Spending time with hubby

It is raining again so spend the day at home with hubby.  I pottered around doing this and that cleaning the bedroom, doing the washing, cooking etc. He did his chores bless him!

We watched a film and chatted and he was studying programming and I entered lots of competitions.

Do you comp?  If so how, where and what do you like to win?

I could have done with getting some bread as we only have four slices of bread which will be out of date tomorrow but we decided to make do. We have plenty of other food in.  I did an online shop with Sainsbury's using a first time code which gave me £10.00 of a £50.00 shop and £2.75 is you spend over £40.00.  I bought lots of offers and apparently saved £19.00.  So added to my last tw approved food deliveries - which I must remember to post about - our cupboards are bursting.

Where do you shop and how do you save money on shopping?

Why did this happen?

I recently read about the young girl Claire Squires who died at the end of the marathon last week.  She was doing it for charity how fair is it then that she should die doing something so self-less?

Not fair!!

Emma/Log Cabin Giveaway

Emma is hosting a lovely giveaway consisting of cushion covers and some other lovely craft bits and pieces - join in: http://thelogcabin25.blogspot.co.uk/

Free Night out and No 7 Loose face powder

But first hello to my new followers Pedro, Jan and four happy bunnies!

I am off out tonight for free to Andy Abraham.  I won tickets through facebook yesterday. The venue is about 5 to 10 minutes walk away.




Link below shows where he is touring:

http://www.historyofthebigbands.com/

Here is a little info that I took from Wiki

Andrew Abraham (born 16 July 1964 in North London, England)^{[citation needed]} is an English singer. He was the runner-up in the second UK series of TV talent show The X Factor in 2005 to Shayne Ward, and also represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.
Before applying for The X Factor, Abraham was a refuse collector. Prior to this he worked as a bus driver for Arriva London North based at Palmers Green bus garage. Abraham has two children by his wife Denise, a daughter called Tara and a son called Jacob. He is of Grenadian descent.
Abraham was narrowly beaten to the top spot on The X Factor by Shayne Ward by 1.2% of the national public vote. Abraham was mentored throughout the competition by Sharon Osbourne although fellow judges Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh also praised the singer highly throughout the competition. Other performers who came to prominence in the same series of The X Factor were finalists Journey South and quarter-finalist Chico Slimani.

Now for ages I have  been almost out of No 7 loose powder.  I am trying to not spend money unless I have to. So I used my boots points.  So that saved me £11.00.  Tickets for tonight are £16.00, £18.00 and £21.00 so that's even better!!

I have seen people doing 7 day money saving fasts - are doing this challenge?

eBay Sales

Posted last item today messed the postage on two up so meant that money made was about £13. Better than nothing. Sold two DVDs one went for more than expected. Sold a waistcoat for what I expected but less on a new summer skirt. We live and learn. I cannot get used to this new postage system. I asked for about 70p less postage than I should have 50 p for postage and 20p for packing! I will put it all into savings!

Brownsea Island with my mum.

I cannot remember the last time I spent time with my mum like this i.e. on a proper day out.

So recently we decided to visit Brownsea Island for the day.  It was amazing that the day we picked the sun was shining.  It is only 15 minutes away. It cost about £10.00 for the return trip and £6.00 to land on the Island.  My mum made me laugh when she bought a senior citizen ticket as I do not see her as one.  She is only 61!!

Firstly, mum treated me to a cup of tea.  It looks warm, it is in the cafe but it was freezing on the boat!

On our walk we saw a Peacock which roam freely on the Island:

Here is my mum I took a quick snap before our walk:

We then spent time walking around the Island and saw some chickens and cockeralls:

We took in the views although there was some sort of works being carried out to improve the Island so were unable to stand at all the vantage points:

We then stopped and had our sandwiches from home and we had a visit from a peacock (after a visit from two ducks which I didn't manage to get on my camera!!

We then walked further and I saw a red squirrel which we thought was a baby look closely:

Then, mum took a pic of me before we sat down in the sun for a while:

After a rest we got on the boat home which goes the scenic route around the other Islands and lasts about 40 minutes!

Hi New followers!!

 

Hi to Suzym, The Smiths, annmarie pipe, Jane and Lance Hattatt and Jan - sorry if I missed anyone.  Hello and welcome x

Secret Sister Swap

I have just signed up to the Secret Sister Swap being organised by Carla - click on the link to her blog below and have a look:

http://halfdozendaily.typepad.com/my-half-dozen-daily/2012/04/secret-sister-swap-sign-ups.html

Green Island near Brownsea Island - Dorset

My mum and I recently went to Brownsea Island - which I will post about separately. 

On the way back home we passed Green Island which has an an Eco House apparently made of timber and there are other timber houses, well both my mum and I wondered whether they were a fire risk.

Today we found out as a fire broke out this morning and some of the buildings are on fire!!!!  Why would you make your home out of timber.




Apparently, the owners are rich they owned a nearby Island called Furzey Island which they sold to B.P on the basis that they would be hidden behind the trees.

Saving Money on Groceries

I read on a forum (moneysavingexpert.com) that some people are doing without certain foods because of the price.  One food that was repeated was corned beef.  I am a veggie so I wouldnt eat it OH would but according to the forum it is up to £1.99 in price!!

I am speechless.

The only item I do not buy very often is kitchen roll as I find it totally uncessary at home.

So what do I do to keep my costs down?

I go to the supermarkets at reduction time and freeze items usually bread, rolls, quiches and sometimes for lazy evenings I buy pizza usually reduced from £4.00 to a £1.00 in Sainsburys.

I buy value items for some foods namely, kidney beans, tomatoes and sometimes crisps.  I always buy crisps they are my downfall but I try to buy the low fat ones - no matter how much I try I cannot give them up. My OH loves Sainsbury's value cornflakes!

I do use vouchers but only if I am buying the item anyway, for example, I had a coupon for a brand of Brie but it was cheaper to buy the shops version.

We drink fizzy drinks and was spending a fortune on cola so we bought a soda stream so we make it for pennies, again try as we might we cannot give up our fizzy drinks!  We don't drink gallons of it though.

I also check the following website to see if what food is cheap and where this week but be careful as some of the vouchers are often for brand items and the shop's own can be cheaper of course however, you may prefer one to the other in terms of quality it depends on your taste! 

http://www.lovemoney.com/blogs/money-saving-tips-bargains-and-freebies/bargains-and-discounts/15248/frugal-friday--13th-april-2012

That links to frugal Friday however do have a look around.

I also wait for offers on products I buy, they do not happen on every item but I buy toothpaste on offer or from the pound shop and my hair product I buy as much as I can afford when they are two for one or half price.

Aldi is good for some items especially their fruit and veg, I bought 6 pink lady apples for £1.99 as a treat this week.  They are more than that at the other supermarkets, I also bought a bag of carrots for 39p! Less than half the price in another supermarket I went into afterwards.

I try to buy naughty things such as biscuits in pound shops.  I have also recently bought items from approved food - not all naughty and I will do a separate post about that shortly!  I also buy soups where I can from the pound shops.

Luckily I live in town a road behind the High Street and amany shops are within walking distance i.e Sainsburys, Tesco, Iceland, Asda and Aldi. Lidl is too far away they built it out of town although we do use it when we are on holiday and it is close by when we are self catering.

Once I have shopped I scan my shopping and I get vouchers in return!

If I go out for a meal I can use my tastecard which I won last year, or I look for offers.  I know these may have to stop given our potential financial situation however, we have used our Tesco vouchers for meals at Prezzo and we have taken advantage of Pizza Hut's buffet for about £6.95 yummy.

I also earn luncheon vouchers for giving my opinion on items I get about £8.00 a month and is ideal if I want a sandwhich from Greggs!

What do you do to save money on groceries?  I am sure there is more that I do!!

Making a little extra and cheap lunch

I cannot go into it but we may have to tighten our belts due to a reduction in income.  It might not happen but then again it might.

So firstly, we are curbing our expenses - today we had lunch which consisted of 18p noodles from Aldi I had Curry flavour, Chris has Chicken and we had bread left over which cost 50p from the local bakers - bargain!

Then we listed some items on ebay, we are only talking about making a few pound but we are doing what we can just as a precaution.



It is free listing this weekend so that saved a little.  I know some are reluctant to list on free listing weekend because there is so much more competition but as it is free I am taking the chance.

Other measures I am taking is I am using up shower gels from Christmas, have cut the tops of the tubes of my foundation as usual (won in a prize) my moisturiser and my hair cream.

I have also bought some stamps.  I do a little comping not as much as I did but use a few stamps now and again so I bought about £20.00 worth might get a few more given the price rise at the end of the month.

Oh and don't forget next weekend is free National Trust weekend at some places see link below.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/?campid=V0509PS1

iPad or not?

I have been saving for an iPad 2. Just as I had saved enough money a new version came out. I bought it today! I took a couple of weeks to take the plunge because they are not exactly cheap. I saved this money from Christmas, work bonus and eBay sales. I know it's not going to be met with everyone's approval. I have to tell you I have hardly put I down since I bought it it's fab. I will still need my old laptop because this doesnt support flash which I do need now and again. So what do u all think? iPad or Motorola iPad?