I have lost my OS ways, help!

Caterina

Good morning all!

Lessonlearned I feel your pain re. plaster and rubble dust, I have given up cleaning and dusting until the works are finished!

Dragon I remember that time when the children seemed to have grown a couple of inches overnight! Thanks goodness for charity shops, jumble sales and hand me downs!

Lilyplonk good luck with your energy people! There is a website where you can monitor your energy usage by entering your meter reading every week or month. I used to do it religiously but as I lost my ways I stopped. Will look it up and post the link.

Today my OS plan is:

1. Watering my friends plants and running a wash in her machine

2. Using food I have at home instead of shopping - with some luck it could be a NSD

3. Seeing a friend for an event in John Lewis (on their new roof garden!). As I have the JL freebie drink and cake for July I won't have to spend for my refreshments.

DH's packed lunch salad is made, I only have to add some bread and fruit and he is sorted.

It would be nice if it rained a bit but if not I need to water garden and allotment.

I am really excited that so many people have joined me in returning to OS, thank you all, it feels so good to be back.

Just one thing if any of you lives in London or travels to London, I am about to put up a notice for a London meet, it would be lovely to meet you in person! I used to organise these on a regular basis and they were always great fun. And I have made lifelong friends.

Lilyplonk

Caterina wrote: »

................Lilyplonk good luck with your energy people! There is a website where you can monitor your energy usage by entering your meter reading every week or month. I used to do it religiously but as I lost my ways I stopped. Will look it up and post the link ..................

Thanks for that, Caterina .

Have already taken my meter readings and submitted them online - unfortunately they'd underestimated on the electric but overestimated on the gas.

Swings and roundabouts - c'est la vie :rotfl: But at least it was worth a try .

Trying to check out the Water Bill now - my meter is indoors and I can't remember when the last time was that they came to read it - fingers crossed .

Caterina

Here is the online energy monitoring link as promised:

http://www.imeasure.org.uk

Hope you find it useful. I am going to get the readings now!

D&DD

Have blown the dust off my notebooks and checked the bank this morning and already saved 11.99 a month as there was an old DD on there I forgot to cancel

Thinking about changing our bank accounts as we got HSBC advance accounts when we were in debt so we could take advantage of their better loan rates etc we don't use any of the perks at all now and we're paying for the account think I'll ring them today see what they suggest as thats another 12.95 a month

Caterina

No chance of a NSD, the builders are back and banging in the back of the house, I am getting a headache and am heading out for a quick cafe lunch. Ah well some you win some you lose.

EDIT at 9:40 pm: today was a NSD! After posting the above, in despair for the banging and noise (the plumbed WHISTLES, I can't stand it, worse than the banging!) I stopped on my tracks and reflected.

That sort of knee jerk decision is exactly what made me lose my OS in the recent past, thinking "ok it is only £4 or 5 for a cafe meal", but it all adds up. So I put together a nice cheese sandwich, an apple and a handful of almonds and called DH at work. We met for a quick half hour picnic near his workplace (he had the packed lunch I made for him yesterday) then I went to see my friend.

The free event was great, James Wong was speaking, really nice down yo earth guy and we had the opportunity to ask him lots of question. Then a woman gave us a lesson in face yoga, then we got a nice free sample, followed by free tea and cake in the cafeteria with the JL monthly voucher.

Back home, quick dinner of hm gazpacho, beans and fennel salad and fruit yogurt. Then while DH went to his martial art class I went to the allotment to finish planting the salads. After watering (also the front garden) I did the washing up, had a quick wash myself and now am having a well deserved rest, waiting for DH's return before going to sleep.

All in all a really lovely OS day! Hope you all had a good day too.

Good night.

Caterina

Good morning,

Whoah, the thunder and lightning storm last night! I got up to check if our cat was outside (note to myself: need a new cat flap ASAP) but he was indoors, thankfully. If I had known it was going to rain so much I could have avoided watering garden and allotment, never mind.

Today's OS plan:

Bootcamp (already paid for in babysitting), top up food shopping with my discount voucher, lunch at home then visiting a friend who needs help with drawing her pension from abroad.

There is a clearance sale of Designer Guild textiles in West London and I am sort of tempted but then again I have all the bedding and towels I need, so I should pass. See how it goes.

Tomorrow there is a clearance jumble sale at the church hall across the road from me, I am sure it will be a lot cheaper. I have lots of towels from these jumble sales, and tea towels. Look! I talked myself into not going to the Designers Guild sale!

Have a good day all.

fuddle

Caterina wrote: »

Here is the online energy monitoring link as promised:

http://www.imeasure.org.uk

Hope you find it useful. I am going to get the readings now!

I will have a look at that, thank you. I'm with OVO now and don't mind if I pay too much into the account as we get 3% interest on extra amounts incurred. Sounds alright to me.

We were forecast to have showers at 11pm last night. The lightening strikes were something else! :eek: I have never seen the like before. We didn't water the growing things last night so saved some water there

Today is pork kebabs (my trick for eaking out meat into something bigger ) and salad (our cut and come again lettuce) with boiled potatoes.

Some washing has been folded with out being ironed, although not all.

Will take my crochet blanket to continue with in the car as I have an hour gap. If I drive home I wont get paid drive time or petrol so will drive to next house, enjoy the peace and crochet happily.

Had 2 slices of toast and fruit so won't take lunch.

jackel

Really enjoying reading this thread so full of little ideas to cut back the finances. Very welcome here as money is scarce. Thankyou to you all.jac.xx

grandmasam

Found some frozen chicken thighs in the bottom of the freezer! so defrosted, boned and stuffed with hm sage and onion stuffing made a hot dinner last night.
With the rest cold I now have some for salad meal, and one I will turn into coronation chicken for a change.Also made a lemon drizzle cake .This has kept me out of the shops and no spending!!
Caz

Caterina

Way to go, people! And a warm welcome to jackel!