Don't Think That I Won A Fortune...
on Monday at our very small bingo club but I won nearly every house on the bingo. I actually missed one. What are the odds on that? It seemed like more because the last Bingo sessions of the year are played for free. I won £5 last night too. A little buffet was put on at both meetings.
I could go out on Boxing Day evening and New Year's Eve but my little gang are not going, no one else has offered to share a taxi or give me a lift there and back and taxi fares go up and if you don't book in good time "You won't get one!"
The tickets at the club are reasonable but add the fare, drinks and cost of bingo etc...Its going to be more than £20 for both nights. I can save that or it will pat for any remaining Christmas gifts I have to find or towards my Christmas food.
And the Sunday's after Boxing Day and New Year I'll be there with my chums again. If they don't turn up I at least have access to a free bus that stops near the venue.
Though there is not much I want to watch over the festive period on TV I have spotted a film I'd like to see on Boxing Day evening.
I have had a rethink of my Christmas food plans(one supermarket opens again the day after Christmas)and I can access its limited opening hours. If there are any sales/shops open in neighbouring towns I cannot visit as there are no buses or trains and I will not add £30(return taxi fares)It could be more than that if the rates have changed. I'll have to miss the first day of sales(if I was interested)and they are running a Sunday service again. Its been said on the radio that sales and discounts may be happening before Christmas.
I thought that they might come to an agreement on Boxing Day being a Saturday with their drivers even if it resembled a Sunday service. I can live one day without retail therapy.
For Christmas I have fresh vegetables(Sprouts, parsnips, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, cauliflower)all that came to £1.95 and it wasn't a discount store. Makes you wonder if they can match the popular discount food stores we now have in the UK why they don't do that all the year around so people can eat well. It would also mean less food being thrown away.
If they would do that, we probably would not need the discount retailers.
I have fancy stuffing, potatoes for roasting(in Goose Fat)carrots and parsnips for roasting(all prepared)just stick them in the oven. And as there was an offer of buying two items and the third free I saved £1.50. I can make a few meals from that too. As the supermarket is open on Boxing Day(they may reduce some festive fare in price)I don't need some items immediately(especially for my N Year's buffet)until a day or so before so they can keep things chilled for me. And the dates will be fresher.
I'll have had a Christmas lunch(and may be given food to bring home with me)I will have fruit and perhaps some small desserts in the fridge. I have pigs in blankets. Some sliced meats and a small ham joint.
So I don't need to clear out as much as first thought. If I use some of these items before Christmas at the prices they are offering I can replace for quite a low price.
Buying a joint of meat seems expensive but when you work out what you pay for sliced meats its actually a good idea to buy one. Then you can use it with main meals, in sandwiches. with salads.
I must learn how to use my combination microwave ovens better. My halogen oven too. But for warming food and cooking smaller portions I can make use of my slow cookers. They are very versatile.
I think that I shall have a reasonably happy Christmas all in all.
Update:I haven't space in my freezer but I have had a clear out and created space in the fridge for chilled goods. So I may be able to buy some trifles and salad stuff/spreads after all. What I have got rid of has gone into the wheelie bin to be taken away.
Debating whether to have a look out this afternoon and split the tasks between today and tomorrow or do it all in one day. Not much food required now. Its silly going over the top especially for one person...me. I am also debating whether to get myself another Christmas jumper.
I could go out on Boxing Day evening and New Year's Eve but my little gang are not going, no one else has offered to share a taxi or give me a lift there and back and taxi fares go up and if you don't book in good time "You won't get one!"
The tickets at the club are reasonable but add the fare, drinks and cost of bingo etc...Its going to be more than £20 for both nights. I can save that or it will pat for any remaining Christmas gifts I have to find or towards my Christmas food.
And the Sunday's after Boxing Day and New Year I'll be there with my chums again. If they don't turn up I at least have access to a free bus that stops near the venue.
Though there is not much I want to watch over the festive period on TV I have spotted a film I'd like to see on Boxing Day evening.
I have had a rethink of my Christmas food plans(one supermarket opens again the day after Christmas)and I can access its limited opening hours. If there are any sales/shops open in neighbouring towns I cannot visit as there are no buses or trains and I will not add £30(return taxi fares)It could be more than that if the rates have changed. I'll have to miss the first day of sales(if I was interested)and they are running a Sunday service again. Its been said on the radio that sales and discounts may be happening before Christmas.
I thought that they might come to an agreement on Boxing Day being a Saturday with their drivers even if it resembled a Sunday service. I can live one day without retail therapy.
For Christmas I have fresh vegetables(Sprouts, parsnips, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, cauliflower)all that came to £1.95 and it wasn't a discount store. Makes you wonder if they can match the popular discount food stores we now have in the UK why they don't do that all the year around so people can eat well. It would also mean less food being thrown away.
If they would do that, we probably would not need the discount retailers.
I have fancy stuffing, potatoes for roasting(in Goose Fat)carrots and parsnips for roasting(all prepared)just stick them in the oven. And as there was an offer of buying two items and the third free I saved £1.50. I can make a few meals from that too. As the supermarket is open on Boxing Day(they may reduce some festive fare in price)I don't need some items immediately(especially for my N Year's buffet)until a day or so before so they can keep things chilled for me. And the dates will be fresher.
I'll have had a Christmas lunch(and may be given food to bring home with me)I will have fruit and perhaps some small desserts in the fridge. I have pigs in blankets. Some sliced meats and a small ham joint.
So I don't need to clear out as much as first thought. If I use some of these items before Christmas at the prices they are offering I can replace for quite a low price.
Buying a joint of meat seems expensive but when you work out what you pay for sliced meats its actually a good idea to buy one. Then you can use it with main meals, in sandwiches. with salads.
I must learn how to use my combination microwave ovens better. My halogen oven too. But for warming food and cooking smaller portions I can make use of my slow cookers. They are very versatile.
I think that I shall have a reasonably happy Christmas all in all.
Update:I haven't space in my freezer but I have had a clear out and created space in the fridge for chilled goods. So I may be able to buy some trifles and salad stuff/spreads after all. What I have got rid of has gone into the wheelie bin to be taken away.
Debating whether to have a look out this afternoon and split the tasks between today and tomorrow or do it all in one day. Not much food required now. Its silly going over the top especially for one person...me. I am also debating whether to get myself another Christmas jumper.
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 7:14 am
5 Comments:
This is meant nicely....sometimes you don't seem to budget properly. You've cleared food out from the fridge you haven't been able to use, and yet you're thinking of buying another Christmas jumper? How many Christmas jumpers do you need?
Why don't you allocate the money for the Christmas jumper towards being able to get to your clubs? If you don't have space in your freezer, surely you're not short of food? Don't get caught up in the mad Christmas hype - the shops will only be shut for 2 days! Use up what you have first?
A-L
Taken nicely :-)Just buying salad stuff, prepared casserole vegetables bread, buns and milk. My fresh veg I think will last me until next weekend at least. I am getting much better at budgeting. Next year I shall rearrange the freezer.
Call it a learning curve. :-) As for the Christmas food dash...I see people with shopping trolleys piled high, how do they afford to do that? How many fridge/freezers do they own? How many people are visiting?
Christmas jumpers?
I said I'd never buy "any" Some of mine have been inexpensive as they come from charity shops or as last year before Christmas shops were getting rid of them and had reduced the price.
Some of my jumpers are specific to Christmas but others are more general so you can wear them through Winter. Same with my hats and gloves.
And I do bring them out annually so they are reused.
I do take your point about the Christmas jumpers, but again I say how many do you need? I know it's easy to get carried away in charity shops if you see a lot of reduced items. ;)
Here's an idea. Starting from January 1st, put £2 coin in a jar once a week. You'll not notice it's gone, and by the time next Christmas rolls around, you'll have around £100 to spend on those taxi fares to get you to your clubs/carol services at this time of year, plus money for a Christmas jumper and some food. :)
I await with interest to see if you try it. :)
A-L
I have all my shopping until the New Year unless I need bread buns.For the first time in my life I purchased 97% of Christmas treats and meals for the next few days in ASDA. I liked their range of goods and thought their prices were of value.
The plan went slightly wrong.
I purchased some new tins for roasting/baking in the main oven. I found a lovely jumper reduced in Primark :-)
And finished the last shop when I was back on my town.
Spennymoor(which is approx 8 miles away)may become my regular place for shopping as shops are near each other as are the bus stops. The regular bus drops me at the bottom of my street on the return journey saving me a longer walk.
Its an hourly bus service.
I don't know why but Spennymoor has a Co-op, ASDA, Farmfoods, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland.
That's quite a selection.
As for treats...I purchased a theatre ticket for an afternoon show in April.
The idea of saving is something I have done in the past and I may again.
I have my eye on a couple of other shows in 2016 so you could say that I have just switched from the club on the town to something different and my money is not being spent on taxi fares and drink. :-) The club would never get rich on the amount I spend.
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