Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves · 29 November 2022 at 4:51PM

Hello Diary Readers,
Hope you've all managed to have at least a reasonably decent day. Very humdrum routine day here, but I've done most of what I intended & haven't spent anything.
I've done a few surveys, done the ironing, written about half our Christmas cards & been through the list to make absolutely sure not to put stamps on any for people I might see.
Mr F went in the freezer for something first thing & started getting in a tizzy about there not being enough room in there for Christmas stuff. I'm not that worried about it - ask me when I'm trying to ram my festive baking in there in a couple of weeks - I've taken 4 containers out just today & my mega meal plan (from mid- Nov when we got back from Norfolk to Dec 23rd) was laser-focused on prioritising what we already have in stock. I think there's barely a meal on that plan which doesn't involve at least a pot of something coming out of the freezer. Any space we make will soon be re-filled with Christmas stuff.....Delia braised red cabbage for starters, then bread sauce, etc. But as I told him, no need to get in a tizz about it because the mega-meal plan was designed to deal with the issue. It's actually been quite time-saving just picking a week's worth of meals from that list....I might try monthly meal plans in the New Year, but leave some gaps so we can be fairly flexible. I'll see.
Other stuff: Ribbing on 2nd mitten knitted & have done a couple of rows to set pattern & placed markers for thumb gusset. Mr F has volunteered to do tonight's nosebag so I can get a few more rows knitted. Will need to buy another gift if I don't get them finished.
Take care, m'dears,
F x

Blackcats · 29 November 2022 at 8:28PM

You are very organised with presents, cards and meal plans. Our freezer is emptying out quite well too and it's been helping with the November food budget. Haven't yet found any Unidentified Frozen Objects nor have we had to resort to any weird combinations (yet).

Baileys_Babe · 29 November 2022 at 10:16PM

We too are focusing on freeing up some space in the freezer.

foxgloves · 30 November 2022 at 7:28AM

@Blackcats & @ Baileysbabe - I think it's a seasonal freezer tactic, isn't it? Our market butcher is apparently bringing some very well-priced hams to sell this week & I would like to get one for the freezer. I want a decent sized one & not imported so I think one of these could be a bargain. Another container coming out today & all meals being selected from the master plan. Agree, @Blackcats, that the 'use-it-up' element of this helps stretch the grocery budget.
F x

foxgloves · 30 November 2022 at 10:14AM

Morning Campers!
And on today's notional money-saving list:
*Very economical meal going into slow cooker this morning - Smoky chipotle black bean chilli. Still using our home grown tomatoes which were skinned, zizzed up & frozen.
*Make a batch of flour tortilla wraps to serve with the above with a bit of grated cheese on top before rolling. Makes sufficient for a couple of meals plus packed lunches.
*Take something out of freezer (Oh yes!!) for Mr F to take for tomorrow's packed lunch.
*Squidge down to greenhouse to pick lettuce, rocket & coriander.
*Finish writing Christmas cards. I'm going to post them a bit earlier than usual in Dec because of the strikes (not a moan - I support the postal workers). It would annoy me if I left them late & had to resort to 1st class stamps as there is quite a big price differential now.
*Contact dairy to alter our milkman order for the Christmas period when we have guests here, as we all know that 'just popping out for milk' very often results in a silly unplanned bag of shopping.
*No money will be spent today - unless youngest nephew gets back to me with a small item from his present wishlist, in which case, I will order whatever it is.
*Knit as much of 2nd mitten as I possibly can - I put a few more rows in last night while Mr F was cooking pasta. I have an audiobook on the go ('The Cove' by Alice Clark-Platts) so I intend to listen to that while progressing as much mitten as possible. I'm enjoying the challenge, but am aware that it isn't a pattern I can reliably finish off if I leave it till a few days before Christmas, whereas I can knit socks from memory while watching TV.
I'll be doing other stuff too, but those are kind of the money saving ones.
It's so grey here today. Cats still a bit sulky because they had their flea treatment last night. Soot did thaw a bit & come & sit on my lap, but then he remembered later he wasn't supposed to be talking to me, so took himself off to his fleece on the landing.
Ash has discovered Wilk*'s cat food - the rather posh ones which are 75p per pouch/little tin - & now thinks he should be served it every day. Lovely to see him tucking in though, when we think he was living rough in somebody's garden.
OK, better get a move on.
F x

Baileys_Babe · 30 November 2022 at 10:40PM

Adjusting the milk order to take into account Christmas guests will not only save you from unplanned shopping but will mean you can enjoy time with your visitors without the chore and time needed to pop out for milk, sounds like a win all round to me 😊

foxgloves · 1 December 2022 at 3:58PM

That's our overall plan, @Baileysbabe, to get as organised as possible in advance, then just relax & enjoy everything. All good plans can go awry, of course, but as in all things, I'm convinced that advance planning also saves money.
F

foxgloves · 1 December 2022 at 4:37PM

Oh my giddy aunt.....it's gone 4pm & I haven't knitted a single stitch. Today was supposed to be a day in which that mitten grew like mad, not languished in my yarn basket like a billy no-mates. Must make sure the next few days contain a scheduled session to get the blimming things finished, as they've been on the needles for ages.
Hello m'dears,
How has everyone been with the money-saving today? I haven't spent anything, but the fact that Mr F has just texted me to ask if there are any biscuits might well mean that a small on-route-home purchase may be imminent. Well, let's start with the home energy front. It's definitely colder here today, although so far we've only had one frost. The heating is still set at 18 deg & is coming on more frequently, which is obviously reflected in the smart monitor. Still implementing small cost-saving measures where possible - two baths from a single fill of water first thng, saving the breakfast & lunch dishes to wash up together & making sure not to fill the bowl to the top with hot water when this isn't necessary......all that kind of thing - we all know the drill. I'm having to use the dehumidifier more often to deal with the condensation. so that has a cost implication, but it has a different kind of one if I don't bother & the condensation starts causing outbreaks of black spots behind certain large items of furniture, something which if allowed to happen, will soon spoil the redecoration we paid for. So it's swings & roundabouts, isn't it, like everything else.
Other money-saving activity:
*Picked another week's worth of meals from the 'Use-it-up' mega-meal plan. 3 more containers out of the freezer today.
*Wrote the grocery shopping list.
*Moved funds from Car Maintenance Pot so as to pay last week's car service off credit card. Had problems signing into bank account today. There was a window of suggestions to try if this error message happened. I checked DownDetector to see if anyone else was reporting issues & they were. Decided to try the suggested remedy which was about clearing history/caches. It's strange how this isn't an issue from one month to the next, then all of a sudden, I can't sign in without doing it. There must be some logic to it somewhere, I suppose.
*Did a few surveys then cashed out November's earnings from PA which came in at £25.98. I'm still awaiting over £12 of payments, so that will be a good start to December's earnings. Only a couple more surveys needed on Ips*s to be able to cash out another £10 of 'turkey tokens'. Must keep looking.
*Baked a sourdough.....or I haven't quite, as it's still in the oven.
*Wrote 3 letters to put in with Christmas cards.
*Planned the weekend with Mr F over breakfast. Neither of us are interested in heading off anywhere. We will do town stuff, grocery shopping, some more festive planning (sleeping logistics) & gardening. We would also like to visit the town church's Christmas Tree Festival which is a lovely way to start the season & helps their fund. That's a very low spend outing though - about a fiver for the two of us to get in & we can probably manage free parking on the outskirts if I put a decent pair of boots on.
Is anyone else already starting to think what financial goals might be chosen for the New year? I keep trying to push such thoughts aside because it feels too early, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't occasionally glancing over at my new diary up on the shelf alongside my trusty Money Book, & pondering what we might prioritise.
Ah well......I need to take the bread out of the oven in a few minutes & then I'd better try & fit piano practice in before Mr F gets home. He says he loves to hear me play, but I still think that after working a late shift, having left the house at 7.40am each day, he'd rather just get in & put the News on.
Hope everyone ok,
F x

Cheery_Daff · 1 December 2022 at 5:53PM

I'm starting to idly think about plotting and scheming for next year, but not settled on anything yet... Not entirely sure I met many of this year's financial goals though!!