Dusty's Frugal Fortnights

beanielou

Heading for financial peace of mind sounds good

dustydigger

One thing the Ninja Saving Turtles require is reading. Well no problem there folks!. I participate on Librarything,what my son calls a Facebook for book nerds!We list and discuss our reads,post reviews and chat about books.We also do challenges.I do the 12x12 challenge,to read 12 books in each of 12 categories over the year.I read science fiction,fantasy,urban fantasy,vintage and contemporary crime,junior classic books,and YA.
We also do monthly mini challenges. This month I will be reading

1. Read a book with a cover that is at least 50% yellow: Robert Silverberg - Nightwings

2. Read a book set in England: Kate Griffin - The Minority Council

3. Read a book featuring a character that is a loyal friend : Catherynne M Valente - The Girl who Soared Above Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two

Its a great way to read out of your comfort zone at times by reading different books,and cut down the old TBR(to be read) pile.
So it fits in with ''reduce'' too.:)

Last year I read 185 books.So far I've finished 15 books this year. I have about 5 books in progress just now,I love variety and dont want to be bored with my reading.:D:D:D

There are 12 books in total on my list for February,but I will try to go beyond that

beanielou

I am a modern crime lover

dustydigger

Sorry not to be on much this week,rollercoaster of a week,what with seemingly endless 70th birthday celebrations ending today with a MASSIVE all you can eat blowout at an Indian restaurant. The other day the tribe increased when my son became a step granddad. The mother had a very hard time,and lots of stitches(ouch :eek::eek::eek:) but both fine.Extra birthday to add to the list....sigh.......:p:p:p
We had a shock too though,when a friend of Mr Dusty got the flu and was dead within days. Am feeling a little guilty yet relieved that Mr Dusty hasnt seen him lately,so didnt catch it. Poor Robbie was only 59 so it was totally unexpected.Brings back horrid memories of a cousin back in the 70s,the wedding was to be Saturday,her husband to be caught the flu on Monday,was dead by Thursday.He was only 24.You just never know in this life all we can do is plod on.
At least on the savings/money front its been an excellent fortnight.:jHave collected together the money for the raft of birthdays in a few weeks,have £50 put aside for new clothes(all my trousers are dropping off after losing 5 inches off my waist) and very quietly among all the noise and shocks of the week...........
I BECAME TOTALLY DEBT FREE.:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:beer::beer:.
Paid off my final Arg*s payment,and have over £200 saved towards a new oven when my 8 yr old oven finally breaks down. It sounds like a Boeing 747 taking off sometimes,whining and buzzing. I use it every single day,often twice a day,so 8 years use is actually quite good since it was quite cheap and has been well used. I sigh with relief every time it works :D:D:D
Oh,and after numerous failed attempts(oh dear I am so not tech minded) I managed to get my avi to appear!;););)

beanielou

A massive well well done to you :j :j :j
& savings too :j :j :j

SuperMoose

Delighted to hear you're now debt free :T:T
Well done :j:j

dustydigger

End of first frugal fortnight,and clearing my purse meant £5.95 for the Sealed Pot challenge
Also bought a book online for £7.70 including p&p,which is £9.99 in W@terstones,so I potted the difference:)

try_harder

Well done all round i would say

dustydigger

With a new fortnight starting I really have been meaning to sit down in peace and quiet and really think out my goals. But there is so much that needs repair or improvement in my life,so its pretty difficult to know exactly what to tackle first!:):)
Obviously the health angle has to be of major importance.For over 4 years I have been totally inactive,depressed,stressed,in pain and the result was major weight gain on top of already being far too heavy. And I have that crucial HbA1c test coming up. That is causing me serious stress which leads to cravings etc,so I need to restart,rework the motivation etc
I have found weight loss a bit erratic lately its easy to slip away from the right path.Mind you I am completely confused now as to what IS the right path. So many different ideas,high fat,low fat,high carb,low carb,all sorts of fasting,its a bit of a nightmare. So easy to start the day on one regime,forget and do another one,and the result is a complete mess,and no weight loss:rotfl:
And the advocates of each regime are so gung- ho,partisan and wildly enthusiastic about their particular way,and so emphatic that every other way is totally wrong and will lead you to an early death.
Low carb high fat sounds so very reasonable,but I find it very hard to fit in with our life. Mr Dusty is 79,supremely healthy and fit,can pop up and down the stairs without a stick,trot off to town and walk around for hours.He has a certain way of life and eating that has served him well,so he wont change an iota,and it is sometimes problematic trying to follow a totally different regime both for time and cost.Also very difficult not to fall into the temptation of picking and nibbling at his meal and then trying to follow a different plan myself:D:D:D
On the other hand I have been reading Dr Michael Greger's ''How Not To Die'' book,loaded with so much fascinating details and apparently backed up with research,but here all animal food,including fish,oily fish,meat ,chicken eggs and dairy are strictly verboten.Its hard to know what to believe.
It does seem though that ''plant based diet'' is going to be all the rage and certainly masses of veggies seem to be the only common denominator in a wide variety of diet regimes.At least Slimming World are well and truly on the side of the angels in this respect!:)
Sorry for chuntering on this way,but I am finding rambling on about these matters is helpful in sorting out my thoughts and coming to decisions.
Off now to get on with Mr Dusty's supper for 8.30pm - plantain,broccoli in peanut butter sauce,and silverside beef topped with fried mushrooms,onions,tomatoes.He rarely has snacks,but has two main meals a day. Supper is a smaller amount but needing as much cooking as the midday meal. I spend a massive proportion of my time in the kitchen amid major temptations:mad:

Sayschezza

If its any help, I cant do low carb/stick to x points etc. Just make me want to eat more. Looking back on how I used to eat when not overweight, it was definitely smaller portions and skipping breakfasts. So, I am trying the only eat during 12 and 8pm diet. Whatever its called. I think the timescale can be adjusted to suit the individual but certainly only eat during that 8 hour window. Its cut out snacking in the evening at least so for me thats a bonus and I am not particularly fond of breakfasts either but all diets tell you to eat them. Only lost 1lb this week but fingers crossed it will be 1 each week from now on. We can only try.