Cherry takes the reins

WannabeFree

You've probably explained this but what is the 10th coin saving? Sorry if that's a really stupid question

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Cherryfudge

WannabeFree wrote: »

You've probably explained this but what is the 10th coin saving? Sorry if that's a really stupid question

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Not a silly question at all, W - a few months ago I read a book called 'The Richest Man in Babylon' which suggested, among other things, saving every 10th coin in your purse. I've been surprised how much it adds up - when I get enough together the aim is to stash it in a higher interest account.
Sometimes it grows faster than others - if I'm feeling better off the 10th coin might be a pound, but some days it's copper!

Cherryfudge

Having cleared the ironing, there's now some more, but never mind. I watched 'Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners' as I ironed - I find I get more cleaning done if I do that! I'm not really happy with the programme as a whole though. It's the not-clean people who seem to come out worse, with no real emphasis on the other side of the equation. I think it's the 'yuck' factor and the voyeurism that sells the program .
Other than wandering down the High Street looking unsuccessfully for an old fashioned fish slice (one that is cheap enough to have a thin blade and thus be able to get under things that are sticking themselves down in a not-non-stick pan), I haven't had much exercise. It was too hot to do anything in the garden.

Spending:
Housekeeping £5.20
Toiletries £5.19
MS:
Chick peas not chicken in the curry.
Bought a super-intensive fabric conditioner in the hope of saving plastic and less shopping to carry. Not all that MS as, while it was on offer, it was still 1p more than my usual one.
Did a load of laundry without fabric conditioner when I ran out. Also remembered to use a laundry ball on a 'feshen up' load.
10th coin savings 20p.
Put back my usual shampoo even though it was on offer - bought a bar shampoo instead, hopefully saving plastic and easier for travel, and should last a while.
Deleted the sample pages of an interesting book that I probably wouldn't benefit from. ('A life less throwaway' by Tara Button).
Decluttering:
2 bags to charity (at last).

Cherryfudge

The man came to measure up for a loft hatch and ladder, all sounding okay to me but DH is being a bit cautious: he wants the work done in the lounge first. I've stalled slightly by asking for more sample pictures. I liked two of the ones he showed us but we need to make other decisions (mantlepiece, lighting, surround etc.). Meanwhile I'm busily avoiding getting anything done about the new locks the insurance company wants on Mum's old house: today's displacement activity was whitening the grouting in the kitchen.

Work was okay this afternoon: maybe I'm getting more used to going as I didn't get tired. That came later as I did a MS walk to the other end of town where I can buy various groceries a lot cheaper at BeeandEm.

Spending:
Housekeeping £11.98
Also housekeeping - paid the milk bill £7.81
MS:
£5.32 saved on groceries
2 x £2 coins in change
Nothing for the 10th coin savings

Cherryfudge

We had some more photos from the man who does stoves and fireplaces as I wanted more ideas... then I got looking on the web. We've narrowed down to a few features we have decided we both like, but finding the right stove... still hasn't happened. Not really sure what a realistic budget is: £600+ for the stove itself seems about right (a lot of money :eek:) then there's making the new fireplace and the cost of labour. The company comes with excellent recommendation from a family we know and has been in business quite a while so I think their prices are probably representative of the market for the area, but I haven't actually asked for a ball park figure yet.

Costs-wise, we may have extra coming up as DS2 has an emergency dental appointment this morning. I think it may be an abscess. He slept round the clock, or at least was absolutely silent, and he's feverish so the sooner it gets done the better, but dentists can be expensive so I've offered to help out.

Cherryfudge

Late post for 9/8/18.

I've just found out how useful these mutterings can be! I logged on to my credit card account and found a payment I didn't recognise, so I put the amount as a search term on this thread and it came up with a purchase I made a couple of months ago for some items I'd then returned. I didn't expect to see the amount because I thought it had long since been refunded, but it hasn't, so I need to follow it up.

Other than that, I've spent almost all my share of this week's housekeeping and as I'm once again about to make the trip over to Mum's old place, I will probably go over budget with buying milk and bits like that.

Spends:
Holiday £3.75
Housekeeping £9.11
Train ticket (to be reclaimed from the estate) £52.08
Household £0.90
MS:
Household item was a plant reduced to 90p.
Saved £7 on fares by splitting the ticket AND discovered a cheaper time to travel
Three travel books for our hols from charity shop
Wombled 35p
10th coin savings 10p
YS cherries

Cherryfudge

I meant to add above that DS's toothache turned out to be from a dead nerve and surrounding infection so it's been fixed temporarily and he goes back for root canal work in a couple of weeks. He's a lot more cheerful now he's not in pain but has been sleeping for England!

So far it hasn't cost me anything... better get saving though, my root canal/crown cost me a fortune, though it's lasted years.

I've also booked that locksmith!

Honeysucklelou2

Glad your DS is free from pain, dental pain is horrible.

Have you looked online for a stove design. In our last house we sourced a stove from a company in Scotland which came to just under £500.

Onebrokelady

My DD has a wood burner at her house,that one was around the £600 mark but they got it by bartering my Sils gardening skills,so he did some work on the persons garden in return for the stove and fitting,luckily the chimney was already sorted

Cherryfudge

I'm back! Three nights at the old house, two days at work. Pretty shattered last night but I managed the travel okay and there's noticeable progress on the house.

I bought a few groceries, thus going into this week's housekeeping money somewhat: I don't know if I can recoup that but it may be possible as we're going to spend next weekend with friends.

Having new locks fitted is horrendously expensive and I thought costs were going to go through the roof when the men had a lot of trouble getting one lock to work properly, but they didn't charge me for the extra time. They also fixed a loose tile on the porch and pulled down some plant life that had obstructed a door. I did feel sorry for their next customer but they were doing all they could to complete the work and at the end of the day the new locks not only work beautifully but are probably the strongest part of the house!

My sister has moved a lot of furniture out, which has made a big difference. I cleaned a lot but I also had space to go through contents of some drawers carefully, looking for treasure! I did find some nice mementoes, though not the items on the 'missing' list. I also went armed with a 'for me' list and found a one-handed tin opener, a gadget to steady bread while it's being sliced and a cake stand. Two of these are potentially very useful till I get full use of the wonky arm again!

I'm at work again this week with a slight increase in hours so I'm doing just over half of what I'm contracted for. A nice email arrived to let me know I'm still getting a weekend enhancement though not doing weekends. I'm contracted to do them so I get paid for them. It's not an enormous amount but I can find a home for it and it also means I don't need to pay any back.

In addition to the locks, I tried using the secateurs at the house. They haven't been good for a while and are now really worn, almost unusable, so I splashed out on a good pair - need to reclaim that money from the estate.

10/8/18
Spending: Houseskeeping £1.35
11/8/18
Spending:
Housekeeping £1.85
To reclaim from estate £18.59 (secateurs)
Internet £2.50
12/8/18
Spending:
From estate account £288.00
13/8/18
Spending:
Loan to DS to insure his car (he has to pay for dental treatment) £440.00
14/8/18
Spending:
Housekeeping £9.22
Assorted money saving:
Picked blackberries and made coulis to have with my pears, oats and yogurt.
Not being charged for the extra time taken to complete the locks.
£2 coin in my change.
Decluttering:
3 bags of rubbish gone from the house.
Lots of creepers cut back from the back of the house.

Back into the swing of things for a few days now, and planning some soup making to be money-saving.