Well, I've failed. I set myself a budget of £38 and already I've spent £44. So why?
Some of that failure is simply down to the time of the year. January is never a good month for me and if a foodie treat is needed to fend off the January blues then I'm having a foodie treat. Last week some blinis were reduced at Lidl so I had those and some smoked salmon and cream cheese (neither of which was reduced) and thoroughly enjoyed them
I have a definite feeling that grocery prices are rising pre Brexit or maybe it's just the time of the year. Grapes, for example, were £1.29 at Lidl a couple of months ago and now they're £1.49. I like to freeze a few grapes and eat them in the evening as a fairly low calorie snack which helps me avoid drinking too much fluid near bedtime. Mushy peas (don't judge me) have risen from 16p to 18p. I could list more rises but you already know them!
My eat-down of stores in November had reduced some of my staples and I wanted to replace them. I use some salad dressings as dips to have with crudités. A few carrot sticks and some celery with a dip is a cheap snack but I had no dressings left.
Auntie Hettie fancied a few things like a ham hock and a rice pudding. I always put cream into the rice pudding I give her. I think that at nearly 95 she deserves a little spoiling from me!
All these are excuses rather than reasons. Smoked salmon is an extravagance, grocery prices are always rising, I could have made more dips and Auntie Hettie would have enjoyed the pudding even without the cream. However, in the scale of things I really haven't done too badly.
But, there is still quite a bit of January left and Auntie Hettie still deserves a few treats so I'm increasing my budget to £55.
Costs have definitely gone up. Milk is the latest.
ReplyDeleteI think you should allow yourself some treats in order to get through the worst months of the year.
Sometime life gets in the way of budget, it's a horrible time of the year, straight after the brightness of Christmas, it's just so gloomy and bloody cold. Can't wait for another sunny day where we can tilt our face to the sun, even if it is through the glass from inside the house.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping to stay under $400, but as of January 22, I a at that already with a lot of month left. For both of us, perhaps February will be a savings month.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elizabeth about allowing ourselves some treats. I don't spend much in January because I don't go out much. Prices are constantly rising, maybe by only a few pence but they keep going up. I like melons and used to buy them but they are silly prices now.
ReplyDeleteI agree prices are definitely on the rise here in Canada. I am finding it more and more difficult to stay on budget.
ReplyDeleteA few treats in the middle of a very bad winter is nothing to worry about.
God bless.