Finally reaching out for some help...

ZTD

kerri_dfw wrote: »

I've decided to wait until my bonus comes in to buy the dehydrator, you can rehydrate food once you've dehydrated and it'll be a way of storing my allotment harvest for a year so I can eat it when it's out of season and won't waste any. I don't need a dehydrator right this very moment, I need to pay off my debt and £200 on something that will only come into use when I am growing more than I can eat isn't very clever is it.

Have you looked at pickling and what is described as "canning"? (Though to my eyes, no cans are involved)

Though if it is root veg that tends to last a looong time in the right conditions.

kerri_dfw wrote: »

z I have no idea how tasty vegans are, but I shall make some dairy/meat free food to take with me.

Ah! I understand...you need to lure them out into the open first...

kerri_dfw

Feeling quite MSE today, have bought some curtains that I wish to hang but
a) I'm too short to use a drill to put them up
b) I don't have a step ladder so will require standing on furniture that is out to get me
c) I don't own a hammer drill

So instead I am going to go to that DIY place, get three bits of dowel, 6 curtain pole ends, 6 command strips and diy it to make my own poles. The command strips will stop me having to drill as they hold 3kg each. Have goggled and this seems the best way to get my curtains up and stop the cold + noise getting. Should cost me about £20 to do, and considering 1 pole can cost £20 alone I'm happy about this. Still need to get another pair of curtains though, so I'll also be going to that Swedish place later this evening. But will need to take back curtain hook things as they'll no longer be required, yay.

kerri_dfw

Just put another £30 to pay Freemans to a nice round £800 number. It was bothering me that it wasn't a nice number

Finances update:

After rent and deposit have gone out I have the following available:
£36.86 vanquis
£146.17 hsbc
£186.24 online saver
£110.37 4% saver

Oh and the charges for hsbc this month are only £3.38 which I'm really happy about.

I have £59.19 to come off the c/c on the 21st December for the Waitrose xmas order and £12.56 to come off there on Thursday for my veg box. I've calculated this into my finance update. Will also take a few bits back to ikea that aren't suitable this evening and try to get a refund for them *claps*

I have £50 in my purse which my friend gave me yesterday for the airport express I gave him, and this is going to be lent to my sister at the weekend until the 20th.

I spent £2.95 at lunchtime, and had £16 in my purse from my sealed pot from last year (was to be used for the xmas shop but as I've used different money source for this as it's easier to use coins when out and about than it is online).

kerri_dfw

Eep haven't updated in a few days, this is bad but then again I also don't have very good internet in my new house. We're going to get Mr V though so should be super duper soon
Today is my first NSD in ages. My veg box arrived yesterday and the veg was gorgeous, I cooked a load of it up into a kind of bubble & squeak mix with some rice and that was yummy. I've got a tub of it to eat for my lunch today, hence the NSD.
I've lent my OH £80 and had to give him £15 as he'd bought something previously that I owed half of. I've been learning to spend only what is in my purse and from the £68 I had in there on Monday I have £49 remaining. This is still too much to spend in 5 days and I know it's because I've been buying my lunches everyday. Next week I might set the thread mini-challenge to be "take your lunch to work" hehe that'll stop me spending so much

kerri_dfw

Recipe for last nights spicy bubble & squeak:

2 potatos
3 carrots
2 white onions (didn't have red)
2 portabello mushrooms
4 green cabbage leafs
1 leek
1 teaspoon mild chilli powder
1/2 cup rice
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic
margarine / butter

1. Chop up all the veg so it's small but not too small
2. Boil carrots and potatos until soft (chop up really small, I halved then cut into 10 each of my potatos)
3. Boil rice until slightly undercooked then turn off heat and leave until everything else is cooked
4. Steam leeks and cabbage until colour is just starting to change
5. Fry onions in olive oil, then add mushrooms and garlic

6. When the carrots & potatos are cooked, mash them in a bowl with some margerine or butter to make the mash a bit creamy, add black pepper, salt and chilli powder to taste
7. Drain rice, pour boiling water over it to remove starch and add to the mash
8. Add onions/garlic/mushroom mix to the mash
9. Add leeks and cabbage to the mash
10. Mash it all together
11. Make into dollops and add to a frying pan
12. Fry lightly on each side until it goes golden brown
13. Dish up with some ketchup or gravy, I had it without anything and it was still yummy.

kerri_dfw

I went to a car boot this morning with my sister and it was awful. We had piles of clothes that needed to sold all of my sisters and her 23mth old son. She's a mahoosive horder. There were so many vultures and "!!!!!!" it was horrible. We were selling all the clothes for £2 each, they were all hardly worn but one girl stole a baby top and other people were trying to get our stock for nothing. Eugh! Plus it was cold and it was raining, so an hour in we gave up and I have said I'll stick it all on fleabay. Have kept it all in my car and it's going to go back to London with me. I'm going to sort it into summer/winter/etc whack the bras on first as they sell well. Then winter stuff after christmas and summer stuff just before summer. Will try to do a bit each week in order to get rid of it.

I've caught up on all my surveys today and started comping. I'm doing it by googling '"E: 11/12" moneysavingexpert' and I've also done tomorrows too. Hoping that if I do it this way I'll be able to enter lots of them, will be much better when Mr V arrives on the 19th with super fast b/band.

It's been a slightly MSE weekend, £20 on petrol to my parents, £20 for coffee/cake for me, sister, nephew, mum and take home cake for dad. Lent my sister £50. Bought a xmas tree in a bag that was £59.99 reduced to £19.99 with 20% off, bag broken so they said we could have it for £10, it went through the til at £8 as 20% off yay Then someone hadn't put their trolley back so I got another £1 coin yay.

Off back to Bmth with a car full of my sisters clothes, will defo sort through and pinch some

kerri_dfw

Ooh completely forgot that I earnt £5 amazonia voucher to go towards OH's kindler I did this through joining swagbucks on Friday, so 3 days to build up 849 points. Not sure it will continue on that but I've got 160 points already since then yay.
I'll put my referral here in case anyone wants it, and I'm happy to PM how I get 100 points a day within about 10 minutes, simples.

edit: removed re: Z's comment, didn't realise I couldn't post it sorry

welshywoo

hello kerry_dfw I have been following the debt free by xmas 2012 thread and have subscribed to your diary too .. I have clicked onto swagbucks via your referral link thank you .. hopefully can start earning bucks (and vouchers) soon

ZTD

It's against forum rules to put referrer codes on here. There is a board for referrer codes though - but be sure to read the sticky for it first.

kerri_dfw

welshywoo wrote: »

hello kerry_dfw I have been following the debt free by xmas 2012 thread and have subscribed to your diary too .. I have clicked onto swagbucks via your referral link thank you .. hopefully can start earning bucks (and vouchers) soon

Aw thanks for subscribing and for the SB link will pm you my daily checklist as a thank you.

ZTD wrote: »

It's against forum rules to put referrer codes on here. There is a board for referrer codes though - but be sure to read the sticky for it first.

Sorry Z didn't realise, have removed

I avoided all service stations on the way home, normally by from The Chicken fast food place but decided "nope don't need it just being greedy". So all the way from Bmth to London I just had me, 80's power ballads and a small bottle of water and a mahoosive craving for carrots dipped in custard, now that was weird! But guess what, a NSD for me yay :T