Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

Lynplatinum

Hiya All

Well, its been a few days since I ve been on here because my car died Poor brave little Kia - I would get another one like a shot but at short notice my mate in the trade got me a Chrysler Neon for £500 - had to take this out of my moving fund but I am soooooooooooooooo very glad that i had been saving hard all last year so at least that money was instantly there - instead of me having to scratch around for it!!

One of the main reasons I managed to save at all was last year's version of this thread so thank you all so much :A

I had put the money monthly in F!rst Direct's 6% account and so it earned a little bit. Martin's advice was sound again!


Dnd - Of course I forgot the cosy old boy network that ensures one is never unemployed nor misses a good salary with an 11% pay rise within 24 months!!! How silly of me! :rotfl:

Someone had been v good and done 7 bags of CS minimising - Im really really impressed! Once again an inspiration to me to GET ON WITH IT!

Have been a bit good at minimising - found Envirophone where you can send old mobiles, which, even if they dont want to give you anything for them guarentee to recycle them properly. I want to believe this and that they will send me £5 for two very old phones!

Have also been through old course material and thrown loads of stuff out - and filled half a recyling bag (same size as a bin bag!) Phew!

Making do - have spent another £12 at L!dil today but that should allow me to survive until the end of the month - other than that have been making do with foodstuffs from cupboards - which are, at last looking a bit empty!!! :j

Mending - have mended the appearance of some of my house plants by giving them a hair cut where appropriate!!!
Nite all

milasavesmoney

My poor renter got layed off today and called to tell me. He wanted to know if I would like any of his stuff as he had bought it when he moved in 10 months ago and would be leaving most of it behind. He finds it cheaper to buy new things instead of paying for moving costs across the country. (US)
So he was minimizing and I was calling people to see what they could use. I was able to help him bless several families who needed these things. I ended up with a new couch and love seat for the rental property. Plus a new microwave and small TV which are things my grown children can use.
I'm sad to see him go, he was such a great tenant. I do feel thankful that he didn't throw out these belongings, but he looked for someone to give them to.

iamsalt

Morning everyone

I am looking forward to these 4 days off work. I had hoped to get going on the garden, but the weather may scupper that, so I will get out there this morning.

Mila, I am pleased that your tenants things found good homes. I suspect that's why I get cluttered as I say to people that I will find a new home for things for them, but often the bits and bobs stay with me.

Made do with the last of the beef yesterday, really pleased because it ended up making 20 meals, plus the doggy house guests have enjoyed some too.

Mended - nothing yet but 2 pairs of work trousers need a little tlc to get them through another few months.

Minimise - weeds in the garden, although I have been told there is cricket at Canterbury today that's free so it might be a fun way to send the day.

S x

iamsalt

Ps siebrie, I was wondering how you worked out the thermos becoming cost neutral, I had been considering getting one of the wide mouth thingies, but have access to a microwave at work so need to figure it out

Thanks S x

Hard_Up_Hester

As it was the last day of term yesterday the staffroom fridge was emptied and hubby was given 12 pints of milk and a packet of chocolate biscuits which he passed on to DD2.
When we got to DD's DGD had sorted out a bag of mending for me to do for her, so that will keep me busy for a day or so.

misstara

Morning all

It's a beautiful day here so planning to go out for a walk later on. Yesterday was miserable so I just stayed in and did some bits and bobs around the flat. The paperwork on the desk is now sorted, some I will need to take to work to put in my CPD folder, some for shredding and some for recycling. The desk is now almost free of clutter, just the ironing pile on it which I will tackle today at some point. I have also sorted out the bookcase and minimised a lot of it to a bag for the CS. The rest has gone into the bin or put away in a better place. It looks so much better now it's clear of clutter.

Yesterday for tea, we had HM pizzas which were very yummy, used up the last of some cold meat and mozzarella. I'm working later so I'll make up a salad to take with me and OH said he will probably grab something from the freezer or make a sandwich. I'm working tomorrow morning close to an Aldee so I'll pop in there after work to get a shop.

Hope everyone has a good day and has some sunshine

savingpennies

Morning all.
Well the sky is blue and the sun is out here... just opened the blind of the study - it's getting cloudy. Well as long as it is dry, I'll be off to L**L later, then spend an hour in the garden and hopefully a walk down the canal later.

Lynplatinum: I'm saving all the cashback from credit card/current account/quidco along with vouchers from doing surveys, as well as any £2 coins that come along. It gets put into a savings account to pay for Christmas. I've done this for a couple of years and last year I had a surplus which I've left there for this year. I find I don't miss it and Christmas doesn't come as a surprise.

Thank you for the tip about Envirophone - I've some very old phones lying around which I know I won't get money for but if they can be recycled I'll be happy.

Make do: picked up some YS bacon, some pork and a piece of beef. I'm finding that I'm able to pick up nearly all our fish/meat as YS items at the moment. Last night's tea was leftover hotpot with the last of the frozen broccoli, a few leeks from the bottom of the fridge and some sweetcorn to bulk the veg up for 3 of us.
Meal plan for next week sorted and shopping list done.

No mending to do. Minimising tomorrow when I hope DD2 will help me put some stuff on Ebay.:D

Siebrie

iamsalt wrote: »

Ps siebrie, I was wondering how you worked out the thermos becoming cost neutral, I had been considering getting one of the wide mouth thingies, but have access to a microwave at work so need to figure it out

Thanks S x

The Thermos cost €19.95; dh usually pays €3.95 for a sandwich. 19.95 / 3.95 = 5.05. So, after 5 uses it's reached break-even point. I did not count the price of the food prepared at home, as he usually takes left-overs, which are not enough for a whole plate at the evening meal, or half a tin of thick soup. It needs to be heated at home, as he does not have access to a microwave at work. If you have access to a microwave at work, I would not buy the Thermos.

iamsalt

Siebrie wrote: »

The Thermos cost €19.95; dh usually pays €3.95 for a sandwich. 19.95 / 3.95 = 5.05. So, after 5 uses it's reached break-even point. I did not count the price of the food prepared at home, as he usually takes left-overs, which are not enough for a whole plate at the evening meal, or half a tin of thick soup. It needs to be heated at home, as he does not have access to a microwave at work. If you have access to a microwave at work, I would not buy the Thermos.

Thanks Siebrie, useful to know. I will hold off from bringing more things into the house

S x

mumto2monkeys_2

Ah, time glorious time today. Love a bank holiday.

Made do: chips from some sorry potatoes.
Mend: crocheted.
Minimise: lots of paperwork shredded, things listed for sale on Facebay and a big bag of boy's clothes for Dsis. (Unfortunately, DS needs all new summer stuff, but won't dwell on that for now...)