Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Greying_Pilgrim
Greying_Pilgrim Posts: 5,336
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edited 11 July 2013 at 7:11PM in Debt free diaries
Good evening folks!

I thought that it was time I started a diary on the DFW board, as I am in need of motivation and writing it down is definitely going to help.

The thing is, I'm not in debt as such, however, we have just had a series of events that have totally wiped out the emergency fund, eaten into a small savings pot and if left unchecked, will put us into debt. Basically, the events were unexpected, and the latest – a lost set of keys (hence the title) that resulted in needing to renew locks for £250+ has meant that the rest of the year is going to be tight financially as we've at least 3 big household bills to meet between now and the end of the year. Thing is, I knew it was going to be tight anyway, and then the keys got lost..................

Basically, there is £750 to be found between now and 31st December and whilst some of this should come from wages, with our current run of luck and the economic outlook, it is no use assuming that jobs will remain, hours won't be cut, or that some other calamity won't befall us.

So, rather than mope and moan, I've decided to be pro-active and treat the amount as a 'debt' to keep focussed and raise the cash through making savings. This is not an easy task, as we live a frugal, simple life already and the only 'leverage' is in the household expenditure. I budget £160 per month for food, non-food household and 'social' expenditure on a 2:1:1 ratio. Food expenditure is pretty self-explanatory, non-food is soap, toothpaste, the TV listing guide, a haircut (me) etc, the 'social' covers any car parking or diesel for a day out (we're NT members and like to visit places) presents, postage, alcohol etc. It's already pretty tight – especially with rising food prices, but any money I can save will got into the £750 pot as it would if it were a debt.

One potential saving would be to cancel a holiday that we have booked at the end of summer. It is something that I would do reluctantly, but if needs must...... It is already a frugal break – self-catering in a static caravan. But it is the diesel costs that could actually make it unaffordable, rather than the accommodation itself. We'll see how it all goes.

A little about me – well there are two adults in the household, so if we end up starving or our teethdrop out, then it's our own fault – no minors, elders or pets to consider the health, welfare and nutritional impact of this crazy idea. We're a vegetarian household and I've been following MSE from about 2007, although you can see from my profile that I only got the courage to join in in 2010!

I already cook from scratch, batchcook, shop in ald*, L*dl, H0me bar gins etc etc and I'm familiar with Weezl, Jack Monroe, Memorygirl, Frugaldom, Frugal Queen, Mean Queen and indeed, own tupperware very like our own dear Queen!

Actually, I started following MSE because I came across Weezl74's thread about feeding herself and Acetate Monkey (her DH) for 50p a day! I'm hoping that really'ramping up' my ingenuity with food will save us some money – basically because I'm pretty sure that I have absolutely nothing that could be sold on the bay of E, and won't be of any interest to surveysites because I don't fit any familiar categories!

Anyway, I hope that my witterings maybe of use to myself for motivation and if they are of any interest to anyone else on here, then welcome along for the ride. :D


Greying
Pounds for Panes £2,300/£10,000 - start date Dec 2023

Coins for Camping (March) -  £7/£15  (Camping TTD - £45/90)

Grocery spend March £174.96/215  Charity Blankets completed 1/24


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  • Greying_Pilgrim
    Greying_Pilgrim Posts: 5,336
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    edited 11 July 2013 at 7:27PM
    Today has gone well. I try not to waste food, so used up 3 avocados that were definitely about to expire. I bought 5 for £1 (haas) to see if I could get to like them - I've only ever been given them raw - usually in big lumps and don't really like the taste.

    Anyway, the 3 got turned into a thai-flavoured savoury custard - cooked in the pressure cooker rather than the oven - and I have to say they were delish. Cooked avocado is definitely the way to go! With the weather being so hot, the custards went well with salad - carrot & coriander, beetroot salad, tabbouleh (well, a version of it) and raita with a tomato on the side. A perfect summer evening meal. Even DP approved yay! Nice food and no waste.

    Highlights today also included getting 5kgs of desiree potatoes for £1 YS'd in m0rrisons and I found 1p 'roadkill'.

    I'm going to overhaul my meal planner for July. If I can keep expenditure to an absolute minimum (milk, fruit and £5 for 'whoopsies') I will have £10 to put in the pot at the end of the month. Here's hoping.

    3 things I'm grateful for today;

    * The old gentleman who slowed his car (and the following traffic) down so that I could cross a busy main road

    * The sight of daisies planted in a tight rectangle in a garden, they were a riot of yellow and white - looking like mini fried eggs in the sunshine

    * The sound of a skiffle trio busking their hearts out in the street. They were only young 16 or 17?? but were singing their version of 'Green Door' with swagger and enthusiasm.

    Greying
    Pounds for Panes £2,300/£10,000 - start date Dec 2023

    Coins for Camping (March) -  £7/£15  (Camping TTD - £45/90)

    Grocery spend March £174.96/215  Charity Blankets completed 1/24


  • Shovel_Lad
    Shovel_Lad Posts: 1,123
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    Evening :wave:

    Enjoying your witterings :)

    Sounds like you have a good plan and I look forward to reading more.
  • Happy new diary!

    I too am veggie, although I'm the only one in our household. I've never even heard of thai savoury custard though, let alone tried it!!

    I understand your point about survey sites etc, but have you tried swagbucks? They are an american site but accept everyone in UK too, and they pay out in Amazon gift vouchers or Paypal. You can do surveys on there, but you can equally earn points by daily clicks and voting in polls etc.

    PLMBL Xx
    Debts @ LBM £23,729.31. Debts @ 08/04/2016 £0 :j
    Best win so far - holiday to Florida
  • Greying_Pilgrim
    Greying_Pilgrim Posts: 5,336
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    Goodness, you pootle off to load leftovers into snap boxes and bags and folk drop in to visit! :D

    Thank you Shovel Lad - I hope to keep this diary going (hopeless at the paper kind).

    PLMBL - thank you for your suggestion. I have heard of 'swagbucks' - from being around MSE, but know nothing more than that really. In the spirit of not ruling anything out, I shall investigate further. Thankyou.

    Nope, I'd not heard of savoury avocado custards either, I didn't even realise that you could cook them! But I tried roasting them - for a Buddha bowl - at the weekend, and that was totally lush. Then I came across this recipe . I didn't have all the ingredients, but using what I had, the flavourings went in a thai direction - grated fresh ginger, cayenne, fresh chopped coriander, lime zest and juice with the coconut (powder from appr*ved foods).

    I couldn't afford to have the oven on for 1hr to cook it in a bain marie, so put it in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes at high pressure - in individual ramekins. I also didn't puree the mix in a blender, I used a fork to mash the avocado with the lime juice and zest and quite liked the 'rustic' texture (still quite mousse like) it gave.

    Definitely a recipe I would make again, and purely by chance, it was a great 'light' dinner for a hot summer's day. :D

    Well, thank you for stopping by. I'm away to my bed. See y'all tomorrow.

    Greying
    Pounds for Panes £2,300/£10,000 - start date Dec 2023

    Coins for Camping (March) -  £7/£15  (Camping TTD - £45/90)

    Grocery spend March £174.96/215  Charity Blankets completed 1/24


  • Greying_Pilgrim
    Greying_Pilgrim Posts: 5,336
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    Good evening :hello:

    Well, today has gone very well. All packed lunches eaten, nothing bought that wasn't budgeted for and library books returned well in advance of their due date, so no fines looming on the horizon - hurrah!

    I darned 3 socks, meaning that they will get to fight another day. I then glanced down and noticed my big toe poking through the sock I was wearing........ #itneverends.........

    Dinner tonight is homemade pizza (black olive) and hand cut chips (from the YS'd potatoes bought earlier in the week), which I am just waiting to finish cooking, before dishing up. Plus it's an opportunity to escape the furnace that is currently the kitchen :rotfl:

    I saved £1 today by buying a cheaper bottle of wine than usual. So that is £1 into the key pot. Actually, it is far too hot for alcohol, so a small glass with our pizza will be more than sufficient - currently a pint of tap water is more than hitting the spot. :D

    I had a 'LBM' today - yes, it does happen from time to time :) I was figuring out how to incorporate yoghurt expenditure into the budget that I have set myself for the rest of the month, when it dawned on me that I could take advantage of this lovely warm weather and make some yoghurt. If I buy full-fat milk, instead of our usual S/S, then I could take out 500ml to make a batch of yoghurt and add water to the remaining milk to top it back up to 4 pints. That way, we would notice little or no difference in the consistency of our milk, plus I'd have a batch of yoghurt. Normally the house is way too cold to do such things, but I reckon it would work. Even if I could only get it to work for a couple of months over the summer, it will represent a saving :money:

    Do you want to follow my progress and adventures in yoghurt? I figure I'm turning into an auld hippy on the QT. I blame my dad, he would of loved to be self-sufficient and modelled himself on Tom Good. My mother, on the other hand, was not so enthusiastic.......... Mind you, when he kept pigs and turned them into brawn, I think perhaps the seeds of vegetarianism may well of been sown at that point, boiling pigs head is a strange smell _pale_

    Today, 3 things I am grateful for;

    - the arial acrobatics of swallows. They freely put on an incredible display for anyone willing to watch. I just couldn't work out if the sparrow hawk that was circling with them had given into the moment with reckless abandon, or was weighing up lunch.......

    - the art of darning. As a callow youth, I thought that my university education would render such skill acquisition unnecessary. Today I know better........

    - Public libraries (you're going to hear this one a lot), especially those that provide out-of-hours book return depositories.

    Right, dinner is calling and I've a date at Hampton Court.

    See y'all soon.

    Greying
    Pounds for Panes £2,300/£10,000 - start date Dec 2023

    Coins for Camping (March) -  £7/£15  (Camping TTD - £45/90)

    Grocery spend March £174.96/215  Charity Blankets completed 1/24


  • Shovel_Lad
    Shovel_Lad Posts: 1,123
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    Evening :hello:

    All sounds very good and I definately want to follow your yoghurt making adventures :D

    Libraries are great. One of the great pleasures in life for me in walking into the library and seeing a new book by a favourite author :j
    Enjoy your pizza, chips and wine.
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 89,642
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    Happy shiney new diary :grin:
    Love libraries but havent heard of out of hors drop off's~what a great idea :grin:
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing [email protected]. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

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  • Greying_Pilgrim
    Greying_Pilgrim Posts: 5,336
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    edited 13 July 2013 at 9:28AM
    Good Morning :hello:

    Yes Beanielou, the drop off option is a great idea. I think our library does it for a couple of hours either side of opening hours. Shovel Lad I agree about the thrill of new books waiting on the shelves just for you. I've been quite lucky with new releases lately.

    Well, today should be a NSD, but then again, it is a no save day either :(

    Still, I have already been out sowing seeds. Literally. I never buy lettuce, as they are too expensive, but since I have been reviewing how/what we eat - and now with our financial tightspot - I can see that leaves and herbs should play a bigger role in our diet. And, let's face it, the pavement splitting sunshine is helping - I did not feel this way last summer :rotfl:

    I used to have an allotment and have still got quite a lot of seeds left over. Now I know that seed viability declines over time - some varieties are worse than others, but today I have sown some lettuce - some peppery leaves and some conventional types and some basil and coriander. I realise it is probably too late in the season for the herbs, but I figure even if they only grow into micro-greens (oooooh, get me :rotfl:) they will be great to top Buddha bowls with. Mind you, you will NOT find me applying them to plates with tweezers like these poncy TV chefs do!

    I have some flat-leaf parsley seed that I will soak overnight - not got high hopes for this, as I'm sure it's one of the tricky ones in viability terms. And I will also sow some beetroot tomorrow. I have loads of beetroot seed - love it and used to grow masses, but I've never grown it for the leaf so we'll see what happens. I have yet to try growing marrowfat peas for 'pea shoots'. I ought to give it a go. I think a box of peas is about 35p from the supermarket, mmmmmm.

    Still, I've sown a load of seeds - most of which were free/promotional packs in the first place, I already had the pots and the compost was left over from when I had the allotment. So even if we only get 1 leaf to grow - we'll eat for FREE! :rotfl:

    Lunch will be pizza leftover from last night. I make a big (square) pizza and cut it into 8 portions. Usually we eat 4 with our meal and I freeze the other 4. Last night, I only gave us 2 pieces for dinner. This is not as bad as it sounds, as a) in the heat the dough had risen massively and it was bordering on a 'deep dish' and b) DP got the much larger of the 2 slices. Anyway, it means that we in effect have more pizza for another day :money:. We can also have a bun. I made 15 lemon cakes (cupcake/muffin size) whilst the oven was on last night. The recipe was actually off MSE - I must try to track it down and 'thank' the OP, as it was frugal enough. It used a jar of lemon curd (or 3/4 as I had - Morrison's 'saver', 22p), 2 eggs, marg, flour and a bit of sugar (I used less than stated, but have more of a savoury tooth than sweet). They are nice enough - lemony tasting and are supposed to remain moist. I have frozen a dozen, we'll have 1 each today, and I'm afraid one got lost to 'QC' last night :rotfl:

    Right enough of my witterings. There is housework to do and I'd better look at the menu plan again - definitely not up for using the oven again in this weather! :cool:

    Thank you for reading, I do appreciate it.

    See y'all later.

    Greying
    Pounds for Panes £2,300/£10,000 - start date Dec 2023

    Coins for Camping (March) -  £7/£15  (Camping TTD - £45/90)

    Grocery spend March £174.96/215  Charity Blankets completed 1/24


  • Upsidedown_Bear
    Upsidedown_Bear Posts: 18,264
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    I'm loving this diary :T
    I agree - libraries are great. We have out of hours drop off points too.

    Eating for free - now that's :money:
  • Greying_Pilgrim
    Greying_Pilgrim Posts: 5,336
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    edited 13 July 2013 at 5:00PM
    Good evening :hello:

    Upsidedown Bear - what an incredibly kind thing to say. Thank you.

    Well, I can't find the original post for the lemon cakes that I made last night, but the original poster was shaz-mum-of-two, so I send a 'thanks' through the ether and hope that she receives it. Also, just in case anyone else would like to try this frugal recipe, the link is HERE. I think I will be trying out the marmalade and cocoa version soon. The lemon flavour really develops with these cakes. NOM!

    Tonight's dinner is a vegetarian version of THIS. I normally substitute the stock for veg stock and use approx. 200g of puy or continental lentils in place of the meat. I also do it all on the stove top, I cook the lentils and pasta separately and then combine into the sauce. If we are flush I use feta, if not we have a boiled egg, quartered on top. Tonight we will have boiled egg :D It is great hot, but also is good at room temp - how we're having it tonight. Oh, and I won't be using parmesan either. The puy lentils I use are appr*ved foods, bought in bulk ages ago, although tonight I am trialling it with chickpeas as I had cooked some for another dish. I'm also using pasta that is 'cous cous' shaped - just small round discs, which I also got from approved foods, as I can 'buy' it out of my stores for less than the orzo pasta that I got from ASD* when it was on special offer at 50p per 500g pack. :T

    Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

    - television recording machinery, which allows folks to go off to work, and yet not miss something that is going on at the same time. Even if that something is just grown men going round and round in circles........*sigh*. Keeps DP happy........:D

    - hedges. For their leaves and (possibly) flowers. For providing support to animals, insects, birds and even other plants. And for their ability to provide shelter, shade and privacy........

    - folk who 'join in'. You make a difference.



    Right, I'm signing off for the night, there may well be another small glass of wine to go with the 'casserole'. Well, it needs finishing off - and I'm quite happy to sup water at the same time. Plus I'm going to finally get round to my Hampton Court date, as it was on earlier last night, but luckily DP recorded it whilst I was on here...........:)

    Thanks for reading.

    See y'all later.

    Greying
    Pounds for Panes £2,300/£10,000 - start date Dec 2023

    Coins for Camping (March) -  £7/£15  (Camping TTD - £45/90)

    Grocery spend March £174.96/215  Charity Blankets completed 1/24


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