Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Greetings dear diary readers, on a dark, grey, chill day which I fear will exactly match my mood once the election result comes in. Mr F had a meeting in our local town first thing, so I cadged a lift in for some shopping, stopping off to vote on the way. I was wound up before I'd even drawn my cross in its box to see that our sitting MP (who has a huge safe seat majority) had given his address as 'within the constituency'. This is untrue. None of his property portfolio is anywhere north of Watford. He rents a house up here for when he needs to visit on constituency business. So that wound me up, but I knew if I wrote a suitable pithy comment, it would count as a spoiled paper, so I made do with moaning loudly on the way out.
I managed to get everything I'd intended done in town, except looking in a few charity shops. I popped up to a little indie shop to buy a small item I spotted in there half price last weekend, & when I came out, the rain had grown from annoying drizzle to 'soaked coat' levels, so I went for a toasted teacake to dry off (& read the paper for free). When I got back, Postie had left a card to say he'd tried to deliver a parcel. It said 'Left between your bins'. I went back out in the rain to have a look & found he'd had a root in the bin for a (fairly clean) bin bag & had wrapped the parcel so that it'd be dry. I was pleased at the thoughtfulness of this. Years ago, the local postman always had a pocket crammed with those big red rubber bands & he had the weirdest technique of leaving a parcel. He would rubber band it to my back door handle. It took heaps of bands & must have taken him ages to do. It was so well & truly affixed that I would have to go round the front door sometimes actually to get in, then get the kitchen scissors to the rubber bands in order to free my parcel. I used to wonder whether as he walked back down the alley, he was thinking 'Ha! She'll not get that off in a hurry!' Anyway, no harm done with this one - a dry parcel tucked away neatly out of sight.
I still haven't finished my list of ingredients for the Christmas stuff I need to make. I really must get that done this afternoon, as it can be added to the normal weekly grocery shopping list & be bought tomorrow, then I will have everything in ready for cooking/baking. So, as I've already done my piano practice & German, I am going to head down to the kitchen RIGHT NOW so I can check the necessary recipes & also make sure I don't already have some of the ingredients in stock. I think I will get my breadcrumbs zizzed up too & bagged & labelled for stuffing, veggie 'sausage' rolls, bread sauce, etc. Then I shall only need to do one lot of zizzing. If I get that done, I think I will light the fire & have a bit of TV time, as I don't need to do much at all for tonight's meal - just make a bit of chunky coleslaw & take some of my spicy chickpea burgers out of the freezer about an hour before I need them.
Right.......let's get this damned list done!
Stay warm all,
F xx

DawnW

I am equally depressed about the political situation Foxgloves. This is a safe blue seat and has been forever. The sitting MP isn't one of the worst by any means, just a rather ineffectual society type lady who appears at lots of charity events. And it is raining

Kantankrus_Mare

Onebrokelady wrote: »

It's called The Slow Home Podcast the host is called Brook McAlary, she lives in Australia but but interviews people from all over

Thanks for that! :beer:

foxgloves

Am so fed up about the election result that I don't intend to subject you to a grumpy post today.
F x

DawnW

foxgloves wrote: »

Am so fed up about the election result that I don't intend to subject you to a grumpy post today.
F x

Likewise. And the boiler has packed up :mad:

Dottles1

same here Foxgloves. Just going to buckle up my seatbelt and do my best.

HairyHandofDartmoor

foxgloves wrote: »

Am so fed up about the election result that I don't intend to subject you to a grumpy post today.
F x

I knew this would happen but I'm still sad. I despair of this country .

wishingthemortgaheaway

I'm grumpy too - but my echo chamber is so not 'blue' that I've no idea how they could possibly have mustered more than a few votes...

foxgloves

Yes in reply to the above comments - I have a distinctly 'red' echo chamber, so even though I glimpse the vitriol & beyond biased headlines on the front of the tabloids while I'm out & about, I don't come across it in my daily communications as my friends & family are all on the same side of the political fence. Apart from having had to remove today's 'Guardian' front page for the 'cat sick newspaper pile', because I couldn't bear to look at it, I've got up & faced the Blue Reality with dignity - I live in ToryTown anyway, so no change here. Anyway, I'd better get today's post on.
F x

foxgloves

Hello chilly diary readers,
A damp sort of day here today, which did keep trying to turn sunny, but each time, another big cloud rolled in & brought a shower. Never mind, it's been a useful day on the whole.
Firstly, Mr F mentioned that pay day is the 23rd this month. I am very strict about my December budget running to our usual pay day, which is the 27th. Of course as a regular MSE-er, I have seen the very helpful posts each year reminding people who might not be so far into their debt-free missions, not to fall into the December Pay-Trap. This is soooo important. Even for those of us who are now trying very hard with budgeting, there's no denying that December is a spendy month and thinking 'Oh phew, I only have to go until 23rd (or whenever) before I get paid' is likely to result in anything from 'problems' to 'a nightmare' throughout the long, long month of January when pay-day seems to take forever to hove into view. The December Pay-Trap is not an issue in our household any more, but as you can imagine, that early arrival of my salary in the bank used to be manna from heaven back in the Spendy Years, I remember that my mortgage used to go out on around 14th of the month. After that, I'd pretty much be back in my overdraft. Yes, so basically, my salary lasted me about two weeks - sometimes a little longer, but never until next pay day. Getting the email from Payroll to let staff know which date in December we'd be paid.......well, that used to feel like one of the best emails of the year! I saw it as a bit of a 'Get out of gaol free' card, a blessing, not the poison chalice I now know it to be.
So yes, pay-day will happen on 23rd. Budget Day will be on 28th this year, as that will be my first opportunity to sit down properly to tackle all the number crunching. Unlike pre-LBM years, we will NOT be starting January's grocery money before January's budget is operational. Honestly, when I think back to how I used to be (& for so many years), I do wonder that my cards weren't stopped more times than they were!
Occasionally, the first glimmers of a light bulb used to have a little flicker.......more of a flickerette, really, before being snuffed out as the moment passed & I saw something I wanted to buy or found some more vintage wares at an antique fair, or responded to the lure of local garden centre....or popped back into my second home......coffee shops! Because I was taught to cook properly & economically, I did on these rare occasions start thinking about my food shopping & putting a few things into practice (for all of a day or two). During one such short-lived flurry of uber-frugal activity, I batch-cooked some utterly revolting soup - I wonder if I have already shared this story - if not, I will perhaps tell you about it tomorrow. Oh my days, it was grim!!
Well, I've been to a lovely Christmas market in town today, I've bought the last two little presents for brothers-in-law, I've baked Mr F a tin of white chocolate florentines for his birthday, which is imminent, I've done my German, had a good tidy & I am now going to sit by the fire & read the front cover-less 'Guardian' hopefully without getting too wound up (I still can't watch the news on TV) I've got a book I want to finish before Christmas too, as I like to read something wintery over the festivities & have lined up 'The Snowman' by Jo Nesbo for that (a charity shop find - I like scandi-crime).
Wishing everyone a warm peaceful evening - & stand by to hear about some truly vile soup tomorrow if I haven't already regaled you with that tale.
F x