As I didn't need much food this week my last shopping photo has just three items.
I have just about finished the Mediterranean vegetables that I cooked up at the start of the week, indeed the last meal using them will be with one of the focaccia breads you see in this photo, and will no doubt be eaten alongside a glass of this wine. It's a celebratory Sunday meal as Mum is now safely out of hospital and ensconced in a very nice nursing home in Sale, Manchester.
It's been a hectic few weeks getting all this set up, not helped in the slightest by Mum's hospital ward going into total lockdown for two weeks due to a sickness and diarrhoea bug doing the rounds. This meant that we could not get the LPA signed and witnessed, and the three of us have been working to get the finances in place through the access to Mum's bank accounts that we already have. Gosh nursing homes need to know the ins and outs of your finances, and be promised the world before they will let anyone live there. You can understand why though, it's just hard to cope with when you are busy jumping through their hoops and tired out after seven months of sorting things.
Anyway enough of that, back to my shopping finances ... which are so much simpler. 😁
Shopping in October
Week 1 - £49.83
Week 2 - £29.87
Week 3 - £36.53
Week 4 - £36.73
TOTAL - £152.96
This is the most over my £100 monthly budget that I have ever gone. Even having the leftover money from the previous months means that I am now £23.54 in the red. I would love to end the year in the black and keep eating nice and healthy with lots of vegetables in my diet alongside good quality fish and eggs.
So for the last few days of October I will be eating the foods that I already have in the house, and this weeks Sunday cookathon will be a simple one, turning any remaining vegetables in the fridge into a nice panful of soup. The homegrown harvested potatoes will also be popped in there to make it a lovely substantial soup and provide as many portions as possible for my lunches. You can't beat a nice bowl of homemade soup on these chilly days can you. 🍲
Here's to a fresh new week of eating and a week of not spending any money.
Sue xx
What a relief for you to know your beloved Mum is now safe and well in a nice place. You can now spend less time worrying and having to make arrangements, so that'll help you to concentrate on yourself and your own finances and wellbeing, won't it. I'm sure you'll see out the year end in the black! Homemade soup is lovely in the winter - I've been saving cores, ends and big leaves of the cauli and broccoli for the past few weeks and freezing them, so now have enough for a big pan of cauli, broccoli and Stilton soup - yum!
ReplyDeleteYes, at last we can breathe again. Myself and my brother have both been dreading the phone ringing for ages now, as it's been virtually all bad news or something else we have to arrange when it does.
DeleteYour soup sounds delicious, and thanks, that's a good reminder that I should have a rummage through the freezer to see if there's any odds and sods that I can add to my soup. :-)
For me, eating healthily trumps sticking to the budget (assuming I have the money).
ReplyDeleteI do want to try and blend the two ... healthy and budget ... if possible, just cooking from scratch really helps keep the costs down doesn't it.
DeleteSo pleased for you all that you've got all the arrangements for your dear Mum in place, I know full well it's not an easy time.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised you went over budget given all the extra trips etc you've had to do.
I sometimes think I could live on soup if I had to........and the Foccacia sounds a nice accompaniment.
Alison in Wales x
No, it's definitely not easy, but it's satisfying when it finally comes together though. Unfortunately, I can't blame the travelling on me busting the budget as Alan is brilliant at nearly always paying for coffees and meals out as he's usually the one that wants them ... and he earns a lot more than me. :-)
DeleteSo glad to hear that you have your mum settled in a nice place. It must be a weight off your mind.
ReplyDelete