Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Morning all,
I'm typing this at my conservatory dining table listening to the most lovely birdsong.......or I was, until my neighbour decided now would be a good time to get his strimmer out. Never mind, we all have to live along side each other, don't we, & mr f is planning to fire up The Beast (as his lawn mower is affectionately known....what is it with men & lawnmowers?) tomorrow, so we will be making lawn scalping cacophanies of our own.
We've now been reformed on the money-front for a long time. The last bit of our big debt was paid off 8 years ago & we'd been paying it down for a few years or so before that. We had been silly spenders for many more years than that, though, so it still amazes me just how the good frugal habits become ingrained. For instance, today, without even thinking 'I must be frugal', I removed an item from my ironing basket because it wasn't creased enough to bother with, then switched off the iron to press the final garment with the residual heat. Titchy bit of electricity I know, but I iron every week, so over the few years I've adopted the habit, that should be a little saving. Waved mr f off on his drive down to the next county for a conference with his packed lunch & vacuum coffee mug.....)which is just as well, actually as managed to leave his wallet at home, so he wouldn't have been able to buy himself any food anyway!) but back in the day, both coffee & lunch would have been purchased every single working day. Then set about my Friday house clean.....atm, I'm using up a big stash of cleaning products I brought back from clearing out Mum's house, but normally, I'd just use loo cleaner & 'Stardrops', which I dilute into a spray bottle so that it lasts for ages. I've mixed up a sourdough loaf, which I'll bake later. We both love home baked bread, especially sourdough, so (& I realise I'm lucky to have the time to do this) I bake almost all our bread now, instead of being tempted by those glorious crusty artisan loaves in farm shops & food markets. Mr f put his hand up for a supermarket run later this afternoon, so I've double-checked the shopping list & yes, I had to add on an item I'd forgotten, but I've been able to cross two items off. Bread flour because I found two unopened bags in a different cupboard & salad leaves because I reckon I will be able to cut our first home grown lettuce next week & with a few snips of lambs' lettuce, rocket & coriander, that should do us. Also reminded mr f we don't need to buy snacks, partly because we're both calorie counting, but also because we have mini-muffins in the freezer & I can easily pull a bit of rhubarb & make some more and I also want to try a cheesy oatcake recipe I found. It's too easy just to write a list consisting of all the stuff we usually buy, isn't it, without actually doing the not exactly forensic levels of checking required to see if we actually need it this time. While doing all that checking, I also did a round-up of odds & ends from the fridge which need using up, so my lunch will be some leftover new potatoes with a variety of salad stuff, the last of a pot of hummous & a sprinkle of cheese. I might go a bit lah-di-dah fancypants & chuck some parsley & mayo on the top. Go me! (Old me= Ewww, I don't fancy any of this & I've been sooooo busy cleaning the house, I will take myself off to the village farm shop cafe & buy my lunch there using a bit more of my overdraft.....)
Hoping for a bit of time in the garden this afternoon, but only little jobs. Cos guess what happened yesterday, Frugal Friends? I BEAT MR F IN OUR FITBIT STEPS CHALLENGE!! I really did.....by nearly 2000 steps. I did 16,015 K steps & he did about 14,200 K. Bloody hell, I knew I'd done it though.....I got quite a lot of those doing my own made-up dancey fitness tracks including a bit of aerobics, so I'm a bit achey this morning. he was very congratulatory & said he had every confidence that he would win. He has challenged me to a re-match over the weekend. I'm up for it, but I shan't win this one & couldn't care less, lol.
OK, nice to chat to you all,
Must crack on now,
F xx
Oh, & then something arrived through the post in a padded envelope, so that was opened carefully & will be packed away in my wrappings stash for when I next need to post something. All these funny little money saving things are ingrained as regular frugal habits now. That's why I don't think I will ever revert to how I used to be in the Spendy Years.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Mr F definitely won't be able to spend money without his wallet . Frugal habits can become as deeply engrained as spendy ones luckily. I automatically make packed lunches for days out, rather than pay the eye watering prices they charge in cafes, and travel mugs are a marvellous money saving invention.

Well done on beating Mr F on the steps front. Cleaning uses a lot of energy but not necessarily many steps, whilst ironing produces zero steps but is quite tiring I think.

Enjoy your gardening and a hopefully frugal supermarket trip .

wishingthemortgaheaway

Foxgloves. Please can you share your sourdough recipe? The recipe I've got takes 3 days,
It just means I don't make it often and I'd love to do it more. A 1 day loaf would be good.

takingcontrolatlast

foxgloves wrote: »

Takingcontrolatlast - That's fantastic! That is EXACTLY what shopping from home is all about. Let's face it, unless we have spent it all on beer & takeaways, most of us who have accumulated lots of debt (& I must include myself in that category, having been in debt from the age of 19 right up into my 40s!) have a lot of assorted stuff hanging around, & once we've decided to reign in the naughty spending, that stuff becomes a resource.
I have a big plastic lidded crate which is the Presents Box. I add things to it all year round, things I pick up for a good price, things I make (I'm a knitter), things which with a bit of effort could make a nice gift, etc. In the latter category, I've saved two big glass containers which I washed out after the expensive candles previously in there (both received as gifts, I hasten to add, as I did used to be a bit naughty with scented candle buying) had burned down. I'm intending to put some beachcombed little pebbles & shells in the bases, then moss (plenty to be raked out of our lawn for free!), a bit of compost & then 3 of the prepared hyacinth bulbs (the ones that will flower at Christmas/New year). With a ribbon, some raffia or similar tied around the whole thing, I think they will make a nice festive gift. I know the hyacinth bulbs are 60p each at our local garden centre, so basically, two gifts for £1.80 each. Everything else will be 'shopped from home'. As you get into the mindset of it, it's amazing how many opportunities you can find.
I've a good feeling about you.....I think it sounds as though this could be the time you take control. It's never too late, & if you are anything like me, once I started debt-busting, you will feel a lot happier with yourself as you see those numbers start to come down. We owed £35k at its highest & that's with two full-time professional salaries, so there was no excuse for it. We honestly do have more money now, despite the fact that our income has halved. Ridiculous isn't it? We will never go back to how we used to be. That ship has sailed, & thankfully we are no longer on board!
Good luck,
F x

Hi, I really do appreciate your faith in me.... I'm afraid I don't have it from anywhere else (apart fro this site) and I'm not looking for sympathy - I think it is because I have been in debt so long family think it's the norm for me! The fact that you remind me its never too late and the fact that you were in debt a long time and got out of it really does prove it can be done and gives me hope - I need to do it Foxgloves - I have no excuses - it is down to me to get out of it.
Having more money even when your income is halved just emphasises that with good habits and effort it can be done. You must feel a great sense of achievement - I know I would. I feel that already i have wasted so much money and I probably would be able to work part time now if i wasnt paying for past spends today!!

Love your diary and debtisodes - (think I spelt that wrong)! - especially the shoes episode (I'm guilty of buying 1/2 size too big?? I how I managed to keep them on I'll never know) :rotfl:

You done well with the xmas gifts! What a saving! I had one similar given to me as a present from M*S and it must have been a small fortune.. wish I kept the jar now!... Oh wait I did... its now a vase

I'm also a knitter...mainly childrens clothes.

I dont have a presents box - but its now on my list to do... I must source my resources !!
x

foxgloves

Hi Wish - I fully admit that my 'one-day sourdough' is cheating. It would not pass muster with Paul Hollywood, for sure, or indeed anyone who puts in the full effort. And mine does take two days unless it's summer, because our house is cold. I don't have any of the proper traditional sourdough kit... proving baskets, etc. I cheat by using a L!ku! silicon bread tin thing. I have a jar of sourdough culture, which I started off almost 2 years ago & that gets fed as normal. I make a standard sourdough mixture using 400g flour, which sits in a bowl for half an hour to make it easier to knead, then I turn it onto a board & knead, pull & stretch it until it's really elastic. Then I cheat by putting it straight in the L!ku! thing. I clingfilm the top & leave it to rise. When it's about halfway, I close the top, clingfilm it again & let it rise further, but with a little bit of space left for it to expand in the oven. Then I bake it at Gas 6 for about 40 mins. It doesn't have as many of the traditional holes in as when I used to do two provings & bake without a tin, but it is a much better shape, just as crusty & we both really like it. This method wouldn't get through 'Bread Week' on GBBO, but you did ask!
F x
P. S Just had a slice toasted with peanut butter.

foxgloves

Oh how odd that I can't type the name of the bread tin I use. I will try it with hyphens between the letters:
It is spelled L-E-K-U-E. I bought mine from a well known kitchen shop.
F

foxgloves

Takingcontrolatlast - When you finally come to the realisation that you HAVE to do it, that you can't make excuses any longer, that's when changes happen. They did for us, anyway.
If you are also a knitter, you may have a yarn stash which which you could maybe raid to knit a couple of little gifts to go in your presents box. I'm busy knitting up my stash rather than buying new yarn & among other projects, I'm now on my 3rd pair of socks - all for my presents box. These will be soft & pretty and will be for my best friend's Christmas goody bag. I'm using a dip-dyed sock yarn in pinks & purples for the ribs, heels & toes and an ombre-style yarn in blues & greys for the main part of the sock. Cost = nil, as both balls of yarn have sat in my stash for over two years doing nothing!
The way you put a gift together & were able to via the cash saved elsewhere, is exactly how it works. All these little things do add up. I can remember turning out my 20p jar & every time I had £10 or £20 in there, bagging them up & trotting off to the bank to pay it off one of our debts. That was my naughty Flexiloan - the 2nd debt I paid off. I worked on getting shot of my everlasting overdraft first, which I'd had since I was 19.
F x

wishingthemortgaheaway

Thank you foxgloves. I'll give it a go.
I do have all the fancy sourdough stuff - if I was you baking stuff would definitely be several debtisodes...

I will report back when I've given it a go. My sourdough starter has been on the go for nearly a year now. It's like a child to me now.

Thank you again. Wish.

foxgloves

Evening all. Hope you are all feeling more lively than me. I've had a good day, really productive, but I'm so tired now I intend to do nothing tonight requiring more energy than lifting a gin & tonic.
Town this morning, then 2 loads of laundry, then on with the gardening gear & off down the veggie garden. Have weeded, dug & prepped bed ready for climbing beans, hoed two beds & planted courgettes out & another squash, potted up lemon basil plus 20 delphinium plants & 8 aquilegias I grew from free seed. Took cuttings from curry plant, re-potted my big tropical plant in the 'shopped from home' container - it looks so much nicer. Planted out two more free plants - seed pods collected from an abbey garden when we visited with Mum last summer.... our last trip out together before everything went so tragically wrong for her - then tidied more recycled resources away into my half of the shed.... a plastic tray for seed sowing, two more bottle cloches & some more plant labels cut from empty spread tubs. Finally, all veggies watered - got to look after future home grown food supplies! Mr F's cooking night. My sitting on the sofa with a large gin night. No energy to go out. If Led Zep suddenly reformed & were playing a surprise gig at the end of our road tonight, I don't think my backside would be shifting off this sofa!
Ohhhh.... forgot to mention that the first shop of my grocery budget crackdown went well, but I'll bore you all with that another day.
F x

HairyHandofDartmoor

Wow you've been very busy and productive Foxgloves. You deserve that gin and tonic . It's a good sort of tiredness though isn't it when it's caused by hard work and getting lots done. You sound as tired as I feel after my de-cluttering!