FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE part 3, July - Dec 2010

landregistrylass

Dear all - thank you for my pea advice. Have to admit that they are SOOOO sweet and lovely its a real treat to have a few when I open the fridge for something else, so I had better get them blanched and in the freezer or there will be none left! DGS are coming next week for a week from Yorkshire so have ordered some cinema tickets from my Mr T rewards, and some of those entry tickets for attractions where £1 of vouchers buys £4 value of entry. I think of these rewards as free - I would shop there anyway, as its the only supermarket locally (apart from W88trose, which is only for Ladies what lunch I think due to the prices). I am so looking forward to seeing them. We will make bread, and pizzas, and they can "help" on the allotment. The only thing I have a problem with is keeping up with them on the football pitch. Any ideas for keeping them out of mischief ladies? (I say ladies as we seem to have frightened off the chaps)

Winchelsea

Will just say first, Erme , hope you get on alright and soon feel better.

Have had another frugal day out. Took a sandwich out today (HM bread, HM coleslaw and home cooked blackeye beans fried up with spices) - delicious! Had an apple and a flask of coffee too. Ate it alongside the river, (with an audience of black-backed gulls!) and watched the world go by.

Then, a return visit to the art gallery, as there was a free 45 min guided tour of the exhibition. Enjoyed it very much.

Afterwards, got the bus up to the hospital to visit DH.

slowlyfading

evening guys

July is going to turn out to be an expensive month I think - had to renew my car tax this morning and we need to buy lots of bits and pieces for moving. As soon as we're in and settled, I'm going to do a budget to see how far we can make the money stretch, as I don't get paid until the end of Sept.

Met an old friend today for lunch which was lovely I have a feeling that as soon as I start work, keeping in contact with certain people is going to be difficult In some ways, it was all so much easier when we were at school. At the same time, those were the worst years of my life. Strange, huh?

Kerry_Woman

Sending hugs to those in need of them at the moment.

enjoyfinancialchallenges

lrl. I laughed at you saying your peas are being eaten before reaching the freezer, to be honest probably the best thing for now as recomendations are that peas as as well all other vegs you want to freeze should be processed as soon as picked to preserve flavour,vitamins, colour etc, also they should be in prime condition. They wont be dangerous to eat just not as good as they would have been. So get them done asap or eat them all and pick another batch for freezing later.:D

Tightening my belt for the rest of this month as I seem to have been 'throwing my money around like a man with no arms', as my Mum would have said. Still not sure how that is possible but I know what she meant, did anybody elses Mum have sayings like that, I could write a book at things mine used to say, her being a Cockney also meant adding heaps more, some I'm convinced she made up to fit the occasion, unfortunately she is no longer around so I cant ask her now.

top_drawer_2

hey!

This is my (part of my) tea tonight (once I have washed and cooked them).

NualaBuala

Evening all:wave:

grandma247 wrote: »

TD never think you are not as good as anyone else. I have worked for some "posh" people in the past and they vary just like the rest of us. Some were perfectly ordinary in spite of their wealth because they were comfortable with it and it was not the focus of their life. One lady was very snobby when I first started there but by the time I finished a couple of years later she was having morning coffee in the kitchen with me. I just talk to people in a normal way, but If they have a position of authority I am also very respectful of that.
I hope you enjoy your holiday.

Erme get well soon.

Well said grandma247,I agree completely.:T

(((((Erme))))),hope you're surviving without your home comforts and not having fancy coffee withdrawal. I really hope you'll be doing better soon.

Winchelsea; sounds like another lovely frugal outing. I hope your DH is doing ok and you're not missing him too much.

Yay for your homegrown spuds Jen,:j were they as delicious as they look? Bet you're really looking forward to the holiday after all you've gone through.


All fine here. My health problems (possible M.E.) have kicked in bigtime this week but I'm not surprised really, I've been pretty good and had pushed myself a bit too hard I think.

Frugal activities today: I got a book out of the library called "How to live for free" so hopefully it will have some useful tips. Also, I got another Tesco voucher for doing surveys so that covered a gift for a neighbour who gave me a lift, plus a few treats for me. And I've started knitting again with some huge balls of wool I got cheap in Aldi. My first project is a teacosy which will hopefully be ready in time for my sister's birthday.

I've got just over a month till my TV licence expires and I'm really thinking of getting rid of the TV. Have any of you folks done this or thought about it? I know my ex would love the TV so it would get a good home. And I'd save €160 a year, plus hopefully be more productive!

Hope you're all well and have a lovely evening. Hugs to anyone who'd like one.

cw18

I'm debating giving up my TV Licence, but not my TV as such..... just pulling out enough kit so that I can't receive a signal (so dismantling the aerial which is in the roof space should be enough). That way I could still watch DVDs, which is what I'd miss if I got rid of the whole set up.

With the exception of putting it on to retune my Freeview (after a furniture move-around) and one crafting show (that I needn't have bothered with/wouldn't have felt I'd missed out by not seeing), I've not actually had my TV on for about 10 weeks now. I have watched odd bits, but only at OHs - and generally only 'cos he tends to have it on in an afternoon/evening either for a DVD or a film that's showing on TV (or the World Cup - during which I read and listened to my iPod - Formula 1, or golf!!!)

My Licence is good until the end of Feb, so - even though I could give it up now and get a partial refund - I'm going to make a decision around the start of next year. If I've still not watched much by then, I guess it can go. But if I start putting it on again (by then OH will have to come my way - hasn't yet by my choice - as DS will have moved out and I can't leave the dog for a weekend at a time) then I'll keep it running. Just a shame they don't do a 'pay as you view' version, as I'm sure that would save me the majority of the cost

NualaBuala

Cheryl, I'm similar in that I would like to be able to watch DVDs on it. But as far as I can tell in Ireland, there's no exemption for that. At least that's what I understood from this FAQ:

Q. Do I require a TV Licence even though I do not use my TV for watching broadcasts?
A. Yes. The position is that once a television set is capable of displaying conventional television broadcasting services e.g. RTÉ One, TV3 and BBC One then the licensing requirement applies.

cw18

I'd argue the 'capable of displaying' even if all I did was get rid of my Freeview boxes - we don't get the analogue signals anymore, so without a digi-box of some sort my TVs aren't 'capable of displaying' (all 3 in the house are old sets without F/view built in).

But as one of my boxes is also my DVD player/recorder (still have some family videos I want to transfer to DVD, so not prepared to get rid of that machine and replace it with a cheap player instead) it's just as easy - and probably more acceptable to the TV Licencing people as it's harder to re-set up for odd 'sneaky viewings' - to dismantle the aerial.


I've been told that as long as I don't get a watchable signal in the house - and don't watch shows live on my laptop/computer, though the sites that make them available for viewing at a later date are OK for on-line viewing - I don't need a licence, even if I still have a TV set in the house.