Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

1LuckyLady - it's surprising how much of a difference CAN actually be made to a room without spending any money, isn't it?
We have several of those outdoor jobs you mention too. I've spotted a blocked gutter, we need some render repairing before a re-paint & a big job at the back.....there is a 2 metre strip of 'no man's land' at the far end of our garden, which several neighbours have claimed. We intend to 'claim' our bit this year & will turn it into a proper composting area. Again, no spend required, just hard work!

foxgloves

Hi Tuesday Readers,
I can honestly say that the only expenditure from this household today has been the cost of posting two items we've sold this week, so was 'budget neutral'.
Key loan-busting activity today? Well, I cashed out my £40 earnings from Prolific Academic & listed 12 more items on ebay. I felt motivated to get on with that because I sold another small item overnight. What's more, I've lined up another 12 items to list tomorrow morning. It's a double whammy really.....I'm decluttering stuff & making a few quid from it to chuck at the loan.

In terms of general frugality, the last of the Easter lamb made a nice shepherd's pie, so I've saved the meal I'd planned for tonight for another day. There's a lot of food in our freezer at the moment, so there needs to be plenty of 'shopping from home' going on when I write next week's meal plans & shopping list.
So.....am feeling pretty motivated x

foxgloves

Morning Readers,
Well, my cashed-in payment from Prolific landed in our Paypal account nice & swiftly, & I realised I hadn't updated my signature, where I keep a tally of how much I earn each year from surveys. I'm up to £114 already this year, though to be fair, around £20 of that was mr f's Ipsos voucher & a cash-out from another site. I'm still awaiting my £50 payment from Yougov, so will add that on when it lands in our bank account. I still need £11 to cash out on Onepoll, & then, thank goodness, they have apparently lowered their payment threshold to £25 (I think). I'm back up to over 50,000 points on Toluna. Since they stopped doing the Sainsbury's gift card reward, I wait now until I've hit 185,000 points then dob it in for £35 cash - if I'm honest, I find Toluna's surveys some of the most boring, but I think that's probably because I'm not one to get excited about big media companies, the miniscule differences between mobile phone tariffs & brands. There are so many household products we don't buy because they seem both unnecessary & polluting - another chemical cocktail, another plastic bottle, etc, so it's difficult sometimes to give my opinion objectively......although I guess that's the point of surveys......it would be fairly pointless just to ask a group of people with very similar views. Anyway, they always pay out & I've earned a fair amount from them over the last few years.

I've been strict with myself & made sure I've listed another 12 items on ebay today. I did it earlier in the day, as I knew I would go off the idea if I left it till later!
Wishing everyone a productive debt-busting day.
F x

PurpleFairy26

Worth a read

https://blog.noisli.com/what-it-means-to-eat-the-frog/

Can't promise I practice it though :rotfl:

foxgloves

Purplefairy26 - Thanks for the link. I have read it & have resolved to become the most awesome early morning frog-eater, starting tomorrow!

foxgloves

1LuckyLady- Well it did work with getting the ebaying out of the way early & I felt quite virtuous all day. In fact, I rewarded my virtue by eating two buns, while simultaneously wondering if it's time to dig out my summer clothes to see what fits! Although looking at the flooding around here today, I might do better just borrowing a snorkel & some flippers!

foxgloves

Hi diary readers,
Finally, FINALLY a day with no lergy & no rain, hail or snow! And that was just what I was hoping, as I'd planned a greenhouse day. I so enjoyed the sunshine, I kept finding myself smiling! Seriously though, I need to get a massive move-on in the garden. We grow a lot of food & the cold weather has meant that I'm a lot further behind than usual. Last year, we grew potatoes, sweetcorn, cabbages, lettuces, radishes, rocket, beetroot, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, chillies, beans, courgettes, squash, spring onions, watercress & strawberries. I also have a herb bed & rhubarb patch, & we inherited 3 fruit trees - pear, apple & greengage, when we moved in. Oh, & I have a grape vine in a huge pot in my greenhouse. I'm aiming to grow pretty much the same range of veg this year, minus beetroot & cabbages, but with the addition of aubergines too. So there's a lot of work between March & June, & from then all efforts go into harvesting all our homegrown produce. When I go down the garden with a basket each morning to see what needs picking.....it makes all the effort worthwhile, not to mention how useful it is for the food budget.
So today has been a good catch-up on the home-grown food front. I potted up the rest of the tomato seedlings, divided baby lettuces into modules, checked basil seedlings & got my seed box out to see what else needs sowing. Also had a peek down the rhubarb forcing crock to see if there's anything worth picking......ooooh, the colour of spring rhubarb....glorious bright pink stems & lime green leaves. Must harvest that at the weekend.....& resist the urge to make rhubarb vodka!
But in the spirit of loan-busting, I am determined to put the effort in & get as much food from our veggie garden as I possibly can this year. It's good exercise & fresh air as well as healthy cheap food.
Spring seems to have sprung!
F x

wishingthemortgaheaway

Sounds like an excellent plan. What a lovely sounding garden. I hope the weather is kind to you going forward.

determined_new_ms

Hey Foxgloves I finally made my way through your diary All sounds very lovely in your world at the moment. You've inspired me to tackle my lounge today. It's looking rather flat and in need of a spruce up!

PurpleFairy26 wrote: »

Worth a read

https://blog.noisli.com/what-it-means-to-eat-the-frog/

Can't promise I practice it though :rotfl:

great piece Purps :T I'm going to look at my list and tackle my frog :money:

foxgloves

Hi DNMS - Welcome! Yes, it's funny how you just suddenly find yourself looking at your home & thinking 'I need to do something'. We are now planning a mini-kitchen makeover. mr f reckons there is sufficient leftover paint in a neutral colour to repaint it so I think the only spend will be for a new blind & a rug. I'm thinking that well-known Swedish emporium for the rug & I'm hoping to pick the blind up tomorrow in John Lewis - we've seen one we like, it's available in a size to fit our very large kitchen window, & I have a £5 cashback voucher from my loyalty card. We've had our current blind for 15 years & it's truly disgusting now - I reckon when we take it down, it will walk to the wheelie bin on its own! It's been carefully taken down, removed from its pole, put in the washing machine & re-rolled in the past & that did improve it, but it really does need replacing now. Apart from those 2 items, & maybe just a pack of bright new hand towels/oven glove, which I will get from Wilko's, all other aspects of the make-over will involve shopping from home & swapping stuff around for a new look.
Thanks to BaileysBabe earlier for reminding me of the existence of sugar soap.....that bright yellow stuff you can probably see from space. It does a great job on kitchen units, so will get some & give everything a major scrub.