GOD PLEASE GRANT ME.........

Yes Please! Please! Please! God grant me the willpower, the self control , the resolute strength to resist the compelling craving, the euphoric sensation, the tingling thrill I get every time I pass through Canary Wharf shopping centre. Oh Yes I need a huge dose of this, I do not mind even if my cup runneth over as long as I can tear myself away from the shopping pangs I get not only once but twice yes I am counting, twice!! every day of the week that I pass through this treasure trove of a shopping centre.

If there is any place, person or thing that makes me fall off the NO SPENDING wagon with a thud it is Canary Wharf Shopping centre. Every morning and evening of a week day I have to pass through Canary Wharf to get to work and believe me it is agony to pass through all those shop windows and not be tempted to at first just take a peek, then maybe try......you know trying without the intention of buying and of course the folly of these actions lends me thud off the wagon and deep into my pocket.

Now that most shops have the new season in store I cannot help thinking that I need this, and it feel almost hopeless with the magazines and even the free papers telling us the must haves for this Autumn and winter wardrobes.....Oh Please GOD!!!! I am sending you an SOS

A WEEK INTO THE BUDGET AND..........

Yes it has been a week into my September budget and I am slowly but surely slogging ahead.  I am happy with how well I am coping with sticking to it and hopefully this carries into the rest of the month.

My biggest challenge had been trying to stick to the food budget, but I guess this had been aided by the fact that I was not being realistic about the cost of food.  This month I budgeted £100 for the month spreading it to £25/week, I am happy over budgeting here especially taking into account my love for my 5 a day fruit and I will not apologise to say they have to be from Waitrose.  This is my logic and defence here, since I totally heart my fruits I rather the taste is what it says on the package and so far Waitrose has come up trumps on this.  I am happy paying for quality rather than pinch on this and end up throwing  food away or eating a bag of clemetines which on the package says "sweet and juicy" but on taste is totally opposite and you have to end up swallowing with a pinched face.

Anyway the short of it is my food budget   fell just under £20 and this means I can carry the difference to the following week(hippeee!!!!).

They say when times are tough every penny counts, I have also found out that doing a meal plan for the week docks any unnecessary spending and so far this worked a treat on the first trial and I am going to continue with this.  For this week I plan on having :

Monday:

• pasta bake and leafy salad (made the pasta this Saturday and froze 2 left over potions)

Tuesday:

• selection of cold meats and some potato salad (all from last week's shopping)

Wednesday:

• baked potato, baked beans and salad (potato from last wk's shopping, need to buy salad and baked beans)

Thursday:

• vegetable couscous and a roasted chicken thighs (chicken from freezer, buying the rest of the ingredients)

Friday:

• Last portion of the pasta bake with salad

I have at least one full meal a day which is usaully my lunch, in the morning I have some cereal or yoghurt, i have my fruit which are usually a pear, grapes, blue berries and a clementine spread throughout the day and every other day have a pot of biopot yoghurt.  In the evening if I am feeling perky its usually a toasted bagel with tea or a cob of sweet corn or snack or pop corn.

During the weekend it is all pot luck, might eat out, or at friends or fisnish off the left overs but I make sure it is within my budget