Putting "I Have Enough" into Practice

Evening All! I sat down a half hour ago with my cup of tea and a couple of Lindor truffles (my favs!) to start my evening by clearing out a few receipts from my wallet/purse and updating my budget.

Brenna and I went to Sainsbury's this morning.  Man! I almost wish I hadn't.  £56.51 for seemingly few things!  Unfortunately, I can't get everything at Aldi that my family wants, Shreddies (Jeff doesn't like Aldi's Malties... oh, well).  I did buy a large reduced beef joint for a VIP's visit on Saturday and a few packs of fresh berries that I don't usually buy... it all sure adds up quickly!  I used up what was remaining on the Sainsbury's gift card that we purchase at a slightly reduced rate through Jeff's work) and £32.50 worth of Nectar points, leaving £2.14 remaining. 

We reduced our grocery budget £50 this month as a challenge to get by on just "enough", which could be allocated elsewhere in the budget.

I also returned an unopened canister of Allinson's yeast that I bought prior to Christmas for £1.10.  I found yeast at Aldi for much less a day or so later, so I didn't need the Allinson's yeast.  It's about finding pennies, right? 

This afternoon I spent a little time setting up the girls' Fisher Price Little People Farm and Zoo toys to take pictures of in the hopes of selling them.  I've been dreading this moment for years as these were favourites once upon a time, but aren't any longer.  My girls no longer play with them, they're taking up valuable space, and I'm sure they will be loved again by another family. (This is me trying to console myself.)

Yesterday, I forgot to take my lunch to work.  My immediate thought was to make it until I got home at 3:30pm.  Hmm... nope that didn't last long.  Then I remember the sandwich van whose music chimes loudly outside the office at 11:45am every day.  I thought, "This is the one time I will buy myself a sandwich."  Then my mantra "I have enough" popped into mind.  In my desk drawer were some packets of just-add-boiling-water soup, a handful of almonds, a clementine leftover from Tuesday and a selection of biscuits/bars.  "I have enough."  The sandwich van came and went without my visiting it.

I didn't really feel like going to the shop yesterday, nor did I really need to.  We had enough at home.  Since I like to have a couple of meat-free meals a week, I decided it was "breakfast for supper" night.  We had scrambled eggs (it's not technically meat, right?), blueberry muffins (Recipe from Everydaycheapskate.com, but without the sugary topping) and fruit salad with a couple spoonfuls of yogurt stirred in for something different. Cheap and easy.

"I have enough" has helped me in a few situations already this week.  One other example was when I went to dry my hair yesterday morning. I almost turned on the light in the bedroom, but then realised there was just enough light in the room to dry and brush my hair. I'm finding even more places to cut back when I keep "I have enough" in mind.