Admission time: this week's money diary is from two weeks back (oops) but as it was already written #WasteNot
Remember how in my previous money diaries I talked about my weekly chocolate expenditure? Instead of spending £3-something on a Central London hot chocolate (crazy), I would instead buy a big bar of chocolate for a third of the price and suck on a couple of squares of chocolate to get that sugar fix. I believed the 'couple of squares' lie for a while (and it worked temporarily) but then the chocolate consumption escalated (mostly in correlation with busy days at work). So it was then that I put my foot down and was determined to find a cheaper and healthier snack alternative.
I discover I can buy a big 1kg bag of carrots from Aldi for just 59p which are great for snacking but at the same time, gives me lots of spare carrots for soups, katsu curries and etc during the week. I eat one or two carrots a day and occasionally mix it up with some cucumber to keep things interesting. Switching out sugar has already made such a huge difference. I snack less at work now as I'm avoiding the addictive quality of sugar and I have lost weight since doing so (not my aim here, but not something to complain about!).
Since making this switch a month ago I have spent about £2.36 on fresh veg for snacks. Compared to my previous chocolate spend (anywhere between £6.80-£13.60 a month), this is an incredible saving (and sooo much healthier). If you look at the bigger picture, this equates to £81.60 MINIMUM on chocolate A YEAR whereas the veg option? Less than £30 a year. It's a no brainer and a food swap I intend to stick to.
One of my constant Tuesday outgoings used to be my weekly Tesco home delivery, however I've not ordered from Tesco for the last 3 weeks. Why? I'm finding lots of my items cheaper elsewhere and I'm finding it harder and harder to fulfill the £40 minimum spend at Tesco with just the two of us.
Admittedly our fridge and freezer are looking a little bare, but we have more than enough food to get us by until the weekend when we will hit up Aldi and Iceland (we found some great Linda McCartney mozzarella burgers for just 50p each last weekend!)
TOTAL
£0.00
We have a African & Caribbean cook off at work today which means only one thing: FREE LUNCH. Mine isn't quite free as I volunteer to cook a dish to bring in (a vegetarian Moroccan dish). I buy the veg for it from our local food market so I am able to get massive bowls of veg at just £1 at a time. The harissa spice mix is only £1.20 and I only use 50% of the jar. My total spend is still a lot less than most lunch options in Central London and the recipe makes enough for a small army! The cook off is a success. I enjoy a large plate of jerk chicken, rice and peas, stuffed peppers and various curries (chicken and pumpkin for the win) followed by a slice of sticky ginger cake.
After work a trip to the hairdressers is in order. I only ever go when I have a 50% off voucher because it's not my favourite place to go, it's just near work and convenient.
Mr Curiouser and Curiouser meets me after work for dinner but there's nowhere in Central London that takes our fancy. Plus spending over £10 on a pizza each irritates the hell out of me which you can buy supermarket pizzas (or make them yourself!) for a fraction of the cost.
Instead we head home and go to our local pub who frequently send out vouchers to locals. We claim one of our buy one get one free vouchers and enjoy a beef and Doom Bar pie each plus drinks for just £16.70 in total (gotta love those out of London prices!). Service is slow that night as only one chef has turned up (!), however the wait is worth it and we don't have far to travel back afterwards #win
The unthinkable happens - my train gets into London is EARLY. I wander around for a bit (which is always dangerous). True to form, I stop in Oliver Bonas and notice two things I've had my eye on for the longest time but have resisted in case they ever came into the sale. And as luck may have it, they are both on sale. I pick up a white broderie dress (£75 £25) and a pair of soft grey espadrilles (£55 £30). I am charged an extra 50p for a bag (kicking myself as I usually always have one with me) and instead of their usual plastic bag, I am given a recyclable paper one, which I'm pretty chuffed with until it pours down with rain on the way home and my bag very nearly splits apart.
We head out early to go to Aldi and end up spending a grand total of £28.00. As well as typical top up shop items, this also includes dinner, wine and beers for our evening entertaining that night.
My sister comes over for lunch and we enjoy toasted cheese sandwiches followed by cookies (cheese, bread and cookies bought in today's shop) with a film. Later the rest of the family joins and we work through the vat of aubergine and paneer curry I've planned. Once everyone is done, there are still x5 portions left which are boxed up ready for lunches for the following week.
TOTAL
£28.00
After a late night on Saturday, we have a relaxed day in with films and blankets and finish up the rest of the passion fruit cheesecake (another Aldi buy) from the night before. A zero spend day.
TOTAL
£0.00
Writing it all out like this does make the little things hit home. If you decide to give this money diary a go yourself - or have any money saving tips - do let me know in the comments below!
MONDAY
Remember how in my previous money diaries I talked about my weekly chocolate expenditure? Instead of spending £3-something on a Central London hot chocolate (crazy), I would instead buy a big bar of chocolate for a third of the price and suck on a couple of squares of chocolate to get that sugar fix. I believed the 'couple of squares' lie for a while (and it worked temporarily) but then the chocolate consumption escalated (mostly in correlation with busy days at work). So it was then that I put my foot down and was determined to find a cheaper and healthier snack alternative.
I discover I can buy a big 1kg bag of carrots from Aldi for just 59p which are great for snacking but at the same time, gives me lots of spare carrots for soups, katsu curries and etc during the week. I eat one or two carrots a day and occasionally mix it up with some cucumber to keep things interesting. Switching out sugar has already made such a huge difference. I snack less at work now as I'm avoiding the addictive quality of sugar and I have lost weight since doing so (not my aim here, but not something to complain about!).
Since making this switch a month ago I have spent about £2.36 on fresh veg for snacks. Compared to my previous chocolate spend (anywhere between £6.80-£13.60 a month), this is an incredible saving (and sooo much healthier). If you look at the bigger picture, this equates to £81.60 MINIMUM on chocolate A YEAR whereas the veg option? Less than £30 a year. It's a no brainer and a food swap I intend to stick to.
____________________
Weekly snacks - 59p
____________________
TOTAL
£0.59
____________________
£0.59
____________________
TUESDAY
One of my constant Tuesday outgoings used to be my weekly Tesco home delivery, however I've not ordered from Tesco for the last 3 weeks. Why? I'm finding lots of my items cheaper elsewhere and I'm finding it harder and harder to fulfill the £40 minimum spend at Tesco with just the two of us.
Admittedly our fridge and freezer are looking a little bare, but we have more than enough food to get us by until the weekend when we will hit up Aldi and Iceland (we found some great Linda McCartney mozzarella burgers for just 50p each last weekend!)
____________________
TOTAL
£0.00
____________________
£0.00
____________________
WEDNESDAY
Another no spend day! No bad thing as tomorrow is potentially going to be a spendy one...
____________________
TOTAL
£0.00
____________________
THURSDAY
We have a African & Caribbean cook off at work today which means only one thing: FREE LUNCH. Mine isn't quite free as I volunteer to cook a dish to bring in (a vegetarian Moroccan dish). I buy the veg for it from our local food market so I am able to get massive bowls of veg at just £1 at a time. The harissa spice mix is only £1.20 and I only use 50% of the jar. My total spend is still a lot less than most lunch options in Central London and the recipe makes enough for a small army! The cook off is a success. I enjoy a large plate of jerk chicken, rice and peas, stuffed peppers and various curries (chicken and pumpkin for the win) followed by a slice of sticky ginger cake.
After work a trip to the hairdressers is in order. I only ever go when I have a 50% off voucher because it's not my favourite place to go, it's just near work and convenient.
Mr Curiouser and Curiouser meets me after work for dinner but there's nowhere in Central London that takes our fancy. Plus spending over £10 on a pizza each irritates the hell out of me which you can buy supermarket pizzas (or make them yourself!) for a fraction of the cost.
Instead we head home and go to our local pub who frequently send out vouchers to locals. We claim one of our buy one get one free vouchers and enjoy a beef and Doom Bar pie each plus drinks for just £16.70 in total (gotta love those out of London prices!). Service is slow that night as only one chef has turned up (!), however the wait is worth it and we don't have far to travel back afterwards #win
____________________
Ingredients for cook off - £3.60
Hair cut - £21.00
Hair cut - £21.00
Pub dinner - £16.70
____________________
TOTAL
£41.30
£41.30
____________________
FRIDAY
The unthinkable happens - my train gets into London is EARLY. I wander around for a bit (which is always dangerous). True to form, I stop in Oliver Bonas and notice two things I've had my eye on for the longest time but have resisted in case they ever came into the sale. And as luck may have it, they are both on sale. I pick up a white broderie dress (
___________________
Oliver Bonas - £55.50
____________________
TOTAL
£55.50
£55.50
____________________
SATURDAY
We head out early to go to Aldi and end up spending a grand total of £28.00. As well as typical top up shop items, this also includes dinner, wine and beers for our evening entertaining that night.
My sister comes over for lunch and we enjoy toasted cheese sandwiches followed by cookies (cheese, bread and cookies bought in today's shop) with a film. Later the rest of the family joins and we work through the vat of aubergine and paneer curry I've planned. Once everyone is done, there are still x5 portions left which are boxed up ready for lunches for the following week.
____________________
Aldi - £28.00
____________________
TOTAL
£28.00
____________________
SUNDAY
After a late night on Saturday, we have a relaxed day in with films and blankets and finish up the rest of the passion fruit cheesecake (another Aldi buy) from the night before. A zero spend day.
____________________
TOTAL
£0.00
____________________
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK
£125.39
____________________
£125.39
____________________
Highlights this week included:
- Having three (almost four) zero spend days
- Substituting weekly snacks for cheaper and healthier alternatives
- Seeking out entertainment and food away from London's premium prices
- Continuously hunting down vouchers and discount codes to make my money stretch further
- Practising patience to then find wish list items in the sale for a fraction of the cost
- Bulk buying ingredients and cooking in bulk to spread the cost and cater for extra meals
The truth of the matter is that this week's spend would have been well below £100 had I not made an Oliver Bonas pit-stop. Saying that, I'm a serial returner and still need to try my new items on... so watch this space!
Writing it all out like this does make the little things hit home. If you decide to give this money diary a go yourself - or have any money saving tips - do let me know in the comments below!
MY PREVIOUS MONEY SAVING DIARIES
No comments:
Post a Comment
I am forever grateful for each and every comment I receive, and try my best to reply to them all.
If you leave a comment, I will check out your blog / Twitter and say hi in some capacity
Select "Name/URL" or "anon" from the "comment as" drop-down if you aren't visiting via a blog