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

Elisheba

Awwh, @penny_less, I wish I'd seen this earlier.  I ordered one from Amazon last night.  £3.79 but will take a few days to arrive and I could do with it now!  I have a Waitrose just down the road as well - never thought to look there.

Thanks, @DawnW. I've ordered one now from a Glaswegian company, so we will see how it does! Glasgow is where I am from originally (before I moved down to England for lovely weather  ) so I feel like I am supporting a local business.

Cheers, @astrocytic_kitten .  I used to have a dishwasher, but there was no room in my new house so it had to be left behind after the divorce.  I'm really not keen on doing dishes, but as you say, its very nice to wake up to a clean and tidy kitchen so I am hoping by forcing myself to do them everyday during Lent I will retrain my brain to the habit!

Elisheba

Well, its the start of the last week of the month. When I said storms would be coming after horrible, stupid  B-day I had meant that more figuratively than literally, but it seems literal storms were also on the horizon!  I need to start hitting my 10000 steps a day, but the weather is so hideous I don't really want to go outside! It just looks so cold and wet and blowy.

I get paid on Friday so just need to get to then and sort out the February figures. I've written everything I've spent down on my notepad on my phone so there are no surprises, and I know that I'm on, or under budget, for everything unless something unexpected pops up this week.

Blimey, it has been an expensive month.  According to my spreadsheet I have overpaid £340 on my rent, £52 extra on a credit card that went over its limit, £100 extra on energy from my old company, £60 extra on the catalogue as its a 28 day payment system, and £5 extra for broadband on my closing bill for the old company.  The fact that it has all been done within budget and I haven't had to increase my debt at all is a minor miracle.  I still don't have spare halfpenny to my name, and haven't started overpaying on the debts I want to tackle, but I suppose it just takes a while for the brakes to to actually stop the forward momentum and to move into reverse gear.  Hopefully that is the worst of it over now.

In my ongoing attempts to try and weatherproof my freezing office I have now stuck some black Tiger tape round all the corners on the windows where the caulking has come away.  I have reported the caulking to the landlord but goodness knows when anything will be done, so hopefully this will be a good stopgap measure.

I didn't get the batch cooking done last night, but I did get loads of dishes done so that's something  .  Hopefully I will get the cooking and mending done tonight. I'm getting a smart meter fitted tomorrow, so I need to clear out that cupboard as well tonight and make the meter accessible.  I'm excited about the smart meter - I want to see how much energy I'm using and then I can really tackle reducing it!

This week I have a history society meeting on Thursday, I'm off work on Friday, got a high tea on Saturday, and then I'm going to stay with a friend for a couple of nights (off on Monday as well).  In terms of joining more social groups I'm thinking about rejoining Guiding.  I was an assistant leader for years, and at one point quite enjoyed it.  It was only after I moved to a new group and didn't care for it so much that I left.  It is a lot of work though.  I'll think on it some more before I make a decision.

DanceMum_2

Just delurking to say Hi, Thanks for your diary and as for Guiding - DO IT!!. Yes its a lot of work - I do rainbows, brownies, guides and rangers, plus joint DC - but those kids leave happy every week and for some its the safe space they need. I think I would miss it if I was to leave now. LOL. 

Elisheba

Morning all.  Happy Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday!

Thanks, @DanceMum_2 You make a very good point.  I used to do Guides and occasionally Rangers.  You must be run off your feet with all those groups as well as joint DC!!!!

The smart meter chap is here doing smart meter things downstairs.  I'm running the internet off my phone and wrapped in a dressing gown as the electric and gas are both off.  I had to bite my tongue when he put all 4 rings on the cooker to check the gas, and run the hot water to check the boiler.  How quickly things have changed!

As part of emptying the electricity meter cupboard for him I found a quarter of a bag on kindling, a quarter of a bag of cat litter, and various pictures I had forgotten about - so that was a result!  Horrible bank charges have come out. Its the last month they should be super high so that's something.  As I have moved all my payments to the end of the month I was able to transfer some money temporarily to the joint account to keep the charges on that one at a lower amount for a while longer.  It not something that would make financial sense on the new system starting next month, but for now I'll take advantage of the current system.

All the dishes are done (and most of them put away), everyone will be glad to hear, so I am all prepared for my Lenten dishes adventure  . The washing is on (although it'll be at a standstill with the leccy being off), I have batched cooked one set of meals (pasta bake).  Still to make cottage pie and mac veg and cheese but there is time for that.  I have written my March foodplan and shopping list all ready for Friday and and have started to look forward to my long weekend off.

I have set my budget for next month.  They will be :- 
Food and toiletries - £40
Petrol - £20
Travel - £50
Cats £23
Pocket Money £100

I have found keeping my pocket money quite large gives me leeway if I need it (and it covers everything from meals out to gifts to DIY stuff, so I may well need it), but I have only used £60 - 70/month recently.  Its not a target, it is an allowance. 

It looks like my food budget will come in at £40.80 for February so I'm hoping I can do that again.  Its going to quite tricky though as I'm aiming at 5 - 10 fruit and veg a day for Lent.  I'm going to have to be quite creative with frozen fruit and veg, and tinned and dried fruit I think, as fresh fruit and veg are both expensive and can be wasteful when you live on your own as you never seem to be able to use them up on time.

Tomorrow is going to be a hard day as it is the anniversary of my Dad's death.  It has been 12 years but its not something you really get over.  He was only 50 and it almost destroyed my family, who were extraordinarily ill equipped to deal with it all.  I want to do something thoughtful to remember him, so I might put on his old jumper and write a blog post about him.  I'll change the pictures of him I have around as well, perhaps make a meal he liked, watch some Startrek TNG, and play some of his music.  It is all a huge amount more constructive than it used to be, when I would cry a lot and drink too much!

Other than that everything ticks on.  I'm waiting for a Music Magpie payment, and they say to give them 7 working days to receive the package so hopefully that will be soon.  I'm going to make a list of money saving tasks I want to achieve for March so as to keep the momentum going and hold myself accountable.  When I'm done I will post it here!

Elisheba

Smart meter is now fitted and it's all very exciting!  I know my standing charge, and how much the basics are costing to run - fridge, freezer, wi fi and laptop, and my kwh charge!  I have it sitting next to me and am trying to puzzle out why the watts I am using keep going up and down, and the cost changing, when nothing that is on should be fluctuating...  The gas hasn't given any readings yet, but that will be the next game. Hours of excitement!

Also, its a good thing I budgeted £100 for pocket money next month.  The school photos of of my nieces are going to be £29!  That's a basic package and a CD.  They really are lovely photos though, and I can use the CD to make up some of the other pictures for me, and make photo presents for my mum and sister as they won't be able to afford them, so I guess that's one gift idea sorted for the year!  It might not be very frugal, but the money is there as long as I am using it wisely.

Elisheba

I must stop looking at the smart meter 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

DawnW

Maybe the electricity readings are fluctuating due to the fridge and / or freezer cutting in and out?

missymoo81

Hi Elisheba, 
I hope you’re ok today, losing a loved one is hard, but the way you’ll remember your dad today sounds lovely. 

Having just caught up with your thread I’m also of the curly haired crew! You’re doing an amazing job. I also need to eat way more fruit and Veg not sure how to achieve that so I’ll be following with interest.

Elisheba

Afternoon all,

It should be another NSD today.  Can't think of anything I need before payday on Friday.

I've just been for my daily constitutional.  I decided one of the things I was going to do for Lent was getting 10000 steps a day, and when I'm working from home the only way I can do that is fitting in a midday walk.  There is a circular route by the the river I can do which is about 5000 steps.  The other 5000 I seem to get from pottering round the house.  Since I got soaking wet and poured on yesterday I somewhat over prepared today with walking boots, hiking coat and about 25 layers.  Predictably, it was bright and sunny and I ended up roasting hot!

I used to belong to a gym. At one point I paid over £75 a month to belong to a health club.  I hardly ever used it but I loved it.  It was beautiful and classy, and it felt like I was on holiday when I swam in the pool and relaxed in the jacuzzi. It even had sun loungers with a view, and it didn't allow children. For the money I was paying, I would have been cheaper going on holiday but I do miss it, and I really miss the swimming.

There is a public pool near me now (I say public - they are all run by private companies these day).  It is not unduly pricey at £4.50 a swim, but if you want to use the jacuzzi as well (which I invariably do) it is £7.50.  You can get monthly memberships for just swimming for £25, and swimming/gym/jacuzzi for £38. 

Since I only want to use pool and the jacuzzi this really annoys me.   It's also besides the point.  With the debt I am in and my new commitment to frugal living I am not willing commit to paying £456 a year (or even £300 a year) for this luxury.  However, in order to not feel massively deprived (Tightwaddery without creativity is deprivation - Amy Dacyczyn), I am going to allow myself to go the the pool and jacuzzi using my pocket money every once in a  while.  I would go wild swimming but I am nowhere near the sea, and it doesn't seem to be recommended in the river by me.  In the meantime, to maintain some sort of fitness I shall march round the river every day looking at the water, completely free of charge, come rain, sun or hail!  Maybe someday I'll even be brave enough to try couch to 5k, although I wouldn't put any bets on that one.

In terms of my healthy eating Lenten regime, @missymoo81, it has started well.  I had a big Scottish pancake left over from yesterday for breakfast, and I defrosted some mixed frozen fruit I had in the freezer left over from summer smoothies.  That and a tiny bit of golden syrup on the pancake were absolutely delicious, and probably at least 2 of my 5-10.  For lunch I heated up some pasta bake I had made earlier in the week.  Tomatoes, leeks, spinach, mushroom and onion all in there.  Probably not full recommended portions, but I am not hugely bothered by that.  So, about 7 already!  No idea what I am going to have for dinner yet though - I haven't even thought about it.

clickerty-click

The British Heart Foundation website has some really good information around getting your 5 a day as well as ideas on how to switch things to sneak the veggies in such as swapping out mashed potatoes on a pie and using mashed sweet potatoes instead. It might be worth a look to help you on your quest