Frugal, thrifty, make do, mend! Let this debt come to an end!

AnotherNewDay

jokono said:

AnotherNewDay said:

@Elisheba could you post your cake in a mug recipe again please? 

I saved it in May 22! Haven't made it yet

Microwave mug cake - all flavours 

First off, you're probably better to use a cereal bowl. If you use a mug, make sure it's properly big. 

Basic mix

3 tbsp self raising flour (if using plain flour add 1/2 tbsp baking powder) 

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

Milk

Microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes - it'll go rock solid if you put it on for much longer. Can be tacky to touch but should be cooked. 

Add a tbsp of strawberry jam for a steamed pudding style cake 

For chocolate - add 1tbsp cocoa, and some broken up chocolate pieces 

For lemon drizzle - add 1tbsp lemon juice, and separately microwave 1tbps lemon juice and 2 or 3 tbsp of sugar mixed together for 30 secs, and pour it over cake once cooked 

For banana and cinnamon - add 1 mashed banana, and 1/2 - 1 tbsp cinnamon, and a dash of vanilla essence. 

@Jokono @elisheba  - thanks so much! I knew the quantities went 3, 2, 1 ....i just couldn't remember for the life of me what they were.
Definitely recommend the cake by the way , and second the suggestion for a big vessel

weenancyinAmerica

Elisheba - our cat who supposedly is only 13 (but I think they lied to get us to take her home) was wetting and pooing on our sofa. We had to throw the sofa out last week. We are just going to go without one for awhile until I can find out what is the matter with the cat. One of our roommates has been using a cane and the litter box has been in the bathroom and I have seen him poke the other cat with the cane, so she may be afraid to go in there. We are working on finding a different place for the litter box. Hope your cat is okay, it is hard to see them getting old. Worse than seeing ourselves get old.

Elisheba

Morning frugal friends,

Well, the weekend was high in productivity and low in technology behaving itself.  I got all the summer and winter clothes sorted out, and took some to the charity shop, and some unsaleable things to the textiles bin at my local household recycling centre.  I now have a manageable pile of mending, and a bag of things that will be worth selling.  I'm so glad to have all of it sorted out at last - some of that stuff had been hanging around waiting to be dealt with for two years!

Sadly my phone started playing up on Friday night and eventually stopped working.  Those of you who have read my diary will know I have a Teraphone, which is an environmentally friendly phone that is under warranty for 4 years.  The problem with this, as I discovered last year when it broke, is that it can take weeks to get it fixed.  I put my SIM in my work phone, but that is extremely restricted on the apps I can use - so no banking, social media etc. 

So then I thought - oh well, I can use my tablet for that stuff.  So I put my tablet on to charge, and lo and behold it has stopped working as well!  To be fair, my tablet is about 8 years old and could have been broken for months as I very rarely use it.  Then, when I tried to do banking on my laptop it was asking me to use my phone as Pin Sentry (a Barclays security thing) which was obviously impossible in the circumstances.

Now those of you following this diary will also know that I don't particularly like my environmentally friendly phone.  The camera is rubbish, and this is the second time it has broken in 2 years.  I also can't easily live without all my apps, and access to Kindle etc for weeks while it gets fixed.  So yesterday I decided I was going to have to buy a new phone, and the annoying environmentally friendly phone when it finally gets fixed, can be a spare.  

I had a rough idea of what I wanted - a low to medium budget one with a good camera, and settled on a Google Pixel 7a, which gets great camera reviews.  I looked on the MSE website and saw I could get it at a certain price but it was through some sort of auction site and I wasn't massively comfortable with that so I ordered it from Amazon which was about £20 more expensive.  Then, a few hours later I was just browsing and thought I'd look to see how much it would cost on contract.  To my shock it seems I can get a 24 month contract with more data than I have now for, in total, less than I was paying outright for the phone.  And that doesn't take into account the £10 a month I pay for my Sim only deal.  So I cancelled my Amazon order and signed up for a 24 month deal.  

This must be a new thing as contracts were always the more expensive option back in the day.  I am really shocked that this one is cheaper than the buying up front option.  And by a significant amount of money - I think it was only about £20 difference between the Amazon cost and the total cost of the contract, but if you then take into account the additional cost of my sim only contract which is 24 x £10, that is £260 total. Anyway all in all it'll be £6.95 a month more than I'm paying now (and a £29 upfront cost), and for a decent camera I think its worth it! The only annoying thing is that although its a different provider its the same network so I don't think I'll be able to keep my current phone number.

Other than that things are quiet in Casa Elisheba.  I was tired yesterday so didn't get anything done around the house.  I put the heating on for a couple of hours in the evening, but I'm reluctant to put it on during the day as it gets seriously expensive.  So I'm wrapped up in my heated hoodie and blankets and scarfs while I work.   

I have noticed that the terrible draught that used to run through my downstairs every winter has stopped.  I think this will be due to the front extension roof being fixed in the Spring.  It had started leaking so my landlords got it replaced, and I think the fact it was so rotten means that it was letting in air and creating a wind corridor from the front to the back door (which has a cat flap) at the back.  So hopefully that being fixed will make this winter a little more cosy!

I need to do some banking and write down some spends but its going to have to wait until my new phone arrives later and is up and running.  Since there is little I can do in that department I am just enjoying the break!  

Right, I'm off to do some work.  I hope everyone is cosy and warm, and all prepared for the storm that is coming alter in the week. I'm in the West Midlands and I don't think its going to be that bad here, but it sounds lie it will be a lot more serious in some more northern places.  

SuzeQStan

Hey Elisheba - sorry to hear about the mobile but good news on what sounds like a fab bargain!

we’ve had the heating on too it it’s any consolation -  it’s been really chilly!  We have ours on for 1hr in morning and 1hr at lunchtime then rely on multiburner for warmth at tools down.

glad the draft appears to be fixed 😊👍🏻

Makingabobor2

We've had our heating on as well. I'm not exactly jumping around to keep warm with my broken wrist so I need to keep warm as my arm is feeling the cold more. Keeping warm is important

beanielou

Also had the heating on. 

Moorviews

We have lit our wood stove twice now as it has been windy and dark. It provides a nice bit of warmth to filter through the house and looks cheerful. We don’t have mains gas here. It sounds like you made the right decision with your phone after analysing the choices. It’s nearly impossible to manage without one if you have internet banking. You will get lots of enjoyment from having a good camera too. 

Elisheba

Morning, frugal friends,

Hope everyone had a good weekend and is starting Monday fighting fit and raring to go!

I was out for dinner with friends on Friday night, which was very nice but quite expensive for what it was.  Considering I was designated driver I thought my meal coming to almost £40 was a bit much.  On Saturday I was a a fundraising disco thing at a local working mans club which was fun, and nice the drinks were quite reasonably priced!

I dyed my hair at the weekend, and think it might be time for me to give myself another haircut as it could use a tidy. I'll need to dig out my hair scissors and watch the You Tube video again to remind myself what I need to do.  Not much to do with moneysaving but I also finally got around to organising my bookshelves, which I have been meaning to do for ages! Good to finally have that off the to do list.

I was listening to a podcast yesterday discussing the Enneagram and its types - it has 9 different personality types, so I suppose its a bit like Myers Briggs.  So I did a test and came out as type 7 which is fairly accurate - easily bored, enthusiastic about new things, quite social and extroverted.  But the interesting thing in money saving terms was the fact type 7 typically tends to be about the worst with money - due to constantly seeking new experiences, impulsiveness, fear of missing out, wanting to relieve boredom, trying to satisfy an inner need for security, essentially we spend money to feel happy.  Which is so very much me - even now unless I watch myself very closely, I will spend to feel better, and historically a lot of my debt was racked up around socialising and experiences rather than having fancy things.  

What is very interesting to me though is that what I have been doing on here - having a diary, being part of a community, making moneysaving a game and fun, treating it as a a lifestyle rather than a chore - its all exactly what is recommended for type 7's to do to in the article I read on the Dave Ramsay website.  Its needs to stay fresh and fun and interesting for me to keep at it, and that is exactly how I have adapted my debt free journey in the last few years.  Its really nice to know that despite not being able to verbalise it that way before, I have automatically understood how my brain works and acted accordingly.  Hopefully now I understand a bit more explicitly I'll be able to catch myself more easily when I fall into bad habits as well. I'm going to see if my library has any books on it to find out a bit more as well.

Other than that everything is ticking along.  I need to make some time this week to update my spending on my Notion s/s.  I have pretty much lost track on it and not looking forward to adding everything up  .  I know its not going to be good. This week will be very quiet though - I have no activities planned, and only need a few messages from the shop.  I might make a list at lunchtime and pop to Lidl after work.

My aims this week are to -

• Get up to date with housework 
• Try and eat fairly healthily (I got takeaway pizza last night so I really have not been good)
• Charge my Fitbit and try and get 10000 steps a day
• Order the wreath for my charity group for the Remembrance Service
• Find the crochet poppy my friend loaned me last year and return it to her
• Finish two books I have been reading
• Watch some of my frugal living You Tube people and get inspired
• Post on here regularly
• Get organised with work
• Go to sleep early like I need to, not late like I want to
• Meditate every day

I think that is about it, and it is certainly enough to be getting on with!  Hope everyone has good days and hasn't been flooded by Storm Babet.  I still haven't lit my fire - its so expensive compared to the GCH, so I am saving it until next month when I'll have some more spare cash. The heating is on at 18 in the evenings though - its no fun at all sitting wrapped in layers and still having hands too cold to move and icy feet.

SuzeQStan

Very inspirational Elisheba x but I don’t think that you are bad with money at all.  You are very thoughtful and often decide not to proceed with purchases if it’s going to be too much or have some on going effect on your finances moving forward.  

You have sure given me alot of good ideas anyway x 😊👍🏻

re your £40 meal - was that just for your meal
or equally divided with some in the group who may have been drinking alcohol?

Elisheba

Thanks, SuzeQ 😁. I think I'm a lot better with money now, but I do have to be very consciously and constantly mindful of it, or I fall back into bad habits very quickly. Boredom and stress are big triggers for me - either to make things more interesting, or cheer myself up. 

No, that meal cost was just for what I had - it was little bowls of Indian food, so I had two bowls, a fried bread thing, a dessert, a mango lassi, and a cup of chai masala tea. The others who were ordering meat based bowls and cocktails were closer to £60. 

Today has been quite productive in working through my list. I got the wreath ordered, did some washing and hung it up, hoovered, and made a healthy quinoa based dinner. Haven't charged my Fitbit or meditated though - maybe tomorrow.

Also in bed at a reasonable time - woo hoo! Hopefully up fairly early tomorrow. My meds, which thankfully have no other major side effects, do make me very groggy in morning so it won't be that early 🤣

I had to phone my estate agents this morning as the thing that holds the showerhead up fell off. Looks like the screw has completely rusted away. They are very good though, and someone will be out tomorrow morning to fix it.

Hope everyone sleeps well 💤😴🛌