Thrifty | Easter bargains

Easter

Easter starts tomorrow with Good Friday and many people will have tomorrow off and will set off for Easter break destinations this afternoon. Many will try to get through the rush hour traffic and make it much worse today. I will be staying away from the M6 motorway today! I have been comparing a few prices this week. There is a big variation in the price of meat per kilo in the UK.

I found chicken leg quarters for 1.94 at Aldi but you are paying for the skin and the bones; for diced chicken breast that is all meat the price came in at 7.17 a kilogram. For a whole chicken it was 2.07 a kilo but that shot up to 3.33 for free range. Pork loin steaks were 6.23 a kilo and so for lean meat it’s cheaper than chicken. Lamb was much more expensive at 13 pounds a kilo and beef was the most expensive. It pays to buy chicken that is on the bone, you pay to have the bones removed and pork is quite good but you might need to be creative with cooking it. I bought diced pork from Lidl and stir fried it for my Chinese style stir fry. I think a whole chicken will make a good meal if you’re feeding a family.

This week the super six at Aldi are broccoli, cucumber and carrots for 39p each. Then they have tomatoes, mushrooms and 2.5 Kg of white potatoes for 69p. I also like the beer for 99p at my local Aldi, even though I gave up alcohol, yet again.  I buy bargains and then if I have a barbecue in summer I have a stock of drinks in.

There are Easter bargains and sales every where. I’ve seen a sat nav reduced that I might buy, but they just seem to get better value the longer I wait but I do want one for the summer; I keep getting lost! Watch out for cheap Easter eggs next week too, they’ll be selling them off! I might pop in Poundland and check out bargains, especially stuff for the garden. I think this years snow might have finished now!

The stock market is suffering from the works of the rumour mill this week and so if you’re into stocks and shares there might be bargains to be had. I am monitoring a list of shares I’m interested in and many of them do look cheap.

I am considering mowing the lawn and trying to prepare the garden to see if I can grow vegetables and herbs; it’s worth having a go. I like runner beans from the garden and I bought a ladder last year so I can pick the apples from my apple trees. Herbs like basil are worth growing in a little herbs garden or even in a window box.

My car is in the garage tomorrow because the light for the electronic engine control keeps coming on. I think I lose ignition sometimes too. I think maintenance will work out cheaper than waiting for the problem to get worse and they will probably find the fault on a tester. I think the most likely problem is a sensor and so it might not be such a big bill as it would if the problem was the control unit. The car is 15 years old and so going well for its age; a lot like me! It is a good idea to make being thrifty and frugal a way of life and then these little extra expenses aren’t a drama or a crisis!

Incidentally, the rice bowls in the photo were £1 each from Matalan. I must go back there, I want a straw hat for the summer!

Have  a nice Easter and don’t eat too much chocolate! There are more blogs on A Zillion Ideas. Please comment and share with your social network friends.

 

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