NST February frugality and frolics

sashanut

Hi all :j

Busy day but spent mostly indoors, cleaning the place ready for visitor & then sitting down chatting for the entire afternoon, very hermit like.

F Food Expenditure Aiming for £225 for the month, down from about £275.. already done a bit of spending so no NSDs as yet. Shopping already spent £139.56/225


E Excursions and entertainment should be planned. ....we may though go out on Friday to look at a new to us car... One of the cars we were looking at has been sold, but we may go to look at the other, quite a drive though if we do. Looked at photos & asked DH to message them asking about what looks like maybe a bit of damage to the back seat, hard to tell. No big rush to get it, need to wait for the right one.

B Budgets None set as yet - other than food - & all DDs already out.

U Useful leftovers Will also carry on with frogs. Need to make a list for DH also, there are plenty of things he can be doing. Massive frog today - inventoried one of the fridges -yaay! No frog dealing today.

A Aim to take your lunch
Don't work outside the home other than volunteer at a CS but will aim to take snacks/lunch/etc when we go out.

R Remind yourself Cleaning up did not take as long due to better & clearer home, great to see friend who has been ill, DH making lunch.

Y You should pay your debt or savings first Have no debt other than a cc paid off in full each month. However, savings needed for dental work & also for house renovations, so will take care of that. Paid back joint account for dental work again.

S Spend Free Days (SFDs) Now 2/18

U Use it up Keep using up what we have, have done some shopping already but should only need fresh F&V & bread, plus animals food/litter. Used up dome things from fridge as I now know what is in there & what needs to be used up first. Used up a half carton of soup that DD didn't like & some sauce left over from DHs meal the other night to make a sauce for tagliatelle with sausage & leek.

R Regular check ins Here

V Cards only .. in the nut household

I Indoors/outdoors My only regular exercise is gardening, which I try to do most days. Walked a lot when away need to have slightly better weather to do much around here. No gardening today a little bit of exercise with the pooches at lunchtime.

Indoors - being a hermit. Had visit from friend & was nice to stay in & chat. He does electrical work but refuses to let us pay him... I bought a big unopened box set of RU DVDs from our CS on Tuesday (for £4) & gave them to him as 'a Christmas present we forgot to give him' He was so pleased he gave me a kiss on the cheek & shook DHs hand!

V Vending machines etc Rarely use but do have the occasional takeaway as part of family meal. Maybe once a month, but no plans so far.

A Advance planning This is a problem for me, I don't plan in advance but decide what to have on an almost daily basis. I know I have to get more organised, so will inventory both fridges...as a starting point. Have not inventoried yet , will do tomorrow. Done Fridge one. Fridge 2 to go.

Garden prep - up to today - has been going on apace, not with planting as the ground has been frozen but with pruning & some greenhouse stuff. No veg as yet but it's a bit early for here. Will go through seeds - I have loads - and see what I need if anything. Also have lots of pots of paint for projects inside & outside the house - once decluttered enough to decorate.. No gardening or projects today.


Go Turtles!!!

Shrewbie

apple_muncher wrote: »

Shrewbie - how to you make toast? When I was there, all the sliced bread was 'pan Bimbo' and too small and sweet for my liking. Plus, no-one had a toaster!

Haha apple I know what you mean - I think places like Liddle bring a lot of nice things to spain nowadays! I get the same bread as I'd have bought at home. Also my housemate has a toaster!! AND a kettle.

This would be amazing and revolutionary except for me discovering to my horror that she never uses her oven except for STORING PANS (and even a solitary fork - random) which is so spanish and annoying but to be fair that is my only gripe about this place so far so don’t mind, at least there will be no oven cleaning to do when leaving!

GlendaSugarbean

Up to 3 NSDs, will be a spend day today as I need to get food and party bag stuff for Youngest's party tomorrow. Will go after work so I have time to clean in the morning before everyone arrives.

It's been a tough old week at work, but it is Friday (yay!).

Chased my refund from the council, should be here in a week or so. They really are very slow to pay up! Budgets looking ok, food spend was much lower this week which helps with the monthly totals. Party all budgeted for.

mothernerd

Quotes later. Only awake because I'd accidently set the alarm. Up late sorting the remaining embroidery threads (WIP box and random bits). Looks lovely though.

apple_muncher

Thank you for the scissor-sharpening info mothernerd. May even try it on my pinking shears too...

mothernerd

The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, go with it and enjoy the dance
Alan W Watts

Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want.
Anne Lappe

The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.
Socrates

On the surface: Cool as a Cucumber
On the inside: Squirrel in Traffic



A few lessons here. We all love stability. When life pulls the rug out from under our feet, we try to regain our balance, get things back to 'normal'. The Watts and Socrates quotes offer positive images that might make us embrace the change.

It can be surprising that pleasant changes can throw us off balance. A longed for move to a new to us house, the arrival of a baby or as some of you are doing atm, the continual challenge of children as they move through different stages of your life.

I often think that having children is a continuous process of letting go - the day they no longer hold your hand when walking along a wall, the day you are not allowed to kiss or hug them at the school gate, being bullied all the way to having their hearts broken or making a mess of their money.

You can only do your best, offer advice and help when it's asked for and pick up the pieces and bear with the complaints and accusations that you got it wrong or it's all your fault (can't have been daddy's fault because he was never there - right).

The shopping quote shows us that we can make small changes that make a difference, both in our own lives and in our world. "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito."

The squirrel quote just made me smile (and we all need more of that). I think I'll come back to my thoughts on this either tomorrow or later today. I did intend to only do short quotes this month. You don't need a monologue (or a lecture) every day.

mothernerd

Spent money yesterday and today, 6 pound top up shop yesterday, bought a basic microwave today but going to pay for it out of my food budget. That should focus my mind on making the money stretch this month. Mini challenge for mothernerd.

greent

Didn't check in last night - washed out with a cold - so much so that I fell asleep on the poolside watching my son's swimming lesson! (and this was before 6.30pm!:o:p)

F Food Expenditure.
Downshifting etc.

E Excursions and entertainment should be planned - trying to finalise our 2 days/ 1 night away in half term. Have a wedding evening do to go to this weekend but have declined.

B Budgets set. Food reduced to £350 - plus a special extra Brexi-pocalypse budget of £50
Food £186.39/ 350 :eek:
Brexi-pocalypse £14.00/ 50

U Useful leftoversWill carry on with frogs. Currently doing a list for diy jobs next week for OH and myself - aiming that they should all hopefully be done with stuff we have already

A Aim to take your lunch n/a

R Remind yourself of what you have and be grateful. Today - no real plans (yeay! - bothe on account of the weather (windy and constant rain) and my cold), finding a full roll of wallpaper (correct design! ) in the garage to replace a drop (hopefully just the one) in the living room - we have mysteriously developed a deep hole that has broken through the plasterboard and into the dry wall!:eek: (a job for next week when my head is not full of snot), DS1 getting good exam results, DS3 being really chuffed with his topic project work, DS2 doing a piece of history homework last night without being nagged - and enjoying it! :T

Y You should pay your debt/ savings first Cashed out £8.81 from tcb into a Tesc0 voucher, so transferred £10 to hol fund

S Spend Free Days (SFDs). 2

U Use it up. Still using up hotel shampoos and conditioners, only used stuff we already had to make the topic homework (major improvisation required!), no food waste (although I need to freeze the last of the white loaf)

V Vending machines etc, None today

A Advance planning.Tonight's dinner has been planned! :rotfl: :j:

f0xh0les

I have got my drill out and am doing niggley frog jobs.

Looking forward to Endeavour starting on Sunday.

Menus planned for next week, will descend on Aldee after dropping the kids at school each day for half price ys veg. I have everything in, and the next time I need to shop, it will be half term. Aiming to have no 'drilling jobs' left by half term. Half term is my new destination.

Trying not to offend s-i-l who wants to come and visit for 5 days in the middle of one set of SATS and another set of GCSEs. Two days after they go back to school after Easter hols. - Just need reassurance I am not being unreasonable. I know I am not being unreasonable. I do not need reassurance.

If she books the tickets anyway, I will just have to deal with it.

BoilerBob booked back for boiler bits on Tuesday. So far it has cost the same as a week away for 2 people somewhere nice. grrrrr!

To all teacher Turtles and parent Turtles - Half Term is in sight!! To everyone else, yay! it's Friday!!

f0xh0les

Redbush teabags 5........ F0xh0les 0