Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Well, as for today's diary post...... I shan't get too much more done today because it is just too hot for me atm. On the thrifty front, I have sowed some more cress for adding to salads, mixed up a sourdough (just about to be shaped & plonked in its basket), done today's pickings (lettuce & basil), done my regular Monday morning budget updates & actioned the first task on my new Holiday Savings Pot Timeline. I will be sitting in the shade until much later but I intend to do a bit of minor mending & finish that outstanding hiking sock which has fallen by the wayside because of having 3 knitting projects on the go simultaneously. 
Our Grimsby fish box is arriving this afternoon, so I've made a bit of room in the freezer & will need to divvy up our order into containers & label everything. I've taken 3 oddments of salmon fillet out of the freezer & poached them for tonight's dinner (a pesto pasta bake with salad) & both of our lunches tomorrow. 
I'll need to water the veg plot later, but not until this evening when it's cooler. 
Take care in this heat, m'dears. 
F x

kayannie

On the subject of holiday rentals, I have just checked the cost of staying for 7 nights in the holiday home next door to where I live on the coast of North Wales. This week the cost is £1760, but less from October onwards (£1,000), unless you want to holiday in school holidays, Christmas or New Year when the price increases again. I couldn't believe my eyes as it is quite small, just 2 bedrooms.
We are a couple of frugal oap's who manage quite well on just our state pensions, but the rising prices are a worry. As our fixed electricity (no gas here) deal ends this week, I intend to be even more vigilant on energy use. We don't use much in the summer months but will need to when the cooler weather arrives.
I keep an elderly metal kettle, left over from camping, on the kitchen window sill to put under the hot tap to catch the running water before it gets hot (water meter here). I've noticed that in this hot weather the cold water in the kettle gets really warm so well worth doing.
KA

foxgloves

Hi Kayannie, Yes, it's crazy how much holiday rentals have shot up. The apartment we wanted to book for my Big Birthday is in a terrace of 3 old cottages above a shop. Its quite small & although very nicely turned out, it isn't a luxury apartment. The studio one next door to it is even smaller. There's a little bathroom, but everything else....the bedroom, kitchen, seating & dining areas are all in one room. It looks very nice in on the website, but £1299 for 7 nights which doesn't include the Easter period, & contrary to what I originally thought, does not contain Mayday BH. It's on a lovely stretch of heritage heathland & has a sea view, but I just can't shake off my opinion that £1299 is taking the you-know-what. ...& that's for the studio! The one we wanted, which we've stayed in before was an extra £100 ! We plumped for another cottage in the same village (same owner) because the rental on that is a few £100s less & is for a whole cottage. No sea view but only half a mile to the beach. It's still a lot of money & if it wasn't for a big birthday, we wouldn't be going!
Also working hard on keeping energy use down as much as possible here. Our kitchen is rather dark, but I think I've finally made progress convincing Mr F that it is perfectly possible to see what he's doing in there during daylight hours without the lights on. This has long been a bone of contention.

F x

2Scratters

@QueenJess your thought/question is very relative. I too have a question about the unit electricity rise, bearing in mind we are an island with plenty of wind. What excuse have they got about increasing the price when they turn off turbines as there is no where to store the electricity generated. I have a friend who has sun panels where the electric generated there is free, she does not get anything from this at all so no rental charges laid out. I am with a supplier that advertises they use "green" electricity excess should be given out in an evening i.e  2200hrs to 0000hrs or early morning 0500hrs to 0700hrs similar to economy 7 as it was. It can be done as similar is being offered to those with electric cars already.
 Non of this has to do with the Ukraine crisis for electric when we as a country are wasting this. Some one is definitely having us over.
Gone round the house to check any odd bits for the black bin collection that can't be recycled out. Decluttered my fuzz off my face and legs as too warm to do anything else. Decluttered box and contents of hair colour refresher onto moi so I look a bit more human

stay cool Peeps
2 Scratters xx

foxgloves

An energy business-based query from me too, @2Scratters. If our bills are increasing by crazy amounts because the energy companies are passing the wholesale price rises onto us (which they are), why are they making record profits because of the rises. If we are absorbing the wholesale energy rises, why are their profits not very similar to say, this time last year? From whence the additional profit? 
I have been smelling a large rodent for a while.
F

ladyholly

Not relevant to utility bills but what no one has mentioned with regard to fuel prices is that although duty has been reduced by a whole 5p per litre the treasury is still gaining £££s as the VAT (as far as i can see ) is charged on the entire amounti.e. fuel plus duty. Therefore petrol and diesel users are paying tax on a tax. Correct me if I m wrong. If I am correct then the reduction in duty is more than covered by the increase amount of VAT.

foxgloves

I am.not sure how petrol duties work, @ladyholly, but I think that there is almost certainly some profiteering going on. I'm glad we decided on a hybrid when we changed our car last year. I was unsure because a mild hybrid was the only one anywhere near our price range, & I did wonder if it would make any difference to our fuel consumption. It definitely does, though, as we are currently getting 54 mpg from it, which we've never achieved in similarly small-sized petrol-only cars. But to go back to fuel prices, there are petrol stations we pass & we just wonder how they can justify their prices, such is the disparity with most supermarket petrol. On a run into the smaller of our 2 local city centres recently, Mr A had the cheapest fuel. Nearby Mr S & Mr M were below the UK average, but they weren't 2nd cheapest, that place went to J*t, which I suppose goes to show we can't always assume we know where the better prices are. 
F

foxgloves

Oh my days, it's muggy. Slept poorly last night then awakened at 4.25am by Soot, necessitating going out in the garden to sort out some deeply unhelpful (though quite funny) nocturnal shenanigans. 
Am still in a proper headspace for renewed thrift. Today I've baked a batch of rolls & made inroads into all that lean pork mince we got @ 2 kg for £5. Defrosted the 1st 500g pack last night & I've made 2 big pork & apple burgers for tonight's nosebag (with use-it-up salad) plus 2 tamale pie bases. One is for tomorrow - I'll just need to mix up the cornbread topping - & the other one has gone in the freezer. 
Today's garden pickings: last few lettuce leaves from the current crop (lettuce babies waiting in the wings), 500g of French beans (nice tricolour mix chosen by Mr F), spring onions & a huge green chilli to go in the tamale pies. First tomatoes just getting a hint of orange, so we'll be picking those soon.
Have finally turned the heel flap & started the foot shaping on this hiking sock which seems to be dragging on much longer than usual. Shall need to do some make-do & mend activity tomorrow when I've had a chance to ask my friend who is coming over for advice on mending a ripped seam. Gutted today to notice a 3cm rip in a front seam of the new lime green linen dress I bought recently. I've only worn it 4 times so am really disappointed. There's a mucky mark next to the bit of seam that's come apart, so I've obviously caught it on something, but I've no recollection of doing so. My friend is really good at sewing, so I'm sure she will be able to suggest the best way to repair it. Have added lime green thread to my list for town tomorrow. 
Keeping my renewed thrifty faith, everything on that list is a need rather than a want.....maybe with the exception of hair colourant, but as I don't intend to embrace silver locks just yet I re-do my blonde colour every 6 weeks or so.
Well, time for yet another glass of water & a couple of chapters of my book, I think. 
An even hotter weekend forecast, so I shall probably melt into a blob like an old strawberry mivvi dropped on the sea-front at Lowestoft. At least I shan't get scoffed by gulls!
F x

Cheery_Daff

I do hope you don't get scoffed by gulls!! 😱😂

What a shame about your dress. Hope your friend can give advice about fixing it. Good work on the cooking and the garden though. Keep up the good thrifty work - you're encouraging the rest of us!

Sun_Addict

That is a shame about your dress, hopefully your friend will be able to do an invisible mend on it. 

Ooh strawberry mivvies, takes me back a few years 😋