Hello Dear Reader,
I went to the Post Office on Saturday to pick up a letter that had to be signed for. I must admit, I let out and audible squeal of happiness when I opened it. One of the sponsors from the MAD Blog awards had sent me a £100 John Lewis gift card for being one of the five finalists. I’ve already emailed them to let them know how grateful I was. It’s very tempting when you get any kind of windfall to think about a new dress, lots of make up or something pretty for the house.
As John Lewis and Waitrose is the same company, I decided to get as many groceries as I could for the money. I checked out their website and found that new customers could get £15 off a £100 spend. So, my prize was actually £115 as I registered online. It was getting better by the minute. I used their click and collect service and retrieved my shopping on my way home from work tonight.
For non-British readers, Waitrose is the most expensive poshest supermarket in the UK, where the Bentley brigade send their butlers to pick up the foie gras! I wanted to get as much as I could and bought loads for my stores. I also looked for genuine offers such as 3 for the price of two and got as much as I could. I did better than I expected, they have a reputation for being expensive but I didn’t think something were more than Tesco, or at least they are similarly priced.
Lots of oily fish for my plan to up my oily fish intake to twice a week.
Three for two on Ecover, don’t worry, when these are empty, I will going back to getting refills at the local shop. (Buy two get one free)
A big meat stock up, three chickens, lamb neck fillets, meatballs, corned beef, chicken thighs, lambs livers.
The chickens were great value, £16.20 of chicken for £10. I had to take them out of the posh containers and pop them into freezer bags to fit them into my small freezer drawer.
Lots of tinned and frozen fruit. Usually, I buy frozen raspberries but for a change, I bought blackberries.
May tins of green beans, sliced beans and chick peas.
Soup. I use the condensed soup as a pie filler with left over meat and vegetables. The tomato soup is a real favourite, in a mug, in front of the fire on a cold night.
The liver will be going into faggots, I haven’t made them since last winter and DB loves them.
A dress and some new make up would have been nice but the peace of mind of having a stocked store, pantry and freezer is a great peace of mind. There are some treats, maple syrup for DB, lemon pie filling and pop corn for movie nights. The Ecover hand wash was an indulgence too.
Many thanks to Parentdish for the prize. Also, thanks to Waitrose in Saltash. It took them a while to get our order together and they gave us free coffee and a bunch of roses for the delay, which was a nice surprise.
Over to you, what would you do with a windfall?
Until tomorrow
Such a lovely surprise and yay to going into Autumn with a well stocked larder and freezer.
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Congratulations on being a finalist, that's some doing. You did well - I'm always astonished at how little I get and how much I've spent on my odd visit to Waitrose.
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I'm not a clothes and makeup kind of gal, so I would have bought something I needed…whatever that might be! And I just might have done what you did! Great haul. One of the supermarkets here has whole chickens for .99 lb. this week and I'm stocking up. This has been the usual sale price for awhile, but these are smaller fryers rather than the big roasting birds that usually go on sale. I have bought 4 so far and have cut up 3 before freezing them. I froze them as half-chickens since there are only 3 of us. I'd like to get two more, but I'm not sure I can face cutting up another chicken anytime soon!
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That was a lovely surprise. I was given £50 M & S vouchers recently and like you, I thought of new clothes for me or the family. In the end I spent it all on meat, quiches, chicken etc. Many of the items I bought were reduced to clear or on special offer, so I got quite a lot for my money. I never usually buy food in M & S because it's cheaper to buy it elsewhere but you can't get much cheaper than free food. The boiler work is being carried out in a month's time and is going to cost 4 figures! So every penny counts at the moment and my free food went a long way towards it. My neighbour was making a chicken casserole recently and used condensed soup as the sauce.
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What a lovely surprise! You must have had real fun deciding what to get so that you made the most of your unexpected shop. Waitrose is the only shop that sells Ecover Laundry bleach in our area so I nipped over to Daventry's store and brought three packets on route to Aldi's and the local tip. What will you be making with the corned beef. We love it with chopped egg and beans in mashed potato. Mix well, sprinkle with a little mature cheddar and pop under the grill until bubbling. Winter comfort food!
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Well done Froogs! My choices would have been similar to yours - lots of “comfort food” meals for over winter. And shopping the sale items to make the most of your gift.
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A well deserved windfall! You do a fantastic job with your blog providing useful information and entertainment for all your followers.
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I would have done exactly what you did. Having stocks of good food supplies for the winter is so much more important than anything else in our household. I`ve accumulated some Tesco vouchers lately, so we shall make good use of them before we go on our holiday. We`ll be stocked up well enough for when we return home.
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Congratulations! Well done you. So very well deserved. Inspirational is a very over used word but you certainly are and I am so glad I found you a few months ago now. Thank you. It took me a while to find the bra! At least it is a lovely colour, and not very obvious at all, and not grey like some of mine! Sarah
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I couldn't be more thrilled for you both. That's amazing and deserved. Top banana. If I had a windfall, I would do the same, or similar. Brilliant.
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I would do the same as you, Froogs. When I rcvd my income tax refund in the spring, I stocked up. Some things I have yet to run out of and it's been 7 months. 🙂
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I'd have done the same! Some good choices. I bet you had great fun deciding.
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Excellent news! How exciting to stock up with all those groceries! I was also lucky today as Waitrose had sent me a £20 coupon, so I purchased a new winter duvet from Waitrose - 10.5 tog Kingsize quilt £25 - so duvet only cost me £5!! Also as I had spent £5, I could have a free newspaper and a free cappuchino!!! Bargain.
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Well done Froogs! Your blog is a real inspiration.
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i think that's a good idea!
We had John Lewis vouchers for wedding presents (a year ago) and we've spent a few on things for our home but are saving them for when we think we really need something but I had one in my purse for£25 and since my husband had a Spend £30 and get £10 off voucher, I stocked on things we use but can't get at our local coop or lidl like Ecover washing powder and condiitoner (also taking advantage of 3 for 2), I needed new face cream so stocked on Olay reduced. We like their Organic Surge shower gel as it is free of SLS and parabens and not as expensive as other brands AND they were 1/3 off so we bought three bottles of that. Very glad to have got all these things for free and cheaper!x
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Brilliant!! I do the same when I get my M&S vouchers by using their credit card (I pay it off every month!) Lots of storecupboard staples never go wrong
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Well done - you certainly deserve it! I have just been given £100 M & S vouchers but can't bring myself to buy stuff for myself - maybe I will buy food with these vouchers - I just hadn't thought of it so thanks for the idea!
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Congratulations! Glad you had fun shopping, and it looks like you got a lot for your money.
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Oh I love spending “free” money! It looks as though you got a good shop.
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Awesome! I would have done as you have, and capitalized on the windfall, by stretching those funds as far as possible! Well done!
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I can hear your excitement in your writing. How wonderful for you. Just being honest. My pantry and freezer are so full, for the months to come. If I came upon a $100.00 windfall. I would put $50 on a gas card for the car, $25.00 on a pedicure date at the salon that has wonderful massage chairs and the rest on a food luxury for the family such as steaks or crab for a treat now and another in the dead of winter. I know; not very frugal but I did state my pantry is full ;o)
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This question came up just recently, and my answer was the same as yours: food. Stocking up for me or for the animals - it's all the same - is the first thing that came to mind.
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I love Waitrose, I can't afford it but as I've cut out Dairy they were the only one that sold Co-yo alternative yogurts so I do treat myself when I'm having a craving for yogurts. The cake counter is a distraction in itself. I love the way they are not crowded and the staff are not rushed off their feet. A very civilised shop indeed.
Top tip, if you join online for their loyalty card you can get a free coffee EVERY week x
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Lovely surprise a Waitrose Voucher. I do shop in there when I visit my dad, I am surprised by the offers as well.
Julie xxxxxxxx
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Erm…I would probably buy myself a new handbag or something - I would save the voucher for the John Lewis sales! Having said that, I am a fan of Waitrose and pop in there quite regularly. They have a great selection of meat and often very good 'quick sale' discounts, helped more by the permanent '3 for' and '2 for' offers which apply even with the reduced price. I've never thought about exploring the frozen meat section much but I've been told it's very good. I also love the fact that you can get a free proper cup of coffee whenever you visit, even without spending anything, and a free newspaper every day if you spend a fiver or £10 at the weekend. That is a great marketing strategy. My local Waitrose is always brimming with people. The quality is second to none.
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I would have done the same as yourself. I used to work for Waitrose And love the quality of their own label food. It probably isn't as expensive as people think.
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Well done Froogs! I can't wait to see what you do with al this bounty! I love tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. Nothing better on a cold winter night!
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What a lovely haul did you register for my waitrose card ..you get free coffee in the cafe and a free paper on a saturday if you have one 😉
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Every day if you want to go in daily! 😉
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Congrats!!
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Exactly what I would have done, only I think you did it even better. £115 worth of food, free coffee and flowers … result!! And your larder and freezer must look satisfyingly full.
I used to shop occasionally at Waitrose and yes, their prices are often Tesco matched. They do have some good bargains occasionally too. Also if you have one of their loyalty cards you can get a free cup of coffee and a newspaper every day, you have to spend £5 to qualify for the paper, but the coffee is totally without any spending ….. and you can read the cafe's papers for free while you drink it. Trust me to move to a place where the nearest Waitrose is a 45 minute drive away!!
Congratulations on being a finalist, it's well deserved.
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What a fantastic stash. Well done.
If I had a windfall I would do as you did to cover the monthly shopping but use the cash saved to throw at the debts.
Enjoy.
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we get a large check every year from oil revenues-it's not expected but it feels like a bonus-we've saved half of our kid's checks every year for educational costs and the rest towards bills. This year we're able to just put it away, theirs anyway. Ours will be socked away too, we have a few plans to buy a new window for one room that needs it and we've splurged ahed of the checks coming and purchased a new high R value door for our home. The old one had a gap about 1 inch high under it and it didn't shut correctly after 35 years. We did it early because winter is almost upon us and we knew installing it ourselves would me 4-6 hours w/o a door as we shimmed it and such. everything else is going in the bank until our yearly meat order comes in mid-november then we'll need to pay that bill.
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Wow what a wonderful gift. In Wisconsin that would have cost almost $150.00. Meat prices are crazy expensive here.
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Waitrose is not as expensive as it used to be, since buying Safeways it has come in line with Asda etc …..
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