Best laid plans

Today has been glorious. So I didn't really want to spend the whole day traipsing round a bunch of supermarkets. I also wasn't keen on the idea of doing a 20 mile round trip to Asda/Lidl just to get 3p off a bag of rice. It felt disingenuous and goes against my green ethics! So after Sophie's riding lesson (I know, so flipping middle class...) we went to Home Bargains and Aldi as they are on the way back. I hadn't expected much from Home Bargains but we got some good little deals in there. I even impulse bought some potatoes which will help the soup go loads further. Ooo, I might even do some chips! That feels pretty decadent this week!

I discovered that all my hours of calculating prices online pretty much went out of the window. They don't have all the Aldi products on mysupermarket.com, so although I had with me the Lidl/Asda prices it was a bit hit and miss whether the prices were different. Incredibly the overall total was less than I'd expected!

I was also pleased to be able to get everything on the list in those 2 shops, and here it is!

It actually looks like a fairly decent amount of food for less than £17 quid. You will note that the girls pile (left) is considerably bigger and includes biscuits!! We're going halves on the things in the middle such as peas, flour and sugar. I still feel apprehensive. I think that there's a good chance I've totally underestimated how much of some things we'll need. Sophie and I, for example, only have 1 loaf of bread to last the week. But our side looks pretty balanced, and the boys have their meat so they're happy. It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, Les has forgotten and wants some money for as the week progresses.

Starting marks for us: £9.54 for the boys, £8.07 for the girls (and we already have biscuits)

I always feel the need to regularly reiterate; I do not think it's easy or practical to live on £1 a day. It is easier for us because we have support, we know it's for a worthy cause, and it's only 5 days. We're also lucky that Les and I are pretty good cooks (although he would dispute my abilities) so are able to make the most of cheap ingredients. But it's still all-consuming and exhausting. It still causes an overwhelming fear of not being able to meet the most basic needs of my children. And it's horrifying that people have to deal with that every day.

So please, please sponsor us. The money you give will directly help those who struggle to support themselves.

www.mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/kateraynor2018