I was going to go through the freezer drawers and make an inventory of what I had in there, but then I decided to count the cash that I've got available to me first.
These are the three places that I usually have some money. My bag, I don't have a purse I use the card and zipper section of my handbag instead, the little drawer in the middle is where I have been putting the cash that I have made from my recent Facebook Marketplace sales, and finally my little change box. This is where I dump any loose change when it gets too heavy to carry around in my bag and I have been using bits and bobs from it just recently to keep the contents at a manageable level.
I was pleasantly surprised at the contents. I have almost a hundred pounds ... £97.09 in fact. 😀
That's quite a useful amount to have. I am putting no time limit on how long this has to last me, just as long as possible. If I only spend cash, I won't be paying for my shopping with my credit card and then next months bill will be a lot lower, well that's the plan!!
In a bid to put off doing the freezer inventory for even longer, I decided to use up some of the Mediterranean Vegetables that I roasted a few days ago and make a large pot of pasta bake.
I used the last two thirds of that jar of pasta sauce, the same amount of water was used to rinse out the jar to get every last bit of tomatoey goodness out and then I kept adding handfuls of pasta until it looked about right.
You do need to have more liquid than you think you will need when you are cooking the pasta in the sauce, as it absorbs quite a lot, and this is what makes this sort of pasta bake even more delicious.
I got it just about perfect.
This pan made me one evening meal and two delicious lunches.
The leftover Med Veg was put into two little tubs and popped into the freezer.
Now I have to do the freezer inventory before I put anything else in there, not that there's much space left!!
Sue xx
I had money pots here and there, especially when I was teaching and the children would hand over the cash!
ReplyDeleteIt is handy having a few different pots isn't it. Alan is actually worse than me for pots, and saves his £2 coins, his silver and his copper all in different pots. Any £2 coins that I get I have been just giving to him to add to his collection, from now on he has to repay me with two £1 coins. :-)
DeleteI had a toy money box that stuck out its tongue and pretended to chew the money. Piano pupils used to beg their parents for more money to feed it. In the end I had to keep money ready to stop robbing the parents!
DeleteHaha, that is brilliant. :-)
DeleteI only have a bag for coppers. Any bigger money gets spent, often on the bits and bobs you didn't add to the shopping list so have to get locally (this week it is AA batteries, for example) and for my twice-weekly newspaper, though I may give those up. I am still stretching the very last of what I took at the Builth Fair to make it go further - it will be for Malvern at the end of the month.
ReplyDeleteUsing cash does make you think more about what you are buying doesn't it. I'll be using all my little bits and pieces in the self-serve checkout at Sainsbury's and Aldi. :-)
DeleteYet another weird coincidence as I was just about to do a post about my loose change tin.!
ReplyDeleteDon't let me stop you, that sounds interesting. Isn't it funny how we often have similar ideas for blog posts in the same week, or even occasionally on the same day. :-)
DeleteThat's a decent amount of money to keep you going isn't it :) I have jars for bits and bobs of cash; a jar of coppers for charity, pound coins and 50p's for various summer fairs in another, and a housekeeping jar where I keep the bits of cash Graham gives me. He often adds chocolate to the shopping and then pays me in cash afterwards. It should come in handy at some point!
ReplyDeleteIt's not a bad amount at all, but I have just realised that I have a hair appointment next week, and it's my great-grandsons 2nd birthday next Friday!! That will make a big dent in the total. :-(
DeleteGosh you have more jars than I do!!
How exciting to find almost $100! I have a coin jar that I put all my loose change in and then every November I take it to the bank and pour it in the coin machine. I usually have about $100 in there. What a great surprise!
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty decent amount to have around the house isn't it, I was very pleased. :-)
DeleteI wish we had a bank where you could do that, sadly we have no banks in our town now!!
I use the zipped compartments in my bag for odd bits of change and it's often a nice surprise to find a few quid in there 😀
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
It's easier to be able to drop coins into a bag isn't it, rather than having to fish out a purse over and over again.
DeleteRecently did a search down the couch for coins.
ReplyDeleteMy side…nothing.
OH side…£14 in coins! 😂
Jackpot!! I hope you kept it for yourself. :-)
DeleteWow-that was a good amount of money you had stashed away. If anyone can stick to a plan, it’s you, so looking forward to seeing how creative you can be with your pot of cash. Catriona
ReplyDeleteSo am I. ;-)
DeleteThat's a respectable amount of money to have stashed away. I used to collect pennies at one time and now the current administration has said that it will stop issuing pennies. I wonder if my collection will become useless as a result?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like it's time to cash them in or spend any that you already have saved just in case. It's a sad time when pennies no longer have any value isn't it. :-(
DeleteThat's a nice amount of money. I always pay cash for food so have various pots for different bits of left over cash, I collect 50 and 20 pence pieces in one jar, any spare change goes into my 1p a day fund and any left over food money at the end of the week goes into a tin which i open at the end of the year. Just wondering, did you roast your courgettes and then freeze them? we are still getting more than we can eat our way through at the moment!
ReplyDeleteI've saved most of the denominations of coins at one time or another, my best year was 2012 , when we both saved all our £2 coins and had enough for a housekeeping challenge for the following year.
Deletehttps://ournewlifeinthecountry.blogspot.com/2012/12/opening-sealed-pot-2012.html
I freeze courgettes in a couple of ways, either roasted with other vegetables and in portion sized bags or boxes, and also just washed, chopped and bagged up. The simply bagged up ones are the ones I use for soups etc. If I know they will languish for months and months I will give them a very quick two minute blanch before cooling and freezing.
Now that is a nice amount of money going ahead. The pasta bake looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
The pasta bake was so tasty, and happily I got a couple of portions from it. :-)
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