Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

HairyHandofDartmoor

Onebrokelady wrote: »

We got used to having the use of a car over the last two years because DDs boyfriend was living with us and he had one,now he's gone we are having to get used to not having one again,I have managed to sort out delivery for any heavy things I buy like my chicken food so I'm not missing it so much now,it is lovely to have the means to pop out to visit places as well,I got to visit Dartmoor over the summer because he took us but I won't be able to go now as public transport is too unreliable to get there
I find it frustrating that I live in such a beautiful place but can't get to see most of it
I do get on the train and got to Exmouth and Dawlish beaches though in the winter when the dog can go,she loves it on the beach

There are a lot of lovely beaches and beauty spots on Dartmoor that you can't get to without a car . But Exmouth and Dawlish are nice .

HairyHandofDartmoor

The MOT cost £71 which could have been a lot worse. But the car needs some work done soon which will cost £150 . But it's passed the MOT, so DH has taxed it and we can drive it now :T :beer:.


I had a nice chat with my stepdad over coffee. Then I wandered around the charity shops. I was slightly tempted by a couple of books and birthday cards, but decided I'd rather keep the money in my purse :A.

I had to buy germolene, ear plugs and anti histamines though as I'd completely run out :mad:. However the germolene was free as I bought it in Sup3rdrug and won a free basket at the till :T. Although I wish I'd bought more now as I only had one item in my basket :mad:.

DH said I could spend £10 on myself. I was tempted by some underwear but decided that I can manage without it and I'd rather save the money for a rainy day :A. So I now have a £10 emergency fund, plus I added £2 I would have spent on the germolene, so my emergenct fund is now £12 :T. Well it's a start . I've also decided that any survey money will go into my emergency fund, so the £5.54 PA money I cashed out a couple of days ago will make my emergency fund up to £17 .

My spends today were:
- £2.20 bus fare.
- £2.75 antihistamines (30 pack).
- £2.69 wax ear plugs.
- £2.62 bananas, satsumas, curry sauce.
- £2.40 sawdust (2packs)
TOTAL = £12.66

So today could have been a lot spendier .

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

The MOT cost £71 which could have been a lot worse. But the car needs some work done soon which will cost £150 . But it's passed the MOT, so DH has taxed it and we can drive it now :T :beer:.


I had a nice chat with my stepdad over coffee. Then I wandered around the charity shops. I was slightly tempted by a couple of books and birthday cards, but decided I'd rather keep the money in my purse :A.

I had to buy germolene, ear plugs and anti histamines though as I'd completely run out :mad:. However the germolene was free as I bought it in Sup3rdrug and won a free basket at the till :T. Although I wish I'd bought more now as I only had one item in my basket :mad:.

DH said I could spend £10 on myself. I was tempted by some underwear but decided that I can manage without it and I'd rather save the money for a rainy day :A. So I now have a £10 emergency fund, plus I added £2 I would have spent on the germolene, so my emergenct fund is now £12 :T. Well it's a start . I've also decided that any survey money will go into my emergency fund, so the £5.54 PA money I cashed out a couple of days ago will make my emergency fund up to £17 .

My spends today were:
- £2.20 bus fare.
- £2.75 antihistamines (30 pack).
- £2.69 wax ear plugs.
- £2.62 bananas, satsumas, curry sauce.
- £2.40 sawdust (2packs)
TOTAL = £12.66

So today could have been a lot spendier .

A successful and relatively cheap day all round then:T. You both must be very relieved:beer:

Just checking but was the £71 just for the MOT or did they also replace a bulb or wiper blades or something minor as well? Our MOT only costs £35:j. It's been that price for a few years now. Some garages hereabouts charge a tad more, some have special offers on and charge less. Ours seems to be pretty average for price but we both always take our cars there because we trust them.

HairyHandofDartmoor

The MOT was £55 so they did a minor job as well. Your price is a lot cheaper though, so maybe we need to shop around! Thanks for letting me know.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I mentioned to DH that Carboot only pays £35 for an MOT and he got all worked up and said he doesn't want to take the car somewhere else, and they fitted us in at short notice, and some garages would have failed us on the work that needs doing later this month. So I said, okay okay forget it, sigh .

please-let-me-be-lucky

Glad the car passed it’s MOT.

Yay to freebies in Sup3rdrug Xx

Onebrokelady

Glad to see the MOT went ok,can you put sme money aside a bit at a time for the work that needs doing so you don't have to find it all in one go

HairyHandofDartmoor

It gives us a bit of notice OBL. We'll have to get in as much money as possible and then decide which bills are the most urgent.

Our business definitely suffered when we didn't have a car for three years, as some of our customers are based in inaccessible places, so the car is a priority.

badmemory

You are very lucky in your local garage. I would never dream of taking my car for an MOT to a garage that actually does repairs, I didn't know their were places that only did MOTs until many years ago when I first came on here.



I certainly would never take it to a main dealers. Their maintenance depts have targets & if the sales are down (they get credit for preparing vehicles for sale) then they have to make their targets another way. I'm lucky though that I haven't had to pay for an MOT since 2005. I'm lucky enough to have a "friend" in the business & he just throws my car in with the other half dozen. But then he is lucky too because he gets his books done free! I do it for fun.

beanielou

Glad that the car passed the MOT even if it needs some work to be done soon.
Good news on the free basket at SD. As you say pity there wasent more in it.