Illness has stopped play...

Been MIA as I have had laryingitis (sp?) and some horrible virus - been ill over a week now but slowly on the mend...on a brighter note have not spent one penny on messages as we have been eating totally out of the freezers and cupboards as dh wasnt too grand either - luckily I had not much appetite as there have been some interesting meals produced! So I now have £60 to use if I come across any special offers (ie the last time I saw 240 Nambarrie teabags for £2 but only got 2 boxes cos didnt have the extra money)....onwards and upwards...

2 no-spend days in a row.....

But had to buy a coffee today......£1.90 from my allowance....

Asda bargains & being under budget!

Well late night shopping is the way to go - tiring but managed to bag over £9 of bread and rolls for £1.20 so happy - no other yellow stickies but with a bit of jiggery pokery on my menu this week my weeks shopping came in at......£49.41. Have had to cut back on fresh fruit because even though its summmer its still dear AND not happy about the price hike on tinned fruit! For quite a while Asda peaches in juice have been 45p per tin and last night they were 61p!!!! How can they justify a 16p rise?????? Its also noticeable that its the Smart price stuff that goes first - had to pay 44p for passata as opposed to 27p Smart price. Its results day for my dd Highers tomorrow so we are going to Edinburgh - her pals mum has booked her and her friend into Bannatynes for some pampering as a wee treat before the results. They were going to get the bus to my eldest dds and she was going to take them in but I will save them the bus fare and go with them - dont intend to spend anything but will mooch round the shops as I still need a dress for my sons wedding....

Car boot bargains....

Got 3 double cds for the car for 10p each! Picked up a remnant of lino for our caravan bathroom (has carpet in it which I really hate) for £5 and a cream roman blind (again for the caravan)still in the box for £2 - very discerning indeed for me! The fruit and veg just look wilted and sad and to be honest, not much cheaper than Asda so going shopping there tonight for my weekly shop to see if there are any bargains to be had....

Filling out forms....hate it!

I deal with forms all day long at work (I work as an HR assistant in our local council) and really hate doing them in the house! But needs must.....just completed the application for the Education Maintenance allowance for youngest dd staying on at school (£30 a week is not to be sniffed at! lol) and my SAAS application for funding for my next course with the Open University (anyone new to my blog - I had a "I'm-50-what-have-I-acheived" moment a few years ago and enrolled in the OU to do a History degree - half way through and still loving it!)So far have managed to get funding for it due to being on Working Tax but they have changed it this year and it now goes through SAAS (like brick unis) which goes on your wages so hopefully I will get the next 3 stages funded too. Going to a small car boot this afternoon (havent been to one in ages as we dont get many up here) Its at our local Sunday market so will get some cheap veg for the week ahead too. Let us see how discerning I can be and not spend too much! lol

No spend at all!

Did not spend one penny....naaaada, zip - really pleased!

Lovely birthday...and books for free

Had a great birthday - ate and drank far too much but hey ho! its only once a year! Downloaded 6 free books for my Kindle - do like something for nothing! Did my first week shopping in a while (lived out of the cupboards last week!) and it was £55 for the three of us - not too bad but we still had fish and chicken in the freezer. Its really difficult when trying to diet as my go-to cheap meals are all fattening and stodgy! Dinners this week are veg curry, fish, chicken stir-fry, macaroni cheese, roast beef (bought slices cos its cheaper) and pasta with chorizo. Saturdays teas are alway something quick and this week its beefburgers for dh and me and dd are trying carrot, cumin and kidney bean burgers from a blog that has really cheap recipes from a blog called a Girl called Jack which I intend to try out.