NST June – Just Keep Jousting!

abundant1972

Evening all...

synonymous - Thanks for the advice regarding the reports. Am going to iron out my credit report once and for all!

32b3in2013 - i rememeber you from Kat's time here I think - welcome back... what's been happening in your life - how's the finances?

lilt - if there is anything we can do just say... if you want to share what's been going on we are here. Hugs x

applemuncher - We will nail July - stay strong. Only a few days to go! 15/20 is pretty awesome going too!

After my last post I got annoyed with myself... i *can* live without bread and milk. I opened the cupboards and thought 'no - I AM going to use up this stuff!!!!'. I have herbal teas that are amazing... I can drink black coffee if need be... I have some corn cakes to use for bread... the cornflakes i have can be a crisp/snack substitute... I'm going to use it all up - and go shopping on Wednesday 01st July... So today = SFD number 17

Thanks everyone for everything. It makes such a difference being back on here. x

Synonymous

Good luck abundant - don't be afraid if the report is really long - that's totally normal

I'll be joining you in the weird dinners till Wednesday too - no way I'm buying any more food until July! Might have to bake something sweet to see me through though.

Hugs to you lilt, hope you're in a better place soon x

I've been on the allotment today :eek: by 'eck it's like a jungle. I'm now trying to commit to sorting it, although torrential rain forecast for tomorrow isn't a good start! Part of the strimmer has broken too, so have to knot a single length of strimmer wire to the mechanism and then replace it by hand each time Also saw my allotment neighbour who seemed disappointed I wasn't just going to give the allotment up so they might get someone better. Ah well, will try and rouse the family to come down and help me attack it - last time we had great fun when it started to rain and everyone carried on dressed in bin bags! :rotfl:

mothernerd

DS2 came round last night so went to put money from him into the post office this morning. When I got back it had already credited so paid more off a cc - if I have timed things correctly I may be able to transfer another couple of hundred from the highest rate card to the 0% one. I may have overdone the paying off as I will have enough going into the bank to cover the normal dd payments but the extra council tax and the quarterly water rates will have to go on a card (just paid it so will not accrue interest, effectively paying for things the month after I use them) and at least some food as i have left myself with less than £20 cash in my purse for the month.

Abundant I thought my French onion Soup was originally a Delia (from either Frugal food or Cooking for one and two - my original cook books when I moved into this house in 1982). Looked it up on the net and they seemed very complicated. This version http://soups.wonderhowto.com/how-to/make-french-onion-soup-with-delia-smith-bbc-278227/ is more like the one I make but I would leave out the sugar and the wine (use it if you have it and want to waste it in cooking - if I'm doing Chinese food I have successfully substituted with cider vinegar). I also no longer use oil or butter (just start with a little stock but that's because of my health). So caramelise the onions and garlic in oil/butter (or stock and I use a stock cube), then I add a spoonful of marmite to brown it, add the stock and I usually put loads of black pepper in then and more on top before I eat it. I sprinkle cheese on top if I feel like it but just let the heat of the soup melt it and usually eat it with a crust from the loaf (wholemeal seeded). I think ten minutes to soften the onions and ten minutes after adding the marmite/ pepper and stock is enough but as I've been doing it for thirty years I tend to not measure anything and it depends how many onions I'm using (if I only make a medium pan's worth there isn't enough to go in the freezer, as I just keep eating it).

Hugs for Lilt and anyone else who needs one.

Today I am grateful for internet banking that works, for puzzles (my favourite puzzle book has improved greatly - not bought a copy for nearly two years, more of my favourite 16 and 25 square sudokus, so should be able to make it last months) and for QI (never gets old).

Fmess

Big hugs lilt, I was just thinking today that I hadn't 'seen' you for a while but I've not been on here much either.

I have 3 more SFDs to add since I last updated Sorry for my sporadic posting but in between being sad, marking and the day job, I just haven't had the energy to come on here and post. I'm hoping things will calm down soon as the marking 'should' finish at the end of next weekend. I am way behind on their schedule but I'm not in a place to care too much and if they take it back off me it'll probably be a relief.

Trying to be kind to myself at the moment and not stress too much, had a nap yesterday and have just spent 10 hours in bed Need to improve my eating habits too as I'm barely having any fruit or veg.

Seems like you are all making good progress, my exciting news this week was that after payday I have gone to less than 8k debt (again)

abundant1972

Morning everyone - hang in there... 01st of July is just around the corner... new month... new start... Hang in there Fmess... you're almost out of the woods. Stay focussed on the good things in your life... and on the things you have some control over... like spending, organising and planning... and go for that all important walk andrecharge yourself out in nature. I for one really appreciate everyone who is having a tough time, still finding their way back here to post. lilt... calling... any others I have missed... keep coming back... we will always have hugs and will nag you so much about your debts that you'll forget all about everything else

I just posted this on another thread I'm in and thought it might help folk who are struggling through the last few days and are tempted to go out and splurge...

I got paid on Friday and I'm determined to 'make do' until the 01st on Wednesday. I'm out of milk and bread and in fact most things remotely exciting in my food cupboard haha... I had porridge with water and cinamon <wallpaper paste> and hot water with half a <very dried up> lime... I'm using up all the tins that have been at the back of my cupboard forever - making whatever. They may not make Masterchef - but it's food. I think of how folk in other countries live off staple foods day in day out... I know it is a matter of survival for many - and they don't have the same choices we have - but - they still inspire me and help me realise how lucky i am.

So... ask yourself - do i just want this or is it something I really need...? A wise friend once taught me that... The things we want are the little luxuries in life.

It is perhaps easier being single and not having a family to feed... I think if my Mum had tried feeding me some of the stuff I've eaten I'd be very disgruntled haha... It's about being creative. Mothernerd - that recipe sounds so yummy - I'm going to try it at some point in the next few days. Thank you!

Stay strong! Explore the back of your cupboards and the bottom of your freezers... and 'make do' if you can. Money saved here - is money that can come off your debts. Every £1 helps.

Bobarella

2 hours of weeding and strimming to tidy our front garden this morning. Bit of a slog but glad it's done.
Early lunch of sandwiches and coffee. A little light housework and now having a sit down.

I have to try and find something for the teachers end of year gift this afternoon as I'm the class rep. We have a decent collection together but it's the fear of getting the wrong thing! I'm going to inspect the gift card options in our local large sains as that would be easiest and if they don't have anything nice I will order John Lewis vouchers online and get my OH to print out the details from work tommorow. Will purchase using my MBNA rewards card to get the points then pay off immediately. I have enough in rewards saved from earlier to pay for my son's new school shoes for back to school in September so it all adds up.

Today should be a low spend day for us anyway as we just need a few small bits for lunchboxes.

Have a good one all.

Bob

The_Only_Girl

Hello everyone!

Three days to go before the end of the month! Not sure if I am looking forward to July due to tighter finance situation. We've written the budget now and if we could stick to it or go under target I would be over the moon and it would feel like a massive achievement. On second thoughts yes I am looking forward to July and the challenge it will bring.

Yesterday was NSD 19. Hubby and I gave a lecture/presentation about budgeting in church yesterday and it felt successful. If we could touch somebody's life and get them to sort out their finances, it would be amazing. Had a good response from the audience so here's wishing. We were invited to a friend's house afterwards, for a potluck meal. We made several dishes using up stocks from cupboard so it was a very frugal dinner party. Didn't get home til almost midnight.

Today was SPEND DAY though. It's DS2's birthday today and we had lunch at a Japanese buffet restaurant (lunchtime buffet for £11.90 per head). Total bill came up to £67.50 which in our present situation feels very steep. A few years ago we wouldn't have minded paying twice as much, but now that we are watching every penny, it feels painful to pay that much for a meal out. And.... Sad to say we had to leave early as DH started to have an asthma attack due to the steam coming from the prawns in the dimsum steamer close to where we sat, DS1 followed suit, but not as bad as DH, and the birthday boy wouldn't want to be left out so he too had a very mild wheeze. We nearly got charged for uneaten food (so called wasteful charge) but after explaining the medical emergency, they waived it off. Whew... We are home now and the three asthmatics are feeling much better. Sadly I had to abandon them coz I had to go to work till 11pm. Such a downer to leave your child on his birthday.

Got to go now and wishing you all a very sunny Sunday and a very productive NSD.

Bobarella

Gosh had no idea that asthma could be set off by steam how sad for you all. The presentation to your church sounds really good. I would have been impressed to have heard a couple I knew passing on their hard won knowledge. Much more relevant than reading hard does and don't online. Hope your shift wasn't too bad after all that.

mothernerd

Also eating slightly strange combinations to use up what is in the freezer. Had cauliflower dhal with a fish fillet yesterday and had (cook from frozen) chicken breast with lots of roasted parsnips for lunch (cooked using some of the garlic dip DS3 gets with his takeaway pizza) which was lovely.

I don't use/have many toiletries but have cut open and used up some nearly empty after sun cream and have taken out of the drawer a smidgen of cooling foot gel (about 5/6 years old) to use next time my feet swell from the heat. Still using up old pens (including felt tips) and notebooks. It all helps.

Yesterday I forget to be grateful for the sunshine which dried all my washing (it's very strange how it wavers between lashing down/ overcast to flag cracking sunshine). Grateful for books and hot water (in anticipation of a bath).

The_Only_Girl

abundant1972 wrote: »

Afternoon everyone!



mothernerd - any chance of your recipe for onion soup - i'd love to know how to make it

theonlygirl - great idea about the onions - can you do it for other veg? I'm really bad for buying things like carrots and then having them shrivel up in the fridge through neglect!



Good day here... Sorting out my finances... Managed to stash £500 into my Emergency Fund - going to aim for another £500 in the next few months. Going to keep the credit card and use it every month for small buys, then pay it off in full - hopefully to build a better credit rating...

Even though my debts are cleared - I got turned down for a bank account (current) with TSB... it could be because I have moved address twice in the last few months - but I've been with my current bank and employer for donkey's years, and I wasn't even applying for an overdraught. It had a really good interest rate (5%) on balances up to £2K, so am a bit miffed. I'm with N*twest and their interest rates/savings accounts/ISA rates are pretty low by comparison... Thinking I might get a statutory credit report (£2 each I think) to check all my info is correct...

Have a good day peeps x

Hi abundant I have thought about freezing other veges too. That would be my next experiment. Another option for wilting vegetables is vegetable soup. Saute them all together in a stock pot, blend and voila.

I think I might need mothernerd's recipe for onion soup (never had or cooked one before). I have 2/3 of my 5-kilo sack of onions to use up.

Congratulations on your Emergency Fund. Putting in £500 a month will build up quite a good sum in no time. I am so inspired by your journey, hopefully I am not too far behind you with my DFD. Having come this far from a huge debt, that last remaining debt is a source of major irritation for my OH and me. God knows how massively tempted we are to use our Emergency fund, currently at £500 plus our individual cash ISA's and the kids' CASH ISA to pay off that last remaining debt. But Emergency Funds is for rainy days and the rainy days will surely come, it's just a question of when. So with a bit of patience and determination we will just slowly but surely chip away that sum (as they say one bite at a time).

Sorry about you being turned down by TSB. It's their loss I think. Have you tried Santander 123? I have just moved my current account to them and I think it's fab. For only £2 a month service fee I get cash backs for direct debits (some of them, mostly utilities and communication bills) and monthly interest on balances (% rate depends on the remaining balance).

Lilt nice to "see" you again. You've been missed. Life can sometimes get in the way and sometimes it gets too hard to put up a fight. But with us sticking together we can conquer this debt world. Lots of hugs and kisses for you and jelly.

Sold 2 of my 3 items ending tonight. A few more ending next week so looking forward to the totals. Hoping to put some more on auction, I just need to find the time. Was originally planning to go to the car boot next Sunday the 5th July but that depends on the weather. Fingers crossed. Two more hours before my shift ends and can't wait to put my feet up.

Good night turtles.