End of the first week approaching...
... well we have done OK. We haven't cut *all* non-essential spending (oops) but we are right down. I did feed and water the children outside of the house a couple of times, but they happily went for cheap options and no 'extras' :-) (and when DD1 wanted hot choc. in M&S she paid the extra 70p from the cost of the other twos drinks compared to hers, herself ). DD2 and DS had a magazine whilst out yesterday - and opted to share one, and for that one to be Toybox (the least cost childrens magazine there is). I sucummed to a craft magazine though - but it is being used as the basis for a HE project for both girls today, so maybe there was a little merit in it. Our family trip out on sunday made use of the NT membership we have, so the only spend was on the petrol to get there. And we looked around the shop for ages but came out without buying anything!
So our non-essentials spend is down 75% on the previous week. And that in itself was a lot lower than it was a few months ago.
Foodwise - we have made all the bread and cake eaten in the house so far this week as well, and all our fruit has been seasonal and fairly local (apart from one bag of organic/fairtrade bananas). But in some ways I'm cheating by telling you this as its really fairly normal. I've got a big pan of Damson soon-to-be Jam on the stove atm (whoever said that setting point took 15mins was lying!!) for which the fruit was foraged. We're hoping that this batch will provide around 10 1lb jars, some for us and a couple to be gifts, and a later batch (there are still lots of ripe fruit on the tree) will be a similar amount of jelly with a couple of containers of 'cheese' on the side of that. There are already 2 big jars of damsons in vodka in the larder as well. Anyway - we should be well set for jam etc. for most of next year as I'm going to be trading some of the cheese with a friend for some sloe gin as well :-) DD1 is going to go brambling at the weekend as well, and we'll get a couple of bramble and apple pies/lattices into the freezer then as well. Recipes and instructions for jams and jellies and cheeses have been 'borrowed' from www.downsizer.net a really useful 'site full of lovely people
We're out again tomorrow though - a train journey into london to spend the day with friends from Slingmeet at Corum Fields. We'll go to the station at the same time as DP, but wait for the next train so the fare for us is less. Corum fields is a 25ish min walk from Charing Cross and is free to enter. Then the four of us (the children and I) will hang out in the British Museum until DP finishes work for the day and walk back to Charing Cross with him. So the only spend that day should be for the train in the morning, as we are taking food and drink with us (so glad that I bought flasks in less impoverished days, because I'll need coffee at some point, I'm sure; rofl...
So our non-essentials spend is down 75% on the previous week. And that in itself was a lot lower than it was a few months ago.
Foodwise - we have made all the bread and cake eaten in the house so far this week as well, and all our fruit has been seasonal and fairly local (apart from one bag of organic/fairtrade bananas). But in some ways I'm cheating by telling you this as its really fairly normal. I've got a big pan of Damson soon-to-be Jam on the stove atm (whoever said that setting point took 15mins was lying!!) for which the fruit was foraged. We're hoping that this batch will provide around 10 1lb jars, some for us and a couple to be gifts, and a later batch (there are still lots of ripe fruit on the tree) will be a similar amount of jelly with a couple of containers of 'cheese' on the side of that. There are already 2 big jars of damsons in vodka in the larder as well. Anyway - we should be well set for jam etc. for most of next year as I'm going to be trading some of the cheese with a friend for some sloe gin as well :-) DD1 is going to go brambling at the weekend as well, and we'll get a couple of bramble and apple pies/lattices into the freezer then as well. Recipes and instructions for jams and jellies and cheeses have been 'borrowed' from www.downsizer.net a really useful 'site full of lovely people
We're out again tomorrow though - a train journey into london to spend the day with friends from Slingmeet at Corum Fields. We'll go to the station at the same time as DP, but wait for the next train so the fare for us is less. Corum fields is a 25ish min walk from Charing Cross and is free to enter. Then the four of us (the children and I) will hang out in the British Museum until DP finishes work for the day and walk back to Charing Cross with him. So the only spend that day should be for the train in the morning, as we are taking food and drink with us (so glad that I bought flasks in less impoverished days, because I'll need coffee at some point, I'm sure; rofl...
