Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2017

Floss

Slowdown i have recently dropped from f/t work to part-time and contracting...I love part time, and quite enjoy a few weeks of contracting at a time, but am looking forward to my December off! We have an allotment so lots of gifts are made from produce off their, I am also a crafter & DH makes his own beer (40p/pint) and wine (£2-3 a bottle) so we reduced costs but not necessarily lifestyle

silvasava

Slowdown - I would second Villagelifes suggestion. It may take a little while to adjust but I'm sure you'll be able to make the necessary changes work for you. I've found since retiring that my household running costs have decreased considerably because I have more time to cook from scratch and research costs and shop for what we need rather than what we want. No complaints from DH yet - even my small attempts at growing my own have had benefits!
Good Luck!
Not posted for a while but still lurking! I've a small pile of mending but got rid of my dining room suite so now I need an alternate place for my sewing machine.
Have been using my slow cooker and made a lovely beef & oxtail stew with two double portions into the freezer. We had a roast chicken last weekend and the leftovers made another meal and two chicken and mushroom pies and I simmered the frame etc for stock for soups. We had fajitas during the week and a small portion was leftover so I had that in an omelette for my tea one night. No food waste in this house!!
Not much else to report - carry on the good work chaps!

[Deleted User]

I haven't worked since I retired in 1995 but I don't think I would have time to go to work now I now am my own boss so to speak and do what I want when I want to I have so many calls on my time though as folk think because you are retired you may get 'bored' haven't got the time for that either this week I have at the moment on tomorrow morning 'free' the rest of the week I am tied up with quite a lot of things I volunteer I look after my DGS every afternoon, I cook, knit ,swim got to U3A ,History club, run a quiz night team, attend a book club, take my less able /mobile friends to appointments etc, and generally run around like a headless chicken at times but no way would I ever think about work, its a horrible four letter word I loved my job when I was doing it ,but now prefer my busy life.I budget not only my time and energy, but also my house expenses.I have learned to enjoy life for very little outlay and wouldn't swap it for all the tea in china.Leave the work for those who really need it and come over to the dark side :):) life is for living and enjoying

JackieO xx

Slowdown

Thank you everyone for your comments.

I think you are right. I need to stop and take stock and slow down! I chose this name for the site many years ago because it was what I needed to do. And now I have my chance. I have spoken to a couple of friends today about the situation and they say the same as you - give it a chance. So I shall.

And as I say that I catch myself smiling. That is a good enough sign for me.
Thanks everyone. :T

Make do - I'm going to get my hair cut tomorrow by an ex hairdresser who does me a favour on the side. I have been dyed blonde for years but tomorrow I go dark. That's so I can go back to my natural colour and I won't have to pay to have it coloured any more. I'm going to have it cut in such a way that it will only need a trim every so often.

Mend - successfully mended my son's double bed that used to belong to my mother. Bought some strong metal brackets and screwed it all together. Much sturdier now.

Minimise - the pile of apple tree cuttings that needed snipping into kindling. But my word was it chilly out there!

Once again thank you all for your help. It has certainly made a difference.

Happy Sunday.

[Deleted User]

Brilliant Slowdown I wish you every happiness in your coming busy life as a 'retiree'

This morning I have a free morning so some of the baby blanket squares I sewed together over the weekend I shall rearrange as I have decided to change the set out slightly I had a huge bag of over 200 squares that different people had knitted in pink,white blue and yellow Laying them out in piles I discovered for some reason more folk had knitted pink squares than blue or yellow so several of the baby blankets I did in blue,yellow and white .

I also found because people picked their own pinks I had about 6-7 differing shades of pink from very pale, to almost cerise !!! The cerise ones I am going to knit extra white squares and make it a harlequin pattern by swivelling the squares to a diamond shape and knitting diamond half squares to even it up all around the edges,don't want to waste them as there are only 12 of them, not enough for a full blanket and its a very pretty colour :0 That should keep me busy for this morning.so both making do ,mending and minimising :):)Plus its raining cats and dogs outside so a morning doing that with a big pot of coffee sounds good to me
Have a good day chums and keep warm and dry

JackieO xxx

crazytree

YorksLass +Rainbow hippie, yup that's a rock cake! I make mine with butter coz we never buy margarine. Although the price of butter is getting scary!:eek: every time I buy butter it seems to have gone up, even in Aldi:(
Slowdown - your choice of username might indicate what you really want! I know I would jump on the opportunity to retire asap if Himself was willing / able to support both of us financially! That's my main reason for frugalling, so I can pay off the mortgage while interest rates are low and give up my job. It's a way off yet though. Time is so much more important (to me) than money, although I think I'm in a very lucky place to be able to feel that way.

Made do - had macaroni cheese for my tea two days in a row! Himself (and everyone else he spoke to) hates the stuff so he cooked his own dinners! He bought himself massive amounts of meat ( not from my budget :T) and had it fried. The kitchen filled with smoke, the alarm went off ( both nights) but he thoroughly enjoyed it! And I enjoyed my dinner too.

Mend - nothing I can think of. Some of the dog's toys are about to lose their heads but I haven't quite got round to it! Bad Dog Mum!

Minimise - again, nothing! The clearing out has ground to a halt. I'm concentrating on Chr****** prep at the moment. I really want to get it all done by the start of December. So the opposite of minimising, although it's all pressies for other people so it won't stay in my house!!!!

Yeah, not a great week for progress but other projects and work sometimes get in the way.

Have a great day all
Tx

YorksLass

Slowdown - I was fortunate enough to be able to take early retirement in 1997 after the company I worked for had one of its (almost annual) re-organisations and my job "disappeared". Much as I loved working, I wasn't in love with the idea of having to come up with CVs, interviews, jumping through hoops etc. I had 2 years to go before I reached state pension age (one of the lucky ladies who could still scrape in at age 60) and DH had already been retired for a year. I was worried about how we would manage but, as others have said, you do adjust to having less money and it does have its advantages. And it's true, after a while, you do start to wonder how you fitted in work in the first place! If your DH is supportive of your decision to go for it and you're smiling, then you've made the right decision for you.

crazytree - Oh, don't get me started on the price of butter! :mad: Since it started leapfrogging up and up, I've swapped to one of those buttery spreads for baking (unless it's shortbread, of course ) and find they're quite a good cheaper substitute. And I keep the best butter for toast, crumpets etc.

MMF007

Slowdown, just look at my sig below!
I gave up ft work as an employee, set up my own home help service and work 3 days a week now. It was supposed to be 2.5 days but I took on another client. I definitely never work Tues or Fridays, no matter what clients request!
I earn very little annually because I take approx 9 weeks hols per year

We have cut back a bit but planned this for years so built up savings and can dip in for hols or emergencies. Yes, I am very lucky, I know that, but some of the good fortune was in fact good planning and sacrifices to 'buy the time' to do our own thing, iyswim.

The main thing is to have some stuff to do, to get you out of the house and stimulated. I took art classes as something totally new to me (with very varying results!).

So, yep, go for it! You know you want to and there is no reason not to, is there??!

Slowdown

What a lovely supportive thread. I thought people would perhaps be a little 'off' about some one my age not having a job through choice. ( I'm early 50s) But no. Lots of you, like me, value sanity and freedom over stress and money. I like that very much. I'm actually getting rather excited now.

As for having things to do, the list is endless. We have a huge garden with a veg patch, fruit trees and a soft fruit cage. I haven't maximised the veg patch for years due to time but I'm already planning for next year. I am also into my crafts. I can sew and am quite creative with all sorts of bits and pieces. I love it. I have rooms to decorate, fences to put up, gates to hang, painting to do, taps to change. All of which I'm perfectly capable of. So I will not be idling away. I will be a very busy bee.

I have asked for garden centre and hobbycraft vouchers for Christmas to help support my habits and then I won't be dipping into the pot quite so much.

I told my mum the other day about our plans. She was very supportive and dropped in the point that I'd be around to escort her and my stepdad on trips and travels! Myself and my siblings live a long way from her so I'd think she'd like the help every now and again.

So it's all good. And in part that's due to all your good wishes. I thank you.

On to MMM

Make do - with no extra shopping this week - freezer and cupboard only.

Mend - curtain rail that had come out of the wall

Minimise - my massive double sized bag of spinach that I cooked and froze as it was past its best.

Happy Tuesday everyone. :)

villagelife

Slowdown keep smiling. That is a sign to leave work.

Make do - now the hall cupboard is painted, shelves and hooks up i started putting everything back in. I now have lots of books so umbrellas were hung up as were baseball caps. I found a clear sturdy plastic bag and it now stores gloves, scarves and hats. Reused a couple of shoebox to store stuff for the shelves. Looks better and written contents on the side of the box

Mend - if this counts a candle so the wick is now uncovered by wax so I can now light it. It is a large candle that I really like.

Minimize- more shoes.DH and DS2 had to decide which shows i could throw out. They all had holes in them or soles very thin and the rest of the show not in good enough condition to 're sole.
More leads and plugs left the house. Nobody knew what they were for.