Today, armed with a single crisp tenner, we went to get
our Live Below the Line shop. As you’ll know if you read my last post, I’m used
to planning my weekly shop and keeping a close eye on the pennies, so I was all
ready with my shopping list. I also usually add up my shop as I go round, using
the calculator on my phone, so I did that as well to make sure I kept to
budget. This might sound a bit obsessive, but actually it makes a big
difference – it’s amazing how much you can put in your trolley without really
being aware of what you’re spending. Keeping a running total helps me decide
whether to buy non-essentials (and if I’ve got a bit left over, it means I don’t
have to feel guilty about stocking up the biscuit tin).
This week, of course, there wasn’t much leftover, but
actually with a bit of planning I was quite pleased with how much I managed to
get for my money. My receipt came to £9.99 but I’m going to take a little off
because I bought some of the vegetables in bulk, so I won’t be using all of
them – I’ve worked out the price per item, so my final total is £9.69. That
leaves me a few pence to spend on my seasoning, per pinch.
In the posts below, you’ll see my first two recipes
for next week – Tomato & Red Pepper Soup, for lunches, and Pasta with
Courgette Pesto for Monday night’s dinner. If you’re going to be making any of
my recipes, please do leave me a comment and tell me what you think! And of course, don't forget to click here and sponsor us by donating to Action Against Hunger, to help people all over the world who have to live like this every single day.
