Frugal shop

I went and did my shop this morning straight after church at Aldi. I try and do this whenever I can as it is quiet usually at that time and I try to get in and out as quick as possible that seems to keep costs down.  It does also mean that I sometimes forget the odd item but we are surrounded by shops so it is no big deal if I have to run in and grab one item occasionally.
Today was not so quiet as all the people who are usually in bed have got up because the clocks went back and they got an extra hour! I felt grumpy having to share my usually quiet supermarket with so many other people grr! Any how shop done and I managed to get it down to £40 this week. Mainly because I didn't need any toiletries or cleaning stuff and there were some good offers on the super six stuff, peppers (pack of three) satsumas, apples, plums, mushrooms and butternut squash all 69p.
I have this week off so there will not be any rushing in at tea time thinking quick what am I making, and while I do generally plan what we are having there are days when I come in and think, oh I just want to do something quick. Being off work this week will save all that hassle.  I'm also going to make sure that when I make a curry and veg casserole etc. I'm going to do a couple extra to freeze to save me some time the week after.  Here is some of what I got...

I had already packed away some of it before I took the photo but other than the box of cereal and biscuits its all fresh stuff and no ready meals or things like that.  I think when people overspend on their food shopping those items are usually the culprits.
Ready meals are usually disappointing and not at all filling so if you can get out of the habit of buying them it will save you loads.
I do have a ready fresh soup there, I could have easily made this as I have plenty of veg so it was only when I got home I thought what have I put that in for?  I also noticed as I was checking my receipt in the store that the pudding my son chose for today was £2.99! A bit more than I would usually pay but he is a big help and was running around getting me the milk and stuff so when he asked I said put it in then.
I must check my receipts more often as I went to the fabric shop yesterday and only noticed when I got home that I had been charged for a half meter and not a quarter making one piece of fabric £7.00 for a fat quarter ( if you sew you know that is a tiny bit of fabric!) I had some other bits and notions and stuff so I didn't check in the shop, also she was chatting and asking me about my sons so I suppose we were both distracted.
 The thing is the shop is right across town so the time and fuel to get there is hardly worth going back.  I must be more careful, it's no good saving in area then losing it in another.
I bought the overpriced fat quarter for a bag I am making for my store so lets hope I eventually make back the cost. I also bought the fabric for the cowl neck dress I shared the other day and some tartan for the skirt. watch this space.

Autumn Sewing

I have been wondering what to make this Autumn/ Winter as anyone who sews will know that it is difficult to find fashionable fabrics in stores that don't cost a fortune.  Honestly I find it very difficult to find new stuff at all because so few of us do it now they don't have a very good turnover of stock.  You can go in from one season to the next and still find the same stuff!
I think the crafting fabrics get replenished more often maybe as more people do quilting and smaller items but a lot of people shy away from clothing I think.
I like knits and jersey fabrics for this time of year but the patterns available in a lot of shops are so old fashioned, even online it's not much better.  I did find an online shop called Charlie Girl they have lots of gorgeous prints but the postage was absolutely ridiculous (something like £20 for my £11 pound order!) It is a US site but it isn't that expensive to post from the US so I don't know why the extortionate amount.
I spotted this lovely dress...

This is from the Burda Style site, now I wouldn't buy the pattern as I have shift style dresses and it is an easy shape to make without the pattern if you just lay on top of an existing item of a similar shape, allow generous seam allowances and try on as you go.  You probably will get a better fit doing it that way any how. I have not done a cowl neck before but how hard can that be? Not very I bet .

Now I need to  find some reasonably priced knit fabrics in good colours and patterns and this would make a few good work dresses with thick tights.

I really like the fabric in the picture, I have a lot of black though so maybe I'm playing it a bit too safe to go for that, anything too wild can look a bit too dressed up for work.  Must investigate options for this one.

I also really like this skirt...

Also from the Burda Style site but I already have a dress that I made last year in that type of fabric if you remember from my earlier post 

Turquoise Tartan dress

So you see I tend to go for the same kind of things but I don't wear that dress very often it is a going out dress. A skirt would get more wear but maybe I need a different colour.  I like the way it is cut at a different angle at the bottom. I will have a browse, charity shops, online etc and see what can be done. Recycled would be best of course.

Make way for Christmas

Now I know a lot of people will be thinking please do not mention Christmas just yet! Well I really don't get why it has become such a headache for some people and lets face it, it will be here before we know it.
I can understand people who are struggling seeing it as one more thing to budget for, but that is it, you need to budget for it and not get sucked into the buy everything lie!
We all decided years ago (about 17 to be exact) that we would not buy for the adults at Christmas, there was one child in the family at that time (my nephew) and that has only grown to four children over the years. It immediately took all the stress of 'what shall I buy, will they like it, did I spend enough?' We all breathed a sigh of relief and have not looked back. We buy on birthdays, this is more one to one and spread out through the year.

These were 10p card packs bought on sale just after last Christmas.

I also got plain card packs on sale from Hobby craft for the ones I will make, so some of the spending is already taken care of.

People say but I enjoy the giving, so why are so many people in debt, stressed out and complaining about it? A lot of it has to do with expectations and you need to decide whether or not those expectations are your own or other peoples.

The meal on Christmas day also seems to send many people into a state of panic, do you not cook the rest of the year? If not why are you inviting ludicrous amounts of people to your house on a day in which you feel the meal is vitally important.  If you are not confident cooking then don't invite everyone, if you want to be hospitable then invite but ask that all chip in and bring something.

The main event should be getting together and enjoying that feeling of togetherness, anyone who is more concerned about a burnt Yorkshire pudding is perhaps not as close to you as you thought. ( U.S readers may not know what a Yorkshire pudding is -it's a batter made with eggs and flour cooked at a high temperature in the oven until it rises and usually served with Sunday lunch.)

My children usually decide what they want about now and we get it sorted at the best price after doing a bit of research online, they know how much they can ask for and if they want something that comes to more they can combine it with the gift they get from grandparents etc.  This has never needed to be done as we usually manage to find what they want at the set price.

Don't leave it until last minute, that is the key thing I think.  If you know it will be a struggle then start saving in January if you must, why are people rushing around in December when everything is top price it makes no sense.

It is coming! Don't stress, spend as little as possible and just enjoy the twinkly lights and time off work that what I think anyway.