Fussy teenager couldn't possibly use anything but Pantene lol what he doesn't know wont hurt 

hahaha 

Sammie xx

Restless Night

it certainly was

tossing and turning all night

couldn't get comfy at all

and i had something on my mind

ive lost my bank card

heck

ive looked everywhere

re traced where ive been

checked pockets

under the sofa

under the bed (worth a look)

on the dresser 

in my purse

nope its gone

so all night i was wondering where it was?

all cancelled now but that's a pain as i now have to change everything that my card is stored on meh

ah-well best to be safe

I saw over on Sue's blog today Our Quiet Life In Suffolk
a book that seems rather interesting im going to have a look on the internet and see where i can find it cheapest, i do love a good book, and although have a kindle something just doesn't feel quiet as good as an actual book does in your hands

'Island On The Edge'
A life on Soay

I will hunt it down, there are a few on my hunt list at the moment
Smugglers Of The Isle Of Wight
&
Back Of The Wight
i wont pay allot thou so will wait until i find a bargain

Blinking rain all day today, cold and murky out, supposed to snow at the weekend? hmm hope we dont get anything to bad

Sammie xx

Having a funny do

i fancied a bit of chocolate

ooh i know il have a bit of that chocolate orange thats left over

im sat here thinking ive started having a funny do

 just to realise the chocolate orange has exploding candy in it 

..lmao thank goodness for that my throat is having a disco at the moment while im sat here thinking what on earth is going on

hahahaha

that will teach me

sammie xx

Trying to grow some veggies

We have limited space outside, we live in a  terrace house oop north, Lancashire, my house is the only one on the block with a lovely privet hedge that runs around the front, but no front garden or outdoor space for anything.

Out the back we have a paved yard, no grass at all as all the terrace are the same up here we are lucky that our yard is some what bigger than most even with a kitchen extension running into it. I would really like to try and grow some fruit and veggies this year in pots, planters hanging baskets in anything i can really i have seen some pvc greenhouse type things on ebay for around £20 each but not going to splurge just yet i may come across something or concoct something myself that would be suitable.

The yard is a L shape with high walls all around so its pretty sheltered and gets allot of sun in the better months so fingers crossed i can produce something. I do manage to grow plants well in this space so we shall see, all the lillies and clematis love it there.


i would basically have enough room for this sort of thing

i have some bushy shrubs and a tree that ive had for years in some pots but i could place them anywhere really, even round the corner.


i was temped to have the bins on the back street as this would free up the area around the corner more but people tend to steal the bins so not sure about that


anyway its all in my head but im hoping to try at least, any tips on where to start from you lovely people would be great

Enjoy your Sunday

Sammie xx

saving money with the laundry

I saw somewhere on a money saving forum i think quiet a while ago people talking about Enrituals laundry liquid, like the leading brands that cost a fortune this gel is in a 1ltr bottle and cost £1, i was a bit dubious at first but i have bought and tested it and can say cleans really well smells good and left my bath towels soft and fluffy even when dried on the line, previous branded gels and even store brand gels didnt even manage that .. if you see it give it a go il be buying this from now on, found mine in Tesco £1 for 1ltr bottle you know what Tesco are like for hiding cheaper products thou, this was found on the bottom shelf and pushed right to the back, i had to get on my hands and knees to get a couple of bottles haha i did get a funny look from id like to say a well to do lady in her 60's haha who cares eh? i have since found out you can also find it in B&M and Savers


blooming bargain i think and i get so save some money too as i think these will last a while as big bottles, ive been using 2 cap fulls as they are only small even washed the pet bedding and thats come up really clean, ive tried on a quick wash with 1 cap full and yep that does the job too..a definite keeper, i even forgot to put softner in one day and you couldn't tell the difference, still really soft clean laundry 

Lots of cleaning up to do today, wet again oop north but not as cold so thats good, ive been thinking im coming down with a cold or something it keeps flaring up then going again, i feel a bit under the weather again today so dosed myself up in the hope it buggers off again.

Ive just had to hide from a knock at the door does anyone else do this lol? i realised it was a group of Jehovah witnesses and i have nothing against anyone who is but i have told them time and time again that sorry its not for me but they keep knocking my door and i just couldn't be bothered with standing there for ten minutes while they go through it all again for me to say, again, sorry but this doesn't interest me..oh dear think it will be one of those days today, even messed the breakfast up ooops 

porridge disaster - i forgot i put it on

i might just go back to bed lol

sammie xxx

(y)

Value shopping for the stock cupboard

Nipped to Tesco yesterday afternoon i spent £7.80 on this lot, shocked to see so little value ranges in Tesco now and the prices creeping up again, all of this is for the stock cupboard apart from the oats (75p) yogurt (45p) mozzarella (47p)  and reduced bread (37p)

and i literally had to hunt around the shop for it couldnt find, value tin tomatoes, spaghetti hoops, tomato puree or value bleach, was a case of couldnt find them or an empty spot where they should have been grrrr... i went without

Bag of onions 59p

Dry spaghetti 20p

Dry penne 30p

1 x kidney beans 30p
1 x chick peas 39p
2 x passata 70p
2 x rice pudding 40p
2 x peaches 70p
2 x vegetable soup 50p
2 x baked beans 48p
2 x mushy peas 40p
2 x savoury rice 50p
2 x batter mix 30p

It's a good start for the stock cupboard 😀

I 

must admit ive never tried passata before, assuming you use as would any jar or tomato sauce?
any ideas would be fab

Cant wait for Aldi to open at the end of my road it will save the half hour walk to Tesco and back and they are getting so much dearer, i had to laugh the OH said omg if i had a pound for everytime you said that about bloody Aldi..haha cant help being excited about a grocery shop opening up thats cheap can i  :D 

so this lot is destined for the soon to be under stairs pantry come mini sammie skint shop haha 

i need to make better use of the space in there, i need to get shut of all the crap thats been pilling up, why do we shove everything in the under stairs cupboard? hmm there is space for a small freezer too, one day i will get one, if i see something cheap im in no desperate hurry for one to be honest but it would mean i could prep more..anyway we shall see..there is a whole lot to do in there first 

right time for breakfast and a brew, OH over slept this morning the blooming alarm didn't go off ended up with a sprint for the bus oh dear ..lol

its not so cold oop north today still dull and drizzling thou i do need to walk the dog before work but not in any rush to go out.

sammie xxx

oh lovely the cat has just brought me a caterpillar and placed it on the settee right next to me..chuffing heck!!

Bloody Cramp

Christ on a stick i keep getting cramp in my legs

absolutely crippling cramp

was in near enough tears with it tonight

one minute im fine and the next ..well put it this way

i went to get up shouted a few expletives, dropped to the floor as physically couldn't walk for the pain

both bloody legs went with it

so i

rolled around for 15 minutes swearing looking like a beetroot dressed as a sumo with the dog trying to take advantage of me


tooooo much for one day

 On a serious note does anyone know why or suffer with cramp?


sammie xxx

Pockit Card

Frosty here this morning, its white out.. brrr can always tell when it is without even looking out the window i let the cats out when i get up to make a brew before the OH goes to work usually around 6.30am first thing they do is run out and jump on the wheelie bins to reach the top of the wall overlooking the back street so they can have a look around,...switched the kettle on...waited...heard a jump...then a slide.. and a bump...yep its a frosty morning the cat has slid right of the top of the wheelie bin...chuckled to myself...poor Miss Darcy ...

last year i started saving with park for christmas it really helped as i knew i would have vouchers sent to me in november and it meant i could'nt spend them before xmas, the trouble was i was locked into  a direct debit every month that sometimes i struggled to keep up with as other bills and expenses were due too, i had a think about it and decided to get a pre paid MasterCard, i found one that didn't have any monthly charges and was free to get, and no overdraft, you simply have what you've loaded onto it,  i chose a pockit card


i have linked my regular bank card to it so i can transfer what spare money i have throughout the year onto it, if you do this you dont pay any charges to top it up you can take to a pay point to top up but they charge you 99p to do so

(Borrowed from Google)

the card arrived in about 3 days, easy to register and set up an account online

i have sent my card to my mother so im not temped to use it, shes impressed with it and now has one herself to save for xmas or a rainy day

thought these are a good idea you can top up and take abroad or have multiple cards in your name for other family members great for kids to use too, plus im not locked into a certain amount each month.

Eee thats all for now, p.s thanks for making me chuckle with the typo yesterday, proper giggled so left it just incase anyone else decides to read and they need a chuckle too, yep hard up here but not too hard up that ill be eating mice pies ha ha ha
Sammie xxx

Past Date Soup ..would you?

Hi everyone

I found 2 tins of soup dated May 2016 in the cupboard

would you use or chuck?

Off to work this morning it seems darker than normal out, been raining all night and its cold..just for a change..

i left the wall heater on timer at work so should be warm for when i get in, boss is a bugger he usually turns them all off and its freezing when we arrive

Taking my coffee thermous as usuall and a mice pie for a snack later on..yes still trying to get through them its onlyme thats been eating them..im not complaining

Happy Wednesday everyone <3

Sammie xxx

Im bloody shit...

at blogging

Well i am lol, thought i better pop in for a catch up, so whats been going on ooop North

first things first still skint but happy :D


Christmas is over and done with, there was only four of us and there was no stressing and no debt to worry about, and thats such a good feeling ..

Decorations will be down tonight and the big clean will start again..

ooh its been wet windy and dull in Lancashire lately and bloomin cold, the blankets have been out the hot water bottles are in full swing, and i have been walking around the house in layers upon layers of clothes with a dressing gown on top, the postman's face was a picture when i finally managed to waddle through the door the other morning to collect a parcel ..hells teeth i looked like a sumo that was about to attempt a mountain trek haha
At least he had a giggle

So its back to work today for us both 

Thought id check the bank balances  

OH 0.00 

Me 0.33p lol the bills that were due on the 1st came out this morning so we have 33p until OH gets paid on Thursday (midnight Wednesday thank goodness) 

We have been in this situation most months tbh, but we struggle on and scrape through 

I have council tax to pay Thursday, top the gas and electric up and do a bit of grocery shopping. 

I need milk and tea bags today, we are totally out checked the purse and there's about £2 in there so enough for that 

The pets have their food... 

Best check the cupboards, fridge and freezer I don’t think I need to panic too much I should be able to cobble up some meals... let's have a look... 

Fridge - 

Half block cheese 

½ tub garlic cheese spread 

1 unopened soft cheese spread 

Half block butter 

Small amount of lurpack 

Salad items 

1 cooked chicken breast 

Some cooked gammon 

Quorn ham 

8 eggs 

Veg basket - 

½ bag Reduced sprouts 

5 Reduced potatoes 

2 Reduced cabbages 

3 Reduced parsnips 

½  bag carrots  

Fruit bowl - 

Oranges 

Apples 

Grapes 

Cupboards - 

Sons cereal  

2 tins soup 

Tin salmon 

Tin rice pudding 

Tin baked beans 

Tin tomatoes 

Tin sweetcorn 

Curry noodles 

Chicken noodles 

Plain noodles 

Rice 

3 packets custard 

Garlic chicken packet 

Parsley sauce packet 

Lasagne sheets 

Parmesan cheese 

Chopped garlic  

salt & pepper 

Balsamic vinegar 

Malt vinegar 

Worcester sauce 

Ketchup 

Pickles 

Mint sauce 

Applesauce 

Maple syrup 

Suet  

Plain flour 

Self raising flour 

Sugar 

Yeast 

Half loaf bread 

4 x oven bake baguettes 

Freezer - 

Vege burgers 

Sausage rolls 

Bag peas 

Beef Mince 

2 chicken kievs 

4 southern fried chicken 

1 quorn kiev 

2 breaded turkey steaks 

mini sweet corn cobs 

Ice cream 

Frozen white sauce mascarpone & spinach 

So whats left from xmas and the treat draw -  

Some roses 

Small bag terrys choc orange  

4 mince pies 

Half xmas cake 

Bag pretzels 

2 ½ bags doritos 

½ biscuit jar 

½ packet crackers 

5 Cereal bars 

Microwave popcorn 

Drinks - 

Half bottle squash 

2 fresh orange juice cartons 

When you put it all down on paper it seems a lot – plenty of bis to use up and make meals from I need to chop and freeze some cabbage for the freezer I dont want it to go to waste, there's half a Swede than can be frozen too for a casserole. 

Ive run out of allot of basics – oil gravy stuffing pasta beans spaghetti etc think I will make another list in a couple of days with a meal plan and try to spend no more than £30 it’s the pet foods that bump our shopping bill up each week. 

I need cleaning bits but I only use value bleach with boiling water, and use polish with recycled sheet cloths, I don’t need that but do need value washing up liquid and sponges too. 

My son is at the x's this week so don’t need to feed him, that helps blimey being off school they don’t stop eating lol 

So off to plan a few meals and work out the shopping for the week, but first back to work … meh …  

All the animals are acting like naughty kids this morning they've realised its back to the routine, all running around going mad cats calling for the birds outside, oining me for food etc etc .. heck cant even have a cuppa till I nip for tea bags, another coffee is going to send me over the edge lol 

I hope you have all had a relaxed stress free xmas with loved ones and friends, and lastly happy new year to you all xxxxx