Put away your purse & become debt-averse

DawnW

My little dog likes the giblets cooked up too - as you say it appears that they are some kind of exotic treat
He missed out this year though, as we had a stuffed turkey crown instead of an entire bird :rotfl:

Onebrokelady

Our old dog used to love the giblets from the turkey, we don't have any meat in the house now so our current dog misses out a bit,she got lucky this year though as DD1 brought turkey crown for them to have with their Xmas dinner so she had the pickings left over on the carcass,they were just going to throw it away,I managed to remove a whole lunch box of meat for them to take home plus some for the dog:eek:

foxgloves

Lol, poor gibletless doggy! Cat has done rather well, as he loves turkey. I cooked a ham hock too AND he discovered he likes smoked salmon. He also hunted a cheese & onion crisp which fell on the floor, so all in all, I think he will think a return to treatless days of cat food is very mean & boring!
F

crazy_cat_lady

I've been doing slow cooked pulled pork today. The cats are already in the kitchen waiting for the fat and bone leftovers...
Happy New Year Foxgloves. _party_

foxgloves

And Happy New Year to you too, CCL.
Yes, our cat is always on alert when the slow cooker is on. I think the long cooking times must mean he's smelling it for ages & as he thinks anybody's food is fair game, he gets very hopeful.
Fx

foxgloves

More free resources unearthed today while sorting out my HQ:
*A brand new umbrella still in its packaging.
*Two big glass containers which I will give as gifts next Christmas. Will put a few washed pebbles in the bottom, then plant 3 hyacinth bulbs in each (60p each from village garden centre) & top with moss raked from lawn.
*Shredded lots of old docs, which has made a big bag of free bedding for the worm.composter.
*Enough leftover sock yarn to knit at least 2 pairs for gifts plus a pair each for me & mr f.
*Sorted my wrappings stash & added tp it. Enough stuff for all this coming year's gifts as well as ebay parcels, etc.
Only just started this job, so will doubtless find more free resources as I go on....resources which mean shopping from home opportunities.
Anyway.....bath time so tata for now.
F x

foxgloves

Well, a busy morning & not a single spend in sight! Rubbish night's sleep - was awake by 4.30. Gave up at 6.00 & came downstairs to start taking the Christmas tree down. Watered & back outside in the garden ready for next year.
Took the opportunity also to move a bit of furniture around & to put out a few different ornaments, etc, for a bit of a free new look. Several things packed ready for charity shop too. I am all for being resourceful & shopping from home first, but I am not a hoarder. If items are genuinely no longer needed or wanted, then it's definitely time for them to leave our house & hopefully find new owners.
I have to attend a meeting tonight, so I've got ahead with some nice yellow stickered shin beef & some kidney in the slow cooker - just need to do veg & I'll prioritise what most needs using up. In the meantime, I shall see how I get on with some knitting, as my tendon doesn't seem quite as sore today. Found myself starting to peruse sale jumpers in an email. I defo don't need to buy.one as I have a nice hand knitted one on the needles which just needs finishing.
Cheers all,
F x

foxgloves

Another 'find' this afternoon. I mentioned to mr f that I was fancying some herbal teas as my coffee consumption.(my drug of choice) is rising again. So I went to write 'Interesting teabags' on my shopping list pad, & mr f (who is a lot taller than me) started rummaging at the back of a cupboard, fetched out my fancy teabag tin, & said 'Well what are these, then?' They turned out to be a stash of FOUR different types, which I'd completely forgotten about! I think I will have to venture into the back of the pantry too, to see if there are other forgotten items. So that's one thing that won't be going on the list, for starters!

gelmc

A warm good evening Foxgloves and co,

I’ve been reading your posts throughout today as I’m searching for some inspiration/motivation to finally sort out my mindless over spending. Foxgloves, your initial post written way back when (I think it was a year ago??!!?) really struck a chord with me. My current problem is very similar to your old problem eg having cash in your purse yet using your debit card - then spending money twice so to speak, over spending on the supermarket shop, failing to save a ‘dime’, racking up a load of debt on stuff to clutter your house, wardrobe and kitchen cupboards and wondering where the money went. I often say our loud to whoever is listening ‘I might as well open my purse and pour it straight into the till at ...... (insert whichever retail establishment of your choice).”

I’m now coming up to my mid-forties and I feel more determined to tackle this. Going to Uni in the mid-90s, I was one of the first generation of students to take out student loans, rely on student overdrafts to fund my nights out and never really learn the value of money as I paid for everything with a debit card. This is certainly how the banks wanted it! It means you’re hooked on credit, loans and overdrafts your whole life.

Intellectually, I know that squandering my wages and living pay day to pay day is not a great way to manage your finances in middle age. I’m now trying to resist the urge to splurge by 1) recognising that I’ve got such a deeply grooved, impulsive spending neural pathway etched into my brain synapses 2) by challenging this when I’m aware of it 3) by realising that it’s ruling me/about to make me spend. Let me know if this makes some sense.

However, these are very early days and Christmas has not been good for a 25+ years spendaholic. We had everyone to us for Christmas and I spent tonnes in an array of supermarches. Why oh, why do I do this every time? I was frightened to look at my bank a/c, and lo and behold the day before our mortgage, council tax and various other bits and bobs were due to go out I needed over £900 to cover it all. Thank God I had £400 coming in for my OH and then he put in another £450 to cover it all.

We moved house in the summer, and I would like to get into the position where we can start paying down the mortgage so I’m not working until I’m goddamn 67! I’d also like to pay off my 2 credit cards, overdraft and Argos card - obviously before I can have a hope of tackling over paying the mortgage. Another hope is to have another child so my son is not an only one but with the way I’ve been going financially, this would be very difficult ie surviving on maternity pay for months as I’m the main breadwinner.

So after rambling on above I’d like to know where is a good place to start and how do I start growing my own fruit and veg and any other cost cutting debt busting you can think of.

Thanks for reading this and over and out.:D

foxgloves

Hi Gelmc,
Oh my goodness, reading your post was like being in a Tardis & going back to my Spendy Decades. Yes, yes, yes.....I was exactly as you describe. I reckon I'm getting on for about 10 years older than you, so I was in receipt of a financial grant for both my degree & subsequent MA, but I was still in debt from the age of 19 & did not pay it off until my mid-40s. I started my diary on here partly to show that it truly IS possible to change. One of the things which most helped change my mindset was the realisation that my income is my money. There isn't any more. Yes, there are a plethora of institutions happy to lend to me but this is somebody else's money. It isn't mine. And it has to be paid back. It still has to be paid back when I am no longer all that interested in the item I bought. Or if the item has already worn out. So basically, for all non essential stuff (& let's be honest, that's most of it), if you need to use a credit card, take out or increase a loan or put it on an overdraft to buy it, then you definitely can't afford it. That would be spending somebody else's money, NOT YOURS! Repeating this as a mantra in the early post-LBM months helped me a lot.
Also, I'd say it"s important to think about overspending in terms of choices. However I may have felt about it at the time, money did not fling itself out of my purse into the nearest till, it was abley aided & abetted by me! I used to choose to spend more than I earned on mostly unnecessary stuff. I learned that I could make a different choice. I've said many times that there is simply no bag of tat I could come home with now which would make me feel as good as being in control of my finances does.
Re your question about growing stuff......that depends on how much garden you have, if you have a greenhouse & what you like eating. If you are a complete novice at growing food, I'd say maybe start with some cut & come again mixed salad leaves, whatever fresh herbs you use the most, perhaps some strawberries & tomatoes?
While growing lots of fruit & veg defo saves us money, I think our biggest saving has been meal planning. We both love cooking from scratch but written meal plans have been a revelation in terms of what we spend on groceries now, compared to our old hedonistic & rubbish system. Hope this helps a little - good luck!
F x