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Put away your purse & become debt-averse
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Hello m'dears,
Another very chilly day......so much so that Mrs Foxgloves Heating Tightwad has turned the thermstat up a little. Heaven forfend!!
None of the snow that was forecast though. I don't know whereabouts in the North & Midlands it did fall, but we seem to have missed it.
A very uneventful day today. This is all I have done: Washed hair (getting on better with my shampoo bar now), made bread (cooling on rack as I type), printed off some photos to add to a family album, chatted to best friend on Whatsapp, practised piano & printed off a returns form for one of my Christmas presents from Mr F, which had broken within a couple of days. He has arranged an exchange, so I said I would get it wrapped & addressed ready to post tomorrow. I have written a list of fresh fruit & veg we need from the local market tomorrow & a couple of other bits which I will buy if the traders are there, but obviously now, markets & shops are back to essential only, & we may even decide that only one of us will go into town. We are doubling down on risk atm, like a lot of people.
I did do a little bit of shopping from home today. I have been meaning to research online for some new piano music to buy, but today while waiting for the plasterer, I tipped out my not-exactly-titchy basket of music & had a really good look through it. I have found a lot of new pieces to learn, so I am happy with those & won't buy anything until I've exhausted my own supplies.
Plastering work now complete. It's a job that has needed doing for ages......years, if I'm honest but I always tried to ignore it because I knew it was probably caused by rising damp (it was) & thought getting someone in to look at it would open a scarily expensive minefield. In actual fact, the builders sorted out the exterior part of the work for £600 (to stop the water penetrating) & the plasterer, despite the interior work needing 3 separate visits, charged us £140. It just shows that these scary looking problems don't always cost us quite as much to rectify as we fear......although of course we'd rather have not had the problem in the first place, which like many issues with our house, was caused by a previous owner's idiocy - in this case, a significant breaching of the damp-proof course. Next job is getting a decorator in to give us a quote, but first, we need to go round every room (oooh, can get my clipboard out!) & make a list of what exactly we want the decorators to do. We also need to think about how we will manage 2 workmen at once being in our house during lockdown. It isn't against the rules, but it needs to be safe.
Well, I shall stop rambling on & wish you all a peaceful evening.
F x"For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)12 -
I’m the same foxgloves I like to know I am not going to run out and like to have a spares in but hoarding no can’t even look in my shed hubby keeps everything overwhelmed me every time I open the door don’t know where to start we’ll i do i would just get rid of the lot 😂10
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Another guilty top up shopper here. I could have written your post foxgloves, with my poor planning and lack of kitchen skills. Thankfully I'm usually too busy at work to shop, now too scared to be out in the shops when I don't have to be, and too skint to be going crazy. I have a list on the table at all times - next week's shopping, and me and the kids add to it as we go. When I open a new bottle of washing up liquid, or kitchen roll etc. it goes straight on the list for the next shopping trip. So I am getting better - still haven't reached the stage of all three of us eating the same thing at the same time but we have two meals that we'll all eat, so improvement there as well.
Not giving up
Working hard to pay off my debt
Time to take back control
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6290156/crazy-cat-lady-chapter-5-trying-to-recover-from-the-pandemic/p1?new=111 -
CCL - I think having a list for adding stuff as you run out is key. We do that too. I have 2 cat fridge magnets & they look after my shopping list. It's easily visible on the fridge & if I spot that we are getting low on something, I add it there & then.
You mentioned 'poor kitchen skills'. Well, I didn't have that excuse as have been a confident cook since my teens & also perfectly aware of the financial benefits of both batch cooking & creative use of leftovers - it is how I was taught at school & what I saw my Nan doing - I just chose not to do it & this poor planning & endless top-up shops certainly added to my permanently endebted state. It really annoys me these days if I have to compost a furry lemon!
F x"For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)10 -
I can’t believe it’s only the 9th January, I’ve challenged myself not to do a supermarket shop this month - February seems such a long way off. My partner loves to pop into supermarket, so trying to get him onboard, and emphasise that it’s for safety reasons as well as being thrifty. At least the two small freezers is not rammed full, so might get to defrost soon. Stay safe everyone xx10
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I admire your approach to finances @foxgloves and share how increasingly aware of my old shopping habits have been quite, well almost wasteful. We have a ban on any family member going into the supermarket and rely on supermarket deliveries once a week. I ave to think about the fresh food issue come the end of the week and surprised how, like someone said, when the yoghurts run out there are things that can replaced without too much thought, like tinned rice pud or fruit. The way I shopped before I would have replaced those yoghurts and bought a handful of things I need coming in at around £7 or £8. I'm not doing that anymore and saving a small fortune as a result.
I have enjoyed your diary and I would like to join in with you all as you chat about life and keeping money in the purse if you'll have me?11 -
Marionmgcars - Yes, there are safety issues re minimising supermarket trips atm for sure, so that's a double reason for avoiding those purse-draining top-up shops.
Judiciously - Hello & welcome! Yes, we enjoy discussions on here, especially about ways to keep more of our money where its needed - in our own bank accounts! So do feel free to join in.
F"For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)11 -
Hello readers,
Hope everyone is well & plodding along. I must admit I awoke in quite low mood today, but was ok once I got up & about. Did my hair & make-up & felt a bit more like a human. ...almost how it was when I used to go out! I didn't go into town today. It's obvious that some really serious doubling down on safety measures is needed to get these dreadful Covid infection rates even to plateau let alone drop, so we decided only one of us would go. Mr F drew the lucky straw because we only needed fruit & veg and bird food from the market, but lots of it, so I'd have had to take it back to the car in two lots, as we knew it would be heavy, & for some reason, the arthritis in my hands is really quite noticeable at the moment - I don't know what's kicked it off.
In case anyone is thinking I spent my time at home on anything even remotely glamorous, oh how wrong could you be? I was too busy working on my Mouse Eradication Strategy, also known as updating my mouse poo chart!
Previously updated on Thursday when quite a lot of chewed bait shreddings were located behind the kitchen utensil container, I had dutifully checked the areas I had previously found mouse poo, before disinfecting all the work surfaces. Frankly, there was such a pile of bait chewings that I thought that would be end of days for Mr Mouse, but not yet. Despite no further signs of mice in the pantry - no poos, no mouse smell (I lived in some atrocious student houses back in the day & can smell the presence of rodents before I see them), the bait box we left on the floor in there was absolutely empty! Well, that should have reduced our little squeaky population. I hate using poison, actually. Much prefer the humane traps, but I think the lovely warm space they have set up home is so inaccessible, I don't want an infestation like the one we had many years ago, which necessitated about 5 separate visits from the council pest control man. Anyway.......clearly bait is being taken, & the mouse poo chart is making sure we can keep on top of progress.
So yes, I got up, I did my hair, I put on my make-up, even my lippy.
Then I set about counting mouse poos & filling in my mouse poo chart.
I think the glamour of my life just hit a new low.
F x
P.S And then I spent some money. But I don't care. It is from my January Personal Spends & so will have zero effect on my budget."For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)15 -
I hope your spend was on something nice and nothing at all to do with mouse poo!
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It was, Dawn! Two books & 2 OS maps.
(& neither book was the Rough Guide to Mouse Poo, lol!)
F x"For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)11
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