Put away your purse & become debt-averse

Sun_Addict

Thank you for the courgette advice @foxgloves, I’ll try that tip next year. 

milann

We’ve had the same problem with courgettes this year SA as has my ds who is usually inundated with them. You’re in good company 👍 Hopefully it’ll be a better show next year 😀

it’s certainly an expensive job to dispose of debris from works around the house and garden. We’re expecting a quote for a new ramp and decking…we posted the job on a well known job site and have only had 1 reply. Haven’t had any replies for some of the other jobs we posted😏

2Scratters

@milann I would suggest if you have decking coming down that you could offer it for free to someone with a wood burner and that would help reduce some costs. If you are semi/rural there are usually farmers who would take hardcore from you too as they use it to build roads on the farmland or use for reducing the falls of the land too. 

2 Scratters xx

milann

It’s been painted Scratters so would create a toxic smoke.  We will keep the better planks to make some planters 👍 

foxgloves

Hello Frugalistas,
Not the most exciting of days, but I've got on with a project & kept the money saving faith. Everyday stuff: Picked more grapes, fed sourdough jar ready to bake tomorrow, made packed lunch, wrote tomorrow's grocery shopping list.......we all know the drill.
It's the first day for months where I have had a layer over my dress all day - only a lightweight cotton jumper with dangly bits, but it shows that the air is feeling more autumnal. I'm still wearing my silver flip-flips around the house & it occurred to me that I don't have any slippers & should have included buying some on my winter plan. I've ordered a pair today - more expensive than I wanted to pay, but I need some arch support as my tendonitis increased quite a lot when I had my last pair, which were chosen for their prettiness, rather than any discernible ability to support feet. I don't need to raid the Clothes Pot, as I can cover the purchase with this month & last month's PA survey earnings. I'm up to over £20 already this month & we're only halfway through. 
Other money stuff - Did my regular mid-month budget check-in. This began when I first started budgeting at the onset of the debt-busting process. It was purely because after decades of living outside my means & being so new to budgeting, I lacked confidence, feeling that I would make mistakes & find that despite budgeting, our money would still disappear! Now I have a longstanding system which works for us, I am confident that the process works, but I have maintained my mid-month budget check-in because it is helpful to see how things are going, get on top of any little oddities & start thinking about what might be done if there is looking likely to be any surplus. At the moment, it looks as though I will be able to via some surplus buffer zone money to my cash envelope of Nephew Christmas Money. Hope so, because every little helps, as we all know. I also did a few surveys while my laptop was signed on.
This afternoon, I've been working hard on typing up a project, which all being well will be a nice meaningful Christmas present for a family member. I think I've mentioned before that I am a keen genealogist. I've been researching this person's family tree & am typing it up, complete with photos of relevant places & a few people, etc, will be buying a nice folder to put it all in, complete with a handwritten pedigree tucked in the back. It's a relatively local family (county & just over the borders) so Mr F says he will enjoy taking a few photos of various streets & old churches too. It will be a 'main present' with just a couple of little other bits to open - edibles, a nice body butter or similar, & I'm hoping it will make a nice gift. I do know this person would love to know more about their roots because we had a conversation about exactly that 2m apart in my garden during lockdown. I have heaps of plastic wallets so will only need to buy an attractive folder. 
Well, I can hear cats racing about madly, so I'd better go & see what's going on.
Hope everyone's had a peaceful & productive day,
F x

Onebrokelady

Would the apple tree be suitable for burning ,you could offer it on a free site for someone with a wood burner. My son in law brings home nearly all the wood he chops down  for their wood burner if the owners don't want it 

foxgloves

That's a possibility, @Onebrokelady, although it's a very big tree & will need a lot of chainsawing to get it into suitably sized pieces to bring out through the house. I'm.not sure how long I'd want a pile that big sitting on the drive. I think I'll.keep.my options open until I know the cost. Feel sad about losing such a venerable old tree.
F x

foxgloves

Morning Campers!
Terrible night's sleep. Have just had two enormous mugs of coffee in the hope that they act as sort of personal 'jump leads'. Lots of random jobs need doing so I think I'm going to go & tackle 10 things, then re-assess the day. I also need to dispense with my silver flipflops & find some socks, as it's noticeably cooler in the mornings & as you can imagine, there's no heating going on for at least another couple of weeks. Thermostat settings from 1st October onwards still.under discussion.
Right, can feel.my head starting to buzz from all that caffeine..Time to.gwt cracking.
F x

marionmgcars

great great to read everyone’s comments.  I’ve been super busy over the last few weeks so need to do a finance summary.  It’s harder to keep a check on money - and calories when I’m busy.  Onward and upward xx

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Morning foxgloves and friends
It's a lovely day here, my stepmum rescued a dahlia plant i had in a tub and it is now flowering, I have moved it so i can see it out the window as i work
It is getting chilly now in the evenings but I won't be putting on the heating till at least late October. My friend mentioned switching on her electric blanket now and I was horrified!!
love Deni