From debt to freedom...

Dakota_Rose

‘This too shall pass’. It won’t be long till the spring arrives and we’ll all be feeling a little more hopeful and less battered by the weather.
There’s nothing like a car to scupper financial progress though I find! And always so frustrating when you realise you have no choice but to pay out if you’re reliant on them. Sorry you’ve had a tough fortnight.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Spendless, Cherryfudge, Willowtree222, SA, Dakotarose and Lucielle.

Spendless - yes I do still have an emergency fund, though the amount I have free to put in has fallen to £25 a month so it is quickly depleted when emergencies happen, or rather it takes months to get it back up to a reasonable amount. It is something I need to try and put more aside for…

Cherryfudge - the seeds I bought were 2 types of cherry tomatoes and then they had an offer 5 packs of seeds for £5 and they were National Trust collaboration seeds. I suspect they are last year’s seeds but still well within the 2 year date stamp. I chose delphiniums, sweet peas, 2 varieties of cosmos and cerinthe. I do love cosmos…they are prolific flowers and produce enough to look lovely in the garden and to cut for inside! I also found some nasturtium seeds that I hadn’t sown from last year that were gifted to me so thought I must sow those as edging plants for my raised flower beds. I’m also tempted to plant them at the allotment to edge the veg areas and hopefully have them as a deterrent for the rabbits. I wonder why rabbits never nibble the weeds??!!

Today has been household chores and some baking. DS3 is, mercifully, back to full health. We did the grocery shopping and then DH turned the car beachwards! I was so pleased! We just had an hour there, long enough to walk the length of the beach. It was low tide so had a good way to go. I love the beach in winter…it is empty and wild.

DS1 and his gf came this evening. It is DS’s birthday next week so we had a celebratory takeaway tea. I made a birthday cake - a triple layer brownie, which he has taken back home with him. Now that he lives an hour’s drive away, I haven’t had much chance to see him but hope that will improve as the weather gets better.

DSD1 has also been busy in the kitchen making chewy soft centred cookies, which looked really good.

The rest of the month now needs to be frugal as the takeaway cost tonight was considerable and all monies in have to go to DD4’s rent.

Cherryfudge

The takeaway was a treat for your DS, and a nice way of celebrating his birthday, so don't feel guilty. February is a short month, so there are two or three days fewer days to stretch the money over. Probably not easy, but you will get there.

How lovely to have a beach walk! We are a long way from the sea but we went up a track to a vantage point overlooking the (rather misty) countryside today. It's a reminder of what will be a regular activity come the summer.

Your seeds are a reminder of summer too! They will more than repay you when they grow. Meanwhile enjoy the anticipation. 😊

lucielle

I can’t grow seeds, they end up really ‘leggy’ or I kill them pricking them out (amazed if that gets past the filter!)

L

Oooh it did!

joedenise

I'm the same @lucielle so I generally buy small plants shortly before they need to be planted. I definitely have more success that way. I bought a couple of butternut squash plants - one didn't produce any fruits and the other went mental and I got 9 (yes 9) good sized squashes (around 1Kg) from it. I've given away 3 and used 3 and still have another 3 in the cupboard which need to get used over the next few months!

lucielle

I wish garden centres would let you do a pick and mix for veg. I don’t need a bazillion brussel sprout plants etc.

L

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Cherryfudge, Lucielle and Joedenise.

I’ve got a week off from Job 1 so am trying to be as productive as possible! Had a lovely weekend…the dry weather on Saturday enabled a couple of hours of pottering around in the garden and at the allotment. I did get some more seeds sown - calendulas, peas and rhubarb. The tomato seeds from last week have germinated as have the cerinthe. I start seeds off indoors in the porch as it has lots of light and I have a table to maximise the amount sown! As the plants get bigger. I transfer to the greenhouse at the allotment.

DH and I went out for a meal on Valentine’s Day. We had a voucher that had been gifted to us for our wedding so it was lovely to enjoy the meal.

DD4 has been looking at accommodation options for next year. She is trying to find somewhere that is reasonably priced…most prices are around £350 per week and upwards 😳. It is her intention to come back and work through the summer but even then it will take every penny I can set aside.

One of the things I treasure about time off work is the chance to cook without the rush. DH is very helpful and does cook half of our evening meals, usually on the evenings where I am working both jobs on the same day, but this week gives me chance to enjoy time in the kitchen. Last night was jacket potatoes with homemade quiche, followed by pineapple upside down pudding. DSD1 is vegetarian so made a little individual quiche for her! Also made a batch of rock cakes. Youngest DD and DSD1 have been busy making their giant chewy cookies as well so the snack tins are well stocked!!

Spendless

Eeek to the accommodation costs. Is that a house/flat share and self catering? What do the other students do as presumably some live away from home and even if on the max loan that would still leave a defecit?

Is living further out and commuting in an option? I pay just under £200 per week for my daughter's accommodation (shared house converted to 4 beds, bathroom, additional toilet, kitchen/diner, back garden and garage in residential area) with bills included (charged if electricity goes above x amt, fingers crossed thats never happened) in SE London. I know that some of my DD's coursemates pay less (admittedly not by much) than her accommodation costs.

Could she do the figures of how much it would be to do this based on her timetable and how frequently shed need to commute?

Quiche sounds nice. When my DD was veggie I found that was the best way to serve 2 diff meals, a meat and a veggie version of the same thing with accompaniments everyone could share.

How lovely you got to go for a Valentine's meal with a voucher from your wedding.

Cherryfudge

I bet your kitchen smells lovely! I've been baking too, one of the things I enjoy most.

Student accommodation seems horrendously expensive to me. I hope your DD finds somewhere that works from all angles. My DD is still best friends with one of her house-sharers from student days and the group of them still meet about once a year, though that's getting harder to arrange as they have families. It can be a seminal time (my own memories of house share involve the gigantic 'friendship cake mix' that escaped its bowl overnight. That and cabbage for breakfast, lots of brie on the menu and our host soaking huge bowls of dried fruit in alcohol for Christmas cakes).

I'll be interested to hear how your rhubarb seeds do. I planted lots last near and not a single one germinated. (Sigh). However, my one rhubarb plant seems happy enough.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Spendless and Cherryfudge.

I’ve sown 2 or 3 lots of rhubarb seeds over the last couple of years. Germination has been quite good but takes a while. I have been known to put the seed tray at the back if the greenhouse tray and then been caught by surprise that they have actually germinated!! I planted out 3 plants grown from seed last year and am looking forward to the first harvest this year.

We are encouraging DD4 to look further out. She is quite isolated and hasn’t made any friends which I find sad because the friends I made at uni, I have remained close to - they came to the wedding last year and to DD1’s wedding a couple of years ago. I have suggested she ask if she can stay in halls but she is reluctant to do that. I think she’s worried they will say no, but I think it’s worth an ask.