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

HairyHandofDartmoor

Noella wrote: »

Shame about the tyre:(, HH, but at least you had the money to pay for it without having to worry where it was coming from or having to sacrifice something else to cover it:T.


Not tyre-related but definitely a car expense:(. DH and I were on holiday a few years ago and had to travel down a very narrow mountain road to the campsite a couple of times a day. It was all gravelly, very much bigger than gravel really, and a big stone flew up and shattered the windscreen. We were always careful driving down that road too. The glass was really shattered, not repairable by resin:mad:. It was an insurance claim but blow me two days after having the new one fixed a maniac driver for that type of road came speeding past us in the opposite direction and a massive stone came up and shattered the windscreen again!!!!! The insurers wouldn't pay for it a second time:(:(:( so we had to cover the cost ourselves. The other driver was well out of sight by then so we had no redress from him:mad:. Turned out to be a very expensive holiday especially as we were trying to have an economical one by staying on a campsite.

You're absolutely right Noella, ast least we had the money to pay for the tyre as in the past we literally may not have been able to pay for it! And we had breakdown insurance (as it broke down a few streets away) who came out and put on the spare for DH so he could drive to buy a new tyre. In the past we wouldn't have afforded breakdown insurance. So we're much more prepared for these events now .

How frustrating about your windscreen on that holiday, you wouldn't believe it could happen twice in one holiday :mad: I bet you never went to that campsite again!

elizabethhull

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I've had a very productive day today.

Inspired by my efficiency I then ironed a pair of trousers, a cotton cardigan and four tee shirts for work :T. Then DH very kindly offered to iron two more pairs of work trousers for me as he knows I hate ironing :heartsmil.

T.

It seems to me you frequently have VERY productive days, I'm impressed.

It occurred to me, on the subject of ironing, that the commitment to it is a very individual thing. However, I loathe ironing, feeling it to be a chronic waste of time brought about by some probably mediaeval man thinking that women didn't have enough to do !!!
When my hips/back started being painful, I bought a perching stool from Amazon, which did all it said it would.
But I still had the dreaded ironing pile, that I fiercely resented.
I'm pretty sure when DDs were at home, that some clothes were grown out of before I got round to ironing them !!

However, a couple of years ago, I discovered a setting on my washing-machine that leaves clothes much wetter than usual, obviously nothing like dripping wet, but certainly wet enough that you can hang things up on coathangers and they dry with minimum creasing. Problem solved,at least for me.

I just offer this as a potential solution to others who feel the same way !

[Deleted User]

elizabethhull wrote: »

However, a couple of years ago, I discovered a setting on my washing-machine that leaves clothes much wetter than usual, obviously nothing like dripping wet, but certainly wet enough that you can hang things up on coathangers and they dry with minimum creasing. Problem solved,at least for me.

I just offer this as a potential solution to others who feel the same way !

I've always been a big believer in having a slower spin-speed and then taking the clothes out as soon as the door lock allows me to do so. I watch the machine like a hawk from the start of the final spin cycle:o. My SIL just drags all her washing out and crams it into the basket to take out to dry with result that everything is horribly creased. If time and effort is taken at the removing from the machine stage it keeps creases to a minimum.

MY DH (now retired) had to look very smart for work and needed a fresh shirt each day:eek:. Even in the hottest of weather staff were not allowed to remove their ties and jackets:( so I always just ironed the collars and fronts of his shirts. I knew no one would ever see the sleeves or back:rotfl: He still looked presentable though.

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

You're absolutely right Noella, ast least we had the money to pay for the tyre as in the past we literally may not have been able to pay for it! And we had breakdown insurance (as it broke down a few streets away) who came out and put on the spare for DH so he could drive to buy a new tyre. In the past we wouldn't have afforded breakdown insurance. So we're much more prepared for these events now .

How frustrating about your windscreen on that holiday, you wouldn't believe it could happen twice in one holiday :mad: I bet you never went to that campsite again!

Did your car break down as well as having the nail in the tyre? That's a lot of bad luck and always such a relief when the breakdown man appears over the horizon. I'm assuming your DH didn't call them out just to put the spare wheel on. I'm totally useless with the mechanics of a car but DH showed me how to change a wheel about 30 years ago and I've actually done it twice by myself since. Easy enough to do even for a woman.


As for the camping trip, we didn't have another one anywhere for several years after that. It certainly ended up being anything but a cheap break:mad:

foxgloves

Another loather of ironing here. I do find that when I can properly peg the laundry outside to line dry, that stuff gets less wrinkly than in the winter months when I have to use the heated airer. That's probably partly down to me trying to cram as much as possible on, so as to use as little electricity on clothes drying as possible.
F

HairyHandofDartmoor

Noella wrote: »

Did your car break down as well as having the nail in the tyre? That's a lot of bad luck and always such a relief when the breakdown man appears over the horizon. I'm assuming your DH didn't call them out just to put the spare wheel on. I'm totally useless with the mechanics of a car but DH showed me how to change a wheel about 30 years ago and I've actually done it twice by myself since. Easy enough to do even for a woman.


As for the camping trip, we didn't have another one anywhere for several years after that. It certainly ended up being anything but a cheap break:mad:

No it was just the nail in the car Noella so DH did call them out just to change a tyre :rotfl:. According to DH modern cars have tyres that are very difficult to get off and as we had the insurance we might as well use it.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Noella wrote: »

I've always been a big believer in having a slower spin-speed and then taking the clothes out as soon as the door lock allows me to do so. I watch the machine like a hawk from the start of the final spin cycle:o. My SIL just drags all her washing out and crams it into the basket to take out to dry with result that everything is horribly creased. If time and effort is taken at the removing from the machine stage it keeps creases to a minimum.

MY DH (now retired) had to look very smart for work and needed a fresh shirt each day:eek:. Even in the hottest of weather staff were not allowed to remove their ties and jackets:( so I always just ironed the collars and fronts of his shirts. I knew no one would ever see the sleeves or back:rotfl: He still looked presentable though.

foxgloves wrote: »

Another loather of ironing here. I do find that when I can properly peg the laundry outside to line dry, that stuff gets less wrinkly than in the winter months when I have to use the heated airer. That's probably partly down to me trying to cram as much as possible on, so as to use as little electricity on clothes drying as possible.
F

I only iron cotton or linen type clothes that look awful if they don't get ironed. I do get things out of the washer straight away, where I can, and hang them straight up on the clothes horses, plus I smooth out creases with my hands whilst they're still wet.. So most of my leisure clothes don't get ironed, but a few of my cotton work tops and my cotton work trousers look creased no matter what I do :mad:. I need cotton because the temperature in school varies wildly from boiling hot to freezing cold :rotfl:.

I also only iron my own clothes (apart from the occasional work shirt for Dh) because I consider the other adults in the house are big enough to do their own ironing and if they don't then that's on them!

HairyHandofDartmoor

elizabethhull wrote: »

It seems to me you frequently have VERY productive days, I'm impressed.

It occurred to me, on the subject of ironing, that the commitment to it is a very individual thing. However, I loathe ironing, feeling it to be a chronic waste of time brought about by some probably mediaeval man thinking that women didn't have enough to do !!!
When my hips/back started being painful, I bought a perching stool from Amazon, which did all it said it would.
But I still had the dreaded ironing pile, that I fiercely resented.
I'm pretty sure when DDs were at home, that some clothes were grown out of before I got round to ironing them !!

However, a couple of years ago, I discovered a setting on my washing-machine that leaves clothes much wetter than usual, obviously nothing like dripping wet, but certainly wet enough that you can hang things up on coathangers and they dry with minimum creasing. Problem solved,at least for me.

I just offer this as a potential solution to others who feel the same way !

Thank you Elizabeth . I hate ironing too and only do the bare minimum. I don't do sheets or anything that no one else sees. I mainly do my work tops and trousers which are cotton and look creased no matter what I do :mad:.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Work was good today. It was like a summer's day at lunchtime, so I left my jacket in the staffroom .

After work we decided to physically go to Mr T because I had a £7 voucher which I could only use in the real store. Plus DH is not busy work wise at the moment . I aimed for a budget of £60 and asked DS1 to pay for his own items if he wanted to have expensive things that weren't on the list, which he agreed to.

So the actual spends were:
- £8.55 in the coffee shop thus spending the £7 we saved :mad:.
- £63.55 on food.This was after knocking the £7 off but included £8.90 of DS1's spends which he will give us back.
- £13.50 on a Really Useful Box for my next de-cluttering project & a notebook.

So overall £54.65 was spent on food after knocking off the £7 voucher which isn't too bad . DS1 will give us what he owes us tomorrow. However the £8.55 in the coffee shop negated the advantage of the £7 voucher and the £2.50 on delivery. So was it worth it? Well it got DH and DS1 out of the house and we were able to chat over a coffee, and DH did some work while DS1 and I shopped, so maybe it was worth it

I picked up a box of 24 Diet cokes for £8 but then checked the Pepsi Max and that was £5 for 24, so I got two of those, which means I won't need to buy any next week .

I hope everyone has had a pleasant and sunny Tuesday .

beanielou

I love pepsi max.
Someone bought me the raspberry one & it is lush!

Another ironing avioder here.A friend gave me an ironing board & I still dont have a cover for it!