Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

And hello BH savers,
We have primarily saved money today by not going anywhere! It has been my Big Budget Day. I spent the morning reconciling August's budget, then set September's. September is a '5-week shopping month for our system, which works Saturday to Saturday. I usually budget extra money for the few times this occurs in a year, but I've decided I'd rather get used to stretching our money further so have budgeted the same as for a more usual 4-week month. Week 1's grocery shop was higher than I'd have liked because it involved a modest A*di restock on things like pulses & rapeseed oil. Armed with yesterday's freezer list though, I'm feeling confident we should be able to stick to budget.
I was able to pay into the Car Fund plus 5 Savings Pots. Of course once our energy DD shoots up, paying these will be a luxury, then very likely an impossibility. It's very disappointing with us being pretty new to saving, that we'll be forced to abandon it until the UK retunes to something resembling Sanity FM, but I know we are in a better situation than many. My heart goes out to all the people who are going to be eating sandwiches while wrapped in duvets in the dark. It's a truly monstrous situation.
That box was on its way out again then wasn't it? Other stuff today? Garden pickings: blackberries, lots of courgettes, tomatoes, aubergine, pepper & basil. Mr F is making ratatouille tonight - we like the Delia one in her big vegetarian book as it seems less watery than much of the stuff we've eaten over the years. It's nice as a 'side' but also on a jacket potato, topped with grated cheese & just popped back for a short while till it melts. 
I've sorted out some small jars as would like to start off a jellybag tomorrow.
I've also gathered together a big bag of library books for return this week & been out to the greenhouse for a quick assessment of jobs I need to do this week. Oh, & 2 more surveys done. I don't think I'll make £40 by 31st, but I shouldn't be too far off.
Must get the boring knitting out in a minute.
F x

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Afternoon foxgloves

Another public sector worker here and brought up in Suffolk (now living happily in the NW). I agree with the views expressed about the devastation of funding cuts. I often see on the local Fb page a lot of negativity towards the council about everything from roadworks, potholes, empty shop units, bin collections, the local library being temporarily closed (for structural works) which has led to lots of opinions that it won't reopen etc etc - I don't see many supportive views towards the council or pointing out the impact of Govt funding cuts. People talk about warm banks where public buildings will be open to help people keep warm during winter - who will lots of those buildings belong to ? Oh yes, the local council! Who will be faced with increased energy bills too ....

On the subject of energy, I just tried to do an assessment on my energy supplier's dashboard (tentacled one) to project my future bills taking into account the October price cap - but I couldn't really make sense of it! I will just have to continue my careful ways.  Today i brought a few more tubs for freezing bulk supplies of soup that i'm planning to make very soon. Glad to be getting towels dry on the line today too

Love Deni x

Suffolk_lass

I think most people have forgotten or are too young to remember that by 1997 schools were closing unsafe, leaking buildings so when Labour won they had to invest hugely in new build projects just to provide safe school buildings for our children to be in. Then apparently they were to blame for a global financial crisis driven by the removal of financial regulations (red tape, the value of which was only recognised as the world's economies began to recover). So now LT proudly proclaims she will rip up all the EU legislation. 

Presumably those who can no longer afford their homes will be provided with a community accommodation facility providing basic provisions in return for hard work, falling on the charity of the Parish (whose funding has been cut by over 40% rendering libraries and owned buildings unaffordable, and offering more assets and revenue streams to those who can). 

foxgloves

Hi Deni,
Yes, it's infuriating that the division between public & private sectors are stoked with myths & half truths. One of my in-laws once informed me I had a large 'gold-plated' pension & that I was very lucky to 'get a free one' as people in the private sector have to pay for their pensions. She was genuinely surprised when I told her that money for my pension had been deducted from my wages every single month since 1987!!
I need to have another look at our energy use projections from the Tentacled Ones too. It made so little sense at first as they were based on our old heating system, but I noticed that the latest figures from them now do seem to reflect our changed patterns of use.
Mr F has just informed me there's a lot of showers about from Wednesday so I must prioritise laundry tomorrow. I want to try a cycle setting I've never used before - a short 'Refresh' cycle, which if it cleans adequately, will save money to use more regularly.
F x

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Indeed foxgloves - a few years ago my sis couldn't get her head round the fact that public sector workers had a 0% payrise - she was confused thinking i meant I wasn't getting an increment that year . Oh said she but you did get a cost of living increase didn't you? No I got 0%  ie nothing, nada, zilch. That might have been the same year she told me how disappointed she was to get a yearly bonus below 1k!!

foxgloves

Yes, public sector pay has fallen behind because of the pay freezes we had to take during 'austerity'. Since then, they've been mainly 1%/1.5% - I think Mr F did scrape 1.75% last year, but the reality is that the freeze went on for so long (because central govt grants to local authorities were slashed between 40 & 50%) that he would need a 15% pay rise to get back up to anywhere near where he should be. He's currently deciding whether to accept the current Unison pay deal or vote to reject it & strike. It's more than he's had for many years but still absolutely nowhere near the rate of inflation, which we've now been told is heading for 18%. I support the current wave of public sector strikes. I don't care if I'm 'inconvenienced'. People need to receive a fair wage.
F

CRANKY40

My machine's "refresh" cycle  leaves things wetter than the normal cycle.

milann

I have a 30 minute cycle which leaves things very wet so I use the 45 minute one. It seems worth it to have clothes that dry more quickly.
I also believe people should be paid a decent wage. It’s disgusting that folk work full time often with a 2nd job and have to scrimp and scrape. A lady I work with was on a tv show about the working poor…..she is a teacher, her partner a shop manager and they have 3 children, pay a mortgage and don’t drink or smoke. It made for sad viewing AND that was several years ago. I dread to think what the same programme would show now 😳 
I’m not well off by any stretch of the imagination but we’ve worked hard to pay off all our debts including the mortgage. Dh could have retired 4 years ago but still works 3 days a week…..he commented the other day he can’t see himself ever retiring if the bills keep going up…which is a quite a sad and scary thought.

Four_Seasons

I do a 30 degree eco wash it takes 30 mins then I do an extra fast spin for 10 mins to get extra water out total 40 mins. My partner is a farmer and I haven't had any problems with how clean they come but admit I do add a little supermarket stain remover x

ladyholly

The difficulty for councils is that the government keeps reporting that they are giving money to councils for this, that and the other so people think they have lots of money. Our council and I assume others produce a breakdown of what money they get and where it goes with their council tax bill but I doubt many people read it.

What annoys me is that central government is, as far as I am aware the only organisation that does not produce any report of where money comes from or goes to. Yes we have budgets but they dont really give an understandable breakdown that the average person can understand. i.e. we are borrowing x amount per person and spending x amount per person, we get this much from VAT, Tax. duty on fuel, tobacco and alcohol etc.  Such an exercise might be very informative.  to most people talking about millions and billions of £s means very little or at least it does to me. My mind works in hundreds and on rare occasions thousands of £s.