Put away your purse & become debt-averse

Kantankrus_Mare

I use the virtual pots technique as well and it works until OH sees the total and thinks we are rich and just goes and puts something he thinks is absolutely necessary on the credit card. He doesnt do this as often as he used to but still is rather annoying having to explain to him again and again that the money he sees is all allocated.
Think I might have a bit of a solution this year as the better interest paying account is in another bank account that only I deal with and thats where the savings will be building up this year.  I read somewhere how to get more emojis by using the F keys but cant remember how to do it. 
Seed sowing has commenced. Got aubergines, chilli peppers and Romano peppers(which Ive never grown before) are all growing nicely and I got cucumbers and tomatoes in a few days ago. All my bulbs I planted at the allotment last year are sprouting so will be lovely when they all flower. Cant even remember what I planted! I do love spring!

HairyHandofDartmoor

I hope you can afford all the alterations you want Foxgloves. Will you get just the one quote for them?

We don't have snow (thank goodness) but we've got hail showers and an icy wind. My narcissus, crocuses, cyclamen and hellebore are flowering at the moment, so I hope the hail doesn't damage/discourage them. Despite this cold weather the flowers and lighter evenings are making me feel that spring is not too far away .

foxgloves

HairyHandofDartmoor said:

I hope you can afford all the alterations you want Foxgloves. Will you get just the one quote for them?

Thanks HHoD. I hope so too. If we are happy with the quote, we will go with it, as the builder is local & has very good reviews online from people who have had a range of stuff done, which is what we need here.
Agree the bulbs are mood-lifting. Yours will be a bit ahead of ours, I expect as we are a good bit further north, but there's still lots happening out there. The irises are particularly pretty.
F x

foxgloves

Hello Icicles, 
Well today was what I'd describe as a bit of a sh*t sandwich...... although there was actually some bread, which is always good! Started off really well... went to large DIY store..... not the one with a 'B' & a 'Q' in its name - the other one. Looking at masonry paint for newly re-roofed shed. £29 a tin😱? Hang on..... it's OK, found own-label, same size tin, for £17. Chose colour. Then walked past a display of vastly reduced range of masonry paint & got same size in very similar colour (light green) for £2.93!! How was that price even possible? Snapped it up! The old me would have stuck with the £17 one because it was an ever so slightly different green, but these days, the reformed me cant ignore such a big price differential. It's only for our shed, after all! Then another win, as there were free mini-Valentines cupcakes at Waitrose.
The afternoon went all wrong. We decided to replace the heap of cr*p shelving in our big landing cupboard by moving one of my office shelving units in there, then replacing my unit tomorrow at the Swedish Emporium. Then Mr F said he'd got a spare unit I could have, so he brought it in for me. I'd just got all my stuff on it & made it work - in the interests of saving money - when he blithely announced he'd need a new unit himself to replace it. I went into Full Drama Queen & demanded to know how this was a 'spare' unit which I was using to save money, if he was simply planning to buy another one for himself. Didn't get a satisfactory answer, which resulted in me dialling the strop up another two notches. Decided to keep the unit but to move it slightly further up so he offered to do that because I need to be careful of my hands & he accidentally snapped the unit in two places, as it was too heavy to lift with all my heavy files, etc, on it. He went & emptied an identical unit from his film collection & gave me that one. I did get everything looking nice, calmed down, asked him if he could hang a little gothic-style mirror I really like & honestly, it descended into farce as he did a couple of little taps on the hook & it fell through the plasterboard & made a hole! Well we called it a day then as we were expecting the builder imminently......... 

moving_forward

Oh dear. Cup of tea and choccy biscuits required methinks. 

foxgloves

....... So I put the new hole in my little HQ wall out of my mind, fetched my notebook & awaited the builder. I have been feeling very stressed about this because the cost will be out of my control, as we are unable to do the work ourselves. Many of the problems with our house are due to some numpty who lived here in the past having a go at every DIY task you could name without a discernible shred of ability.
Anyway, it all felt really positive. The work we want done involves quite a lot of jobs & he noted them all down, we discussed different options & he's gone away to work on a quote. If we go ahead with it, the work will be done in the summer, which will suit us fine, as we will have the heating upgrade aspects ready for next winter. Anyway, being able to discuss it all with a builder has given us lots to think about. Fingers, toes & paws crossed that the quote, when it arrives, will be well within what we can afford.
So a positive start & finish to the day, with a bit of a rum afternoon, if I'm honest.
And he will need a new unit now, as we managed to reduce one to firewood. And filler. He's going to need some of that!
Stay cosy all, 
F x

foxgloves

Kantankrus - Ooh, you're ahead of me with seed sowing. I've only got chillies in so far, but will do aubs & peppers later this month. I did grow Romano type peppers one year. They were called 'Corno di Toro' or something similar & they were AWESOME!! Had loads too. The following year, I sowed the rest of the seeds & gave a couple of baby plants to my Mum. Mine were hopeless! Half carked it & those that didn't refused to have any fruits. Had just convinced myself it was maybe down to using old seed, when Mum gifted me a couple of big perfect peppers! The two little seedlings I gave her from that same batch had flourished, just like mine the previous year.
I find the most reliable peppers are 'Summer salad mix' - a range of colours & nice big fruits.
Good luck with your growing this year, Kantankrus, I'm always happy to read gardening tales!
F x

PurpleFairy26

foxgloves said:

Hello Icicles, 
Well today was what I'd describe as a bit of a sh*t sandwich...... although there was actually some bread, which is always good! Started off really well... went to large DIY store..... not the one with a 'B' & a 'Q' in its name - the other one. Looking at masonry paint for newly re-roofed shed. £29 a tin😱? Hang on..... it's OK, found own-label, same size tin, for £17. Chose colour. Then walked past a display of vastly reduced range of masonry paint & got same size in very similar colour (light green) for £2.93!! How was that price even possible? Snapped it up! The old me would have stuck with the £17 one because it was an ever so slightly different green, but these days, the reformed me cant ignore such a big price differential. It's only for our shed, after all! Then another win, as there were free mini-Valentines cupcakes at Waitrose.
The afternoon went all wrong. We decided to replace the heap of cr*p shelving in our big landing cupboard by moving one of my office shelving units in there, then replacing my unit tomorrow at the Swedish Emporium. Then Mr F said he'd got a spare unit I could have, so he brought it in for me. I'd just got all my stuff on it & made it work - in the interests of saving money - when he blithely announced he'd need a new unit himself to replace it. I went into Full Drama Queen & demanded to know how this was a 'spare' unit which I was using to save money, if he was simply planning to buy another one for himself. Didn't get a satisfactory answer, which resulted in me dialling the strop up another two notches. Decided to keep the unit but to move it slightly further up so he offered to do that because I need to be careful of my hands & he accidentally snapped the unit in two places, as it was too heavy to lift with all my heavy files, etc, on it. He went & emptied an identical unit from his film collection & gave me that one. I did get everything looking nice, calmed down, asked him if he could hang a little gothic-style mirror I really like & honestly, it descended into farce as he did a couple of little taps on the hook & it fell through the plasterboard & made a hole! Well we called it a day then as we were expecting the builder imminently......... 

nice work on the paint. Boo to shelving units not up to the job. Shame I have plans tomorrow or I could have come and tagged round the Swedish place with you 😜 

fingers crossed on the quote. I find these things stressful too, purely as it’s out of our control. Hope you get it back soon so you don’t have to wait too long to know the outcome. 

foxgloves

Yes, Purple Fairy, it is the 'not being in control' element that is stressful. Am hoping the quote will pop through our letterbox promptly, then we can plan properly & get on with the jobs we are able to do ourselves.
Re the Swedish Emporium.... before we moved to Torytown, we lived at my little house just five & a half miles from said blue & yellow warehouse, so you could have called by for a cup of coffee! I was Mrs Spendy of the Spendy People then though, so it was very bad for the bank balance!
F x

moving_forward

Morning Foxgloves, hope things are a little (a lot) smoother for you today x