Fire Fox's Debt-Free in 2009 Diary

Fire_Fox

Yesterday a letter from the freeholders solicitors arrived, giving us notice that the apartment building is to be sold. Also a recorded delivery card ... which I thought nothing of until another chap in my building mentioned he received a similar card. I suspect this means legal action with regards to our unpaid and long-disputed service charges. :eek: We were given seven days to pay last summer, then another fourteen days. I was frightened initially, but got my head together enough to write pointing out they hadn't resolved the many issues. No word since so I shall have to try the same trick!

Today was a nicer day, in that my parents came over and fitted my bargain induction hob AND a new double socket so the microwave can be moved off the freezer. It cost me a grand total of £12 in tools (Wilkinsons/ Pound Empire) plus the ingredients for coq au vin (legs from the cheap chickens) with jacket potatoes (Smartprice).

Unfortunately we now need a new frying pan and/ or casserole pan suitable for induction hobs. Mr. Fire Fox then suggested laying a really large (ideally 50cm square) thick wooden chopping board over the top of the freezer to bring it up to the same height as the worktop. Genius! :T Now we have to source this item the MSE way!!

End of month accounting:

Income £730
Essential outgoings £210
Non-essential outgoings £195 + dad's birthday (not finalised)

Paid into savings £450
Increased overdraft by £150
In cash in my purse £60
Unaccounted for -£35 ??

I have realised this month how complicated the accounting thing is! My income is somewhat irregular, I have £500 going back and forth between A&L and Co-op to ensure I get my £100 for switching, and am presently paying Mr. Fire Fox's halves of the bills, which he gives me in cash approximately quarterly!! :rolleyes:

Fire_Fox

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Also calculated my electricity usage over last couple of years and will update when I get my next bill in mid January.
10/06 - 03/07 = 7.5 units per day (just me here then)
11/07 - 02/08 = 11.7 units per day
03/08 - 08/08 = 10.5 units per day.

09/08 - 12/08 = 12 units per day, but heating not used until until late November.
01/09 - 02/09 = 17 units per day! :eek: This is just heating one room, for two to three hours a night in the really cold snap. The heating has been off for the last two weeks!

Fire_Fox

Mr. Fire Fox has paid his rent plus an extra £50 towards the bills, and I still had £60 from last month. Too much cash floating about the place = money burns a hole in my pocket ...
£200 has been deposited in the bank to reduce the scary looking overdraft. :T £70 gone right back out again to Maximuscle (four for three, free delivery, 15% cashback) and another £18 to Ethical Superstore for toilet cleaner and washing up liquid (free delivery, 10% cashback).

So I have £170 in cash to last me the month which sounds plenty, but that includes up to £100 on grocery shopping, £40 for travel passes and at least one night of drinks at my friend's flat (bottle of wine plus taxi home). :eek:

Fire_Fox

Asda shop has just been completed online, to be delivered tomorrow: approximately £85 including free delivery code and multibuys. Should also get 485 ipoints as I clicked through Mysupermarket and it was my first time doing so. :j

Expensive items were
8 cans of cider £6 (offer)
7 packs Walkers crisps £7 (offer)
3 tins Ambrosia rice pudding £2 (offer)
3 tins Ambrosia custard £2 (offer)
Cherry pie £2.20
Extra virgin olive oil £2
Worcestershire sauce £2
6 bottles of orange squash £6
3 packs of breakfast cereal £5.40
3 packs dried fruit £4
2 packs ready-to-eat nectarines £3 (offer)
2 packs chicken kievs £3 (offer)
Diced turkey thigh £2.40

Tried to buy less meat this time as we still have a fair bit left (mixed fish/ sausages/ bacon/ beef meatballs/ pork mince/ pork belly/ chicken pies/ chicken carcasses), but some shelves are seriously bare so a lot more spent on long-life stuff than usual. :rolleyes:

I don't think we can get our shop below £20-25 a week each without affecting our 'quality of life'. We have too many branded products - cereal, crisps, ketchup/ mayonnaise/ pickle etc. But we have at least dropped down a brand in some areas - Smartprice potatoes and onions (thought the bags were too big), British instead of organic chicken and milk, trying to buy a turkey drumstick if I also get lamb or fresh fish.

Fire_Fox

Forgot to report my night out on Saturday, just to my mate's flat. £5 Tesco voucher used so just £1 spent on wine, £1.50 on the bus there and £4 on a taxi home! :money:

Finally managed to complete some paid surveys yesterday; I rarely seem to be eligible! Have had another £3 from Pinecone tho; both lots of vouchers are waiting to be spent on lovely wine ... :rotfl:

Had to raise tickets for both the Wepromiseto purchases I made the other day as neither tracked, and my first ever cashback is coming up to ninety days so may have to do a little chasing there. Tesco Clubcard vouchers have not arrived either - another thing to follow up. :mad:

We have been pretty rubbish with meals lately, but tonight I have cooked an entire bag of pasta shells, a whole pack of bacon and a red onion, then mixed in a carton of soft cheese and some spinach and will be served with black pepper and grated cheddar.

I am still coveting the quick cooker from QVC and still need a frying pan that works on my induction hob (the bacon stuck AND I didn't have a pan big enough for the pasta) so ... prepare yourself for another Fire Fox online shopping frenzy.

Fire_Fox

Getting more and more confused by the pan purchases! Saw a Stellar Sauce Pot in TK Maxx today (like a metal jug that can be used on the hob) which I loved, but it wasn't induction-friendly. :mad: Quite like a couple of frying pans on the IKEA website, but can't get there for a while.

Whilst out and about I accidentally purchased a stainless steel wire spatula (£5) which we desperately needed, and another Brian Turner loaf tin (£4 from a gift card) cos the non-stick is so fab.

Fire_Fox

Ooooooh the DFW diaries have a new home!! :j

So far today spend of £24 on Kuhn Rikon tongs/ whisk, KR Swiss peeler and Kitchen Craft Professional double-action potato masher. Still need
A couple of non-stick ladles
Tesco Pro kitchen shears (in sale!)
KC Pro fish slice or similar
KC Pro meat lifting fork
Nice brushed steel can opener (ours is rusting).

Still want
Rosle gourmet thermometer (to replace a well-used red plastic probe)
Rosle cooking spoon
Rosle or WMF wine stopper
WMF Profi Plus double wheel pizza cutter (e-mail parents in USA)
And all sorts of other pretty things that I will never ever EVER use, such as a pastry roller, honey spoon, olive tongs and meat tenderiser. :rotfl:

I have a nice hanging rail from IKEA with a posh whisk, posh pastry blender, posh new wire spatula, hanging spoon rest and hanging scales. But I am fed up with not having a matching set, fed up with Mr. Fire Fox complaining how rubbish the other stuff we have is (IKEA and Wilko's cheapest) and fed up with trying to cut bacon with the hair scissors. :mad:

stressed.mum

Hi Fire Fox - have just read your diary and did't want to read and run - you seem to be getting on top of most things, but Iknow what you mean about the groceries, I find it impossible to get mine down even if I take a list and stick to it

Streesed xxx

Fire_Fox

Thanks for stopping by!

Tonight is a sneaky storecupboard-ish meal: crispy mexican tortillas that Mr. Fire Fox insisted on buying (and never touched), pork mince, frozen sweetcorn that Mr. FF insisted on buying (and never touched), three small red onions, garlic and fresh chilli, an ancient packet of mexican spice mix and an ancient lime! :T Served with Smartprice yoghurt (instead of sour cream), grated cheese and basmati rice. I'd pad it out with beans but he won't eat them. :rolleyes:

Debating making a vegetable curry with some Korma paste that needs finishing, spinach, onions, mushrooms and a tin of lentils. There will be plenty of rice left from tonight ... :cool:

Fire_Fox

Late last night I caved in and ordered the most beautiful Zack tin opener ... £29 including delivery!! :eek: Clearly my idea of what is expensive is changing. :rolleyes:

On the plus side I sourced a black melamine ladle and perforated spoon from a catering supplier for a couple of quid each. Not sure if I am going to be able to purchase them tho. Also found a huge end-grain chopping board for under £40 from another catering supplier.